The Great American Road Trip, Done Right
Road trips are having a real moment again: Route 66, the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Pacific Coast Highway. The appeal is obvious: no flights, no airport lines, and a route that photographs well.
Endless opportunities
The mistake is planning the trip around the map instead of around the people in the car. A route with eight stops in five days photographs well and exhausts everyone by day three, especially with kids or anyone who gets carsick on winding roads.
A road trip that actually works starts with two questions: how many hours a day can this group realistically sit in a car, and what does everyone actually want to see versus what looks good to say you saw. Those answers, not the list of famous overlooks, should decide the route.
Done with the pace matched to your group, a road trip is one of the most flexible ways to travel. Done by copying someone else's itinerary, it is just a long week in a car.
