What To Do and Not To Do on a Road Trip

American Road Trips International (ATI) serves 1 million road trippers every year. However, the number of road trip enthusiasts around the country is higher than that. That said, road-tripping across the United States is not only an American dream but a global dream.

I mean let’s be honest. Before we go to sleep, we sometimes start imaging ourselves on a road trip; rocking our favorite playlist with our hair flirting with the air in a convertible mustang from the ’70s. Really, who doesn’t like long road trips with friends, enjoying different views on the road, and making memories that last for a lifetime? 

If you’re like us, a fan of road trips on the American highways and the alluring coastal drives, then here is our list of things you should and shouldn’t do while road tripping. 

1. Plan your Road Trip 

This might seem obvious at first, but planning a road trip is widely misunderstood. For example, if you want to plan a road trip with your family, friends, or loved ones then you might want to consider planning where you’re going to sleep, how much you would spend, the cost of each U.S. city, and the safest places to camp. 

On-road trips, bad things can happen, and you might find yourself obliged to stay the night in your car, or maybe camp somewhere near the road. You should account for all these circumstances and be ready for the challenge. 

For instance, you can check blog articles about what to expect in certain destinations, or read magazines about road tripping in the U.S. 

2. Create a positive atmosphere 

Road tripping might become stressful and daunting sometimes. This is because staying for a long time in the car makes us feel tired and in a rest mode for a long period of time. Therefore, you should account for creating a positive atmosphere before boredom and tiredness take place. 

You can do that by stopping now and then to picnic in places you find beautiful. I mean, you’re not pressured by time, and you’ll arrive at your destination anyway, so why not make the most out of it and stop every now and then to enjoying a snack with your road trip partners?  

Another way to create positive energy is by choosing a fun playlist. Avoid depressing sad songs and only listen to fun, upbeat music instead. I can’t stress this enough, but as aesthetic as it might seem to us, sad songs on a road trip are a very bad idea. 

3. Live the moment

Road tripping is a shared experience. In this era of smartphones and high-quality pictures, we tend to forget the moment and concentrate on creating beautiful images instead of beautiful moments. We want to create as many pictures as possible and quickly go back to the car and start modifying them for Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat. 

This is not what road tripping is about. Ignore the pictures, at least don’t abuse your camera button along the way, and make sure that you create memories, not pixel shots that you share on social media. 

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t take pictures at all. In fact, you should, but make sure that you don’t focus on images more than focusing on living the moment and enjoying the road trip.