When it comes to traveling many people have chosen to forgo expensive luxury strips in high-end hotels or long flights across the world to explore their own backyard instead. If you live in the United States, it proves quite difficult to explore your backyard as you live in one of the largest countries in the world. But nothing strikes the imaginary more than the profoundly American experience of the cross-country road trip. So, let’s explore the world of American road-tripping and look at everything you should know before you hit the road for the experience of a lifetime. You might be surprised at how much there is to see and how much there is to do in a country that you consider your home.
If you’ve watched any road trip movies, you might be inspired by their whimsical approach to road tripping to simply hit the road running and not look back. But the reality is much different. Like any other trip, you should plan and make sure that you remember everything as you start rolling. Thankfully if your road trip inside your own country it’s quite easy to simply stop at a convenience store and buy whatever you need but the reality is that you will want to spend as little money as possible since like every trip it will cost you a lot of money. Speaking of money, it might be important to understand what you will spend most of your money on as you travel.
Ideally what you want to do is make sure that you travel in the least costly way possible. Simply by thinking the road you are already saving a lot of money that could be spent on expensive plane tickets, but the next step is to consider where you will sleep. If you’re lucky enough to be able to travel with a fifth wheel you are already solving your issue right, there but if you are somebody who is road-tripping in a car your options are a bit different. You can either spend a lot of money on motels or hotels or get ready to go camping. You will find that generally in the United States camping spots are much less expensive than hotel rooms and you might even be able to simply park your car somewhere for the night although we do not recommend that option.
While traveling inside the United States a car is pretty easy considering that the country is built around the use of cars you can understand that your life relies on your car working. You should get your car checked at a mechanic and not do it yourself just in case you missed something. Nobody wants to get stuck in the middle of a highway or find out what happens when you drive with too much oil in the middle of a traffic jam. Making sure that your car is both in good condition and improperly insured is a great way to start your road trip on a positive note. You will find though that gas prices vary wildly from one state to another which might take a bit of a chunk out of your budget. Thankfully as you travel inside the United States you will find that AAA will have your back no matter where you are.
If you are somebody who enjoys life and maybe a little bit of substance use, you will find that while many states are cannabis friendly others are not. This is why you should plan your route out of time to make sure that you are not crossing border lines that could put you in big trouble if found with these types of substances on your person or inside your vehicle. This of course goes for many other sets of laws but you should be aware of them before you enter another state. While it might seem silly to many people the reality is that the ignorance of the law does not justify you breaking them for law enforcement. Just put every odd in your favor by making sure that you are prepared ahead of time.
One thing that you will notice is that most large attractions in the United States are very far apart which means that you will be doing a lot of driving. If you are driving with someone else, you should alternate to make sure that you do not drive more than two hours at once. According to many studies, two hours is the peak of vigilance when driving and you should rest between 2-hour chunks of driving. This might seem short for people who are used to doing a lot of routes, but this is simply a way to make sure that you stay safe and protect those you are road-tripping with. After all the most important thing during your trip is to have fun and stay safe.