Tips for Road Trippers

Since I've been a "roadie" for over twenty years, I decided to share with you some of the tips I've learned and practiced since I began in 1991.  If you don't ever plan to drive from point A to point B with a distance of over 300 miles between them, then I guess you can skip the next couple of columns.  Otherwise, here are some ways to make your trip a lot more enjoyable and inclusive.

Tips for Road Trippers

1. Start planning early: It is never too soon to start planning for a road trip.  Choose a preferred route, but don’t be too specific about it. List all the major attractions you want to see along the way (cities, parks, natural wonders, people) and try to put all of them in a sequence to get the most efficient and least expensive itinerary.

2. Use a map and an online mapping service:  Use state maps for your trip and use a highlight pen to mark your route once you have a good idea of how you want to travel the roads.  Whoever is your navigator will have a good guide to follow. Use online mapping to plan the route, but then copy it onto a physical paper map for reference.  You’ll probably use a GPS too, so you can use both references to crosscheck the route.  Mapquest or GoogleMap are both good free online aids.

3. Check for accommodations along the route: If you are going to stay in hotels, choose a chain of hotels with a good rewards program. Sign up online to join the program if you aren’t already a member, and try to choose their properties.  You should try to join at least two rewards programs for two different chains to expand your choices.  Membership alone doesn’t provide price discounts, but the discounted rooms for AAA, AARP, seniors, etc., do qualify for rewards points. Most hotel chains have seasonal promotions that award extra points for multiple stays to get reward nights (free) for every two paid nights.  Some also offer gas cards for multi-stays.  Hint: Once you get a good number of reward points, you can use the points instead of dollars and save the cost of hotel rooms for some of the nights you’re on the trip. Some hotel chains will allow you to convert from dollars to rewards points en route if you give a few days notice, but don’t attempt to convert at the hotel desk when you check in.  All such conversions must be handled at the reservation center via phone.  If you are a camper, your goal is to locate campsites on your route, and depending on the season, many good ones fill up early, which is another reason to start planning in advance (see step 1 above). 

4. Look for possible attractions along your route:  First, use your favorite search engine entering the search term “road trip attractions.” You will get a huge number of sites, but some will narrow the search down to a particular country, state, province or region.  If the Continental United States is your playground, two good sites you can visit directly are Road Trip America and Roadside America. Choose a radius, say 20 miles, from your main route of travel to stay generally along the route while still meandering a little to take in the sights.  The second way is to use Google Maps in the "Earth" mode, with the "photos" label checked.  In the upper right-hand corner of the map is a square that says "Satellite."  Place your cursor over it and it will open a new "Earth" square alongside. Below that will be a menu showing a "photos" option. Click on that and then on the "Earth" picture and the map will change to a contour map with lots of little squares on it.  Each is a picture that someone has placed on the map indicating some sight they saw and photographed.  If you zoom in with either the sliding scale on the left of the map or your scroll mouse, you will see even more photos. Some of my best attractions have come from seeking out those sites on my trips.             

5. Set daily mileage goals and make reservations: Travel only 200-300 miles each day unless you are traveling to get into position for your active sightseeing.  Then you could travel 500-miles-per day on interstate highways to reach your "starting point."  Once you feel comfortable with your planned route, even though you might make some changes to it, go ahead and reserve your hotel/motel rooms or campsites.  Campsites and lodges at National Parks always fill up early, so it is reasonable to reserve during the winter for summer trips.  If you reserve hotel rooms, there is a possibility that the rates you get will be reduced before you travel, so keep in touch with the reservation center to take advantage of seasonal specials.  Hint: Some hotels will give a better rate if you call direct rather than booking online or by calling the reservation center. Just make sure to have them enter your rewards number so you get points for the stay.

This is only the start of your planning.  There will be more tips in a following column.