Preparing for a Road Trip Adventure

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Road trips are experiencing a spike in popularity. This isn’t all too surprising. It’s an extremely liberating way to travel the world and allows you to see all sorts of beautiful scenery and landscapes along the way. However, it’s extremely important that you prioritise your health, safety, and wellbeing at all times when you take to the open road. Here are just a few pieces of advice that can help to improve your journey!

Driving Responsibly

Whenever you take to the road, you need to be a responsible driver. But this takes a little more attention when you are driving in unfamiliar territory. When you are traversing long distances on roads that you haven’t travelled on before, you are going to have to be a lot more vigilant with keeping an eye on street signs, road markings, and lanes. When you conduct a road trip, you are also likely to spend longer periods of time than usual behind the wheel. Stay alert by taking breaks as and when needed. You could also consider partnering up with someone else who can drive during your trip, which will allow you to share driving responsibilities with someone else.

Knowing What to Do in an Incident

If you spend more time on the roads, you are more likely to witness or be involved in some sort of road incident. It’s important that you know what to do if you do find yourself in a road accident of any sort. The first step that you need to take is to stop your vehicle. Then check whether you are well and uninjured. If you aren’t injured, check everyone else involved. If you or anyone else is injured, call for medical assistance. You may want to seek legal help for car crash victims down the line. If nobody is injured, exchange insurance details and take photographs of any damage to the vehicles involved.

Avoiding Hitchhikers

It’s relatively easy to understand why some people choose to pick up hitchhikers. They tend to be relatively vulnerable looking individuals who simply want to get from A to B. Generally, they have no other means of getting around and many people consequently take pity on them and take it upon themselves to reduce the distance that they have to walk by picking them up and dropping them off along the route they’re already travelling. If you are travelling alone, a hitchhiker might also seem like welcome company and conversation. However, by picking up hitchhikers, you place yourself in an extremely vulnerable situation. You, too, will be in a confined space with an absolute stranger. You can never truly know that this individual is going to be a good person with no bad intentions. Generally speaking, it’s best to avoid picking up hitchhikers at all costs.

These are just a few different pieces of advice to bear in mind when preparing your next road trip adventure!

Driving Abroad: The Mistakes You Don’t Want To Make On Your Travels

We all know that there’s nothing quite like a road trip. The trouble is that driving abroad isn’t always as enjoyable as it looks on the silver screen. If you’re preparing for an adventure on four wheels in far-flung lands, here are some mistakes you don’t want to make.

Image credit https://pixabay.com/en/nature-road-trip-water-sea-ocean-2571115/

Driving on the wrong side

Even the most experienced driver can come unstuck when it comes to navigating the roads when they are required to drive on the other side of the road. Before you jump in your hire car, check which side you need to drive on and make sure you’re ready for the trip ahead. It can take a while to get your head around looking for traffic in the other direction and moving the opposite way around a roundabout, so go steady, drive carefully, and give yourself plenty of time and space.

Hiring the wrong type of car

It may seem incredibly romantic to cruise along the coast in a classic car or to hire an old-school 4×4 at a local dealer in the middle of nowhere on a remote island, but it’s wise to use your head, rather than your heart when it comes to renting a car. Choose reputable dealers such as Burswood Car Rentals, read customer reviews, and avoid any deals that appear too good to be true. Make sure you check what is included in the fee. Sometimes, the lowest prices are not the best value offers, as they don’t include insurance. You may find that you end up adding a load of extras, which make the total higher than other quotes you received.

Speeding

You may be used to trundling along the motorway at 70mph at home, but speed restrictions are not universal. When you’re in a different country, you need to be wary of the speed limit. Look out for signs, and read up on the rules of the road before you travel. It’s also worth noting that some countries operate in mph and others deal in kilometres. If you get caught speeding, you may not always be able to play the tourist who had no idea about the speed limit card, so it’s best to err on the side of caution.

Driving like the locals

If you’ve got a line of traffic behind you, or drivers careering past waving their arms at you, you may be tempted to adopt the same driving habits, but resist. When you’re new to driving in a different country, the car is unfamiliar to you, and you don’t know the roads, it’s better to be safe than sorry. As you gain more confidence, you can increase your speed, but try not to panic if cars are weaving in and out of lanes to get around you or they’re driving way over the speed limit. Keep your eyes on the road, and drive at the speed marked on the road signs.

Driving around when you’re on holiday is an adventure. If you have a car or a campervan, you can explore at your own pace, you have freedom to roam, and you can stop whenever you like, but there are potential downsides to consider. Driving in a different country isn’t always plain sailing, and it can be stressful. Hopefully, these tips will help you to avoid mistakes and ensure you enjoy a trip to remember for all the right reasons.

Taking the great American road trip

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Whether you live in America or halfway across the world, just about every self-proclaimed traveller has dreamt about driving across the country as part of a great American road trip. After all, the U.S. is an absolutely huge place, and the fact that you can reach every inch of it by car, without any sort of roadblock, is incredibly appealing. Road trips are the perfect option for those looking for an affordable and adventurous holiday, but only if you plan them really well. Keeping that in mind, here are four things you should do to make your great American road trip truly great.

Plan A Rough Itinerary

Whether you like it or not, most road trips do come with a time limit, so it’s vital that you have a route and rough schedule planned before you hit the road. There are a number of incredible American road trips you could consider, but, if none of those appeals to you, then you could always use a road trip planner to create one of your very own. Just make sure that you’re not driving too much each day, as this is dangerous and could also ruin the experience for you.

