What’s So Good About Taking A Road Trip?

Our first family road trip was in 2018 when we visited the east side of Canada. Initially I just wanted to revisit Toronto after spending a summer there whilst at university working on a visa organised through the BUNAC scheme. However, quickly Montreal and Quebec City were added onto the wish list, and the idea for taking a road trip was born. The result was such an enjoyable experience that our family fell in love with road trips. So, what’s so good about taking a road trip?

Some of the best things about road trips are….

The obvious – Road trips allow you to see more than one place

This is probably the most obvious benefit of taking a road trip, but they allow you to visit more than one place, or several destinations on one trip. This, in turn, provides more variety and means that everything is not riding on one hotel or destination being perfect.

I find that road trips cater to my ‘fear of missing out’ as, if I were to be based in one place, I would be worried about what I might be missing elsewhere. Obviously, I know you can’t see everything on a holiday, but I do like to come home knowing that I’ve seen as much as possible.

Road trips help you get a better overview of a country or region

On a road trip, because you are moving around, you will get a better overview of the geography and landscapes of your destination country as you travel. You will see the scenery change and notice regional differences as you travel.

Taking a road trip also allows you to get away from the main tourist sites and ‘behind the scenes’ of a place. It’s not just what you see in the cities, it’s about the countryside that surrounds them, and what’s in between – the sum of the parts offering a greater overall insight.

You will see things that you might otherwise have missed

When you’re travelling on the road, you’ll notice the scenery changing – I love seeing an open road with a big sky in front of me, watching how the landscape changes from hour to hour, and keeping watch for wildlife near the side of the road.

On a recent road trip in the Canada Badlands and Prairies, we were joined by coyotes, white tailed deer, curious cows, and horses along our journey. In Australia it was kangaroos in the road, and in Costa Rica we stopped for groups of people looking up into trees trying to spot sloths.

Road trips allow you to fully tailor your itinerary

Putting a road trip together allows you to create an itinerary fully tailored to what you want to do – which places to stay in, the number of days you spend there, how far you drive each day, where you have pitstops, what you do and see along the way.

You can plan your road trip down to the last minute, or you can leave your plans quite fluid to allow you a greater degree of freedom, whichever you prefer.

In our case, because we have mainly been taking a road trip as a family, then we have planned the road trips to see as much as possible in school holiday time periods. Despite being quite tightly planned, we have been able to stop and take breaks, make detours to see something which has caught our eye, or change our plans if a change would benefit our itinerary.

There’s something evocative about a road trip

There’s a reason why so many writers have penned successful books about taking road trips, such as On The Road (Kerouac), On The Road with Charlie (Steinbeck), or The Motorcycle Diaries (Ernesto Che Guevara). Similarly, there are umpteen films using the road trip as a platform – Little Miss Sunshine, Sideways, Nomadland, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Green Book, Thelma and Louise.

Pardon the pun, but the road trip format seems to be the perfect ‘vehicle’ for the characters to evolve on a journey – maybe they are running from something, maybe they are heading somewhere specific, or maybe they don’t know where they are going, but overall, they usually learn quite a bit about themselves along the way.

You will feel like you’re in your own movie or film script!

Road trips feel like an adventure

Embarking on a road trip always feels like an adventure – there is an excitement to finding out ‘what’s around the next corner’, what’s waiting for you at the next hotel, or at your next stop.

As a result, the possibility of taking a road trip often appeals to the curious, and those ever hopeful of finding a hidden gem, or a local experience which resonates with them.

I find that on a road trip, your mind is always moving forward and thinking about where you are and what you are experiencing, what you’ve left behind and where you’re going next, which effects a total switch off from normal life. Even a week on the road can feel like you’ve been away for ages.

What are the caveats?

You’ve got to like driving!

This goes without saying, but you’ve really got to like driving to enjoy taking a road trip. As importantly you need to be a confident driver, particularly if you are going to be driving on the opposite of the road to normal, or on roads which are not in great condition.

The scope of your road trip is limited by practicalities

Whilst road trips allow you to cover a lot of ground and visit several places on your trip, you can obviously only drive a certain number of miles each day and still enjoy your time. There is therefore a limit to how far you can travel in the period of your trip. If you were flying, then you would have further reach, but miss everything between A and B, so it’s a trade-off.

There will be highs and lows on your road trip

If you are taking a road trip for a few weeks, then the reality is that you will have highs and lows – there will be some places that you like better than others, some days which go more smoothly than others, and some roads which are more enjoyable to drive than others. But at least every day will be different.

There is no time to get bored on a road trip, and no two days are the same – just always something new to observe and experience. Don’t be afraid of the lows, as they can often make some of the strongest, and occasionally funniest memories after the event.

Road trips are not for everyone, or for all times

This format of holiday is not for everyone. Road trips take a lot of planning (particularly when travelling with your kids) and may seem exhausting to some. Sometimes, you just want to book something simple and have a relaxing holiday, so road trips are not for all times either.

You can try a short road trip to see how you get on with the format, and whether you fall under the spell of this type of travel. This is probably a good idea before signing up to drive the Pan American Highway!

Final thoughts on the best things about road trips…

In the case of a road trip, the saying It’s not the destination, it’s the journey really does ring true. To love a road trip, is to love everything that happens along the way – where you eat, stay, visit, who you meet, the unexpected, the things that go wrong, the things that make you laugh and the wrong directions. It all adds up to a bigger experience than you might have had if you’d stayed in one place.

If you are not yet a convert, try a small road trip and see how you get on….

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Enjoy your travels!