Plan road trip with friends: ultimate adventure guide

Organising a van life holiday with friends? The first rule of road tripping is don’t stress! We reckon planning a getaway like this with a group of mates is one of the best bits of the trip. Crack open a few beers, get the pizzas in, and get planning with the help of our extensive guides and information. Get started by reading our tips on how to plan a road trip with friends for your best adventure yet!

How to plan a road trip with friendsOrganising your road trip: our tips

Decide on the type of trip

Activity break or relaxed weekend? Covering as much terrain as possible or focusing on one region? Luxury holiday parks orpub campsites? Take as much time as you need to get input from everyone and decide on the sort of trip you want; you can of course mix and match to ensure everyone gets a chance to pick a particular highlight.

This is also the time to talk about the group’s budget, including costs for van hire and campsites. Our costs oftravelling around Britain in a motorhome or campervan guide should help here.

Decide on the start and finish points

Your group might plump for a southwest coastal adventure, starting from Plymouth and driving in a scenic loop along the Cornish coast. Or maybe you’d prefer a region like North Wales or the Scottish Highlands? Once you know what type of trip you want, establishing where you’ll set off from and where you’ll finish is the next essential item on your planning list. This is also useful for estimating daily driving time – for example, a planned two-day surfing adventure won’t work if the trip is from Exmouth to Newquay to Ilfracombe to Pembrokeshire.

A super easy way around this is to follow one of ourroad trips in the UK – route and highlights already sorted!

Agree on must-do activities and attractions

One of you might have Stonehenge as a must, another might hanker after a day at Cornwall’s St Ives. It’s fairly easy to please everyone here by isolating one big must-do each: you can then build your trip around each destination. Which leads to…

…Make a road trip map

Like planning a trip overall,mapping a road trip doesn’t have to be stressful. Use Google Maps to first plot your trip from point A to point B, then add in attractions and destinations along the way. You can also add in info like websites and phone numbers for campsites and other relevant businesses, and add layers to categorise your map by day or destination type.

Discuss the practicalities

It might seem like overkill at this point to discuss things like who’ll do the cooking or whether driving time should be equally divided. But trust us, it’s much easier to sort this stuff out before the trip starts! It’s also a good way to help out a mate who’s on a tighter budget, like by agreeing the main chef can chip in less of the food budget.

Include a splurge or treat

Not essential, but a perfect way to get your trip off to an awesome start or round it off in a way to remember. Research and book a top restaurant for your first night, sizzle steaks/pop champagne on your last one, book a hot air balloon trip for one day of the holiday… it’s up to you!

Choose the right van – and book

Now it’s time to choose your van! Camplify makes this easy – you and your mates can search tons ofhire vans to find one everyone likes and that suits all aspects of your trip. Search by type of van, amenities on board, transmission type, location, holiday dates… simple!

Once you know what van you want, it’s simple to book Camplify too. Our easy online booking effortlessly streamlines the process, and we include all the essentials to get you out on the road: 24/7 breakdown assistance, hirer insurance and more. Check out thefull lowdown here.

The day of your road trip

It’s Day 1 of your adventure – and time to check out your van! Camplify allows hirers to pick up their van at the owner’s location, or to have it delivered to an arranged spot. Whichever you go for, follow these tips to get your trip off to an amazing start:

Ensure a full handover

Don’t be shy about asking the van owner everything you can think of about the van. Sure, you’ll need engine or manoeuvring details and tips… but you don’t want to only discover the cleaning cupboard or the spare toilet rolls on your last day...

Ask for tips

Most van owners will love sharing the clever little details of their vans, from tucked-away storage space to a hidden light system. Let them give you a proper tour!

Check about fuel

Motorhome and campervan tanks should be full at your trip’s start. But it’s worth researching in advance where gas stations are along your route, especially if you plan a long driving day at the start.

Go for a test drive

Take the van for a short trip around the block before the final handover, so you can familiarise yourself with its weight and feel. Again, most owners will be happy to allow this.

Double-check your route and first stop…

And drive!

Don’t forget to be mindful of safety throughout your trip::

• Make frequent rest stops

• Take it slowly until you’re used to the van

• Don’t go off-road unless the van is designed for it

• Find a wild camping spot (or your campsite) before full dark

Ready to go on a road trip with friends?

Hiring through Camplify really does make road trip planning easier than ever. Follow our tips above to plan a road trip with your friends and spend hours of fun out on the open road.

Why Camplify?

We are proud to be the UK's fastest-growing private caravan, campervan and motorhome sharing community. When you hire a van through our platform, it comes with lots of advantages:

• Comprehensive hire insurance

• 24/7 RAC nationwide breakdown cover

• Dedicated customer support

• All members are verified

By hiring with Camplify, you are also helping local families who share their van on our platform and supporting many local companies across the UK in addition to ours. So we are very grateful to you.

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