Look After Your Car

When you’re travelling long distances in your car, it’s more important than ever that you take proper care of it. With that in mind, you should make sure that you have your car inspected by a mechanic at least a week before you set off. You should also pack your car with tools, a spare tire, a brake bleeding kit, a tire pump, and more, and learn how to complete basic repairs and maintenance. This way, you will be able to help yourself if and when there’s an issue on the road.

Choose The Right Companions

Although you could head off on your own, road trips tend to be a lot more fun when you take friends or family with you. That being said, this is only true when you choose the right companions. You’re going to be stuck together in a car for hours at a time, so it’s vital that you bring people that you really get along with. Unless you really love driving, you should also make sure that whoever you bring is willing to share the wheel time with you.

Budget Your Money Wisely

Road trips can be incredibly affordable and budget-friendly, but this is only true when you spend time planning your budget and manage your money wisely. With gas, toll costs, food, souvenirs, attractions, and more, road trips can get incredibly costly very quickly. To avoid this, you need to consider all possible road trip costs and decide how much money you’re going to spend on each one. You should also have an emergency stash of cash for any unexpected expenses.

Heading off on a great American road trip is a dream for most avid travellers, but this dream can quickly turn nightmarish if you’re not prepared. To ensure you have an amazing time, make sure you remember the advice above.

St. George Island

St. George Island State Park

After camping in the beautiful mountains and national forests along the Blue Ridge Park (Blue Ridge Parkway , Great Smoky Mountains National Park) we were in search of some heat and sun. We Looked at the map, in search of our new destination that wouldn’t take us too far off the direction towards New Orleans. We found St. George Island, located off Florida’s gulf coast, perfect! We headed to St. George Island State Park to set up camp, the busiest camping site we had encountered so far on our trip. While it was a little warmer, the sun remained behind the clouds for our trip,but we could still enjoy the beauty of this island, after all, it ranks as one of the top beaches in the US!

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Smoky Mountains

One of my major loves of the USA is the National Parks system. As a nature lover, and with a background in Wildlife Biology and Conservation, I am in awe of all of the National Parks that I have had the chance to visit, and the system that protects them. On our drive to the south, I had to make sure that we did not miss the Great Smoky Mountains, the most visited US National Park. I do hold the National Parks pass, however the Smoky Mountains don’t require an entrance fee, one of the few parks that don’t! The Smoky Mountains is part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a division of the larger Appalachian chain. These Mountains border between North Carolina and Tennessee and is one of the largest protected areas in eastern US. They are also acknowledged as an UNESCO world heritage site, very impressive. With its beauty and diverse range of plant and animal life, it is no wonder that the Great Smoky Mountains is a popular place to visit and explore.

As we visited during winter, parts of the park was closed, I would love to go back during the spring and/or summer to explore more of this gorgeous place.

Rocky Mountain National Park

Bryce Canyon National Park

Bryce Canyon

The natural beauty of Bryce Canyon National park is incredible. The views from above and from within are truly breathtaking. The major attraction is the spectacular crimson colored hoodoos, pillars of rock created by erosion. Bryce Canyon has the largest collection of hoodoos in the world, attracting nearly two million visitors annually. Bryce Canyon is located in southern Utah, in Utah’s canyon country. A four-hour drive from the famous Las Vegas, Nevada and two hours from the beautiful Zion National Park.

Hoodoos

The main attraction is of course, the gorgeous collection of hoodoos. The best place to view the hoodoos are from the Bryce amphitheater, which has the largest collection of viewpoints. With four main viewpoints (Bryce point, inspiration point, sunset point and sunrise point) and access to numerous hiking trails, this is the perfect area to start a journey exploring Bryce Canyon.

Hiking opportunities

Bryce Canyon has a range of hiking trails from easy to strenuous. As an introduction to Bryce canyon, I would recommend beginning with the Rim trail hike, here you will be hiking the rim of Bryce amphitheater, viewing the gorgeous hoodoos from above, walking between sunrise and sunset point. Rim trail is classified as easy. Please note that the rim trail is not a loop, so the hike can range from 1 to 8 hours, depending on when you turn back around!

A step up from the Rim trail hike, would be the Queens/Navajo combination loop, this is classified as moderate and is also regarded as the most popular hiking trail. Highlights will include viewing Thor’s hammer and the two bridges. If you are looking for more strenuous hikes, I would recommend the Peekaboo loop, here you will hike through the heart of the park, with stunning views of the hoodoos and also viewing the wall of windows. Fairytale loop is another great strenuous hike, providing you with a chance to see the Chinese wall, tower bridge and tall hoodoos. Away from the Bryce amphitheater at the northern end of the park is Mossy cave, an easy hike away from the crowds.

Highway 63

A breathtaking scenic drive through the park. Provides a great opportunity to view some of the major overlooks, with 13 viewpoints along this 38 mile round trip. Highlights include the natural bridge, Rainbow and Yovimpa points. If you only had one day to explore Bryce canyon, I would recommend completing this loop and stopping off at the major viewpoints.

Mossy Cave

If you have more than a day I would recommend a visit to Mossy cave. A hidden gem at the northern end of the park. provides an opportunity to get up close with the hoodoos without descending. It is an easy hike along a stream side to view this pretty cave. Depending on the time of year you may also see a waterfall or icicles in the cave! A peaceful hike without the crowds.

Bryce Canyon is a truly remarkable place. The scenery is stunning and the opportunities for hiking and photography are endless. A true nature lovers playground! Photos don’t do justice, you really need to explore Bryce Canyon in person to surround yourself in this natural beauty. A unique, and breathtaking landscape. One of my favorite national parks that I have visited so far.