I have been wishfully thinking that international travel would be back and running in 2021. I was wrong. Since the pandemic we have been on two road trips (both to the deep south). Our last trip in February 2021 included Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama. We chose the South because of less restrictions and the welcoming nature of the locals. If you’ve never been before, I highly recommend it. The culture is like nothing else you have experienced and the food is fantastic!
So it seems like road trips will continue into the near future. So how do you plan a road trip in the United States? There are several websites and apps you can use to help. I love RoadTrippers.com. For an annual fee of $30 you can map out your road trip and each stop along the way (up to 150). For the free version, you can add 5 stops along the way. The fee is well worth it for even 1 road trip a year. They have a promo code for $5 off using the code BTR5QTP.
Another great app is Roadside America. It tells you unique and odd places to visit near where you are driving. On our last trip, we found the Kermit the Frog Museum, Lynyard Skynyrd Plane Crash Memorial Site, and a beautiful boardwalk park through an old cypress swamp. It’s 100% free!
When choosing accommodations and restaurants, I use TripAdvisor as my bible. I have never had a bad experience at a hotel from reading TripAdvisor reviews.
This year we are going on two more road trips: Utah/Las Vegas and Nevada/Las Vegas. The first trip includes a flight to Salt Lake City driving through Utah’s park system with a final stop in Las Vegas to see Lionel Ritchie and Gwen Stefani. Our second trip starts in Reno, Nevada with stops along ghost towns and old mining towns, Death Valley, and a final stop in Las Vegas. Stay tuned for more information and good luck planning your road trip!