Ever wonder how we come up with our trip plans? Here are some of the steps I go through with my family for road trip, or any trip planning.
- Have an idea (or several ideas)
At the end of a family vacation, usually on the long drive home, we muse about our dream trips and destinations. Everybody contributes their ideas, and all ideas are encouraged no matter how unattainable they may seem. It can be really fun making this list, especially when it feels a bit sad ending another trip. Looking at that list months or years later is fun too, as you may have found a way to visit some of those dream destinations that you thought were impossible. We keep our lists in the car journal. Here is a photo:
2. Narrow down the list
When it’s closer to trip planning time, the decision-maker or makers must put their heads together to see what is feasible this year. That may depend on family obligations, vacation time, school year stuff, kid developmental issues and of course financial/equipment issues. We often narrow ideas down to 2 or 3.
3. Pricing and Feasibility
This probably sounds boring to a lot of people, but I find this part really exciting. It involves mapping driving times, comparing hotel/campground costs and availability, researching entrance fees, ticket prices and other similar things. Google maps is my friend here! I keep a document on my computer with search results so I can refer to it later. It is too much information for me to keep in my head, especially when comparing destinations. Often, we discover that a destination or road trip is more accessible than we originally thought. Big Bend National park sounded very far away and impractical when we brought it up last year. After looking at the map, we found one place basically on the way that we all wanted to visit (Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas City). That cut the trip in half, and made what sounded like an extremely long boring drive into half a boring drive. Here is an excerpt from a note in the early draft phase, from a proposed camping trip with another family.
illinois state parks
mississippi palisades- showers, 9.5 hours for us, 5.5 hours t, 15 miles of trails
buffalo rock- no water, restrooms or reservations
rock cut state park- water, showers, 40 miles of trails, 5 hours for t, 8.5 hours for us
Indiana state parks
Shades-buy firewood in Jamestown, IN, get gas there
bring all food, no services available
many wonderful trails, bring hiking shoes and waterproof sandals
has showers and flush toilets, yay!
4. Choosing!
Once you have more details about your ideas, you can make a decision. That depends on your family’s goals for travel, budget, etc. In our family this is an adult decision. It’s fun to tell the kids later. We try to put in things that everybody will like whenever possible. It’s usually fun unveiling the idea/plan to the kids.
5. Serious Planning
Now it’s time to get the details figured out. We’ve found after years and many trips that we usually do better when we at least roughly plan our stops. When we decide to wing it, things usually become pretty stressful which is the last thing I want to add to my vacation. We also need to figure out grocery stores, activities in parks, when we will do laundry, and get rough ideas about weather in destinations we plan to visit. This involves lots of playing with google maps, tripadvisor, and some paper travel books. The library is a huge help in this department. These duties can be shared between different adults and interested kids. Here is a tiny part of a detailed plan. I put it in my Notes so that I can view them from my phone while we’re on the road.
7-30 day 2 KS WP hotel $160
hotel breakfast
pack lunch to schlitterbahn, open 10a-7p
bbq dinner Arthur Bryant’s $50- open until 8pm
7-31 monday day 3, 10 hours drive, have cash for tolls, to snyder, stay at Baymont Inn and suites $50 BOOKED conF: 96642990 has laundry facilities, indoor pool
hotel breakfast
pack lunch
dinner?
How do you plan your trips?