One great way of getting around is with a car. Personalized motorized transport has got to be one of the greatest freedoms.

A lot of people will say that backpacking is the best way to enjoy a country or territory. Enter the alternative of a road trip! There are lots of cheap car rental services like rent a wreck that offer a really cheap alternative for transportation.

Backpacking is often associated with taking a train… and spending a lot of time on those trains. If you are on a train, and you see something in the distance that you would like to check out – it can be quite difficult. In a car, that’s a piece of cake.

As always when going on a trip it is important to plan ahead – and that goes for road trips as well. I read a great post with the top 18 tips for planning a road trip.

Apart from the general stuff not to forget when heading abroad here are my favorite five tips from that article:

Bring your own music – the right soundtrack can make or break a long drive. Music in foreign countries can be very different from what you are used to. That is nice some of the time, but not if you are looking at a five-hour-plus drive.

Sunglasses – they don’t only make you look cool, but they do help when the sun is shining bright, and straight through the windshield.

Stick to the rules – I’ll be the first to admit it, I have a bit of a heavy foot. If you are traveling on a budget you might want to stick to the set speed limit. In some countries the ticket isn’t that much of a dent in your wallet, but in Switzerland for example you may end up having to cut your road trip short.

Use the bathroom when you stop, and make an extra stop if you have to – just common sense really, but I loved the comment: 10 minutes at the next exit is not going to ruin your vacation or cause you to lose some Awesome Travel Time Trophy, because you do feel like you have to win that whenever you are on a road trip!

Plan for the unexpected – this is the whole point of a road trip. If you need to be in a city to meet someone on Thursday and it should take you 1 day to get there, then why not leave on Tuesday or even Monday. You never know what you might find on the way…

Road trips come in all shapes and sizes (even with dogs!) so make of it what you will.