25 bad tips on how to plan your worst road trip

Planning the perfect trip is a simple matter. Articles on this topic - a carriage and a small cart, take it and read. But would life be so interesting if it were not for the mistakes, your favorite rake and miscalculations? Tired of travel predictability? Now I will give you some harmful tips that are quite capable of turning any road trip into a rich, memorable adventure that will leave you without money and mood. :)

Most of these tips came from my own invaluable experience. I am pleased to hand you my rake - maybe someday step on them too.

I'll start by planning a trip.

Planning

Never plan a route in advance. Especially if you have a limited trip time - a week or two. Time - a carriage, along the way you will figure out where and why to go. Timing is for fools. The most stupid of them, like me, use the Google Earth program, mark the points and export them (the KMZ / KML file) to the MAPS.ME navigator on the smartphone. The Eiffel Tower and so everyone knows where it is. Prioritizing sights is a waste of time.

2. Do not read specialized forums, such as Vinsky - there is little useful. Be the discoverers! You never know where people have already visited - your experience is priceless! Once I took this advice, drove for a long time in the Romanian Carpathians along the Transfagaras highway, to cross the ridge and ran into a dead end. It turned out that snow still lies in the mountains in May and the road opens only at the end of June.

3. You should not find out in advance about the features of traffic rules and the rules for importing cars into the country where you are going. Believe me, everything is everywhere like ours. And if you suddenly get pushed to demand to pull the spikes out of winter tires somewhere in Poland, or to tear off the tinted rear windows in Azerbaijan - just send it in the woods, the police and border guards are wrong.

4. Expect to drive 1,000 kilometers per day - you’ll get there faster. For example, once I was returning home from the Crimea and traveled 2000 km in 28 hours without stopping and spending the night. It was cool! Inexperienced travelers usually plan a daily run of no more than 600 km, and with stops for sightseeing along the way - 250-300 km.

5. Always choose the largest city in the country for spending the night - in civilization it is always more convenient. And it is best to call in at the end of a tiring road day in the evening, at 17-18 hours, when the city has the least traffic jams. It's great to drive along the narrow streets at the end of the day looking for the right address! Romance!

So, the route is not planned, we proceed to preparation.

Training

6. Do not do the IDP (international driver’s license, translation book of national rights) - a waste of money. Especially if you have old-style rights (until 2011).

7. Do not take cash on the road - now the 21st century is in the yard and everywhere you can pay with a card. And if you can’t, then in any village there are ATMs - you’ll take it off.

8. Put all your things in one big heavy bag - everything will come in handy. Wimps who are not able to get a suitcase out of the trunk every evening and carry it upstairs to their room or apartment, put the most necessary things in the evening and in the morning into a small bag, which they take with them.

9. Do not print a routing sheet with addresses, maps and contacts of housing - the 21st century, again, why waste paper. Smartphones and tablets are reliable and never fail at the most crucial moment.

10. Do not buy life and health insurance - what bad can happen on the road? As a last resort, just pay for medical services locally - they are inexpensive in Europe and other countries.

11. Always use Russian sims when roaming - it is very cheap! Those who do not know about this (like me) use travel (DreamSim, for example) and SIP-client applications, such as eMotion (when the Megafon.Multiphone service is connected).

12. Do not bring along a cable, a supply of liquids and all kinds of consumables there, such as light bulbs - ask other drivers on the road of this good in bulk.

13. Do not take entertainment for children on the road - it will be very interesting for them to just look out the window! There is nothing to pamper them with all sorts of readers, cartoons on tablets, games and audio fairy tales.

Have you decided not to drive your car, but to rent it?

Rent a Car

14. Rent in the first internationally renowned company. It will definitely be cheaper and more profitable under the terms. The fact that on a credit card the deductible amount of 300-400 euros will be blocked is not a problem, everyone has it. And there is no need to know that besides Hertz and Europcar there can be dozens of local rental offices. Yes, and contact them too - they charge in cash, without any deductibles or restrictions, with full insurance. Suspicious guys.

16. Do not check in the rental office whether the car has a spare wheel, a wheel wrench that fits all nuts, and a working jack. If anything, just call a tow truck. Into the mountains.

17. Do not check or record damage on the rented car - if the owner said that everything is OK, then it is. If something, then when you return, pay someone else's scratches, business something.

18. Always choose a machine that is well viewed from the outside - you have nothing to hide from people. And leave things in a conspicuous place. I am a secretive person, so I love it when my precious little things are lying under the iron trunk lid, and there is no laptop lying in the back seat.

The car is not refueled, nothing is ready - go!

Travel

19. Why take hotels for the night, if you can properly sleep in the car? Saving on the face! Old, feeble travelers, on the other hand, like to lie on a crib, straighten their bones and sleep enough to sleep. But you, young people, do not need this - fatigue never builds up and does not affect driving the next day.

20. Throw a car in the city where you want - signs came up for fools. All these parking markings that prohibit parking do not work - nothing will happen to the car. I myself checked in Sofia: just think, they put a wheel lock. For 1000 rubles, both delivered and removed.

21. Do not fasten your seat belts if you are only 50 meters away. And the police, which in tourist places especially closely monitors visitors, send the forest. I had such a case in Georgia, when in Stepantsminda we drove 10 meters from the parking lot, fastening our seat belts as a police jeep followed by flashing lights behind us. Before that they stood nearby and, apparently, simply grazed us. He started moving without a belt - formally a fine. Well, 1000+ rubles today is not money. Just think ...

23. Snack in roadside cafes - it’s delicious and convenient! The best coffee, as you know, on the road. Forget about all sorts of cooler bags and groceries from the store. The food in roadside cafes is the best, and there is always a first aid kit for poisoning with parasites.

24. Do not use travel applications on your smartphone - the language will bring to Kiev. Personally, I used to find out the way from the navigator, and where to stay at night - in the applications. I ask TripAdvisor and Foursquare for food, and I look for the best places for photos in MAPS.ME and ViewPointer.

25. Always trust the navigator - the technique will not fool, I have already talked about this. Although it happens sometimes, when the navigator offers to jump from the roundabout, go on the oncoming lane or cross the river ford. But this is not scary and only adds courage to a wonderful trip!

And the last bonus advice to those who have read to the end.

Do not rush to travel now while young. There’s nowhere to rush. Work hard before old age, save up more money, hand over affairs to the young successor and go to conquer the world! You will have much more opportunities to travel in old age than now!