How do you road trip?

[alotofyarn]

SIL is coming through town sometime Sunday. They don't know when and basically can't tell us until the day before when the stop somewhere between here and there. This doesn't make sense to me. When I road trip, I know where I'm stopping and when. Even for shorter trips, I try to have a general idea about places I know I can stop for gas, food, and clean bathrooms. I know that, depending on when I leave, I can get to a certain place at a certain time, give or take a couple of hours depending on traffic and stops, barring anything major happening.

How do you travel? Drive and stop when you get tired, wherever it may be? Or plan ahead?

[v-girl]

I never know times — you can't know how long it will take if you've never driven that route. I usually know what city I want to stop in though.

[PrincessFiona]

I never know times either. I stop spontaneously to look at different sights and make regular potty pit stops and stops for meals. I feel like I'm unpredictable.

[ladymoreta]

We usually plan our stops and make reservations ahead of time. I don't plan bathroom breaks - I just look for a Loves, Flying J, or something like that. If we're doing anything touristy along the way, I try to plan it for around meal times when we'll be stopping anyway.

[alotofyarn]

I never know times — you can't know how long it will take if you've never driven that route. I usually know what city I want to stop in though.

Google Maps will give you an estimate on the travel time though.

[Pollyanna]

We plan where we will stop for the night and make reservations but I don't plan stops beyond that. We don't drive any longer than 8-9 hrs per day because that's just no fun for anyone. We'd rather stop, relax, check out the new city and then get a good nights sleep.

[alotofyarn]

We usually plan our stops and make reservations ahead of time. I don't plan bathroom breaks - I just look for a Loves, Flying J, or something like that. If we're doing anything touristy along the way, I try to plan it for around meal times when we'll be stopping anyway.

I guess I don't plan ALL bathroom breaks, but at least on routes I travel frequently (I-10 between Houston and New Orleans), I know where these places are and where I can generally stop. I also have somewhat of an idea of how many stops I'll need depending on the length of the trip and the times of day I'll be traveling. I know having kids and pets makes things a little bit more challenging, but I can at least ballpark it.

[Sheherezade]

We plan a city for overnights, but not beyond that. We sometimes make reservations before we leave, but I usually make them from the car about 3-4 hours before we stop. If we drive a route all the time, we might end up with "favorite" stops for food or a break, but we haven't had that situation that often. I'm expecting we will end up with favorite spots on our route to the son's college since it's fairly unpopulated and we will be making the trip several times a year.

[v-girl]

Google Maps will give you an estimate on the travel time though.

Yes, but then the next thing you know you're sitting on I40 between Little Rock and Memphis watching a redneck block party for 1.5 hours. 😉

[alotofyarn]

Yes, but then the next thing you know you're sitting on I40 between Little Rock and Memphis watching a redneck block party for 1.5 hours. 

True, which is why I plan for within a few hours, or "X time at the earliest."

[MAPPLEBUM]

wake up, decide on a destination, usually 3-4 hours away. Drive there, set up camp or find a hotel, explore the area, make bomb-ass food, drink wine, fall asleep. Wake up, repeat.


It's all a matter of if the vacation is the road trip or if the road trip is for destination/vacation. If I'm taking a long drive to get to a specific destination I usually know where I'll stop and map out how long / exactly when I'll reach destination. But if the vacation IS the road trip I usually follow the intimations of Lonely Planet

[PrincessFiona]

We road tripped last week. I planned 5 hours for a 4.5 hour trip. We left an hour late because the teens were running late. Three hours in, we blew a tire on the trailer. I didn't have my spare (duh) and getting it fixed took over 2 hours. We had multiple bathroom stops for a child with an upset stomach. Our planned arrival time was 6 or 6:30 but we didn't make it until 11:30.

[SoonerTexan]

I plan overnight stops and try and find good places to eat on the way. Right now BabyJ dictates we stop every 2 hours or we pay. N can go forever though. She's awesome in the car.

We always stop in Buffalo between Dallas and Houston because DH insists that it is exactly halfway between our house and his parents. If we stop before and I'm driving, he will make me drive again til we get there. (We usually switch in between)

We love Buccees though. It's one of the wonders of Texas.

[alotofyarn]

We love Buccees though. It's one of the wonders of Texas.

Mmmm, Beaver Nuggets!

[rain_dancer]

It's all a matter of if the vacation is the road trip or if the road trip is for destination/vacation. If I'm taking a long drive to get to a specific destination I usually know where I'll stop and map out how long / exactly when I'll reach destination. But if the vacation IS the road trip I usually follow the intimations of Lonely Planet

Yes, this.

If we're driving to get somewhere, I know where we're stopping for the night and have hotel reservations already. Flashback to a family road trip to South Dakota while growing up, unknowingly planned smack in the middle of Sturgis. My parents hadn't made hotel reservations ahead of time and with all the bikers, there was no vacancy anywhere. We ended up pulling over along some lonely country road sometime around midnight and sleeping in our Subaru. I think this experience made me compulsive about knowing I have a room waiting for me!