Planning a road trip can be tricky and time-consuming, but it doesn’t have to be. Get organised and save time with our free downloadable trip planner! This handy guide will help you plan your next road trip with ease. It will also make sure you can enjoy stress-free travel and make the most of your time. Before you begin planning, consider your personal or group budget and make decisions based on this. If you make a plan that is over or under your budget – don’t worry, you can always edit it later.
Plan Out Your Activities and Schedule
It’s a good idea to plan out where you want to go and what you want to do in advance. Use our free downloadable trip planner to plan your stops and activities for each day before you leave for your trip. By planning out your itinerary beforehand, you will be prepared and will save stress and time during your travels. Use the column “Activities” to plan what you are going to do, the column “Time” to plan the approximate time of each activity, and the column “Destination” to plan the location of each activity.
Decide Where to Stay
Once you have decided on your desired destinations and activities, the next step is to plan your accommodation. Use the column “Destination” to plan where you will stay each day and the column “Time” to plan your time of arrival and departure time. You can use the activities that you have already added into the planner to determine when you should arrive and depart from your accommodation. Make sure you leave enough time to get to and from your activities. You can also use the column “Distance to travel (kms)” to plan the distance between destinations. Something else that you may want to consider are the available amenities at each destination. You can record these in the column “Available Amenities”.
Plan What to Eat
When you have decided what you want to do, where you want to stay, and what amenities are available to you, it is time to plan what to eat. The first thing to consider when planning what to eat is your personal or your groups dietary requirements. You can record this under “Dietary Requirements”. Once you know this, you can plan when you will need to shop for food based on the proximity of shops to your destinations. You should also consider how many days’ worth of food will fit in your fridge/ esky, what you can cook based on the available facilities, and the cost of each meal.
Editing Trip Plan to Suit Your Budget
Once you have your trip plan created, record all of the estimated costs in the “Costs” column. The total of all costs will appear at the bottom of the planner. If the total cost is more than your budget, consider changing your accommodation, activities, or food. If the total amount is less than your budget, you might want to include more paid activities or upgrade your accommodation. Once your trip plan is planned to meet your budget, you can relax and count down the days until your road trip.