How Long Is Too Long For A Road Trip? Everything You Should Consider

How Long Is Too Long For A Road Trip? Things To Consider

There are a lot of things to review when deciding how long your road trip should be.

Your budget

Don’t you wish vacations were free? Sadly, you probably have to stick to some kind of road trip budget so you have money left over for basic necessities like toothpaste and ice cream (I mean, I consider that a necessity, don’t you?).

Knowing your budget first is going to make the rest of your trip planning easier as it will help you narrow down where you can afford to go and for how long.

Your destination

Once you know how much money you can spend on a road trip, where you want to go will play a huge part in how long you should visit the destination.

For example, if you want to visit Spain and your goal is to see as much of the country as possible, you’ll probably need a minimum of two weeks to even get a good overview of it. You won’t get to see much of the country in only a few days. However, if you plan to stay in Barcelona and take some day trips from the city, you can do that with fewer days.

Know where you’d like to go and how long it would reasonably take you to explore the area you are interested in.

Your vacation time

If you work a job where you’ll need to take time off to travel, you’re probably limited on the amount of PTO you can take off in a year.

Therefore, when you are in your planning stages, you’ll have to decide how much time you can take off for your vacation and whether you want to use it all on one long trip or break it up for shorter trips.

Your allotted PTO will determine how long your road trip can be, and this can also help dictate where you want to go based on how much area you can cover in that amount of time.

Check out some ideas near the end of this post on places to visit based on your trip length.

Your travel buddies

Who you are traveling with is going to be important in determining how long your road trip can be. Their time and budget limitations will also affect the overall experience of the vacation.

If you have kids in the public school system and you are traveling during the academic year, you probably can’t take a whole month off without any issues arising.

If you are traveling with a boyfriend, girlfriend, or friends for the first time, you also might not want to take an extra-long vacation in case you find out you aren’t compatible travel buddies.

The same goes for a spouse or even parents – being in a car for a long time with others can either make you crazy or bring you closer together. If you haven’t traveled with your companions in a while or spent large amounts of time with them in close quarters, let that help you plan your trip length.

Your current commitments

Everyone has different life commitments, whether it’s work, hobbies, volunteering, or something similar. You might also have different people in your life who depend on you and whom you need to think about when planning your road trip.

If you’ve got pets that someone is watching, you might not want to or be able to go away for more than a week. If someone is babysitting your children, you also might not feel comfortable leaving them for long periods of time.

Maybe you own a business and need to plan around events or meetings. Perhaps your brother is getting married and you need to be back in time to celebrate with him.

Whatever your commitments are, you’ll need to check your calendar and plan your road trips around them.

Your desired daily driving time

This is going to be different for everyone, but how long you want to drive each day is going to be a factor in determining how long your road trip should be. 

Would you rather have a trip with fewer days but with more driving time each day, or are you someone who’d prefer having more days and driving less each day?

How many hours you drive a day will also be determined by your travel style and personality – do you get worn out quickly if the trip is too fast-paced, or do you thrive on fitting as much into a vacation as possible…what’s sleep, anyway?

The time of year

The time of year could also make a difference in how long your road trip should be. If you travel in the winter, the weather will be more unpredictable and you may have to travel slower if it snows.

You should also have backup plans and extra days allocated in case roads get closed or you have to detour. Driving in the winter can be tricky but it doesn’t have to mess up your trip as long as you do some planning.

How long can you drive a car continuously?

From a mechanical standpoint, how long you can drive a car continuously is really only limited by the vehicle’s gas tank size and fuel efficiency. Once it runs out of gas, you have to stop to refuel.

From a human standpoint though, you should only drive a vehicle for a few hours at a time before you stop to rest. Taking the time to stretch, eat some food, and let your mind get a break is important so you are alert and safe behind the wheel.

How many miles should you drive a day on a road trip?

Many experts say that as a general rule, you shouldn’t drive more than 8 hours a day. I’ll be honest though, I drive much further than that all the time. I frequently make road trips where I’m driving 10-12 hours a day.

With all that said, I do follow certain rules when I’m driving long distances, especially by myself. These are good guidelines and tips for everyone so you can stay safe and focused.

• One of the most important things is to make sure you stop every 2-3 hours for at least 15 minutes to stretch, use the toilet, get food, fill up the gas tank, etc. This is not only good for your body but for your mind too.
• Keep yourself hydrated and bring healthy food to keep up your energy and your ability to focus. 
• If you have another person sharing the driving time, switch back and forth often to give each other a break and let the passenger take a nap, eat something, or navigate. It also keeps you from getting bored.
• Probably the most important tip is this: never drive when you’re too tired. Your safety and the safety of your passengers and others on the road should always come first. If you’re tired, pull over and rest. It’s not worth it to press on when you shouldn’t.

Is driving long distances bad for your car?

