How Planned Out Are Your Road Trips

[Gumbo4x4]

OP, I like your plan!

I would call it a road trip.

We almost always drive. I don't plan every single stop, but I definitely make reservations wherever we are going to stay overnight. I can't imagine driving off through multiple states with no idea where we would be sleeping. I am particular about where I stay. Also, there are stretches along our route where there is really no where to stay.

My in-laws can't believe I make reservations. They just like to drive and stop wherever. They have also been known to drive a long time and not find a place to stay.

And while I don't plan every stop to the minute or hour, I do like to know where good stops are, and plan around that. Otherwise, we could end up starving, needing to use facilities, and no appropriate stops anywhere near.

For those who like to drive off into the night with no plan whatsoever- good for you-have fun!! I could never travel with you!

Having cell phones, internet, and/or OnStar is a huge help compared to the "old days". We don't have to make plans for a specific city this way, but can still call ahead a couple hours to see what's available. For our trip last Summer, I had a list of places that I'd previously checked for pricing. And then as the day wore on and we began to have an idea where we wanted to stop, we called ahead to make sure a room was available. In the old days, we'd just pull in and hope for the best - and it didn't always work out

 

[oneprincessjo]

When we drive down to Disney from PA we only plan where we end up stoping for the night. We always stop at The Hampton Inn off of exit 3 in Kingston Georgia. Ours is more of a plan of what we travel with... The movies for the car drive, the types of snacks and beverages... Car activities that will prevent my toddler from having a serious meltdown. We will hit the road at 7ish at night so my dd will be asleep for the bulk of the drive. We arrive in Kingston around 8ish am and grab breakfast at the Cracker Barrel and then beg the front desk at our hotel to let us check in early, which is always successful. We take a nap and lounge around the hotel for the day, go to bed at 7-8pm and wake up super early... Pack the car up with whatever we had to bring in for dd and grab some breakfast at the hotel buffet then we hit the road and arrive in Disney around 11. We love the drive down the drive home always sucks though. LOL

 

[oneprincessjo]

Forgot to mention cell phones, Nooks are an absolute necessity. We stop for gas maybe 3 times on the way down and rest stops when we need it... If my toddler (aka the beast) is asleep we won't make bathroom stops unless absolutely necessary so we don't wake her up and end up with a middle of the night melt down. We basically do all stops around her