Resources
Planning a road trip? Here are some resources I have used to plan the trip:
What to do
Make the Most of your Time on Earth
- Covering most all areas of the world, this guide will be handy for many, many trips to come. Be forewarned however, it’s not a step-by-step guide so you will want other location-specific information.
- This was my primary guide. Well thought out, and extremely intuitive, it gives 5 major routes across the US and walks you through them. Since I won’t be following any one route in whole, it was nice to add several off-the-beaten-path locations in between major stops.
Where to Rest A road trip for an extensive period of time means the average Joe might not be able to pull off a hotel every night and enjoy the various stops. Two excellent alternatives I plan to use thoroughly are hostels and campgrounds. Both offer a nice break from each other and can be found in most corners of the US. [note: if traveling with a group and able to share a room, it is generally more economical to ‘hotel up.’]
- When a friend’s couch isn’t viable, a little preparation can ensure the best chances of laying your head in a safe place. Hostelz.com has been an excellent resource for me as the user reviews are plentiful. This provides one with a better idea of a specific establishment, rather than what biased descriptions and fuzzy pictures offer.
- Tired of sleeping with ten other folks in a room? Can’t really get over the resulting awkward silence that occurs right before the room collectively falls asleep? Go camping! Reserve America has what I believe to be all public and private parks in their listings and one can search by area, type of campsite, dates of stay, etc. Detailed info and links to a specific park of interest are also very helpful.
In order to get a general idea of the direction and mileage, Google Maps was used. The “Get Directions” field takes some getting used to, but navigating around the map is by far the easiest I’ve come across.