Road trips are absolute fun, aren’t they? A car, friends, food and one happy journey for miles. You can stop wherever & whenever you wish. You spot a road side vendor selling coconut water and just drive down the highway to spend some moments of joy with friends. Being spontaneous makes a road trip totally worth it!
In April, I enjoyed two road trips with friends. One was from Bangalore to Chikmagalur and the other destination was Wayanad. Early morning drive, with soulful songs playing as background score, is indeed a blissful experience. Both the times, I had my share of the wheel. In fact, when we went from Bangalore to Wayanad, I was the only driver. Clocking around 800 KMs in 3 days was tiring, yet enjoyable!
In the driver’s seat, en route Wayanad
During these two recent road trips, I was looking for ways to make things more interesting and enjoyable! I am penning down my observations here which might come as handy travel tips for you while planning for a road trip. So, here are 5 essential travel tips for you.
1) Learn some games which can be played during the drive
Well, it can be a bit tough to spend 6-7 hours in a car, depending only on music. It would be great fun if you have some interesting games to play. My favorite game is cows and bulls. The game is easy to play and quite engaging. One person will think of a 4 letter word, others have to guess this word correctly. Let’s suppose I think of a word and my friends have to guess. If a position & letter matches, I will say bull. If only a letter matches, I’ll say cow.
Now, suppose I think of a word, let’s say ‘MUCK’. If someone’s guess is ‘KEPT’, I will say he got one cow. In this case, the letter ‘K’ is guessed correctly, but the position is different. So, other players know that my word has one our of the four letters of ‘KEPT’ and not at the same position.
But, if the guess is ‘SICK’, I will say two bulls. Now, other players know that two letters from ‘SICK’ are present in my word at exact position. Similarly, other players have to keep on guessing, analyzing the previous results and finally guess my word correctly. This can be an interesting game during a road trip.
2) Sleep well before the drive
Mostly, road trips start early in the day to avoid traffic. So, it’s essential for the driver to sleep well. People tend to ignore this simple point. Sure, you would be able to drive without proper sleep as well. But, it’s unsafe and can ruin your holiday. Imagine you are sleep deprived and you drive for 6 hours! Would you be able to enjoy your destination when you reach there? I guess not!
3) Be wary of state rules
If you are visiting another state, make sure you are aware of the rules. Don’t carry alcohol if you are crossing state borders. The border police can seize your alcohol and levy a hefty fine on you!
4) Don’t be too tight with schedule
If Google maps show 6 hours to reach your destination, don’t stick to it! Take breaks, stop spontaneously, enjoy the journey. Don’t try and rush your drive to reach destination. After all, a road trip is fun because the liberty it gives you, right? What’s the fun if you are road tripping for 6 hours with only one break of 20 minutes?
5) Respect nature & wildlife
This sounds very basic and simple. But, I witnessed people throwing plastic bottles while I was driving through Nagarhole National Park. Not only plastic bottles, one genius even aimed at a spotted deer with a beer bottle! How insensitive can people be! If you are not contributing in improving the ecosystem, at least don’t deteriorate it.
Well, I hope you found these travel tips for a road trip useful. Have you enjoyed a road trip before? What did you enjoy the most? Share your experiences with me in comments!