Tips for Moving Cross-Country: From Accommodations to Directions

Cross-country road trips are said to be something that every person should do at least once in their life. When most people think of taking these road trips they feel that it's as easy as jumping in the car and driving, and it can be - if you have unlimited time and money. For those of us who have jobs, families, school and a tight budget there's some planning that needs to happen before-hand. How much time do you have available? Can you afford to eat out everyday? Do you have special needs - such as a hotel that allows pets or free internet? These things, and more, all need to be taken into consideration.

Lets start with the basics: time and money. One thing to realize right away is that if you think you can get from point A to point B in one week, you're probably wrong. Always plan a good chunk of extra time. Not only does this allow for any problems that may come up, but it gives you some leeway just in case you see some extra things that you want to check out. Everybody wants to stop and see the world's biggest ball of string or the town with a population of 1! You should always follow a similar pattern with money. Even if you cranked out the numbers including every possible thing that could go wrong and know for a fact that you only need $500 - bring more. The main thing to remember is that this is something you haven't experienced before and it's bound to surprise you. It's hard to estimate how much money you'll need for food, or how much time you'll spend driving until you're out there on the road.

Next thing to think about is how you're going to get there. You'll be driving, obviously, but how many people are going? How many are willing and able to drive? You'll also want to figure out who's vehicle you're taking and if it has enough room for luggage, food, random souvenirs and breathing room. If you've got 6 people in a 5 person car (plus everybody's luggage) it's entirely possible that you won't make it out of the state without some necks being strangled. So bring either a car with room, or less people. Speaking of cars, how is your chosen car on gas? Bringing an SUV across the country is going to be twice as expensive as bringing an economy car. Getting an oil change and a general checkup on the chosen car would be a definite course of action. Also, picking up some snow chains may be a good idea as well, especially if you'll be traveling through the mountains.

On the top of "getting there" - what route are you going to take? You'll have multiple options to get to your desired destination. You could take a scenic route, or go all for speed. You could go north or south. Is there certain cities or tourist areas that you want to see? Or you could just pick an interstate and drive. If you want to plan a route, however, you have a few different options. The best option, in my opinion, is to get a AAA membership. Not only does this secure you if you break down in the middle of the country and give you discounts of many hotels but they can make you a route planner called a "TripTik" for absolutely no cost. Simply give them a list of the cities you want to stop in and they'll give you a ring-bound book with step-by-step directions as well as maps for each state your passing through with your route highlighted. If you like, you can even get guide books for most states also at no cost. Don't have (or want) AAA? You could always use the old standby - Google (http://maps.google.com) or MapQuest (http://www.mapquest.com). Each site allows you to plan multiple stop routes and gives you the estimated time to get to each one. You can print out all the directions, stick them in a folder and bring those with you for no cost.

Along the route, where will you be stopping to sleep? It may sound like a good idea to reserve hotels ahead of time, but I can say from personal experience that it's definitely not. If you don't have any special needs you can easily just "wing it". Along the highways there's signs for every exit showing any lodging, gas and food that is on that exit, and they're very common. If you do have special needs, however, you can still get away with not reserving them ahead of time. For example, if you're traveling with a pet, pick a hotel or motel chain (like Motel 6 or Super 8 for example) that allows pets and bring their phone number with you, or print out a list of locations that are along your route.

Now that we have the technical preparations out of the way, what are you going to bring with you? This is the step that I have the most fun with. It would be a good idea to bring a cooler with you that can be put in a trunk - preferably one that is collapsible. You can get ice at any gas station and the majority of hotels. Then, for drinks, your best bet is to go to a discount beverage store and pick up something in bulk. Then grab some things to snack on on the way. Make sure you don't make my mistake and assume that every rest stop has a microwave or accessible hot water. Get things that don't require any warming up and preferably don't need to be chilled either.

Aside from these few things to prepare for, the best thing you can do is allow for flexibility. Road trips are very spontaneous and difficult to plan. Driving 12 hours may sound feasible until you get 8 hours in and realize you can't keep your eyes open. So allow yourself to be flexible - not just in case you have problems along the way, but so that you can sit back, relax and enjoy this once in a lifetime experience that so many people lust after.