As many people who follow me on social media know, I am into flying every month.
It has been a slow start, but I am enjoying flying more.
I did miss a couple months though.
Life was happening.
First, last year I found out that my mom needed a second knee surgery.
Then, I was in my first real car accident.
Long story short, this has moved slow, but by the end of this year I may be flying more than once a month at times.
I plan to hit my international list hard soon too.
I want to cover the remaining 3 continents I have not been to except Antartica: South America, Australia, and Asia.
I have been to Europe and Africa.
In any case, though I have been having a lot of fun flying, I still like road trips.
Why?
Road trips are an easy, cheap way to travel more.
Most people only take 1-3 vacations a year.
No need to sit at home the rest of the year.
I am planning to take my mom to Memphis soon.
She has never been there.
Memphis is an underrated city with the history of 3 music forms (soul, blues, and rock ‘n roll).
Of course, it is also known for good barbecue.
In any case, my favorite way to do the road trip (besides the day trip) is overnight.
This is where you only stay one night.
Usually, you leave early in the morning, and return close to evening the next day.
I have eye disease, so I don’t drive on interstates at night.
I suppose normal people can return late in the evening though.
Here are four reasons you should keep road trips overnight only.
4 Reasons Why You Should Keep Your Road Trips Overnight Only
1. It will save you money
Of course, the number one reason to do the overnight road trip is to save money.
Road trips don’t require airfare, so that makes lodging your biggest expense.
Hotels can be pricey, so this is no small matter when you are staying in the center of a city.
Places like Nashville can be $300-$500 a night although there are ways to get around that.
Look for my post on Music City, so you can see how you can save money on hotels there.
One of my favorite ways to save money in expensive markets like New York and Nashville is to use advanced calendars at Hilton and Marriott,
They show you the cheapest dates in both cash and points for months at a time.
You can then select the cheapest dates that work for your schedule.
To save money on hotels, you can also choose to stay outside of the city center.
You don’t have to choose the suburbs only either.
You can save money outside of the tourist areas.
For instance, in Nashville you can choose Vanderbilt/Midtown instead of Downtown Nashville.
In New York City, you can choose the Financial District/Downtown instead of Times Square/Midtown.
Here are more basics to save money on hotels.
2. You get in as much as on longer trips
My overnight road trips get in as much as my longer trips.
Again, when driving my own car, I leave as early as possible, and return as late as possible.
If renting a car, you will be constricted by rental car times if you don’t want to pay for an extra day.
In any case, if you leave early and return late; it is almost like a day and a half.
I get a lot in during this amount of time.
I am sure you can too.
3. You save time
Everyone has a busy schedule.
The weekend is meant for rest.
Overnight trips take less time, so you can have more time to relax before the start of your work week.
4. You have more money/points for bigger trips
If you are not spending much on a road trip, you have more points/money for bigger trips later (i.e. international travel).
It is also why I like to keep my flights in the United States to 2 nights.
I have even done 24 hour domestic flights.
Travel is about seeing the rest of the world.
You shouldn’t spend a lot of money on a road trip when you can be out seeing the rest of the world.
Most people in the United States do not travel abroad.
Only 40% of Americans have passports.
I know this may sound weird to a point’s audience.
In any case, most people, even with points, won’t get to do an international trip every week.
Most people don’t fly every week in the United States either.
So, road trips are a way for you to travel more in between your bigger trips.
Why sit at home when you are not doing bigger vacations or trips?
Nothing to do on a weekend?
A road trip could be the answer.
Do You Even Need An Overnight Stay? The Day Trip
Some of my overnight road trips have turned into day trips.
This is the best of both worlds when the distance is right.
You won’t have to pay for a hotel.
I usually do these for trips a couple of hours away, especially in my state.
I also like doing major cities not far away,
Depending on your driving ability, you can pull off more though.
For example, I live 3 hours away from Atlanta.
I don’t think I have done Atlanta as a day trip, but I have done Montgomery that is the same distance.
Hotels in Atlanta are so cheap, I will sometimes just pay up.
I usually get the Hilton Downtown for a little over $100 per night.
I mention this because three hours each way of driving may be ok for some.
Warning: Know That You Can Spend As Much On A Road Trip As An International One
Travel is about seeing the rest of the world again.
This means international travel.
If you are not careful, you could spend as much on a road trip as an international one.
I don’t want to do that.
Instead, you can be out putting stamps in your passport, and keeping the road trip to small costs.
This is why I basically only do overnight road trips.
Of course, I am not traveling with kids.
Ways To Save Money On The Overnight Road Trip
Of course, only having one night of lodging saves you money.
Here are more ways to save money on your overnight road trip:
- use hotel calendars
- Use points/miles if the redemption is right
- use gas apps like Gas Buddy and Get Upside to save on gas
- Find ways to save on parking
- Do free attractions
- Read forums like reddit/tripadvisor
Since the hotel is the main part of the overnight trip, make sure you know the basics to save money on hotels again.
Here is how I spent $0 on a hotel without using points.
Summary
Most Americans only take 1-3 vacations a year.
Why sit at home the rest of the year?
The overnight road trip is a way to travel more for less.
This along with day trips are my favorite types of road trips.
Have a free weekend?
Hit the road for a quick overnight trip.
As usual, maybe this is something that will work for you.
I do not travel with kids again.
This is one of many ways to save money on travel.
It will allow you to travel more too.
As usual, if this post was helpful, share it below on social media.
