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Road Trip Tips: Best Advice From an 8-Day Trip

Posted on August 1, 2023July 3, 2024 By ~Brandi~ 18 Comments on Road Trip Tips: Best Advice From an 8-Day Trip
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Updated: July 2024

And now for the final installment of this 4 part series… the return trip home and the Best Road Trip Tips we learned from our adventure.

Road Trip Tips

If you haven’t read the prior articles, that’s okay- this article will still make sense. But if you have the time, check them out!

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Table of Contents

  • Road Trip Tips #1- Have a Plan
  • Road Trip Tips #2- Leave Plenty of Time to Drive
  • Road Trip Tips #3- Make Random FUN Stops
  • Road Trip Tips #4- Make Frequent Stops to Stretch + Move
  • Road Trip Tips #5- Take Turns Driving
  • Road Trip Tips #6- Enjoy the Journey

Our final numbers were a little something like- 4000 miles traveled, 12 states visited, and 75 hours of drive time. Here’s what we learned…


Road Trip supplies

Road Trip Tips #1- Have a Plan

Road trip tip #1- Always have a plan. It doesn’t have to be exact or planned down to the minute. But have an idea of how the days will look.

As a reminder, this was the original itinerary…

updated Maine Road Trip sunrises2sunsets.net

We had stuck to the itinerary pretty well, with our biggest deviation in time on day 4 (but back on track on day 5).

We planned on leaving ourselves 3 days to return home at a leisurely pace, with time to do activities along the way. As we fell asleep in a lovely little cottage in Bar Harbor Maine on night 5, we were right on track.

roadtrippers

Road Trip Tips #2- Leave Plenty of Time to Drive

Road trip tip #2 is to plan plenty of time to travel. Being rushed is the worst! One of our miscalculations was drive times because we did not anticipate numerous construction zones along the way.

On our return trip, we had 3 days to cover under 30 hours worth of driving (days 6, 7, and 8). This left us with 10 hours of driving per day at least. We didn’t want a full day of driving on day 8 (arrival home), so we hoped to get more drive time on days 6 and 7.

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Road Trip Tips #3- Make Random FUN Stops

road trip tips winnekenni Castle sunrises2sunsets.net

For the next road trip tip- Finding fun, random stops along the way that you didn’t anticipate is the best part about a road trip! Day 6 was so so much driving, but we managed to squeeze in a quick stop to shop for a gift, visit a castle, and see a cute little rest stop in Pennsylvania.

road trip tips sunrises2sunsets.net

Having time to stop and do random activities along the way is a must! Margaritas in Connecticut, for example, are definitely worth stopping for on the way home!

Road Trip Tips #4- Make Frequent Stops to Stretch + Move

Frequent rest stops are important (at least once every 2 hours for us) to stretch our legs and for doggy potty breaks. Getting out of the vehicle for some movement can help increase blood flow and energy, leaving you feeling rejuvenated and ready for more driving.

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By the 7th day of our road trip vacation, we were both worn down. We drove across Pennsylvania and made stops at a shopping center and then an outdoor equipment center in PA, an outdoor riverside park in West Virginia, and stopped at an Ohio Welcome Center. By 9:30 pm our pilot was ready to stop driving.

road trip tips from pa sunrises2sunsets.net

Road Trip Tips #5- Take Turns Driving

At the end of day 7, I was worried we weren’t close enough to home and had too many hours left to drive on our final day (day 8), so I took over the driving so he could sleep.

This worked out well since I had taken a couple of small naps throughout the day (it’s nearly impossible for me to stay while riding shotgun!)

road trip tips enjoy the journey post sunrises2sunsets.net

I’m new to driving the camper van and still have some anxiety about it. But going through Indiana late at night with only truckers on the road didn’t give me any issues.

Close to midnight we finally called it a night, landing at a rest stop in Indiana, just 8 hours from home.

Road Trip Tips #6- Enjoy the Journey

We woke up on day 8 with only 8 hours left to drive. Leaving out early (by 6 a.m.), we knew we had plenty of time. Which came in handy as we drove by the Gateway Arch and couldn’t resist a quick stop. After 45 minutes of exploring, we were back on the road.

