by Daniel Sivan

Created on: January 30, 2009   Last Updated: February 28, 2009

A salute to road trip : Travelling without a destination

Chevy Chase did it. Jack Keroac did it. Rock stars live

A time honoured tradition held by all Americans, the road trip. All you need is a reliable car, or maybe a good motorcycle, a map, a few bucks, add a couple of friends with licences and your good to, you don't even need to pick a destination. In fact, travelling without a destination can be one of the most exciting ways to travel in any country. Making the most of spontaneous travelling encourages you to see what locals see, do what locals do, learn the geography, and most importantly catch all the best hotspots, restaurants, scenic views and meet interesting people along the way.

A few quick tips for road travel.

Make sure your vehicles maintenance is up to date. There is nothing worse than getting stuck in the middle of nowhere. Bring a cellphone in case of emergency, its a lifesaver in a difficult situation.

Pack food and water. Finding a local diner run by the same family of farmers for the past thirty years, and having the best eggs and pancakes you've ever tried is a great experience. But long driving days call for plenty of liquids, and snacks too. Keep a case or at least 4 litres of water in the trunk of your car in a cooler, or under a couple of towels which will keep it cool.

Do some planning. Travelling without knowing where you going at all can be a stressful experience. Arriving in small town with no hotels and no where to sleep, driving into an area with poor or no roads or not having regular access to running water can all be a hurdle for the spontaneous traveller to jump over. With experience and common sense, you never need to run into any of this pitfalls. Decide what kind of landscape you want to see, and decide what kind of experience you want to have and what kind of people you'd like to meet.This will give you a general direction and theme for your trip.

Do you want to see a the ocean and hang out on a beach? Drive to a coast !

Do you want to see mountains and catch the nightlife ? Try Arizona !

Do you want to learn American history and visit museums ? Try Pennsylvania !

Not in America ? Different regions of every country are often associated with various types of lifestyles. Learning how the people live in an area before venturing into it will bring less surprises.

And just because you don't know where your going doesn't mean you don't need a map, having a map or GPS will tell you where you are, not where your going. Sometimes your decide

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