
Determine how many days you want to spend at each key location and factor in the drive times between them, then compare that amount of time to your total allotted time for the whole road trip. Once you’ve plotted your must-see stops, you can get a rough estimate of how long your cross-country drive will take. You can use a paper map, but a digital one like Google Maps is much easier-it’s nice to have an easily changeable visual representation of your course as you work out the stops in between. With your key stops decided, it’s now time to pinpoint those locations on a map and plan your route. Great bucket-list activities to consider include hiking the Grand Canyon, stargazing from national parks, and enjoying nature in Yosemite. (That is, pick a generally northern, central, or southern path across the country!) Of course, if you have the time, you can take a more meandering route rather than a direct one.
VACATION ROAD TRIP PLANNER PRO
Pro tip: Consult a map when picking your must-see points, and try to select ones that are in relatively straight routes to maximize your driving time. Now, for a cross-country road trip, remember that the focus is on the east-to-west journey (or vice versa), which means you don’t necessarily want to drive too far north and south during your journey. Plan your route of travel based on these locations, and let that route open the door to other stops along the way.

Technically, it only takes just shy of two days to cross the entire country if you drive nonstop, but where’s the fun in that? (Not to mention the lack of sleep is dangerous!) To make the journey in an enjoyable fashion, we think two weeks is the bare minimum needed, but three to five weeks is ideal.Ĭhoosing “must see” points of interest will lay the foundation for your entire trip. This will determine how many stops you can make during your drive, and how long you can stay at each.

Road Trip Tip #1: Determine the Length of Your Trip.ĭecide how much time you’re willing to commit to your cross-country road trip. These days, it’s a lot easier to drive from coast to coast, but you should still take great care in planning your cross-country road trip to ensure not only your safety, but also that you’ll have fun, too! Read on for six important road trip tips to consider before you embark on your own cross-country drive. In 1903, Horatio Nelson Jackson and Sewall Crocker completed the United States’ first cross-country road trip in an automobile, driving 4,500 miles in 63 days. With only 150 miles of paved roads in the country, this was quite an impressive feat.
