For the most part, road trips are a lot of fun. But planning one can involve a lot of hard work to ensure that you’ll get the most out of your trip. After all, you don’t want to spend most of your most-awaited road trip driving aimlessly or trying to solve issues you are unprepared for. Planning a road trip can be overwhelming and difficult, especially for beginners. Fortunately, a dealership in Albuquerque, NM, shares several practical tips that will help take the stress away from planning the ultimate road trip adventure.
The target destination is the starting point of planning.
If you plan to take a road trip with family or friends, the first thing that gets asked is where you want to go. This question is less of a problem if you plan to visit a single town or city. However, if you genuinely want to get the most out of your vacation days, a cross-country road trip should be the goal. You and your travel buddies should agree on which general region of the US you would want to go to. This way, you can create a route map for all the sights and attractions you want to see, plot a reasonable timeframe for each visit, and create a budget, so nobody accidentally overspends.
The road trip route map wholly depends on your travel style.
How do you plan to get to your destination? Is it by car, RV, motorhome, or SUV? Are you planning to book an Airbnb, check into a hotel, pitch your tent, or stay inside your vehicle for some good night’s sleep? These questions are easy to answer if you’re traveling solo, but your travel style must match with your buddies if you’re traveling with friends. Nobody wants to spend long hours on the road with some very cranky souls simply because you all failed to mesh your travel styles. A car dealer in Albuquerque, NM, says that different travel styles can also dictate the entire duration of your road trip. Travel buddies with completely opposing styles might want to opt for a shorter trip.
Use different apps and tools to plan your route.
With today’s technology, plenty of advanced tools and downloadable apps can help you plot out your route toward the target destination. Some people like to wing it and depend on their GPS-enabled vehicles to guide the way. Unfortunately, many agree that GPS services are not 100% reliable. Seasoned travelers recommend that beginners download at least two navigation apps on their mobile phones just in case.
Roadtrippers is an excellent app from Google Playstore that lets you use Google Maps to find the best routes. If you are an iOS user, you should check out the OnTheWay app. Both apps also suggest the best stops and exciting sights you might want to visit. Planning your routes using apps and tools can also save fuel in the long run. Other veteran road-trippers also recommend packing a map or a road atlas since these do not rely on battery power and are more useful in cases where there’s no way to charge your drained mobile devices.
Check if your chosen route is safe for your vehicle.
It is obvious but still needs to be said: not all roads are the same, so you should check if your vehicle is suitable for a specific route. For example, a sedan is not ideal for off-road driving, and a campervan will only bring headaches and stress when driven through narrow paths and alleyways. In addition, your vehicle can also affect your driving time. You can’t exactly expect to go at full speed over rough terrains if your car is not 4WD. If you are bringing along cargo (e.g., boat, trailer, or something similar), you should expect to drive at a slower speed limit.
Check out the Fiesta Volkswagen dealer in Albuquerque, NM, for more helpful road trip tips.
