A great getaway for the summer that you can experience with friends is a road trip. If that sounds like the perfect summer adventure for you and your friend group, it’s important to plan ahead of time and discuss with everyone how you want everything to go.
If you’ve traveled with friends before, you know that it can be stressful and even straining on your relationship. To avoid any big issues on your trip, come up with a plan and know how to execute it. This should be a vacation, not something to stress over. Manage everyone’s expectations while also leaving room for flexibility so you can all have fun.
Snack Time
One of the most important parts of a road trip is the food. Snacks in the car or in the hotel room after a long day of driving can make or break the mood of the whole trip. What you do for your meals, too, can set things up for success or disaster, so choose your road trip food carefully.
Make sure to pack plenty of snacks. You might not expect to get very hungry if you’re sitting in a car most of the day, but many people find that snacking can help curb boredom, so keeping snacks in the car is a must to keep everyone happy. Besides, this is your vacation, you’re allowed to eat whatever and as much junk food as you want as long as you’re having a good time. Take a trip to the grocery store with your friends before leaving so you can all pick out what you want. Or you can even make your own snacks together for an extra activity before the drive.
If you really want to enhance your road trip snacking (and if it’s legal wherever you’re going) consider taking along a bit of cannabis to make things a bit more fun. You can smoke a bit as long as you do it outside or by your car and not in any hotels or restaurants. Try a new strain like the sunset sherbet strain to experience something new. For a bit more convenience, pack some marijuana gummies or bake brownies beforehand. Just be sure that no matter how you’re ingesting it, no one is driving under the influence. Have a designated driver at all times or simply save any cannabis use for nighttime when you’re parked for the night or at a hotel. Have fun, but be safe.
Not About The Destination
Where you’re going isn’t necessarily as important as the journey there, especially on a road trip. The whole appeal of driving long distances for your vacation is to have fun on the drive itself. Treat the trip not as a means to an end, but as a fun activity all on its own.
A must-have for any road trip is great music. A driving playlist is essential if you’re going to be spending so much time in a car, so you want to put some real thought and effort into creating a good mix. Get all your friends together to suggest good songs and curate the perfect collection of vacation music to enjoy as you drive. Know what everyone you’re traveling with likes so you can incorporate a bit of everything as well as any music you all enjoy as a group. Try to pick songs that most people know and that are upbeat and easy to sing along to, as those will be the most fun to hear.
It’s important to plan your route beforehand so the drive goes smoothly and you don’t get lost anywhere. Keep tabs on any road closings or construction and look for alternate routes ahead of time. Remember to plan for plenty of stops and take things like traffic and time for meals into account when planning the timing of everything. Just keep in mind that no matter how much you plan, things can always change, so try to be flexible and leave plenty of room in your schedule for deviations or issues.
Set up the car to be as comfortable and efficient for everyone as possible. If you’ll be driving in summer, make sure your car has good working air conditioning and consider getting hand-held battery-powered fans in case anyone gets too overheated. Pack plenty of pillows and blankets for when people want to take naps and keep in mind how much space you’ll need to leave for everyone’s luggage.
Making The Most of It
Rather than trying to make every detail of the trip go perfectly, try focusing instead on just spending time with your friends and having fun with them. This vacation should be about all of you having a good time so as long as that’s the case, nothing else really matters.
Be sure to take plenty of pictures so you can look back on the trip together later on. Snap some photos whenever you stop at an attraction or tourist spot, or just take candid pictures of everyone in the car or in the hotels at night. Make a shared folder on the Cloud or Google Drive so you can all have access to every picture.
Throughout the trip make sure to check in on everyone and ensure that you’re all having a good time. Traveling with friends can sometimes lead to tension between people, so keep track of how everyone is feeling and communicate with each other to avoid any problems. Plan the trip together so everyone gets a say in what you do and be sure to accommodate everyone.
Road trips can be stressful sometimes, but the important thing is being with your friends and having fun together. Talk to each other about your expectations for the trip and communicate calmly and directly if any issues arise. Focus on the journey, relax, and have fun.
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