The Local Road Trip

Forget Europe, SCUBA diving, and beach bumming. If you’re looking for bang for your buck, road trips are the best kind of vacation to take with your friends. However, if your parents strict, you probably aren’t allowed to go on a multi-night, cross-country trip with your pal who just got his license. You’re also probably only allowed to have sugar cereals for dessert and not for breakfast, but that’s for another post. Anyway, here are a few ideas for getting that road trip vacation feel without breaking curfew:

• Cheap Eats: Figure out what the local publication of the nearest metropolitan area is and find its cheap eats issue. Chances are there’s a spot that super reasonable and somewhere between one to three hours away from where you live. Plan a trip with some buds. The only issue is that since you’re driving to get grub, you’re going to have to pass up the road trip snacks, which are a huge part of the experience. To make up for it, roll down your windows and yell “ROAD TRIP!” at the top of your lungs as much as possible.
• Hiking: Got some gorgeous nature somewhere in area? Pile into a car with your friends and head towards it. And here’s something we recently learned, much to our delight: Hiking isn’t hardcore at all. We always thought that it was super woodsy and you needed to know how to tie special knots and whittle stuff. Turns out, it’s just walking in the woods! Anyone can do it.
• Fast food Binging: This one probably isn’t recommended for anyone with medical issues or those of you who are particularly health-conscious. However, the truth is that fast food, greasy spoons, and convenience stores provide a good percentage of the fun and/or sustenance on a road trip. Plan a day with friends where you drive from a diner for breakfast to a chicken and waffles place for lunch and then to a burger joint for dinner. Make sure the places are really far apart, so it takes plenty of time to get from one to the next.  The next day you might want to plan a group trip to the gym to even things out.

Have you ever planned a road trip in your own town?

Related Post: How to Be the Worst Road Trip Partner Ever