How To Organize A Cross Country Trip By Car

Taking a cross country trip by car can be an exciting experience and a lot of fun, but it also takes a good deal of organization to help make the trip as pleasant and fun as possible. For those looking for some helpful tips on how to organize a cross-country trip by car these few suggestions may prove helpful.

The first thing you want to do when organizing a cross country road trip is establish your starting and ending destination, how long the trip will be and who will be accompanying you, and which of those people will be helping drive.

Next you want to establish rules for the trip. Who is going to help pay for gas and will this be divided equally? Does everyone pay for their own meals, laundry and motel room or will these costs all be divided equally. You are also going to want to make sure that everyone has enough extra money for incidentals and for those charges at national parks or other places where you stop. Will smoking be allowed in the car and if not how often will you be stopping to accommodate those who smoke.

Once you have your destination planned out then you are going to want to plan your route to where you are going and unless you are following the same route coming back the route back as well. Taking one route to your destination and one route home allows you to see more of the countryside.

Next you are going to want to mark those must see sights (f.e. if you pass the city of Princeton, you can't leave before paying the famous university a visit) where you absolutely want to stop for an extended period of time as well as a list of possible short side trips for when you have extra time. Let everyone have a say in the stops so that everyone will feel a part of the trip.

Whenever possible accommodate everyone's interests so that the trip will be more enjoyable for all. You may even want to plan the routes early and give everyone a map so that they can do a bit of research to see what interesting things there are to see and do along the route and make suggestions before you make a final decision of where to stop. Here at boston2portland.com know just how important it is to find those out of the way places to experience and you may find some helpful suggestions on doing so when you browse this site.

Since your cross-country trip will be a long one make sure that you include several unplanned days where everyone can just kick back and relax. You may want to drive shorter distances on these days or not at all. Also, keep in mind that there will be some days where you only drive a few hours and others where you may be in the car 10 or 12 hours or more. On those longer driving days make sure that you stop several times to take 20 to 30 minute breaks so everyone can stretch their legs.

Bring along a list of hotels along your route and call ahead the day before to make reservations if you are planning on staying in motels on your cross-country trip. If tent camping make sure you mark the campgrounds along your route.

With a little organization and planning that cross-country trip by car can be the vacation of a lifetime.