Roadtrippin’ with a theme – Road trip tip

by Gadling Staff on

Road trips are meant to be fun and adventurous. Up the stakes by picking a theme for your trip!

Choose a theme that you and your travel buddies agree might be interesting, and do your best to center your stops and sightseeing around this theme. The possibilities are endless:

  • Food theme: Eat only barbecue across the Southeastern U.S.
  • Sports theme: Pit-stop at small town parks for quick games of touch football
  • Souvenir theme: Collect tacky knick-knacks from truck stops and gas stations
  • Couch theme: Limit your overnight stays to only couch-surfing

Take a “surprise yourself” road trip – Road trip tip

by Gadling Staff on

Want to take a road trip to no where in particular that’s different and exciting for the adventurer in you? Here’s how to organize a “surprise yourself” road trip.

  1. Decide on the number of miles you will drive farthest.
  2. Collect two small bags and some post-it notes.
  3. On some of the post-it notes, write one direction on each note (i.e., north, south, east, west) and place notes in one of the bags.
  4. On some other post-it notes, write one length of journey for each note (i.e., 5 miles; 10 miles; 18 miles) and place notes in the other bag.
  5. Draw a post-it note for the first driving direction.
  6. Draw a post-it note for the first length of journey.
  7. Drive.
  8. When you reach the terminus of this leg, draw another direction and length of journey, and at the first safe road, turn in that direction and drive for the number of miles indicated.
  9. Continue on your journey to the outer radius.
  10. Explore. Don’t forget your camera, and perhaps a small packed snack.

Remember to enjoy the places, people, scenery and adventures along the way.

6 useful iPhone apps for road trips – Road trip tip

by Gadling Staff on

Try these six useful apps on your next road trip. All are available on the App Store (warning: links open iTunes):

  1. MapsBuddy ($1.99) finds nearby gas stations and restaurants.
  2. SimulTravelGPS (Free) locates hotels with details of prices and amenities.
  3. UrbanSpoon (Free) suggests restaurants based on your cravings.
  4. RoadTripFun ($0.99) contains a menu of traditional road trip games for you to play with your friends and family.
  5. The Weather Channel (Free) provides weather conditions for your exact location with radar maps and forecasts.
  6. Flashlight (Free) turns your phone into a flashlight, if you need to find something in your car at night. App includes SOS signal.

Paint on the fun – Road trip tip

by Gadling Staff on

Looking for a way to add a little more fun to your next road trip? The answer is simple: paint for your car’s windows!

Buying a few sticks of car paint, which can be found at most large retailers, and filling the windows of the car with scandalous sayings and quotes can attract a lot of attention.

In the past, people’s reactions to things like “Blonde Brigade” and “Whore Wheelin'” have allowed us to make life long memories.

Play the roadside attraction game – Road trip tip

by Gadling Staff on

We live in Alaska, but half our family lives in Montana, so visiting means one long road trip. To keep ourselves entertained, we play a road-side attraction game. Here’s how it works:

  1. plan each day’s drive to allow for at least one long break;
  2. assign each member of the family a day during which they get to pick the roadside attraction we stop at during the break;
  3. at the end of the trip the family member that chose the best attraction, as voted on by everybody, get’s a prize!

This is a fun way to explore your surroundings and play a game at the same time.