Road Trip Tips

juliaroadtriptips
Me, blabbing and gesticulating, about travel and road trip tips for this summer’s asphalt adventure.

Thinking about taking a road trip this summer?  Well before you hit the open road, here are a few fuel saving tips and tricks to keep in mind.

Gas Myths

Myth: Premium octane is better. Reality:  Premium gas doesn’t effect fuel efficiency, there are no special detergents that better service your engine. So unless you have a fancy sports car or a vehicle that requires Premium, stick with regular and save a bit of dough.

Myth: Turn off the AC to save on gas. Reality: Actually, AC causes less drag on the engine than driving with the windows down.

Don’t know where to go?

www.roadtripamerica.com is a great resource with suggested road trip itineraries by state. You could do a lighthouses driving tour of North Carolina’s Outer Banks or go classic Americana along Route 1 in California

-Visit a ski resort in the summer. I just got back from Vail Colorado and there’s hiking, biking, kayaking and plenty of other outdoor activities. Since it’s off season it tends to be inexpensive, so there’s great value on hotels.

-Hit some of America’s weird wacky roadside attractions. Check out the world’s largest ball of twine in Kansas or the cockroach museum in Texas, where roaches are dressed up as celebs. RoadSideAmerica.com has more than 7,000 offbeat sites in the U.S. and Canada.

Where to stay?

If you’re looking for last minute accommodations, here are three great websites to check out!

www.airbnb.com – rent out peoples homes or apartments. More space and more amenities than a hotel.

www.Hotelstonight.com – Last minute, same day hotel bookings released daily after noon.

Priceline “Name your own price” feature lets you bid and often get up to 50% hotel, car rental rates.

Tripswithpets.com – hotel finder to help with where to stay.

General Tips:

-Don’t get too ambitious with your itinerary.  Don’t want to be pulling 10 hour drive days. Make plenty of stops—at least one every two hours—to stretch your legs, use the restroom and get some fresh air. Be flexible with your driving plans so you can enjoy the journey.

-Pack light = means better mileage

-Don’t put stuff on your roof. It creates a drag and zaps your mileage

-Using cruise control maintain that speed and its easier on gas.

-Fill up your gas midweek (often less expensive than weekends and holidays)

-Use your Tom Tom GPS on your road trip. With live traffic reports and a ‘fuel finder’ feature, that will help you locate the cheapest gas options closer to you, it’s a must have in any road trip survival kit. Take advantage of their fuel cashback promotion, where you can claim back $30 with the purchase of a TomTom GO LIVE. Or, if you’re looking to score a dream travel trip, enter to win the TomTom Mapping Paradise Project, where five families or groups get to spend two weeks on a tropical island, creating navigable maps for Fiji, St. Lucia, Mauritius, Cape Verde, and the Seychelles. Sounds terrible! If that wasn’t awesome enough, the five winning groups get an all-expenses-paid mapping assignment to one island, and will “earn” $15,000. Enter online at www.tomtom.com/summer

Save and share!

  • During summer, to go for road trip is not that cool. But in summer if you choose the place where the climate is bit cool and beachy area. I had a summer road trip to Spain.

  • We love RoadsideAmerica.com, because we can search by state to find offbeat attractions specifically where we're going. (We're partial to "world's largests!") We have the app in our Garmin GPS, so it makes a "ding" sound when we drive near one! 

  • Matthew

    Check out www.driverabroad.com if you're planning a road trip abroad. DriverAbroad.com has useful info to help you stay safe when driving in every country of the world!

  • Do not want to be taking 10 time generate times. Create a lot of stops—at least one every two hours—to expand your thighs, use the bathroom and get some clean air. Be versatile with your generating programs so you can appreciate the trip.

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