How to Re-Charge and Get Inspired on a Solo Car Voyage   

The first time I took a road trip by myself was an accident. It was the summer after my first year of college. I had flown from New Jersey to California with money I’d scraped together waiting tables. It was my first and farthest trip on my own, and I was headed to visit my childhood best friend in Los Angeles. Two days into the trip we got into a huge fight – a crying-so-hard-you’re-hiccupping-fight – and I knew it was time to leave.

I took a taxi to the airport, but when I found out just how much it would cost me to take a flight home that day I thought I might throw up. What a waste, I thought. I looked out the window, got angry, and then made a quick decision that I believe changed my life. I thanked the agent and left the departures terminal, heading over to the car rentals instead. In just a few minutes I had the keys to my very first rental — a convertible red Ford Mustang. I threw my bags in the trunk, bought myself a map of California, and then just started driving. I drove north, straight up Highway One with the Pacific shining on my left. By some magical serendipity I had chosen one of the most beautiful stretches of highway in the world; this wasn’t the result of great travel knowledge or even a quick Google search. It just happened. I don’t remember much about the specifics of the rest of the route, or where I stayed, or what restaurants I went to. I have no photographs of the trip.

That said, there are a handful of moments I remember like they happened yesterday. I remember that after a night of tossing and turning and feeling bad about the fight and worrying about my friend, I had the best French toast of my life at a nondescript truck stop. I remember being stuck in traffic for a long while outside of Yosemite National Park and instead of being frustrated, I felt…lucky. The American West was the most gorgeous thing I’d ever seen. And I remember ordering a glass of red wine at dinner all by myself one night and feeling like the most powerful woman that ever lived. I hadn’t done anything revolutionary, but I felt something major shift inside myself. With every mile I felt a little freer and more adventurous, and that maybe — for the first time ever — I was in charge of my life.

That was twenty years ago now, and I still take those trips. I take them whenever I need to feel powerful. Or when I need to make a big decision. Or when I need to be still with my thoughts.

Friends are always surprised when I take solo road trips. “All by yourself?” “What do you do?” “Don’t you get lonely? Scared?” and then they always say the same thing: “I wish I could do that.” The truth is that you can. Here are some tips to get you on your way:

Master The Planning

Find a Place that Inspires You. This planet of ours is spectacularly beautiful. Pick a destination that will take your breath away.  I’m partial to the mountains or to just about any National Park, but you may be more inspired by historical destinations or new cityscapes. I use Pinterest and Instagram (start by searching  #roadtrip and explore from there), and keep a list of places I want to go in the back of a notebook. I also get great ideas from magazines (both regional like Sunset or New York or national like Travel + Leisure and Budget Travel) or spending a lazy afternoon surfing tripadvisor.com.

Be Realistic about Safety. Contrary to popular belief the world is a pretty safe place – so take some basic precautions and trust your instinct for danger while on the road, and you should be fine.  To me this means having a reliable car (either your own or a rental) and roadside assistance (I am a superfan of AAA, for the roadside assistance as well as free maps and planning services). Take frequent looks at the weather, and don’t drive into volatile conditions. Have some snacks, water, and spare clothes in your trunk. Keep your cell phone charged and have hard copies of your route in case you lose coverage. Don’t drive when you’re tired or hungry or distracted, and for God’s sake, don’t text and drive. Make sure someone knows where you’ll be and when you expect to be home.

Plan Carefully, but be Willing to Throw All of it Away. Before I take off, I spend many hours with Google maps — learning the area, looking at different route options, and picking the best course. This almost always changes once I’m on my way; roads end up being busier than I’d like, I spot an interesting detour, or the weather makes a day at the lake a little less appealing. The best part of traveling on your own is that you don’t have to agree with anyone else about what to do. Take advantage of that.

Design the Trip you Need. Don’t take someone else’s vacation. I use most of my trips just to think. When I’m doing this, I turn off the radio until I need a little pick-me-up (anything from an audiobook or podcast to a go-to playlist). I almost always travel off-season, and if possible on weekdays, when many of the roads and destinations are quiet. This also means I won’t need reservations for hotels or campsites. I try to stay in mom-and-pop type motels and eat at local restaurants. TripAdvisor is a life-saver when it comes to booking lodging and Yelp is my go-to for restaurant recommendations. There are times when a splurge feels good, so I try to keep the door open for that at least once during a trip.

I’ve also learned to incorporate at least an hour of walking into every day, whether that’s a stroll through a cute downtown area or a hike under a canopy of trees. This is a great way to stretch my legs after hours in the car and the best way to enjoy a new destination. I usually have two or three options planned out for each day so I can pick and choose based on the weather and my energy levels.

But this is my vacation; this is how I do it. Maybe you want a trip that will challenge you physically, or you want to really immerse yourself in local culture. So know what you’re in the mood for, and plan accordingly.  Then, once you’re all set with that aspect, it’s time to hit the long – and many times relaxing —  vistas of roads and highways.

Master the Road

Don’t Drive Too Much. You will have your own threshold for drive times, but for me, the ideal is a maximum four hours on the road per day. Anything more, and I’m draining myself rather than recharging. If I can’t manage a destination using those parameters I think about flying to and from cool (and affordable) airports. Say, for example, I am craving the dry heat and red rock of Utah but can’t manage the 2,000 mile drive to and from Seattle in my six days off. I might check ticket prices and rental fees and realize that I can fly into Palm Springs and out of Salt Lake City for a much more manageable 900 miles. This makes the trip more expensive, but helps make every mile on the road more enjoyable.

Create a Physical Record of Your Trip. Technology is wonderful, sure, and I use the hell out of it when traveling, but when it comes down to it there’s nothing like having a physical reminder of your trip. So when I go on a trip, I buy a simple notebook that will be dedicated to just that. I start using my notebook during the planning phase to track all of my research notes — where I want to go, a couple of hotels choices at each stop, estimated driving times, and details for all of my hiking options. I print out small copies of a map or two, marked up with my route options. And then I take that notebook with me. Everywhere. Then, every night I spend fifteen minutes writing notes from the day – where I ended up going, what I did, things that I loved or hated. I take photos, too, and when I get home, I usually print a few out and tape them into the back of my notebook.

Soak it All In. A friend of mine shared her vacation theory with me many years ago: Every trip you take will be boiled down to just a few perfect memories. She said this to me when we were sitting at a bistro table — covered with a crisp white cotton tablecloth — overlooking a beautiful canal in Amsterdam. She was right about that minute. I remember everything down to the sound of the leaves falling to the ground from the giant elm next to our table. And I think she’s right about those moments. Whenever I am traveling, especially when I’m alone and on the road, I try to be aware of this and really soak these times in, right as they’re happening. I get up and out early, and usually stop for breakfast a few hours into my drive as a mid-morning break. I aim to arrive at my destination by early afternoon, so I have plenty of daylight for sightseeing and time to settle into my campsite or hotel. And since there are usually more than one or two moments I want to remember from each trip, I’m liberal with my camera, and make sure I take the extra step of posting and printing them. Because later on, a really good photograph can take me right back to the calm introspective feeling I’d had on the road.

When in Doubt, Just Go. It’s really easy to overthink travel. You can plan for weeks, months, years and still want to do a little more, just to try to put together the very perfect plan. Don’t do that. Instead, give yourself a few days of planning, and then just make the decision to go. Take time off of work, gas up the car, go amass some maps. Then get in that car and get on the road.