How to Plan a Spectacular Road Trip!

Planning a road trip can be such an overwhelming task! I have found myself many times completely overwhelmed and shut down, in an attempt to plan the PERFECT road trip. Over time one thing I have realized is there is no such thing as a perfect trip. Life happens, even on vacation, and it’s all about being flexible!

I have come up with a method to plan a trip in portions that allows me to avoid overwhelm and decision fatigue. Some of the ways that I plan a vacation are things that I learned from my mom. She is the one who has inspired my love of travel and desire to experience the world. As I plan more vacations and learn more about the planning process, I’ve made minor changes to my method. Overall, it remains the same: destination, route, lodging, and finish with an itinerary.

Destination

The first step to plan the ultimate road trip is to pick your destination. There could be one destination, such as our Miami Rolling Loud trip, or multiple destinations such as the Fab 5 (+1) trip. Read more about the Fab 5(+1) road trip here.

I almost always have a long list of places that I would love to visit! Often these destinations are National Parks, a city that is hosting an event I want to attend, or a place that has activities I want to do. I find new destinations to add to the list on sites such as Pinterest, Instagram, and TikTok.

The Route

After I have decided on where we are going, I move into mapping the route for the road trip.

I use Google Maps to help me plan the road trip my route. I find the app to be reliable and simple to use, and love the ability to download maps for offline use. The app is available for Android and iPhones.

Once I have a rough idea of our route, I will begin to break it into sections. On our full travel days, we will drive 10-13 hours before stopping for the night.

I will find a location on that map that would put us driving around 10-13 hours. I begin to look for a city or town that has accommodations for the night. If the weather permits, we like to find campgrounds and car camp. If camping in our car is not an option we will find other lodging options, usually a hotel. I have a post all about car camping must haves here.

Lodging at the Destination

After deciding on our destination and route of the road trip I will find a place for us to stay while we are at our destination. Finding the place to stay before planning the itinerary allows for me to have a “home base” during our vacation.

I begin searching all types of accommodations for the dates that we will be visiting our destination. We have stayed in many different hotels and short-stay rental homes. What we are looking for in accommodations can vary with each road trip. The total cost of the stay and location are the two things I focus on most when booking.

For a longer stay in one destination, we may opt for lodging that would allow us to prepare our meals and include a yard for the dogs. If we are in a destination for only one or two nights a hotel would likely be the more cost-efficient option for us.

The ideal location does vary depending on the specifics of the trip. If we are planning to explore a city in full, a centrally located stay would be ideal. If the trip is to attend a specific event or National Park, the ideal location would be close to the event grounds or park entrance.

Itinerary

When I have settled on the destination, route, and place to stay I get into the most fun part of the trip-planning process- the itinerary! I have learned to use an itinerary more as a guide on our trip rather than a rigid schedule. It can be hard to know exactly how long it may take you to visit certain attractions or wait times at restaurants. I tend to fill our days with a ton of activities and know that we may not get to everything on our list.

I find it helpful to divide the activities and attractions into a few different categories. These categories include things that we don’t want to miss, things we would like to do, and last things that we would be okay missing. This takes the pressure off to be constantly running around, and not taking the time to truly enjoy what you are visiting just to complete a schedule.

I’m kind of old-school and like to handwrite everything. I use a notebook or small binder to keep everything together and bring it along on the road trip. Bringing a handwritten copy of the itinerary saves my phone battery, makes it easier for John to look up, and allows my brain to focus more on the trip than the schedule.

The List

The first step in creating an itinerary is to list out all the attractions and activities that interest you. For us, this often includes landmarks, tours, restaurants, and even stores. After creating the list of all the things, I begin researching each item on the list. My research includes prices, approximate time to visit, dog-friendliness, and general location.

I find it easiest to group places and things that are close together. When points of interest are grouped by location you spend less time getting around and more time enjoying your surroundings. Then separate the activities further into can’t miss, would like to see, and okay with missing categories.

The Calendar

I find it easiest to create a calendar block of the dates we will be on vacation. The calendar Includes our driving days with approximate arrival and departure times. Keep the addresses of your lodging to prevent frantically searching for an email.

Around the calendar, include alternate things to do each day. In the event of a closure, an activity that did not take as much time as anticipated or any other reason that you may need more ideas to fill the itinerary. Use the list of things you would be okay with missing for your alternate activities.

Now that the calendar is filled, all that remains is to enjoy the vacation!