Kim-Marie Evans doesn’t just get in the car and go when it comes to road trips. She explains, if you plan it right, you can find a hotel that helps make the long drive easier, saying, “When you pull in, you're tired...there's a nice bed waiting for you, and you hit the spa, and it really feels amazing.”
She’s all about luxury when she travels, and even writes a website about her experiences at four-star hotels and award-winning restaurants. The same kinds of experiences new companies are now offering in tailor-made trips that are all the rage with roadies. Evans explains, “Doing it by yourself is really hard and there's just no way to know all of the information about which route is the best and which hotel is actually someplace that you want to stay.”
EXP Journeys, All Roads North and Black Tomato are just a few of the companies now offering the option to have someone else plan out your path with a to-die-for to-do list.
“A lot of detail, a lot of thinking goes into these road trips, with actual excursions or stops at favorite places. They want to stay at very luxurious accommodations and dine at exquisite restaurants,” says Doug Shupe with AAA, which could be considered king of the road when it comes to guidance on your getaway.
AAA even has an app that will help you find the best of the best in everything from restaurants to resorts when you’re on the road.
Shupe explains, “We encourage people to talk with an experienced auto travel planner because those folks will really help you get to your destination and also help you find some great spots to stop along the way.” And help you avoid sitting in traffic you might not otherwise know about…or, point out the perfect pit stop on your journey.
The AAA app is free, but other itineraries can cost you, hundreds of dollars a day, thousands for a week, depending on what you want to do. Most of these companies can even help arrange a better vehicle for the trip. Again, it just depends on how much you want to pay for your particular experience.
Shupe says, “A lot of people decide, you know, I'm going to save so much money on airfare by packing the family or the group of friends up in the car, so I can actually spend that money on more luxurious accommodations.”
Kim-Marie considers it money well spent. She explains, “It's all about maximizing your time when you're on the road. You don't want to make a mistake and go someplace that was a total bust. But you also don't want to get to where you're going and have somebody say, ‘oh my gosh, you didn't see the waterfall?’ it was only right there off the road but you didn't know it.”