When is the right time to do a road trip?

The short answer is – never. You’re probably never going to have a time in your life when you just happen to have three months free AND have the money and resources to afford it. So with that in mind, when is the least wrong time to do a road trip?

• You definitely, definitely shouldn’t do a US road trip when you’re under 21 – you can’t drink for starters (not that I recommend drinking and driving, but will limit your options when you actually get to your destination), but more importantly, a lot of car rental companies won’t rent to people under 21.
• You probably shouldn’t even do a road trip when you’re under 25 – although they will rent to you, a lot of car rental companies introduce a ‘Young Person’s Premium’ for drivers under 25 – so more expensive for you.
• Continuing in the vein of when it’s most economical for you to do a road trip – insurance tends to get more expensive when you’re over 60. So it seems the best time to do a road trip is between the ages of 25 and 59.

Now you know what age you need to be – when is the right time in your life to do a three month US road trip?

• • Not when you have young kids – nobody wants to spend six hours in a car with a kid asking, ‘Are we nearly there yet?’ And social services do not look kindly on you abandoning your children for three months.
  • You probably want to do it at a time in your life when you’re transitioning – from one job to another, post relationship break-up or divorce (ahem) – you know, that kind of thing.
  • If you’re thinking of quitting your job – that’s the right time to do a road trip. Especially if you’ve saved up money from said job. Then you have the best of both worlds – time and money.
  • If you’re in a steady job or on a career path that you don’t want to leave, see if you can take a sabbatical – some companies allow that kind of thing.
  • If you have remote income or can work online – you don’t even need to quit your job to do a road trip!

If you’re still not sure have a look at this handy decision tree!

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