Last Updated on January 3, 2022 by Road To Free Life
Road trips are a great way to have a family vacation without spending too much. Many people believe that road trips can be less expensive than flying to your destination. While that might be true, with a little bit of planning, you can still learn some tricks to save money on gas, food, and accommodations.
Here are some of the best tips to save money on road trips:
Gas
If you are going alone on the trip, driving might not be the cheaper option and the more people will be in your car, the cheaper your trip will be. When I have a trip car I usually travel with my girlfriend and a few friends, so it more economical than flying.
Here are some tips to save on gas:
- Make sure your tires are correctly inflated. It’s very important your tires have the right precision. If you don’t know the required pressure level, is usually on a yellow sticker in the doorjamb on the driver side and it’s also contained in the owner’s manual.
- Plan out where to get gas. Use the GasBuddy app or website to see the cheapest gas price on your trip.
- Avoid getting a ticket. Check your car before starting the trip to check all your lights are working properly. The last thing you want is to get a ticket.
- Lookout for parking spots. Most people typically forget when traveling about parking expensive. Try to look for a hotel or an Airbnb that has free parking spot included.
- Use cruise control. When you are driving at constant speed is more fuel efficient and this will definitely help you save money on your road trip.
Food
One of the biggest expense on a road trip is food. If you are eating out when traveling then you have the opportunity to save a lot of money if you are willing to change that.
Here are some tips for saving on food for your road trip:
- Prepare some food at home before your trip. Is a good idea to make some food before you are leaving especially that you can get an Electric Cooler to keep your food and drinks cool during the trip.
- Get a variety of snacks. If you travel for a long time, you should have a good variety of snacks to prevent for stopping at the gas stations for buying overpriced snacks.
- Chose a grocery store instead of fast food. You can save a few dollars if you chose to buy your food from a grocery store and eat in the car.
Accommodations
Where you sleep at night is one of the major expenses when you are traveling, so you should planing this before starting your trip.
Here are some tips to save money of accommodations:
- Stay with family and friends. We have some good friends over the country and I love the chance of seeing them. Of course, we contact our friends or family before and ask them if they are available to spend one or more nights with us.
- Bring a tent and camp with you. If you like outdoor adventure, this is definitely a good idea. There are a lot of places where you can pitch a tent for free.
- Find unique accommodations on Airbnb. You should definitely check Airbnb when you are traveling because there are some very interesting and unique places where you can stay during your trip.
Are you excited to plan your next road trip? You can set and stick to a budget while you’re traveling and still have a lot of fun!