Don't Forget the Time Factor when Planning a Road Trip

Planning an extended road trip requires attention to detail to help the trip flow smoothly. Planning routes, drive times, and places to sleep only comprise a fraction of the work required. This article discusses how to plan a major road trip and shares some of the nuances some travelers often forget.

Planning how much money will be needed for fuel is often an overlooked aspect of a road trip budget. To estimate this ahead of time, add up all the miles planned between destinations. Add at least 30 miles for each overnight stop to account for trips to restaurants or tourist destinations. Multiply the total miles by a maximum cost of gas that you plan on seeing en route. Since prices vary across the United States, finding the average gas price may take some research. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) posts updated gas prices for major cities and states to help with this research.

A second area of road trip planning that travelers often forget to plan ahead of time involves knowing the time places are open. For example, if a favorite museum closes at 4 p.m. but you don't arrive in town until 2 p.m., the visit to the museum either would be rushed, not worth the money, or scratched from the list. Plan extra time to arrive at destinations to allow for tiredness, time to stretch road weary legs, refill fuel, and eat. Doing so will help with scheduling destination itineraries and help to better approximate one's arrival time.

When planning attendance at a particular sporting event, musical, or other time specific destination, make sure the time zone is taken into account. Make sure your cell phone and/or GPS system adjusts for this. If not, you may have to adjust the time on a watch to keep track of the correct local time. To save money, it often helps to prepay for tickets using internet offers and picking them up at the "Will Call" window. This avoids the shipping cost, and also eliminates the risk that the tickets will get lost along the journey.

These are but a few travel hints for planning a road trip. Yet, overall they can make a trip go smoother in the long run. What tips do you suggest for others' road trips? Please comment below.

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