It’s something magical about going on a road trip. It’s the adventure, the spontaneity, and the freedom of not have a fixed schedule that makes a road trip so much fun. And if traveling together with others, you’ll create lots of fun memories together.
You’re much freer when going on a road trip since you can decide when and where you want to go, and how long you want to stay. There are so many times that I’ve been sitting on a bus or a train and been looking out through the window and seen the most beautiful view, and just couldn’t stop and get out to enjoy it – that’s something you don’t have to worry about when going on a road trip.
With a rental car, it’s possible to stop along the way and explore at your own pace. Just be spontaneous and take a random exit off the highway and experience less explored places off the beaten path.
If you’re thinking about going on a road trip, but feel a bit unsure if you should or not, here are 15 reasons why I think everyone should go on a road trip!
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1. You don’t have a fixed schedule
One of the best things about road trips is that you don’t have a fixed schedule. I think many people can agree that it’s not fun to spend time at the airport or wait for the bus or train when traveling to your next destination. Next departure might be in more than an hour, or you might want to go back earlier, but there are no bus or train that can make that possible for you.
If you travel by car, this is not an issue since you can be more spontaneous about when you want to go and leave.
2. It’s much easier to discover hidden gems
Another reason why you should go on a road trip is that it’s much more convenient and easy to discover hidden gems along the road. Some of the best places I’ve seen during my travels is when we have been stopping at random places or towns along the way, just to see something new.
During our last road trip we drove through Germany, and along the way from the famous Neuschwanstein Castle in Bayern, we stopped by a town called Meersburg. A charming little town along the waterfront filled with colorful houses, flowers and cozy cafes and restaurants.
I mean, just look at the pictures below. Such a charming town! Later on, we read more about Meersburg and realized that this hidden gem wasn’t so hidden, it was quite popular among tourists. But if we hadn’t had our car and stopped there, we would just have passed by it.
3. More traveling for your money
If you compare to group trips and package tours, it’s often much cheaper to rent a car on your own and explore. This is especially true if you explore outside cities and go to more distant towns and places. You get an amazing experience at the same time as you’re saving money – and if you travel together with 3-4 friends, it’s going to be even cheaper!
4. You can listen to any music that you like
Even if you’re not going on a road trip, you can always bring your headphones and listen to whatever music you like whenever you like. But, I must say that there’s nothing like listening to music in the car and blast the speakers high and sing along to your favorites songs.
You can always make your own playlists with all those old songs that are perfect to set a good mood for your road trip.
If you go on a long road trip it’s a good idea to have a couple of playlists ready, since you don’t want to get bored by all the songs. And it’s also a good idea to have your playlists in offline mode (on Spotify), so you can listen to them when the WiFi connection is bad.
5. To go on a road trip is an adventure in itself
Even though you plan every single day of your road trip, you can never be 100% sure about what’s going to happen (unless you can see into the future). As soon as you hop into that car and start driving towards your first destination, the adventure has begun!
6. It’s easy to change your plans and be spontaneous
This is definitely one of my favorite reasons to go on a road trip. When traveling by car, you can decide where and when you want to drive. If something happens along the way it’s always easy to make some changes to the plans and make the best out of the situation.
Alex and I planned to go to Switzerland during our recent road trip in Europe, but we changed our mind when we heard that May is the month that’s the most ”boring” to visit the Swiss Alps. Thanks to us having a rental car, we just could make some changes and travel a bit longer in Germany and Italy instead.
7. It’s an opportunity to bond with your travel companions
It does not matter if you are traveling with your partner, with your friends or the whole family, you will develop a stronger bond since you’re going to spend so much time together in a short period. You’re going to hang out 24/7 so you’ll learn more things about each other and see new sides of each other’s personalities.
One of my best tips to keep a good mood is to always have some snacks and drinks with you. Otherwise, it’s easy to get ”hangry” (angry/annoyed when you’re hungry).
8. You set the pace yourself
In this one, I’m not counting the speed limit, which you should always keep since they’ve put the speed limit there for a reason. However, you can always decide how fast or slow you want to travel. If you want to stay at a place for several hours, no worries, you don’t have to adjust for buses or a tour itinerary.
9. You create memories for life
The fact that you create so many good memories from a road trip is one of the best things about this experience. Many of my best memories of traveling the world has come from road trips, simply because it’s so much fun! You can see so much in a short time, and there’s always something to see along the way or something random that happens that will make you look back at it and laugh.
10. There are several beautiful rest areas
There are so many more rest areas beyond the boring gas stations and the ones with dirty toilets. Along the way, there are several rest areas with amazing views and scenery where you easily can spend a couple of hours and just relax with some food and something to drink.
Just look at this resting area that we found while driving around in Austria! So beautiful :)
11. You become a more spontaneous person after a road trip
When going on a road trip it’s so much easier to be spontaneous. When it’s easier to go to a place, the chance is much bigger that you will say YES and go there. You can say that spontaneity comes naturally when going on a road trip.
I’ve noticed from going on road trips that I say yes to more things and adventures.
12. Your self-confidence will get a boost while traveling on your own
It doesn’t really matter if you’re traveling by car, bus, train or by foot, you’ll end up with a boosted self-confidence when you travel the world on your own. This is actually proved by several studies, and it’s quite logical.
You plan everything on your own, and make sure that the trip goes as planned on your own. All this results in a feeling of success and that you’ve made an accomplishment.
13. You can drive towards nicer weather
One of the best things about going on a road trip is that you can always drive towards better weather. When Alex and I traveled around Iceland in a camper van it was a bit cloudy the most of the days. We wanted to see the northern lights and that’s not possible if the sky is cloudy, so we just drove for 2 hours and found a spot that was cloud free, and we could see the magical Aurora Borealis dancing all over the sky.
14. You’ll become better at handling stress and solving problems
While traveling, unexpected things can happen, even on a road trip. Your car can break down, the tires can get a puncture, roads can be closed, and there’s often a big change of traffic jams, which is not so much fun. All of these things that might happen along your journey will improve your ability to handle stress and solve problems – something that’s useful for the rest of your life!
15. Car games
If you’ve ever been on a road trip as a child, then you’re probably a bit familiar with car games. It’s a good way to make time go faster, especially when driving long distances or when you’re stuck in traffic (just don’t let the game distract the driver). Many of the typical games are some kind of challenge where you compete with the other people in the car, so it’s best if you’re not a bad loser when it comes to these games.
Some popular car games include: Collect car brands, counting cows, car numberplate game, storytelling, and yellow car etc.
Find a rental car abroad or in your own country
Did you know that you can compare and find the best car rental deals at Momondo.com? Momondo compares rental card from all different kinds of car rental companies and shows you the best prices and deals.
You can for example filter what kind of car you want, how many passengers, if you want an automatic or manual car, and pick up place etc. You can also filter the results by price, and the comparison takes just a few seconds – and there you get a full list with both prices and type of car.
Sometimes it’s cheaper to fly abroad and then rent a car
If you’re going on a road trip in Austria for example, and you start from Sweden, it doesn’t really make sense to rent a car in Sweden and drive all the way down to Austria. It will not only cost you money to get there but also a lot of time. If you’re going on a road trip abroad, it’s most of the times more convenient to fly there and pick up your rental car at the airport.
You can find the cheapest flights here
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