Pre-planned versus Free-Style Roadtrip

Some of our very favorite trips have been road trips. In fact, the very first trip we took together as a couple was a cross country drive. Since then we have done several other road trips across the United States. Through these trips we have found there are two  distinct ways to experience a road trip, both with their own perks and challenges. Obviously, you will need to pick where you want to go and who you will go with but a lesser known decision you will need to make is what style of trip you want to go on. There is the more scheduled pre-planned trip and the mostly unplanned free-style trip. We have tried our hand at both and will share our insights below.

Free-Form Road-Trip

Our very first road-trip was a free-form style road trip. We started out in Wisconsin and had an end destination of San Fransisco and Los Angeles California,  an approximately 31 hour drive one way. We booked a hostel for a night in San Francisco and our tickets for  seeing Alcatraz as this was something that required booking ahead and we knew we definitely wanted to visit. This gave us a date we had to be there by but everything else we left open to decide and book as we went. So, if we wanted to see something we stopped and when we could not go any further we picked somewhere to sleep. Once on the side of the road for a nap and once in a hotel in a random place in Nevada.

Free-Form Road-Trip Pros

It is a complete adventure, you never know what gems you will find that aren’t on any map or travel blog. For us this was stopping in Salt Lake City and taking an interesting if slightly pushy tour of the Mormon church facilities. It was a beautiful creek and sunset and a tiny nature museum in Nevada. You have complete freedom. It was a stop in Reno, Nevada to take photos in front of  an iconic wedding chapel. You stop when you want to stop, eat when you want to eat and sleep when you want to sleep. Whatever your heart desires, you do that.

Free-Form Road-Trip Cons

Choosing to stop for one thing may prevent you from having time to see something else later on in the trip. You generally still have only a certain amount of time to be on your trip so when you stop one place on a whim you may not have time to stop somewhere else later in the trip.You  additionally can’t plan for your costs as well. Unlike when you book a vacation ahead , you can’t fully plan how much you will need to pay for places to stay, activities and food.

Pre-Planned Road-Trip

Our road-trip down to Texas would fall under this category. It was a shorter but still respectable 15 hour drive one way. We did a bunch of online research on the route and planned stops in St. Louis, Missouri on the way down and Memphis, Tennessee on the way up. We booked ahead places to stay and activity tickets. It was a great trip that allowed us to check out at least one of the sights in each city we stopped in such as  the Gateway Arch in St. Louis and Elvis’s home in Memphis.

Pre-Planned Road-Trip Pros

You aren’t leaving things up to chance so there is less room for error. This can take some of the stress out , especially if you are more of a planner. This option can also be a safer route. It  allows you to leave a plan behind for loved ones in case of an emergency. It prevents you from rolling up to and almost staying in a truly terrifying , clearly hourly or full-time resident motel in Los Angeles, like we did on our first road trip. Additionally, when you plan ahead you can better research all there is to do and see along your route. We were able to look through and discuss with our trip-mates all the different things we could do and prioritize our favorites.

Pre-Planned Road-Trip Cons

It can make driving times a little tight. When you have to be in the next town by a certain time for a check-in or an activity you booked it leaves less time for impromptu stops or needed breaks. You also lose some of the adventure factor when it is all planned out. It can become more of a long drive, checking how many miles until the next stop, are we there yet kind of a situation.

Road trips are an amazing way to explore multiple places during your vacation. Especially in the USA with it’s endless highways and broad landscapes.  Choose which style is right for you, your destinations, and your road-trip team members and it will be the trip of a lifetime.

Want to hear more about our Illinois to Texas Road Trip? Click Here.