Tips for Planning a Road Trip

Tips to plan a road trip
With the rest of Europe just a short ferry trip away, a road trip is a brilliant way to explore our amazing continent. The metallic clank of the ferry doors opening in Calais always fills me with excitement. The open road to almost 50 countries is there for the taking. So how do you take it?

Where do you want to go?
With a British or European passport most of Europe is open to you so it's just case of thinking about what you really want to see or experience.  

The biggest factor will probably be time, so to get an idea about travel times use Google Maps. Either click on your starting point and then a left-hand menu will appear from which you can select 'directions' or you can right click the mouse on your starting destination and your end destination. Remember mountainous regions take way longer to travel through and avoiding motorways and toll roads may be more scenic but can also add considerable time to your journey. Google maps will also show you ferry routes which you may want to consider as part of your journey. For ferry info check out our ferry guide.

Once you've had a play on Google maps pick out a few places you really want to visit that are possible within your time frame and make this the basis for your trip. It's realistic to travel about 4 to 6 hours in a day but you really don't want to be doing this every day. Also a few one night stopovers are fine but it's nice to build in at least two or three nights for the key places you want to visit. Obviously if you have weeks and weeks to explore you can take it really easily.

Once you've identified a few key places then look at the possible routes and find out what else you might be interested in seeing along the way. While it might be tempting to just go with the flow and stop where you like this might not be as easy as it sounds. If you're travelling by motorway it's really hard to get a sense of the places you are passing by. A bit of research beforehand will really be worth it and ensure that you don't completely miss something amazing without knowing it was there! 

Where are you going to stay?
If you are going outside the Summer school holidays you may not need to book anything before you go. It's lovely to have the flexibility to stay longer if you love somewhere and move on if not. Europe is covered in campsites and they make great accommodation for a road trip. See our campsite guide to find campsites along your journey.

Preparing your vehicle
It can be much more complicated breaking down in another country so getting your vehicle in tip top condition is really important.