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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