Road Trips: 9 Things I Wish I’d Known Earlier
Road trips are adventures that thousands of us embark on each year. They are a brilliant way to explore the world around us. Plus, they offer unlimited opportunities to learn more about our home country. The thing about road trips is that some people are absolute newbies to them.
That means they don’t know what to expect or even how to prepare for them. A road trip should be a fun excursion for all those involved. When I went on my first road trip, I won’t lie to you. It was a bit of a disaster for various reasons! Nowadays, I know just want to do to make my road trips fun and memorable experiences.
If you’re new to road trips, this blog post is for you. Today, I’d like to share with you nine things that I wish I knew back in those early days! I hope you will find the following information useful before you go out on your first road trip:
- You have limitless possibilities
Let’s say that you want to venture to some unknown (to you) part of the country. You might feel like you need to follow some guide books. The beauty of a road trip is that you can plan your own itinerary! As long as you’ve got your car, you can head over to anywhere you want.
There is no need to stay on the tourist trail. You can venture off the beaten track and make your own discoveries. Why limit yourself?
- Bad weather can make your road trip suck
I don’t know about you, but I hate it when it rains! When you drive during rain, you can’t enjoy the scenery. That’s because you have to spend your time concentrating more on your driving. Yes, I know that you should be doing that anyway.
But, your eyes can’t survey the beautiful landscapes beyond your road. You have to make sure no-one drives into you – accidentally or otherwise! Be sure to check local weather reports before you hit the road.
- You can be as random as you like
When you’re passing through a certain town, you could stop for an ice cream break. Maybe you just feel like walking around a local zoo or visiting a local car show. Or you could just chill out and relax. The thing I love about road trips is how you can do whatever takes your fancy while you’re on the road!
There is no rush to get to a specific destination. In fact, you don’t even need to plan an end destination. You can just drive down the highway and stop off anywhere that interests you!
- You’re never far away from help if you’ve got a smartphone
Let’s say that you stay overnight at a motel. You wake up the next morning and find that you’ve got a flat tire. The thing is, you don’t have a spare. What do you do? Thanks to the Internet, you can arrange for mobile tyre fitting. And the best bit? You don’t even need a computer!
When I go on a road trip, I always make sure I take my trusty smartphone. Not only can I use it for calls and texts, but I can go online with it too. I can use its built-in GPS to tell me the nearest amenities and repair centers to my location. And I don’t even need to know where I am – how amazing is that!
- Poor lighting can hamper your nighttime driving
Are your car’s headlights about as powerful as candles? If so, they won’t be useful when you’re driving at night! I remember my first car’s lights were so bad I needed to put my full beam lights on as well! As you can imagine, that annoyed other drivers somewhat. But, when I drove on unlit roads, not putting them on would have been a bad idea!
I recommend that you upgrade the bulbs and clean the lenses in your headlights. That, or just buy a car with better illumination.
- You see more of the country than you would on a guided tour
Many people prefer the safety and security of visiting new areas with a tour guide. For me, I don’t like having to follow a particular schedule. Nor do I want to share a minivan with annoying tourists!
I prefer having the freedom to get out in my car and go wherever I want, whenever I like! If you’re thinking of combining your road trip with some guided tours, don’t. Not unless they are tours that you can only do by foot!
- Good food can sometimes be hard to find
One of the cons of going on any road trip is having healthy food to eat. If you’re a junk food lover, you can probably ignore this point. But, eating burgers and fries gets boring and rather unhealthy after a while!
The good news is you can use apps like TripAdvisor on your phone to locate some good eateries. Using your smartphone’s GPS, you can search for restaurants and cafes near to you.
- You’ll soon forget about life in the city
Isn’t it funny how we get so used to the amenities and conveniences of modern life? We tend to forget that people outside of the “big smoke” lead simpler and less stressful lives.
When you’re on a road trip, you’ll no doubt come across many country towns and villages on your travels. Just don’t blame me if you start thinking seriously about a move to the country!
- You might get stuck somewhere because of nature
Last, but not least, there’s one thing you need to remember about road trips. The unexpected can sometimes happen! For example, you could find yourself stuck in a town because of heavy rain or snow. Or they might be some kind of natural disaster blocking the roads out of town.
Still, if that does happen to you, you can make the most of it and be safe at the same time.
Thanks for reading my blog post today. I hope you liked it!