Do you like to travel by car? But have doubts about how to plan a road trip?? Planning this type of trip is not so simple, but I love this step. I feel that the journey begins at the moment of planning. Opening maps, calculating routes, discovering destinations along the way, all of this is an extremely important and exciting part of my journey.
How to plan a road trip
The first step is for you to have a brief idea of your roadmap: where you are going to start and where you want to go. Having this information and adding to the travel days you have available, you should start playing with My Maps. That way, you can visualize what you can do in between these two points.
Always take into account that if you are going to leave and return in the same place, it is nice to make a circle script?? In this way it is possible to know more things and go through different roads. Otherwise, just choose the best route.
At the My Maps, mark the cities that you consider unmissable. Then begin the study of how much time each of these cities needs to be explored. And that's the only way you can get an idea of whether there's time left for other stops.
determine colors on your map?? One for must-see cities and one for secondary cities. It's a way for you to be able to look at the map and quickly identify the amount of options in a certain region and connect this with your travel period.
Still on My Maps, you can make notes for each pin. I like to save links to blogs that talk about such a destination. The first part of planning a road trip, we focus a lot on the route, without worrying too much about individual attractions, restaurants, etc… In a second moment, go back to the blogs reading and carefully evaluating each of the tips.
Calculate daily mileage
It is recommended that you drive in the maximum 4 hours per day, somewhere between 300 to 400 km. But that depends a lot on you, the driver and the purpose of the trip. I've driven 800km in a single day.
The idea was to arrive at the final destination on the same day, making it my base to explore an entire region.
If you are going to choose to take longer trips, I always recommend leave early?? Allowing you to stop throughout the day to wash, eat and also stretch your legs. Without you taking the road at night.
The amount of light influences the production of the sleep hormone and your body starts to slow down. Possibly you will be in a place you don't know, and any problem that happens can be even more difficult to solve at night.
When calculating the mileage from one city to another, don't take your travel time to heart. Always leave a little fat for a few stops, whether for a photo or stretching your legs.
Speaking of photos, opt whenever possible for national roads that do not have tolls, in addition to saving the most beautiful views found on this type of road.
And if you have quiet time, allow yourself to follow your intuition and forget about the GPS a little – whenever I do that I am pleasantly surprised.
Snacks along the way
Both in Europe and the United States it is very normal to have a picnic area in the middle of the roads. Prepare a light meal and make stops to eat, no stopping halfway and having a heavy meal. This can harm the continuation of the route, whether due to sleep and laziness or indisposition with food.
If you are going to take a longer trip, consider purchasing a cooler bag and ice packs as well. To always keep drinks and food fresh. If the room does not have a fridge, ask the hotel reception to use the kitchen freezer or ask for ice.
In the United States it is very common to find hotels that offer ice machines.
the right hosting
Traveling in Europe by car is very simple, but finding hotels with parking and well located is not such a simple task. In the United States, however, it is a little easier to find the two together.
In Europe, I have increasingly opted for motels. They are usually cheaper and have the option of free parking, as this can be quite an advantage to save money. Parking in Europe is not usually cheap.
If the hotel is a base for me to get around the region, I'd opt for something further away from the city and closer to the road. So I avoid the traffic and I am always on hand to leave and arrive at the hotel. Now if I'm going to stay in the city to tour for a few days, I always look for hotels with parking and travel by public transport or walk.
international portfolio
For all those who have a CNH must apply for an International Driving Permit (PID). According to the document of DMV only in the United States is it allowed to drive without a PID.
At the moment I have an international card, which I took as soon as I arrived in Spain, but I confess, before that I had never taken out the PID and I never had any problems. But, I've heard people who had problems when picking up the car at the rental company, so it's not bad to prevent yourself, is it?
Each country a rule
I recommend a basic reading about the traffic rules of the country you are going to visit. Each one has a peculiarity and sometimes we can be taken by surprise.
Some cities in the United States offer exclusive lanes for cars that have more than three people inside. That is, seeing a lane free while all the others are stopped is not always a sign of "it's free". 🇧🇷
Just like driving around Switzerland by car, you need to have a specific stamp that you need to buy as soon as you enter the country.
Anyway, I could write a post just about that, but it's not the objective of today, so I recommend that you research a little about the traffic rules of the country you're going to visit.
car rental
Be very careful when renting a car. First, I recommend that you opt for a well-known company, I know that the price of an unknown company is often attractive, but have you ever heard that cheap can be expensive? You're dealing with perhaps the only trip of the year and you're dealing with your safety. So - think about it. 🇧🇷
Never forget to check if the final price is already included: insurance against broken glass, the nomenclature may vary, but you need to be insured against broken glass and this includes the rear, front and side windows.
Well, if you don't have this insurance and if by chance a pebble in the middle of the road hits and cracks the glass you can die with a lot of money. The company has EVERY right to have the glass repaired at their trusted company, which is usually triple the acceptable price.
Not all companies put this insurance at the first price, you need to select this option. It is usually charged per day. Don't be afraid – invest!
second driver – this is another extra cost that is usually paid per rental day. The idea is that car insurance only covers if person A is driving. We never know tomorrow, person A may wake up with a headache, a stomachache or whatever and person B needs to take action.
Baggage – when renting a car, always pay attention to the number of luggage and their SIZE. The car will not adapt to the size of your luggage! If the website says it's average it's average. 🇧🇷
driving in winter
We Brazilians are not used to driving in winter and this can be a very difficult and dangerous task. If you are going to a place where there is a possibility of snow, rent a car with chains and before arriving at the destination, spend some time on Youtube understanding how to put them on the wheels. If you're the person putting on the chains, have a waterproof glove option.
It's no use having tires with chains and not having a hand! =D
Find the website with updated information in real time about the country's roads. It is very common at that time roads to close for reasons of: a lot of snow.
Don't skimp on your mobile data package. Keeping track of this information in real time can be very important.
extra tips
It may be fresh, but the car can make a total difference in the travel experience! If you have the opportunity, choose the car that matches the style of your trip.
Don't forget to prepare a good playlistst. Nowadays most cars allow you to sync your cell phone with the car stereo.
Light charger?? Your cell phone can run out of battery very fast when GPS and Spotfy are activated, and you can charge other equipment inside the car.
What apps do I use?
I already told you, I'm a big fan of the My Maps, as well as from Google Maps?? I use both to plan my road trip. In addition to these two, I love to use Via Michellin, which helps me calculate how much I'm going to spend on tolls and gas on the trip.
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