How to plan a successful and memorable road trip
With domestic tourism set to increase in the wake of both Brexit and the growing environmental movement, the minds of Britain’s vacationers are increasingly turning to exploratory delves into their own country for family holidays. And up there with the finest and most exciting trips – as well as the simplest to take from your door to the doors of faraway towns and villages – is the road trip. In this guide, you’ll discover how to best plan your trip, taking in all that you wish to see on the British Isles, exploring your own country from the comfort of your car.
Maps and Routes
A road trip is all about maps and routes. In the modern era, most of us feel comfortable navigating through our phones – whether with satellite navigation or by scrolling around on Google Maps. But be aware: a road trip can take you into forests with no signal, or highland areas where you’re not going to secure a 4G reception for miles on end. Meanwhile, your phone relies on charge to deliver you some mapping help.
The tip here, therefore, is twofold. On the one hand, it pays to download some of the maps you expect to use from your phone, so they’re available offline – and to have a plug-in phone charger too. It should go without saying that the driver of a motor vehicle should never use their phone while driving. Meanwhile, you should consider investing in a book on UK road maps. Not only can these be exciting for your fellow passengers to flick through, but they may well divert you to sights and scenes that you wouldn’t otherwise be aware of on your phone’s maps – like standing stones, breweries, or garden centres.
Planning the Trip
More holistically, you’re also going to want to plan the entirety of your trip before you head out onto the open road. Free spirits and those in love with the spontaneity of travel may shirk at this advice – until they’re stuck in an inhospitable area, far from lodgings, with the night drawing in and the rain hammering down. At least having the basics – like where you expect to stay each night, and where you might be able to stop for food – can help you avoid such dismal scenarios.
There’s another side to trip planning that you might find useful if you’re embarking on the sort of UK road trip that’ll take you from Exeter up to Scotland and back: road and ferry crossing opening times and fees. Use a time duration calculator to understand when you can expect to be arriving at certain tolls and terminals, and then you can make sure to book ahead for certain journeys – especially ferry rides, which can be unexpectedly expensive last-minute – not to mention full, scuppering your plans to sail to Ireland, or the Scottish Isles.
Packing Essentials
You may be of the opinion that your road trip enables you to take everything you could possibly want with you, bar the kitchen sink. While, of course, you’re pleasantly unrestricted by the kind of luggage allowance that you’re permitted on airplanes, you’re still advised not to go overboard on your packing. It’s deeply frustrating to be poking around in your car’s boot for minutes on end trying to find something important for your trip: it’s far better to slim down your packing, and to know where everything’s stored from the outset of your trip.
Nonetheless, there are some extra comforts that you should pack on your trip. With no need to worry about liquids, you’ll be able to pack more make-up and toiletries on your trip – they don’t take up too much room, but can provide those creature comforts that you may be deprived of on other international trips. Meanwhile, you may wish to pack some in-car entertainment for longer trips – whether that’s in the form of pocket games, puzzles, books or tablets to help your passengers enjoy the ride as much as you. Last, but not least, make sure to prepare a epic road trip playlist.
See the Unseen
A road trip is an opportunity for you to visit and understand the smaller pockets of the UK that are less served by long-haul bus, coach and train journeys. You’ll also be rewarded for only visiting smaller urban areas by skipping traffic and parking restrictions, and by avoiding the more expensive hotels and guest houses that exist in some of the country’s biggest cities. Head into the unknown to see the unseen and to leave with a uniquely developed view of Great Britain in the twenty-first century.
These tips should help any family plan for a UK road trip that’ll be full of unforgettable stories, and wonderfully free from hassle.
