Oftentimes when I start to plan a getaway, I decide to road trip it, even if it’s going to mean logging a lot of miles. Sure, a plane is quicker, but you can’t visit the states you’re flying over and there’s no better way to see all of the USA, than to drive it.
Cost
Once you’ve decided on a destination, you can use google maps to estimate how many miles worth of gas you’ll likely need. I’ve found that my nightly hotel stays and gas fill-ups are often less than the cost of a plane ticket. BeFrugal has a Fly or Drive calculator that can help you decide which option would be more cost efficient for you, depending on your vacation location and starting point. For instance, using their calculator, I discovered that a round trip flight for one to Tampa from Nashville would cost around $873 per person, once you include the fees and rides to and from the airport for the trip. Driving round trip in a Hyundai Sonata, and stopping to sleep in a hotel after 7 hours, would cost $290.
Seeing the Sites
Driving to your destination allows your entire trip to be your vacation. As long as you don’t try to adhere to a strict itinerary with everything planned down to the exact hour, you can explore a lot of the country you live in along the way. Once you have your route set, you can look for historical sites and other stops that may be photo worthy. Take the time to stop and enjoy roadside scenic lookouts you’ll pass by on the highway. RoadsideAmerica is a great website for searching quick stops along your route. You can plot a route or map a city to find everything from large roadside sculptures to weird museums.
Famous Eats
Part of the fun of a good vacation is ditching all the mundane dishes we have day in and day out for some fare with some flair. TV FoodMaps has a search tool which shows you all the restaurants along your route that have been featured on television. If you click on the title, it will expand to explain what the business is famous (or infamous) for, and what you should expect if you show up.
Hotels
I typically have a main destination in mind when I plan these trips. I know I’ll be spending a significant amount of time in that area, so I book a room in advance for the nights I plan to stay there. In the Nashville to Tampa scenario, I’d book my hotel stay on the beach for four nights, giving myself enough time to enjoy the trip along the way. That means I’d head out from Nashville and plan to stay the night in Georgia after several hours of driving, but I wouldn’t book that room just yet. As long as you’re flexible about what town you’re snoozing in, it will be fairly easy to find accommodations the night you need them. Sites like TripAdvisor are a great way to find hotels near you, even when you’re not familiar with the area. You can also use the site to check out reviews and make sure you’re not getting into a bedbug infested facility where all of the employees tap dance and do magic tricks. *shudders*
If you want to see as much of this land as possible, road trips are the way to go.