Budget Road-Trip Tips

Ah, the open road! For me, it doesn’t feel like summer unless there’s at least one road-trip planned! There are so many reasons why you might want to plan a road-trip this summer: the freedom to explore and be spontaneous, the ability to venture near and far to places you may not be able to get to via other modes of transportation, and having the ability to keep within a budget. You CAN stick to your budget on a driving holiday! Here are a few road-trip tips to help you along.

Select Less-Busy Times to Travel

It may seem obvious to you, but travelling during holiday weekends, when everyone and their dog is out driving from one place to another is NOT a great way to stick to your budget (and maintain some semblance of sanity). During long weekends, I prefer to stick to places that I can easily walk or take transit to. Off-peak season travel is cheaper in terms of gas prices and hotel stays. If you’re able to, travel during the week rather than during weekends.

My favourite time to travel is the first week of June. The weather tends to be reliably warm (but not too hot), there are fewer crowds at places where I want to explore, and the roads are less busy, too. One thing to keep in mind during this time of year is that many parts of Canada may still have some snow cover on hiking trails and some roads may not yet be open for the season. These considerations haven’t prevented me from having amazing road-trips to Victoria, Nelson (and the Kootenays), and throughout the Canadian Rocky Mountains during the first week of June, though. I love how taking a road-trip during the first week of June makes the whole summer way more exciting – I don’t mind staycationing for the rest of summer so long as I get to go on at least one road-trip!

Make sure your Vehicle is Road-Ready

A few days before I leave on a road-trip I make sure that my car is going to get me to and from my destination safely. Hope for the best but plan for the worst. A few things that I check out:

• Do I need an oil change?
• How is the tire pressure?
• Do the headlights work?
• Have I tested the windshield wipers?
• How are the fluid levels?

Plan your Route and Itinerary

I’m all for having a spontaneous trip, but when it comes to road-trips, it’s a good idea to have at least a rough plan of the route you’ll take and a few places you’ll stop along the way. This is a good idea for a couple reasons: both you and your travel companions will be able to shake out your legs during the drive and you’ll also be able to keep up the fun and excitement, since you’ll have several places to look forward to stopping along the way.

To keep on-budget, plan on stopping at a few free sightseeing spots along the way: waterfalls, short hiking trails, lakes or rivers. Small towns also make for fun, free or inexpensive places to stop. I love walking along the (usually) one main street in a small town and window shopping or going into the little shops and also grabbing a coffee from a local coffee shop.

If you really want to keep the budget down, camping is free or inexpensive and a really fun way to enjoy nature. You’ll be able to cook your own food, which will also help to keep costs down.

Choose Free or Cheap Activities

Small towns often have free or inexpensive art galleries and museums, or other events and activities going on that are in keeping with your budget. I like to check the local event listings before head out on my trip. When I’ve reached my destination, however, I tend to look at a map and choose a few parks or lakes to spend time at, so that not everything is planned out beforehand.

I also recommend bringing snacks and drinks with you to limit the number of times you need to eat out at restaurants. When I reach my destination, I drop by a grocery store for additional food items that I can keep in my hotel’s fridge.

I’d love to hear from you – do you have budget road-trip tips to share?

If you haven’t yet enjoyed the pleasures of a road-trip because you think it’s too expensive, by planning ahead, making sure your vehicle is road-ready, and packing food with you, you can have fun on your next road-trip while staying on a budget!