8 Backpacker Rules for Taking a Road Trip.
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Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from reader Andy Tipp. Please see his bio at the bottom of this article to learn more about him and his travel site.
Boredom, physical love and the Glee soundtrack – top tips for hitting the highway…
The open road. The endless highway. Driving off into the sunset.
The romance of travelling by car across vast distances is etched into our collective memories; we’ve been absorbing inspiring road trip adventures from TV shows, films and books since for decades.
But the road trip is fraught with peril. Peril! No, I’m not talking about bloodthirsty hitchhikers, fatal pile-ups or the omnipresence of McDonald’s; we’re talking far more serious matters – mistakes that can lead to inter-car tensions, bad trip soundtracking and overall journey underwhelming-ness.
So how can you and your fellow backpackers avoid auto self-sabotage? How can you pre-emptively prevent an emotional pile-up? There’s only one way, travellers; you have to follow the backpacker rules of taking road trip…
1. Choose your road buddies wisely…
On a road trip there is no escape. You drive together. Eat together. Sleep together. You get the idea. To find the perfect road trip group combination is to unlock a truly magical achievement; it’s part science, part art form – and you never know if you’ve made the right decision until you’re out there. Past the point of no return.
Take a look around the backpacker hostel. Scrutinise your options: the vegan American girl with dyed red hair; the monotone German dude with eight Lonely Planet guidebooks – will they get on? Think about it. Really ruminate on it.
Then get drunk and make a final decision based on mutual cocktail preferences.
2. Be smart when picking your vehicle
Is it a solo road journey? You can use a motorbike. Are there three of you? You will not be able to use a motorbike. Three people on a bike might look fun in a 45-second movie montage; in real-life montage lasting 20 hours it’s not so great. Rent a car.
Check that the car works. Make sure one of you knows how to check if a car works. Or how to implement fundamental mechanical maintenance. Being able to check your oil; use a jack; change a tire… These things are good to know. Whatever vehicle you get, make sure you have adequate car or motorbike insurance. Or prepare to be poor. So very poor.
3. Employ a driver rotation system
Really, everyone on the trip should be able to drive. But at the very least the driving should be shared. Do it properly. Get organised. Plan shifts. Use a collaborative Google doc spreadsheet to schedule driver changeovers. DO NOT BE AFRAID OF TECHNOLOGY.
Or you could, you know, go with the flow. Change drivers whenever you want. If you like. Hippies.
4. Passengers do not soundtrack the trip
Whoever’s in the hot seat – they are the DJ. Everyone can bring music. Everyone can make suggestions. But the driver gets the final call. This is not a democracy. Everyone else can fall asleep. Zone out. Crack open the beers. But the driver has to stay awake, sit there and put up with the Glee Soundtrack, Season 3: Volume 7. So make sure they’re cool with it.
This means compromise. This means concessions. If the driver wants to throw on the indie-folky soundtrack to Away We Go, they get it. If they want to roll down the windows and pump out some Springsteen, it’s happening.
5. Sex is allowed (where appropriate)
Road trips are romantic. And sometimes the road tripping backpackers themselves get romantic. With each other. This is acceptable – but only at the appropriate times. Private hostel rooms, secluded beaches, empty roadside bathrooms (if that’s your thing) – these are all acceptable places for physical road trip love.
Under no circumstances are you to engage in inter-group sexytime within the car in the company of your fellow road trippers. I don’t care if you’ve been thrown together in the back seat for five hours straight. Wait. It’s can’t be that hard…
Oh, and in case you were wondering: this same rule applies to ‘self-completing’.
6. Boredom is part of the experience
Sadly, life is not like the movies. Well, it is; just with all the boring deleted scenes still in the film. There will be times on the road trip where things are quiet. Still. Dull.
But do not feel disappointed about this. Embrace it. Think about the journey. Think about the effect this trip is having on you. Think about how this experience could change your life.
Or you could use the time to contemplate tweeting about what a non-stop rollercoaster you’re on.
7. Don’t become obsessed with sharing everything
You don’t need to tweet every interesting thing you see on the road. You don’t need to update facebook every time you get tired. You don’t need to pin every pretty building you see. You don’t need to Instagram. Every. Single. Sunset.
Social media is an amazing thing. Backpackers can share their adventures like never before. But there’s something to be said for not sharing everything that happens on the trip. Be selective. Pick the best stuff. Unless you’re a semi-pro or super serious blogger, you don’t need to saturate people with your road trip. You want them to be envious. Not overwhelmed.
8. Remember that the journey is the point of the trip
Try and see stuff on your road trip. But not too much stuff. Remember that if you’re pooling together with some backpackers to share transport and time together, that experience is the main focus of the trip. I would say something cheesy like ‘the journey is the destination’, but that would be a horrendous cliché.
Sums it up nicely, though, doesn’t it?
About the author:
Andrew Tipp is a writer, blogger and editor. He’s spent more than a year volunteering and backpacking around the world, and has worked as a travel editor for gapyear.com. His favourite continents are South America and Africa, and he cites Bolivia and Sri Lanka as the most interesting countries he’s ever visited. Outside travel Andy is also a film geek, news junkie, pop culture noodler and social media dabbler.
All photos in this post were provided by Andy Tipp.
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(8) awesome folk have had something to say...
Andi of My Beautiful Adventures -
December 11, 2012 at 4:28 pm
LOVE these tips!!!
Jade – OurOyster.com -
December 11, 2012 at 6:27 pm
Great post!! and very humerous! I love the tip about checking out the car… reminds me of my rental car in Tonga where we had to start it by pressing two wires together under the hood while the other person turned the key
Venkat Ganesh @ India Backpack Motorbike -
December 11, 2012 at 10:05 pm
Great tips there! As a consistent road tripper myself (albeit on my motorbike) I do believe that choosing your buddies is of utmost importance. You don’t want to be stuck with a bunch of people with whom you are not having any fun! Another important thing to take care if is the sharing of responsibilities during the trip. But the jerks that my friends are, I end up doing all the things. Does not matter. They are awesome people. But every once in a while I do feel the need to take some load of my back!
Humorous post! Keep it up!
Cheers
Venkat Ganesh
Caroline @ Traveling 9 to 5 -
December 12, 2012 at 9:30 am
I second tip #1 – pick your road trip partners wisely!
It can be a really great experience or a really bad experience 🙂
Bobbi Lee Hitchon -
December 12, 2012 at 1:49 pm
Haha loving this post! Helpful and funny.
Joseph -
December 13, 2012 at 5:20 am
Helpful post! Apart from the points you’ve mentioned here, I would like to add few more points: Plan the route and buy maps, book accommodation ahead, have a kitty (for fun), and make sure you have best music system in your car.
Dariece – Goats On The Road -
December 17, 2012 at 10:42 pm
Cool post!
Road trips are a blast but you’re absolutely right, they can become a disaster if you choose the wrong people to travel with. Another thing we like to have with us on a road trip is a small cooler for food & drinks!
Cheers for the humorous post.
Safe Travels.
Goats On The Road
PurpleTravelKate -
December 19, 2012 at 2:38 am
Loooveeee road trips, mostly mine are much smaller versions, but the music one is the *big* one. Mostly my fault because I insist on something, but you are right, it should all be sharing and caring!