How to Plan a Road Trip (Without Spending Every Day in the Car)
A practical guide to planning a road trip: route, driving times, stops, budget and what to pack in the car.
The best road trips feel free and unhurried. The worst ones are long days staring at a motorway. The difference is almost always in the planning. Here's how to get it right.
1. Pick your start, end and must-sees
Decide where you start and finish — the same place, or a one-way trip. Then list the three to five places you really don't want to miss. Those are the backbone of your route.
2. Map the route
Put your must-sees on a map and connect them. Seeing the whole route at once shows you where the long stretches are and where you can add stops in between. Maapzy's road trip planner lets you drop pins and drag them into order.
3. Keep driving days short
Aim for no more than three to four hours of driving a day. Add breaks: real driving always takes longer than the map says, with fuel stops, food and photo stops. Plan a day with no driving every three or four days.
4. Choose where to sleep
Book the first and last night, plus any stop in a busy area or season. For the rest, keep a short list of options per stop so you can stay flexible if you fall in love with a place.
5. Work out the costs
- Fuel or charging: distance ÷ your car's range, times the local price
- Tolls, road taxes and vignettes (some countries need one before you drive)
- Parking in cities
- Car rental extras, like a one-way fee or extra driver
6. Get the car ready
- Check tyres, oil and lights
- Driving licence, insurance papers and, abroad, an international driving permit if required
- Offline maps, a phone mount and a charger
- Water, snacks and a small first-aid kit
7. Leave room for detours
The best stop is often the one you didn't plan: a viewpoint, a village market, a lake you spot from the road. Keep at least one loose afternoon in every few days.
Plan your road trip on Maapzy
Map your stops, invite the people riding with you and share your route. When you're home, turn the trip into a story-ready poster with your distance and places. Try it on the web or get the Android app.
Start your next trip on a map.
Pin a few cities and see what a realistic route looks like — in five minutes, for free.
Open the plannerKeep reading
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