Gateway arch national park sunrises2sunsets.net

We were eager to get home, so our stops were quick ones (convenience stores) to stretch and snack/hydrate. Our home arrival time at 4 p.m. was not as early as I had originally hoped when planning the itinerary but was still enough time to unwind and relax before going back to work the next morning.

road trip tips quote sunrises2sunsets.net

Although our vacation destination was in Maine, we spent more time outside of Maine (3 days in Maine, and 5 days getting to/from Maine).

The entire road trip journey was our “vacation.” We don’t dread the drives to and from places because we know we will enjoy our journey to our destination equally as much.

For a road trip to be truly enjoyable and successful, make sure to enjoy the journey.


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Comments (18) on “Road Trip Tips: Best Advice From an 8-Day Trip”

  1. Lindsey says:
    August 2, 2023 at 8:36 am

    What great ideas! It’s been awhile since I took a good road trip! Thank you for the reminder of how much fun they can be.

    Reply
  2. Carolyn M says:
    August 2, 2023 at 8:48 am

    Best tip: Have a plan! I often seem to leave holes in my itinerary and then find it so hard to figure out what to do when Im sitting in a car with no internet or plan!

    Reply
    1. ~Brandi~ says:
      August 2, 2023 at 3:52 pm

      It’s a difficult balance to learn at first- Have enough planned to fill the time effectively, but not over planned and feeling rushed.

      Reply
  3. Pamela says:
    August 2, 2023 at 8:55 am

    Great tips hopefully our next road trip will be much better. Thanks for sharing

    Reply
  4. Belle says:
    August 2, 2023 at 8:57 am

    Oh my gosh what perfect timing! We are flying into Boston at the end of the month and doing an 8 day roadtrip! Thank you so much for this!

    Reply
  5. Sarah @ Exploring All Genres says:
    August 2, 2023 at 10:50 am

    Excellent list of road trip tips. Frequent stops for leg stretches are a must whenever we go on a road trip. Plus sometimes you can catch amazing views or random neat attractions by doing this.

    Reply
  6. Courtney Young says:
    August 2, 2023 at 11:15 am

    This was such a well written post! I love the tip to stop and stretch – so often on road trips, you don’t take time to enjoy the ride! Thanks for sharing this!

    Reply
  7. Susan says:
    August 2, 2023 at 11:22 am

    What a great trip! This would be a dream vacation for me, eating up miles and miles across the country in a comfy RV and seeing all the fun sights!

    Reply
    1. ~Brandi~ says:
      August 2, 2023 at 3:51 pm

      It is a dream of ours too (with many more adventures and trips to come!)

      Reply
  8. Cindy Bowden says:
    August 2, 2023 at 11:45 am

    Ohhh, you are so right! I don’t make fun random stops. I’m usually on a mission to get to my destination. Thanks for the info!

    Reply
  9. Yufi Mukut says:
    August 2, 2023 at 12:25 pm

    Thank you for these very useful tips.

    Reply
  10. Debbie says:
    August 2, 2023 at 3:15 pm

    Great road trip tips! I like planning the best. I’m totally a planner and enjoy having a clear idea of what’s next in my travels.

    Reply
    1. ~Brandi~ says:
      August 2, 2023 at 3:50 pm

      saaaaaame. I’m a recovering over-planner trying to find the balance between spontaneous and fully planned.

      Reply
  11. Maria says:
    August 2, 2023 at 5:44 pm

    As someone who hates driving, I would definitely need a plan and a good audiobook or companion. Thanks for the article

    Reply
  12. Roselne Beusch says:
    August 3, 2023 at 1:15 pm

    Lovely share thanks so much,road trips can be tough especially long road trips, but it helps if there is more than one person driving so you can always change places,having said that, the end is always worth it.

    Reply
  13. Maryanne says:
    August 8, 2023 at 7:49 am

    Awesome trip – lots of fun. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  14. Tracy McHugh says:
    August 8, 2023 at 4:36 pm

    Great post! Loved the part about making random stops for fun. I’ve done several road trips and always tried finding things not too far off the path. Makes the endless driving more fun.

    Reply
  15. Lani says:
    September 2, 2023 at 8:07 am

    Great tips. Thanks for this.

    Reply

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