Family Travel Go’s 5 step plan we use for every road trip.
We never go on any road trip without following these 5 easy steps. It makes traveling on road trips more affordable, efficient and easy.
1. Map out the trip by destinations.
Get on google maps (PC works better than mobile because you can add more destinations) and set your starting point and final destination point.
Then look at all the great places in between selecting what you want to see and where would be good stopping points for sleep.
2. Calculate the cost of travel.
After mapping it out look at your total miles for round trip according to Google Maps, look up gas mileage of your vehicle (I use Fuel Economy) , and then the prices of gas in the areas you are traveling (I use Gas buddy).
Then use this easy formula to calculate –
Total Miles / Miles Per Gallon then Multiply by Gas Price = Total Travel Cost
4783 Miles / 30 Miles Per Gallon then x $3.00 = $478.30
3. Calculate cost of stays.
When finding where to stay you have many options we usually mix ours between , tent camping, cheap hotels , and fancy hotels.
Camping is usually the cheapest and most fun in my opinion. You don’t have to worry about staying in a dirty hotel and you get to be out in nature while saving money. There are many state parks, and campgrounds across America complete with clean restrooms and showers .
As for cheap hotels if you are in need of a bed and don’t want to rough it and enjoy nature we use hotels.com to find a good price wherever we are.
Fancy hotels can also be tons of fun and are worth the cost. We usually have at least one night in a fancy hotel per trip.
One other option that we have used a few times is taking turns driving and sleeping while driving and never stopping to sleep or stopping at a rest stop to sleep in the car.
4. Calculate cost of Food and Entertainment .
We already have a regular budget for food so we use that and add a little more for restaurant costs. One way to cut costs is to buy some groceries instead of eating out the whole time.
Entertainment costs can vary. Many museums have free entry days or coupons online. State parks have entrance fees. So add up the costs of what you want to do..
5. Total it all up, start saving and have a road trip of a lifetime!
Look at your total cost and start saving. Calculate how much you can save each month until your trip date .
Simple and straight! 🙂 subscribed to your blog, do check us out at http://www.imvoyager.com, would love to hear from you.