Last Updated on July 7, 2020 by Candy Wafford

On the fence about whether to take a road trip? National Geographic says this is the summer of road trips. With closed borders and concerns about travel, and especially flying, the road trip has become the way to travel this summer. But there are many reasons to take a road trip without a pandemic and travel restrictions.

People either love or hate road trips. You can put me in the hate category and I usually avoid any road trips longer than 4-5 hours. I’ll choose a plane ride over a car ride anytime. But sometimes you gotta hit the road and after a recent 10 hour plus road trip, I realized they can be pretty awesome. Here are 10 pretty cool reasons to take a road trip.

1) Pack Whatever You Want

One of the best things about taking a trip in a car is that you can pack whatever you want. Between size, weight, and TSA guidelines, packing for a flight is an art form. How many times have you wanted to take something on a plane and realized you couldn’t take it? Or you could but it would mean paying for a checked bag? You don’t have to worry about those things when going on a road trip.

Bringing the comforts of home with you on a car trip is great, especially if you have kids. It’s much easier to toss favorite pillows, blankets, and toys into a car than lugging them through a crowded airport. Staying in a rental? You can also easily bring any items to whip up your favorite drinks and dishes in the kitchen.

You’re only limited by the size of your trunk when packing for a road trip. This can be a blessing and a curse but I decided to embrace it recently and packed too many clothes just because I could. I still pack my essentials for staying healthy while traveling. Packing for a road trip is much easier than packing for a flight!

2) You Can Bring Your Own Food

Bringing your own food is one of the best benefits of a road trip. You can bring food in a checked bag, but you have to worry about the temperature and liquids spilling. Hitting the open road means you can bring your favorite coffee for the in-room coffee maker, your own soft drinks, and your own booze (just don’t drink and drive.) I also packed all of the fixings for my morning yogurt and lots of snacks for the car ride.

3) Road Trips Are Cheaper

This is probably not a hard and fast rule, but taking a trip in a car is almost always less expensive than flying. Especially if there are more than a couple of people going on the trip. Traveling with kids on a road trip is usually easier than plane travel because they have more room to spread out and can bring more stuff to pass the time.

You can also save money on a road trip by packing snacks and easy meals in the car. Bringing a cooler gives you the freedom to control what you eat, eat on the go, and save money. You can also bring the cooler to the beach or use it while camping. No more junk food from drive-thrus!

4) Bring Your Own Beach Toys

Heading to the beach? Driving there means you can bring your own beach towels, inflatables, toys, cooler, and full-size bottles of sunscreens, aloe, etc. Sure you can buy these things when you get to your destination, but they will cost more and then you are leaving them behind which is a waste of money.

5) You Can Stop Whenever You Want

One of the best things about taking a road trip is the freedom to stop whenever you want to. Whether it’s to take ten bathroom breaks or see the world’s largest ball of twine, you can do it because you are in control of the itinerary!

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6) You Can Create Your Own Itinerary

Of the all the great things about taking a road trip, one of the best is the freedom to create your own itinerary. And change that itinerary if you want to. Whether you’re a planner and map everything out to where you’ll take bathroom breaks or you prefer to go with the flow, a road trip give you the freedom to do it.

7) Take a Road Trip and See More

I love the view from an airplane. There’s nothing like flying through the clouds and watching the world below. But a road trip gives you the chance to see so much more scenery. You can really appreciate the beauty as you drive down highways and byways. I especially enjoyed reading billboards and getting a peak of cities and towns as we drove through.

8) Take Your Workout Gear

I try and keep up with my fitness goals while traveling. And there’s no reason not to when traveling by car. I loved having my yoga mat and band with me to fit in workouts in our rental. You can also bring bulky items like golf clubs, surf boards, kayaks, and bicycles with you on a road trip without paying luggage fees. Save money and stay fit!

9) Take a Road Trip With Your Pet

It’s so much easier to bring your fur babies with you on a road trip. No fees, less anxiety (for you and the pet), and you can stop for potty breaks as often as needed.

10) You Have a Car!

The best thing about taking a road trip is you already have a car when you reach your destination! No spending money on a rental that you then have to get used to. Having your own vehicle on vacation gives you so much freedom.

Do you like taking road trips? Leave me a comment your favorite reasons to take a road trip and where you’re driving to!

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