Road Trip Tips

There are many ways of getting around a destination, each enjoyable in its own ways, but some styles are better suited for some places –

• Full-on self-driving road trips – Driving in a loop (by starting and finishing at the same place) for many days, across many countries, states or counties.
• Staying in the one place and taking day trips to sights around there
• Combination of driving and transit systems so we’re driving within a region and taking the bus, train, or flight across long distances.

Self-Drive Road Trips

Road trips are an amazing way to get more intimate with a region or a country. Some of the benefits are –

• Driving through the scenic countrysides, little towns and villages bring us closer to the place and it’s people, unlike flights and trains between metros.
• It’s easy to stop anywhere, maybe to look at farms, eat at a little family cafe, shop at a roadside fruit stall, or just take a picture.
• Road trips lend a great deal of flexibility. If you’d like to spend a little more or less time in a place, it’s a lot easier to change plans on the fly.

Self driving road trip is a great way to travel across Europe, Southern Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and the US. We’ve taken self-driving road trips in Iceland, Malta, the Balkans, Ireland, Iceland, Scotland, Central Europe, Idaho, Alaska, Colorado, New Zealand, and Australia(Sydney, Uluru, Cairns), etc.

This style is best suited for places where

• Roads and signs are well marked.
• Apple and Google maps work well for navigation (one or both work well in many countries).
• Language is less of a barrier either because most people know some English and signs are understandable.
• The route is safe with low crime rate and no roadside gangs waiting for cars to pass by.
• The drives are scenic and there is a lot to see and do.
• Destinations are close together so we’re not driving over a 2-3 hours a day for the most part.

A few things to keep in mind on self-driving road trips

• All airports have car rental companies but book before leaving home. In most places, it can be hard to get a car when you get there – it could take a long time and be more expensive.
• It’s possible that your credit card (used to rent the car) covers your rental car insurance. Check your credit card company before leaving home and save on the car insurance cost.
• Gas prices vary significantly, check the prices ahead of time so there are no surprises.
• Be sure to check if your credit card works in all the countries you’re driving through.
• In Europe when crossing from one country to another you need to get a sticker at the crossing. They have to be bought at the country entrance checkpoints. Prices vary by country. Keep enough money because some places only accept cash.
• Check road conditions at local blogs and trip advisor.
• In some European countries, the roads are very narrow. Driving on the opposite side can make is unnerving for the passenger. For such roads, it helps to rent smaller cars.
• Check allowed mileage on the car. We haven’t seen mileage to be an issue, but it doesn’t hurt to ask the company.

Hired Car with Driver and Guide

In some places, it’s better to hire a car with the driver and guide. Some of the reasons for doing so maybe

• It’s cheaper to rent a car with a driver.
• It’s safer to have a local guide because they know the local happens and can handle the issues better. For e.g. Thieves, bandits(on some Kenyan highways), political events(our drive through Bolivia between two political uprisings), corrupt cops(common in many developing countries), mafia drug lords(our drive through Michuakan to see the monarchs)
• Easier if we don’t know the local language at all and it’ll be hard to follow signs. Although if navigation apps work, it may not be an issue.

We used this format quite often when the kids were younger. The driver is sometimes the guide too, at other times they have an English speaking guide. In addition to driving they help with the itinerary, tickets, translation, shopping, bargaining, and findings food we will enjoy. Here are some examples of when we found this format to work best –

• During our Mexico trip, we stayed in the heart of Mexico City and our guide took us to day trips out of town. He was very knowledgeable, resourceful, and safe to be with. His company took it upon themselves to ensure a safe and fun trip.
• In Beijing, it was easy to rent a car driver and guide for a day right from the airport for a day trip.
• In India, hiring a vehicle with the drive is the most convenient way to travel. It has been the norm for a long time. Even locals use this format regularly.
• Cambodia is very inexpensive and there are many good guides that have a ton of information to share.
• In Turkey, it was perfect to have a fully guided trip so our guide/driver stayed with us the entire time and traveling the country with us. Ibrahim was a great host and knowledgeable in the country’s (and the region’s) history, current events, culture, shopping, you name it. He has had many Indian vegetarian clients, so he was great at finding us wonderful Turkish food throughout the trip.
• During a 4-day trip to Sri Lanka, it was most efficient to have a local company provide the guide, driver, and vehicle for the entire trip.
• In Ethiopia and Addis Ababa I had a weekend at the end of a business trip which was perfect because of how well it was organized.

Public transit

Some cities and countries have extensive public transit which is convenient, safe inexpensive. More importantly, it’s a great way to mingle in with the locals and really feel the vibe. We used public transit and tours for our Thanksgiving trip to London, week-long to Paris in winter, and a full-day layover in Zurich.

London has an extensive public transit system that includes local, national, and international trains, busses, ferries, and boats. It was convenient and inexpensive to buy an Oyster card at the airport, use it for the trip and return it back at the airport to cash out the balance. The websites are great for planning trips and the airport has all the printed maps once could need. Mostly we use Apple Maps for transit.

Combination of Fully Guided, Self-Drive, and Public Transit

On some trips, no one format is ideal. So we make a combination of many modes of transport. In Japan, there is great public transit in the cities and between cities. However, in the countryside, it may be hard to travel alone without knowing the language. It’s safe but we weren’t sure we could get by on our own with two kids. So, we had a fully guided stay while using guided cars, trains, minibus, etc. However, we traveled on our own for the last few days using public transit, and that works great too.

During our 9 day trip to Italy, we combined self-drive, trains, planes, and boats. On our week-long trip to the Canadian Rockies, we combined self-drive and tours. But our friends suggested various combination itineraries for Alberta with trains and a full road trip.