Tips for planning a road trip with Uncover Britain
4 Top Tips for Planning a Road Trip
In this article, we have expert insight from Uncover Britain on the best way to plan for a Road Trip and an introduction to exploring the Kingdom of Fife. They provide routes maps and guides to exploring Britain in cars, campers and motorhomes. For CampervanCo fans, you can get a £10 discount when purchased before the end of the year, using the code ‘CAMPERVANCO10’ at the checkout at www.uncoverbritain.com.
There’s nothing like the open road in your campervan, taking each day as it comes and heading towards the horizon. However, it may not be as simple as it sounds, if things aren’t planned – a certain amount of planning has to go into your ‘freedom-on-the-road’ to make it successful! To help make your road trip go smoothly and feel you have made the best out of your break; an amount of homework and planning definitely needs to be done! Preparation is key to a smooth journey and maximizing your time on the road.
Here are 4 top tips to make the best out of your road trip.
- Make a shortlist in advance but be prepared to change plans!
Take time to plan your trip by starting with a start and end, with the places in between you want to visit, sounds simple so far, right? It’s about getting your ideas down. Refine your shortlist and options further, add a few ideas of start and finishes. This will help you decide how many places you can visit and how long you can stay there and how long you will be driving for in between.
Straight away, a bit of homework will pay off as you start to devise a plan. Factor in time to be flexible and allow things to change, as they usually do. We call is Plan B! The weather may affect your plans, or you may like somewhere more than expected and choose to linger. Your shortlist will help you prioritise, what’s important to you. This will help you decide how many places you can visit and how long you can stay there and how long you will be driving for in between.
- Plan in the extra special pit stops
You definitely get more from what your trip, if you take the time to plan. It’s about the hidden gems, and the scenic viewpoints – these are the best places to rock up for a cuppa – and they could be so easy to drive passed and miss! The road trip planning website Uncover Britain includes curated maps of where to find view points and hidden gems with each road trip to help make these stops easy to plan in.
- Consider activities and experiences
When looking for ideas for activities and attractions, jot them down as you find them when planning. At the very least, be sure to outline the simply ‘can’t miss’ activities and attraction for each location as these can be one of the main reasons for choosing to go to a specific destination in the first place!
One important task to undertake at home in advance, is to look carefully at opening / closing times plus seasonal opening to make sure things are actually open on the day you are there. Often museums and galleries for example, are closed on Mondays or Tuesdays. Whilst you’re checking out the opening times, it’s worth checking out entrance prices too. Is there a discount for buying in advance? Will buying in advance guarantee your entry to popular places, or save time queuing?
If you are planning your road trip using a website like Uncover Britain Road Trips – you’ll find a huge amount of the homework has been done for you, with places of interest, activities and experiences pinpointed on the map by the route – so all you need to do is choose the ones you like the best. Moreover, there are 100s of curated experiences you can seamlessly book.
- Be responsible, eco and ethical on your road trip
It goes without saying, but leaving a low a carbon footprint as possible is highly desirable. The best campervan base vehicles for an eco-campervan are All Electric like the Proace REVOLUTION or Hybrid Eco campers like the Pioneer II.
It’s about your behaviour on the road too. 2021 saw the publication of a code of conduct for motorhomers and campervanners, promoted by Lake District tourism and widely adopted across the UK. The code encourages holiday makers to enjoy quality food from local shops, cafes, and pubs, and visit local attractions and to ‘think like a local’.
Taking the code of conduct into account, it asks visitors to:
- Plan their route and parking, taking the country roads into account and places to pass, for example. We’re all over this, as there’s nothing more stressful than getting lost / not finding a parking place without height barriers / finding the road is scarily narrow etc.
- Be considerate as a driver and where you park. Be even more considerate to the environment, leave no trace, take litter with you, and dispose of grey and back waste correctly.
- Park in approved places and only stay in overnight where permitted. Check out Secret Stays if you’re looking for rural pubs, laybys, and car parks where you can stay overnight on route. If you need facilities, book a campsite.
- Linger and enjoy the local area, enjoy local food, explore the trails, river or even the bridleways, whatever is in the vicinity to really get to know the place and its environment. This is what we’re all about. Take the time to enjoy it! Shop at the local food markets and devour seasonal, local foods with low food miles, whilst supporting local.
Being responsible, eco and ethical on your trip will make you feel good about your trip and allow you to feel like you have made a deeper connection.
Uncover Britain Road Trips is a membership website with 25+ UK road trips mapped out with destination guides, overnight stay maps and uncover more maps, with hidden gems, scenic