Overall, no, it’s not hurting your car to drive long distances. A car in good shape can go an extremely long time and is meant to be driven a lot of miles. In fact, doing shorter drives with lots of stopping and starting actually wears your car out faster than cross-country highway journeys.

With that said, there are certain things you should do before you leave for a road trip to make sure your car is in good shape.

You should always get your car checked out before leaving on a long road trip. Get the oil changed, tires rotated, fluids checked, etc. If you notice anything off while driving, make sure you let your mechanic know so he can inspect it before you head out.

While you’re on your road trip, you should stop every few hours and do a quick check of the coolant and other fluid levels, test your tire pressure, and keep your gas tank filled. If any warning lights pop up, don’t ignore them. Have the car checked out as soon as you can.

If you are traveling for weeks or longer, find a place to get an oil change along your route. If you take care of your car, you have less chance of problems arising.

It’s also a good idea to keep a few things in your car, like a roadside emergency kit, jumper cables, air compressor, spare tire, and tire jack, in case of minor issues.

Also something to note: hot weather can overheat the engine and cold weather can drain the battery, so if you’ll be traveling during some extreme temperatures, take extra precautions on those things. Coolant is especially important in the summer and a battery jumper is a good investment in the winter.

Where should I road trip if I have…

1 to 3 days

With one day up to three days, I’d recommend taking day trips from a city or around a smaller national park. If you want to be able to experience things, you don’t want to be driving the entire time, so basing yourself in one spot and exploring from there will be a great choice.

National parks are fantastic options with only a few days. Some great ones to consider include Glacier and Grand Teton National Parks in the west and Acadia along the east coast. You could also venture into Idaho and do a long weekend in the Sawtooth Mountains or drive the Bold Coast in Maine.

4 to 5 days

If you have 4-5 days for a road trip, you could explore a region or island, a larger national park, or even a smaller country in Europe.

With that amount of time, you could feasibly stay at 1-2 locations and still be able to experience the surrounding areas without sacrificing too much time driving in between.

Yellowstone National Park is a place that deserves at least 4 days that would be a great choice with 4-5 days at your disposal.

6 to 10 days

When you have 6-10 days, you can reasonably travel longer distances or cover larger regions without spreading yourself too thin, like a road trip through the UK or traveling from state to state in the US.

You could tackle many of the countries in Europe or Central America with this length of time too. Scotland is my favorite country, and while it deserves all the time you can manage, you can see so much with this one-week Scotland itinerary.

If national parks are your thing, you can see three of them in this 7-day road trip to Glacier, Yellowstone, and Grand Tetons.

10 to 14 days

You can cover so much in 10-14 days that your choices are immense. You could dive deep into discovering many of the larger countries in Europe (like this 10-day Scotland Highlands itinerary), explore the east or west coast of the United States, travel many of the famous USA road trips like Route 66 or the Great River Road, or even tackle the Pacific Northwest or New England.

Over 2 weeks

With two weeks or more at your disposal, you can explore just about anything you want. Maybe you want to drive across the entire USA or Canada, see a ton of Australia, immerse yourself in New Zealand, or see as much of Europe as you can.

No matter how long you have to travel, there is always somewhere to go.

How to recover from a long road trip

Sadly, your trip is over and you arrive back home. Now what? You’re exhausted and all out of sorts. Here are a few things to help you recover and get back on track after your epic road trip.

Do some stretches/yoga/light exercise

When you sit in the car for a long time your body needs some movement. When you get home, take a few minutes to stretch, take a walk, or even do some yoga. It will feel so good and is good for you!

Hydrate

While you should be trying to stay hydrated all the time, I know it gets pushed to the side when we are traveling and driving a lot. Make sure you rehydrate when you get back.

This will help your body feel better faster and helps boost your immune system so you’re less likely to get the dreaded after-vacation sickness. I tend to get sick often when I come home from trips…anyone else?

Get a good night’s sleep

If you’re anything like me, you probably don’t sleep as well when you’re on a road trip, so you might be feeling a little wiped out. Make getting a solid night’s sleep a priority when you return so you can get back to your routine feeling refreshed.

Unpack ASAP

“But Stef,” you say, “I have SO much else I need to do when I get back. Unpacking is the least of my worries!”

Maybe so, but I find that unpacking and doing a load of laundry the day after my trip really gets me back into the swing of things. Maybe not everyone is like this, but seeing the open suitcase on the floor with stuff scattered everywhere stresses me out and keeps reminding me that I need to take care of it. Once it’s done, it’s done and I can concentrate on more important things.

This will also be a lot easier to do if you…

Conclusion: How Long Is Too Long For A Road Trip?

I hope this post was useful in helping you determine how long is too long for a road trip. There are lots of factors to consider and plenty of options out there for any destination you can imagine.

At the end of the day, everyone is different and every road trip is unique – you’ll have to make your decision based on your own factors and by trial and error.

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