by Dan Evon

Created on: September 10, 2009

The most common reason to choose to drive when traveling is to save money. Buying four or five plane tickets can cost a thousand dollars or more. So a simple solution is to pack everyone in the car and drive to your destination. But road trips are not necessarily inexpensive trips. If you are not careful you might end up spending more money then you expected. Here are some areas that can turn a road trip into an expensive excursion.

LODGING - If you do not plan your lodging along the way you might get stuck with limited options. The more choices that you have, the better deal you can find. Try to do some research on hotels along the way. On most road trips, we might only use our rooms to rest our eyes. There isn't much of a point to shell out lot of cash just for a clean bed. There are many economy motels that have clean beds and rooms for less then fifty dollars.

If you want to save even more money on lodging, pick up a coupon book at a rest area. Most all states give free coupon books for travelers at most rest areas, and all state welcome centers. Take your time when you enter a new state to pick up some information on lodging.

FOOD - When you get hungry stop at a grocery store. Fast food is a quick fix for a hungry family, but if you take the time to go to a store, ou can feed the whole family for half of what you would spend at a restaurant. Grocery stores will also give you a little more room to stretch your legs. If you bring a cooler so you can buy drinks or anything in bulk, instead of buying individual waters and sodas at a grocery store.

Also, realize that gas stations are nothing but big impulse buy stores. A lot of money is uselessly spent at gas stations. So try to pack snacks instead of buying something every time you stop.

DRIVE - If there is more then one able driver, try to extend your miles per day. Do not push yourself so that you are driving fatigued. But if you switch off driving and sleeping, putting an extra couple hundred miles in a day. You could possibly cut a night or two off of your trip. Every day you cut off of your trip, is a hotel fee that you no longer have to spend.

Cutting time off of your time can be a great way to save money, but you have to be careful about the speed you drive. Speeding is not only unsafe, but it increases your chances of getting a ticket. Tickets can be very expensive and will put a dent into your travel budget.

Saving money on a road trip requires a little planning. If you are a smart shopper, check your hotels ahead of time, and are consciences driver, your road trip can be enjoyable, and economical.

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