In the picture, Iris, myself, Maki and Kyle. Paulina is taking the photo! Thanks Pau. With them I spent 4 days of adventure and fun in Japan a few years ago and we had an epic experience. Afterwards I thought, how can I help people have a similar experience… and here are my 3 thoughts.
Before thinking about any trips, but especially road trips, think very well who you will go with. If it’s a business trip you have no options but to deal with your boss or with your coworker… haha. But, if your trip is for pleasure, vacation, tourism, volunteering, etc, and you are in the position to choose who to travel with, here are the top 3 tips or things to think about before hitting the road:
#1 Interests. Think about friends that show interest for the same things as you. Adventure, nature, ocean, rivers, trees, etc. If you travel with people that like to stay in hotels and you like camping, you are not going to enjoy as much as if you all agreed to stay on a tent. If you want to climb to the top of the mountain but all they want to do is shop, you might not be choosing the right people to travel with. So, among your friends, think about those that share the same interests as you or at least people interested in seeing or doing what you wanna see or do.
#2 The Food. haha. This sounds really weird but, traveling with friends with similar eating habits as yours, is very important. If you are the kind of people that like to eat healthy, you will not be ok with stopping on the middle of the road to eat something fried or fast food every time you are hungry. In our case, orange juice, bananas and chocolate bread was something we could all share during the 4 day road trip. However, if they have dietary needs that must be met, talk about it before you leave town, that way you know and can plan ahead of time where to stop, and what options you will find along the way. Google maps and its "search nearby" option is always a great resource.
#3 The Money. This could be very tricky when you are on a road trip. You have to travel with people that has more or less the same intention as you when it comes to spending. You must talk about money before leaving for your trip. How much money we are thinking about spending, because then, you end up doing things that cost too much money for your budget or not doing the things you wanna do because others have no money to do them. So, talk about a budget and what kind of experience you all wanna have, that way you can be sure you won’t be overspending or not making your trip as epic as you want because of the budget of others.
Two extra thoughts!
1. Pack only what you need. That way you will have space in the car for everyone's stuff, snacks and games! Subscribe to our website to get your FREE packing list from Soul Trips 2. Pick the right car. We had a small budget, so, we rented a great option when it came to gas and space. A Mazda 2 was our little companion. 5 people with all of our stuff! Truth is, nowadays more and more people are willing to go on experiences with people they don’t know like the trips we plan at Soul Trips. However, they are made for like-minded people that are open to all kinds of experiences, so you might see yourself finding not just travel buddies but friends for life while you travel with us. In the meantime when you go on a road trip remember to think about this 3 things and you will have an epic adventure!