Traveling by car is a great privilege, seeing as how you have the freedom to fully customize your trip. For a lot of people, driving, especially at night, is an incredibly relaxing and satisfying activity. Still, traveling great distances always comes with its own set of difficulties and, like always in life, you might not be able to fully separate the good from the bad. The region that you’re traveling through may further customize your itinerary, which is why you need to do your research before embarking on this, potentially difficult, voyage. Here are some tips that might come in handy during your first Australian road trip.
1. Plan your itinerary
First of all, you need to ensure that you’re traveling at your own pace, instead of just rushing to meet some impossible timetable or imaginary schedule. You see, just because you can get somewhere in a certain amount of time it doesn’t mean that you should. So, unless you’re on a tight schedule for some other reasons, it’s always better to plan for delays, distractions and detours. In the introduction, we’ve talked about the freedom of customizing your trip so why not leave some room for the unexpected and spontaneous.
2. Purchase a road trip-worthy vehicle
The next thing you need to understand when buying your car is the fact that not every vehicle was built for a road trip. This is completely fine, seeing as how there are people who use cars merely as a mean of the urban commute. If on the other hand, you intend to be on the road a lot, you should look up a road trip cars list and see if there’s a vehicle that you like there, as well as a vehicle that can fit your budget. This last is particularly important and a great way to test your price range is to find a platform like Price My Car and check out models that you are interested in.
3. Petrol or diesel
Speaking of the price, you also need to keep in mind the fact that the cost of traveling by car only starts when you make a purchase. Registering the vehicle and paying for the insurance are two reasons why this is so. The price of fuel is another thing for you to consider. On average, the price of diesel is substantially cheaper than the price of petrol. It also takes you longer for the same quantity of fuel. As a result, it has less to offer in terms of performance. This means that, at the end of the day, it all comes down to whether you are performance- or a frugality-oriented traveler.
4. Do your research
In the era of the internet, it’s fairly easy to get informed on the place that you’re about to visit, regardless of your current location. Now, if you make your itinerary early on, you can use your phone to check out all the places that you’re about to visit tomorrow. You should do this at least when it comes to the location of gas stations and motels. Due to the fact that it merely takes several minutes of your time, there really isn’t a single solid reason for you not to do so.
5. Prepare for the distances
In the end, you need to accept the fact that Australia is, for the most part, uninhabited. This means that, unless you’re driving through some densely populated metropolitan areas, distances that you’ll have to travel without a stop tend to be staggering. Sure, there are gas stops strategically placed everywhere, yet, it’s also not a bad idea to carry a safety gas tank in your car rental just in case. Also, in order to plan all your stops, you should probably consult a platform like distance calculator in order to see what exactly are you up against.
In conclusion
The ability to do your research online before setting out can make your itinerary much safer and much more enjoyable (not to mention better organized). However, you shouldn’t plan your trip to the very last detail. Road trips, especially in countries as beautiful and exciting as Australia, are all about exploration, adventure and seeing things from a completely new perspective. This openness for new experiences is probably the last component you need to make your first Australian road trip into a resounding success.