Deciding where to go for either a road trip or a holiday can be both a stressful and exciting exercise, aside from if you go to the same place every time. One way or another you’re generally going to run into a series of problems and there’s no real way to get around that, but to be perfectly honest, it may be easier just to steer into the skid.

Alas, we aren’t going to take our own advice in this instance, because we’ve got five tips as to how you can combat not being able to decide where to go! We’re going to run through a series of what we consider to be logical ideas as you go on the path towards your getaway.

This article is written based on going away on your own or with your partner. However, these can apply regardless of how many people you travel with, but it’s always nice to have a bit of a back story.

Travel time

Setting the foundations are important as it defines the boundaries you have to work within and can speed up the process while limiting the confusion and stress all at the same time!

You need to decide on how long your trip will be. Whether it is just the weekend, or it is a couple weeks, it is important to define how many hours/days you have to work with. Once this has been decided, you can then start to outline what would be considered as too much travel time and what is not. For example, planning a weekend camping trip that is 10 hours away is a bit far, as you essentially end up spending more time travelling then you do enjoying your trip and it severely limits the activities you can do as a result. Although, if you were away for a week or longer, 10 hours is more like part of the journey and is not considered a long time.

Budget

The next stage of setting the foundations is determining the budget for your trip. We consider this as the second stage because you do not want to set aside too little, but you also don’t want to over budget.

After working out the length of your trip, you can more accurately decide on a budget for the trip as you can work out what you consider to be too little and too much for the length of time you have determined. While budgeting money is important, the other side of budgeting is storage capacity. A short trip will not require a lot of items to be taken meaning you will generally have room to carry everything you need, but what if your trip spans for a week or two, possibly longer? A car can only store so much, and a trailer can be a good option if you are travelling on the road. However, should you wish to travel offroad whether it is planned or spontaneous, it may limit what you can do which is never good for a trip you’ve worked hard to pay for. A roof rack can be a handy solution to boost your storage options and still allows you to be a compact unit with options open.

What do you want to do?

The final part of setting the foundation is to determine what you want to do or get out of this trip. Considering your hobbies is recommended as you definitely want to have fun and enjoy your time away. If you are going with a group, listing hobbies or things to do and picking the common factors can be a good way to ensure everyone is happy to do what is decided and will have a good time.

Research

You’ve worked out the length of time your trip will be, the maximum travel time appropriate, the budget, the storage room and what you would like to do on your trip, now you can start to research and come up with a list of destinations that fit the description you have defined. By doing all the ground work to get to this point, you have taken out the pain of endless searching and confusion as you have good perspective on what is appropriate and will work and what will not. Focus and purpose are powerful tools when used correctly and these techniques are especially great for quick and spontaneous trips.

Researching is not necessarily about just searching the internet though, talk to others and hear their experiences and recommendations, they may know of places unknown to the internet or experiences that are unlisted which could provide you the best trip of your life! You do also need to do your due diligence to ensure that you are aware of any potential risks, hazards, rules and regulations that accompany your end decision when you have decided on your destination, as a good trip is always one that goes without injury, bad surprises and legal consequences.

Prepare adequately

Lastly, ensure that you have informed family and friends of the trip and your location, that you have all the safety equipment needed in case of emergency such as an up to date first aid kit and that your car is ready for the trip by having it serviced and checked before you leave. It is also a great idea to have an emergency plan in place should something go wrong such as getting stuck during a crossing or unexpected natural disasters that may occur depending on the time of year and the destination you have chosen.