Vacations You Can Afford: Road Trips

I love road trips. Maybe it's the freedom of the open road, or seeing things you'd never see by flying. Whatever it is, a road trip is something I'm always up for. 

At the same time, though, there is a certain amount of "fear" that goes into a road trip. But it's mainly something like being crammed into a car with people for hours at a time, or fighting with your siblings over something meaningless like who sits where. Don't pretend like you don't know what I'm talking about.

Why go on a road trip?

Why not? It's cheaper than paying full price for a plane ticket and hotel stays. Plus, there are several ways you can make them even cheaper:

• Bring your own food/snacks/drinks. This saves time and you'll spend less at restaurants. This could also mean your road trip will be a little healthier (ya know, instead of having that greasy fast food day-in and day-out).
• Travel with others. The more you can pool your resources with others the cheaper everything will be. Split the gas two, three, four ways. Split a hotel room. Split a meal. Everyone wins!  
• Use a cash back travel credit card like the Barclaycard Arrival Plus or the Blue Cash Preferred from American Express. Doing this has the potential to cut the cost of the trip by quite a bit. 

I started thinking about writing this blog when I read another blog about computing the optimal road trip across the U.S. This kind of stuff amazes me. Why not hit up all 48 contiguous states? And if there's an "optimal" route to take - even better (cause I'd probably do more of a zig-zag pattern). The first optimal route this blogger had his computer figure out takes you to major landmarks in the 48 continental states. The second one takes you to a major city in each of those states.  

Back in reality, unless you're retired or have a lot of vacation time, you probably won't be able do either of these routes. Like he says in the blog (link above) driving the optimal route(s) would realistically take 2-3 months! 

Where should you drive?

Oh gosh, anywhere (except to Europe or Hawaii. That would be silly)! A popular road trip route to take in the Chicago area is a trip around the Great Lakes. From the DFW area? Hit up a few landmarks or cities in Texas. From Houston? Drive along the Gulf Coast to Florida. Live in LA or Seattle? Drive up or down the Pacific. Live somewhere else? Hit up Route 66. I can probably go on (but I won't).

Most vacations I went on growing up were in a car. After I grew up, if you don't already know, I've moved long distance twice. Once from Illinois to Florida, and the second from Florida to Texas. Both times, I made little road trips out of the move. And because of that I can say I've seen Nashville, Atlanta, Gainesville, Tallahassee, Pensacola, New Orleans, and Houston.

The possibilities are endless. The route you take is up to you. What route would you like to take for your next road trip?

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