A spontaneous road trip is a great way to spend a long weekend or even a lazy Saturday. What exactly is a spontaneous road trip and how can you enjoy one?
A spontaneous road trip is a road trip that is not planned in advance. Spontaneous road trips can be hours or days long, but it must not have any itinerary or previous planning. Spontaneous road trips make a great affordable vacation.
What is considered a road trip?
There is some debate in the travel community about when a trip is considered a road trip. I ran some numbers and found that most people consider a road trip to be a trip of about 2 hours or more.
The truth is that you can decide if it is a road trip or not, but it should include:
Driving in your car
An Exciting Destination
Make your destination a place you have never visited before, and make it outside your normal travel radius.
There are some good reasons to do this, there was a super interesting twitter study that showed that there is an optimal distance to travel from home to be the happiest. Read more about it in this post which gives you the details and some extra tips to plan a stress free road trip.
You can also up the road trip vibes you can also add these classic activities:
Sleeping Away From Home
Packing Snacks
Buying a Car Sticker at Your Destination
What should I bring on a spontaneous road trip?
Embrace the unknown in a spontaneous road trip, and do not overpack. You should grab a few things to be ready for a spontaneous road trip:
Change of clothes
Sweater or Sweatshirt
Toothbrush
Deodorant
Phone Charger
Snacks
Closed Toe Shoes
Socks
Water Bottle
Cash (or another method to pay tolls)
Pen and Notebook (Document!)
You don’t need too much, but a backpack full of essentials will make you more flexible.
I am a gear freak, I like to have a very stocked van, so that we can be ready to adventure at any time.
Here is what I keep in my van:
- Band-Aids
- Antibiotic Ointment
- Straws
- Plastic Utensils
- Benadryl
- Sunscreen
- Kitchen Knife
- Ibuprofen
- Aspirin (in case of heart attack)
- Soap
- Trashbags
- Toothbrushes
- Flip Flops (for everyone)
These things cover the basic things we need if we want to split a fast food meal, or someone gets stung by a bee.
Having these basic things in the van makes it possible to just go. If we decide to spontaneously spend the night away we can stop for extra clothes at a thrift store.
We have 4 young kids and we have done some pretty spontaneous trips with just what we keep in the van and the baby bag.
How to plan a spontaneous day trip?
So, you cannot plan a spontaneous trip, but you can have a plan for how you will decide what to do once you are on the road.
Write down your ideas
Once you are in the car write down a few very general ideas
Hike
Swim
Shop
Visit
Throw all the ideas into a hat, or a bag or a cup holder. Then draw out the winner, this will give you a good spontaneous trip idea!
Choose a Timeline
When you know what you will be doing, decide how long you want to be gone. This will give you an idea of how far you can travel.
If this is a day trip, plan to drive no more than 2 hours from home.
Travel in a new direction. Maybe you commute an hour North each day, see what lies out West.
Fill in the Details
When you have your timeline and your objective, start driving.
You can use these cool Google Maps features to find great places to visit or restaurants to visit. Google Maps has some lesser known features that will really help you out.
My family recently went on a trip to a new state and a big highlight was trying the local fast food chains that are not available in our area.
Try local favorites. Use that Google Maps trick to find pictures and browse the area.
Ideas for a Spontaneous Road Trip
Here are my best tips to get you inspired to take a spontaneous road trip:
Hike
Try Only In Your State to find the prettiest hikes in your state, you may find a new favorite getaway! Look for stunning views, accessible trails, waterfalls or wildlife.
Camp
Check out HipCamp to find a unique campsite for your trip. I am obsessed with getting to these trampoline tents in Tennessee. These campsites can be a destination in themselves.
Visit A Museum or Historical Site
I have a few friends who love to seek out the historical markers that they find roadside. They stop and read them all.
You can find a great map of these places on this site. This was a great quarantine adventure for my family.
You can also look for interesting things on Roadtrippers, which shares attractions along any route you choose.
Scavenger Hunt
A great way to spend a spontaneous road trip is to do a scavenger hunt.
You could make a list together or find one online. I went ahead and made one for you, you can download it and print it here.
Drive for Hours
You should get lots of inspiration from Within Hours. This is a site where you can enter your location and it will show you cities that are within hours or miles of your current location.
I think this is an amazing tool for any road trip.
Bucket List
Make a family bucket list, then divide the things on the list into categories.
Month Long
Week Long
Day Long
Expensive
Cheap
If you have some time, pull from the bucket that fits your limitations, but you have to promise that no matter what you pull from the list, you will do it!
My husband and I did this when we were first married, and it made for some really cool adventures.
Eat
Go ahead, binge watch Diners Drive Ins and Dives, then go eat at one of the featured restaurants!
Why not?!
Take the trip for the food and see what you discover along the way.
Should I take a spontaneous road trip?
A spontaneous road trip is a good idea for those who want an affordable vacation and have a reliable car. The costs of a road trip are gas, lodging and entertainment. By leaving the itinerary open you are able to travel within your budget without sacrificing adventure.
Instead of wasting a three day weekend, jump in the car and see what adventure unfolds.
If you do not have a reliable car, you may find that renting is a good option.
As long as your car is reliable and you have enough money for gas, a spontaneous road trip is a great idea.
