13 Feb How to make the most of a budget road trip
Posted at 09:51h
Road trips to fabulous locations with your friends make for the best adventures and fun, but there needs to be some planning to avoid chaos.
- Plan in advance – a tinge of spontaneity is always thrilling but full spontaneity can be dangerous – leaving you stranded with no place to stay or in my recent unplanned disaster, staying in a scary neighbourhood in a dirty room filled with dog hair and a host whose wifi password is criminals99.
- If you decide to take the cheaper route and explore hostels and couch surfing, be sure there are multiple positive reviews-or you could end up like me locked out of the place and forced to shower at the beach and get ready to go out in a mall bathroom.
- Don’t separate your groups-a large group is heaps of fun but when you’re forced to split into more than 1 vehicle it can be difficult to travel together. You will spend your trip constantly waiting for each other or speeding to catch up. If you have to split up for accommodation as well, it won’t be the same fun trip you envisioned.
- Make sure the car you rent has a USB port-listening to the same radio stations repetitively or listening to static in the middle of nowhere will drive you insane.
- Pack lots of healthy snacks- stopping at Macca’s and Hungry Jack’s can be fun once or twice, but more than that is pushing it. You will spend the trip feeling stodgy and remorseful.
- Don’t plan too much, having your heart set on an exact schedule. As you travel, you will find exciting new things that are even better than the schedule you planned. Leave room for spontaneity – your trip may end up as a disaster, but those trips always make for the best dinner conversation the next week.