We are all desperately missing holidays. But the pandemic has definitely changed our travel habits. So, if you are planning a UK road trip after lockdown read on. Holidays might be different in the short term, but the UK has so much to offer. It really is no hardship to be setting off on the open road instead of hopping on a plane.

Our plan is to have a road trip to Scotland, I really can’t wait! I want to check out Loch Ness and see if we can spot Nessie, visit Edinburgh Castle and walk in the rugged Scottish highlands. I haven’t been to Scotland since I was about 12 and my children have yet to visit that beautiful part of the world yet.

Preparation

The fun is in the preparation. Dig out some maps and order some travel guides. Read articles online about the best road trips to where you want to go. It’s something you can all do together. Making future travel plans helps your children realize more exciting times will come their freedom won’t be restricted forever. So, get them involved in planning a UK road trip with you. Generally, you need to have a start and end destination in mind, then you can have a little flexibility in between. Make notes on things like the location of tolls and speed limits on the roads.

Don’t forget Insurance!

If you had to hire a car for the purpose of your road trip you might want to look at temporary car insurance. If you purchase one day car insurance, it will probably work out a lot cheaper than annual cover. It’s ideal if you only want car insurance in place for a short time. Not everyone uses a car all the time, in London where public transport is usually the fastest way to get to a destination 46% of households do not have access to a car.

Keep Down Costs

There are car-pooling sites like BlaBlaCar where you can sell the empty seats in your car to other travellers. This is a great way to keep costs down on your UK road trip. Personally, I am not sure if I would try it myself, but I like that its better for the environment increasing the occupancy of cars means less carbon emissions.

Another saving you can make if you are hiring a car is not paying extra to hire a GPS, you can easily use your mobile phone and google maps instead.

You can even download the maps in advance just in case you don’t have WIFI available. I saw on one car rental site it cost £12.99 a day to hire one for the first 10 days of your rental (then free afterwards). But you can buy a pretty decent brand new GPS for £80 so that would be a better alternative if you really feel like you want one.

Take Time To Enjoy The Trip

You don’t want to spend so much time driving each day you don’t get enough time to savour the trip. Stop the car and take photos and soak up the local sights as you travel.

If have children joining you on your UK road trip my earlier article about making car journeys more enjoyable will probably help.

Book Accommodation

I am not saying book every stay to the point your road trip itinerary is very rigid! Some flexibility is a good idea in case you find a detour you really want to make. But it’s certainly worthwhile booking in advance accommodation anywhere on your route that is particularly popular. You will find the school holidays can get very busy too. So, if it’s a peak holiday season you might need to put more thought into booking accommodation!

Have you planned a UK road trip before? I would love to hear what worked well for you.