Are you looking for itinerary ideas for the best Road Trips around the World ? You came to the right place! I do have some pretty amazing itineraries, that I have tried and tested to create my beautiful Road Trip maps. Such maps are there to inspire you to discover the World, one road trip at a time! There will be many more in the future.
However, let me crush something right away… I’m not going to give you a list of top 10 destinations here!! Sorry/not sorry to disappoint. So many others have done that, that it would be pointless anyway.
The first reason for not giving a list of “best destinations” is that the choice of “best” is completely subjective anyway. Scotland, Ireland or the US Wild West are usually amongst those lists. But let’s face it, if you live in one of these places, these road trips are probably not on your list.
The Earth is an amazing planet and it’s difficult to not find beauty wherever you go. If you’ve been on a road trip before, you know it’s hard to drive 1,000 miles and not find places that blow your mind by their sheer beauty.
The second reason for not giving a list of “best destinations” is that what truly makes the “best” road trip isn’t the destination. At least not solely.
Think of the “best” restaurant you’ve been to. Was it the best just because of the food? Probably not. There was undoubtedly other factors. You probably felt super welcomed. The service was most likely top-notch. The ambiance must have felt right as well. The wine selected was paired perfectly with the dishes… Basically, you found this restaurant to be the best for a combination of things, not for a single ingredient!
My point here is that, like the food in a restaurant isn’t the sole ingredient that makes it the best restaurant, an incredible destination isn’t the sole ingredient that will make a road trip, the best road trip of your life!
So what are the ingredients of the best Road Trips?
OK, so if an incredible destination isn’t, then what is, you may wonder? Well let’s dive in, shall we?
A good measure of planning
Going on a road trip takes some planning, especially if you want to make the most of it. However it is more about the basic stuff than scheduling every second of your trip.
Bring the right clothes and gear to not freeze the whole trip. Have some food available because you don’t want to starve in your car. Know if there will be shops opened. Find out what the access restrictions are for the places you want to see. Make sure you’ll have some communication means…
Planning a road trip isn’t about scheduling every second of your trip. You should always have time for unexpected and some flexibility to change your plans!
Yes you can download this list for free. A little gist from me to you!
Stir with a dash of unexpected
Keeping time for the unexpected is a must! Not talking about a flat tire, although that can happen too. The unexpected can be a change of plans because you like a place so much, you want to stay there longer. The unexpected can also be about the people you meet along the way and with whom you decide to share a meal by a fire-place, looking at the stars. It can be anything from a place that wasn’t on your program, a sign post that leads you in the wrong direction that turns out to be the best wrong direction of your life.
Yes, planning is important, but accepting to be surprised and making the most of the unexpected is a worthwhile skill!
Sprinkle some new experiences to broaden your horizon
The best road trips of your life will probably be the ones which included new experiences. The type of experiences that broaden your horizon. Hopefully these will be good experiences but to be fair, some might be bad and yet be invaluable to your future.
New experiences might be related to things you will try and never thought you would enjoy. Things that bring new perspective to your life. These might be as simple as the food you will get to taste or the conversation you might have with a complete stranger. New experiences can also be about the things you learned about a new culture or an amazing place, but it can also be about the things you learned about yourself.
If I may give you a personal example, I’ll tell you that one thing I’ve learned from my road trips is to live more simply. Having all you need in the truck of your car gives you perspective on how much stuff you really need.
Add a pinch of ‘me time’
I’m a bit of an introvert animal so this point won’t come as a surprise if you’ve been around here before. Overall, I strongly believe that ‘me time’ is essential for everyone who lives in this hyper connected World.
Road trips happened to be an ideal time to disconnect. Not like you have a choice sometimes! But you do have a choice to spend your time desperately looking for a signal or embracing the absence of wi-fi.
Journaling while the coffee is slowly brewing. Meditating on the beach or to the sound of a river. Listening to birds singing for more than a few seconds. Embracing the time you have to do nothing but listen to your thoughts. Those are all valid activities which will bring peace to your mind.
Season with some stuff that will get you out of your comfort zone
Getting a little (or a lot!) out of your comfort zone is just as valuable as taking time to reflect. You will be proud of yourself even it is for just trying, but you might also discover something about yourself in the process.
Experience new things, even if, at first, you don’t think you will like them.
Explore your physical limits, push yourself (a little). Hike this mountain, go rafting, diving or climbing. It’s not about the
Face your fears and speak to those strangers, sleep in the wild or step on that freaking glass ceiling!
Wrap the whole, with a good mix of comfort & security
Feeling safe at night, when you go to sleep, is by far one of the most precious feeling you can have. If you’ve already traveled for extended period of times, or if you’ve ever stayed in a shabby motel or an isolated and weird place, you know what I mean. Underestimating the importance of peaceful nights and the effect of lack of sleep is a rookie mistake.
Security on the road is essential. You’ll be spending a significant amount of time in your car so it should be reliable and in good shape. Understand road signs, pay attention to others and if you feel like it’s time to stop, just stop and rest.
You will quickly learn to deal seamlessly with the little burdens associated with road trips. Once you do, it’s a smooth ride. If you ignore these little things, they will become big and like a boomerang, come back and hit you hard!
Yes again, you can download this for free as well! Click on it to go to my special page where you will find a lot more of my special designs.
Or get it on your favorite item in my Society6 shop.
For a good measure, you may add a loved one or two
You may want to road trip alone, you may prefer to go with a special someone or two. This is entirely up to you!
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There you have it! The secret ingredients and recipe to the best road trip of your life! Sorry if you’re disappointed that this post wasn’t a list of best destinations.
By focusing on the destination, we lose sight that the best trips are the ones where we explore ourselves more than we explore our surroundings.
You can check some of my maps here. They take a lot of time to create so you can get an idea of the future destinations here.
You can also read some of my stories here, like why I cried when I went back to antelope Canyon or how I got lost in Tenerife. One of my favorite is the tale of the shower coin!
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