When it comes to Spring Break everyone is excited for no school, getting some sun, and really just having time to relax. Though I bet I can speak for most college students when I say planning out Spring Break involves WAY more stress than it should. You have to buy the hotel room, save money to spend, make sure everyone knows how much the owe you for buying certain necessities. I turns into a real headache to say the least! Specially when you are trying to save money. So to save some extra cash you take it to the open road instead of the sky when it comes to travel. Though it involves a little more planning than buying a plane ticket it is SO worth it! From experience though there are some helpful tips to make planning your Spring Break road trip almost totally stress free. Along with getting you some better deals.
Tip #1
When looking around for a place to stay in your paradise location, use HomeAway.com. If you are going to spend $100 plus dollars a night to stay some where you mind as well get a full kitchen, a living room, bathroom, and maybe even a few bedrooms. At HomeAway you can find awesome houses, apartments, lofts, etc. to rent for your Spring Break. Did I mention it be the same price as getting a little hotel room! Why not spend the cash and get more for you buck.
Tip #2
Plan out your meals ahead of time. Now I don't mean this as down to the very last second you should plan when you are going to grab a bite to eat. But look a little into the future and plan out some restaurants you want to hit on your road trip and maybe even when you reach your destination. If you get the app Groupon you can find some pretty amazing deals for restaurants that can save you a ton of money. Along with leaving you stress free of where you are going to eat, you already know.
Tip #3
Make sure you look a little ahead at your GPS when driving. When I went on my Spring Break road trip last year we did not see that there had been a rock slide in the mountains that we had to go through, and ended up having to make an hour and a half detour to get around it... Did I mention it was like four in the morning when we were driving. So a word to the wise, just make sure there is not unforeseen detours in your path when driving a long way from home.
Tip #4
Now I know being a girl means we pack a lot. We want to be prepared for any outfit situation that might arise when we are on vacation. Though it makes us very prepared it also clutters a car like no other. And if you are already trying to squeeze five people into a small car you need all the extra wiggle room you can get. So my advice is to pack light. Give yourself two AT THE MAX extra outfits but keep everything else to the bare essentials. It will make packing the car to carrying the bags so much easier.
Tip #5
Scope out things to do while you are on vacation. The main plan might be to just bum out on the beach but that can get boring after awhile. It is always a good idea to have some fun backup plans to do when things get a little routine. If you go on Groupon you can even find some deals on events to save a little money too.
Tip #6
Easy on the energy drinks and coffee to keep you awake during the ride. Make sure you are well rested before making your big journey. Coffee and Monster can only do so much to keep you awake. Also you don't want to be making a million bathroom breaks on your ride.
Tip #7
Have some great throwback CDs or amazing playlist ready for the car ride. It will be a god sent when you are four hours in on a ten hour car ride.
Tip #8
You are never to old to play cheesy car ride games to pass the time.