Over the course of my 282 days on the road, I built a list of 28.2 road trip travel tips. I gathered some of these valuable tips from other wanderers who’d trekked before me; many others, I learned as I went.

I wanted to share my list with you for whenever the road beckons your name as it did mine.

Whether you travel solo or with others, and whether you embark on a week-long journey or more of a year-long quest, I want you to uncover the most epic successful road trip you can find. I hope you learn from my own steps and missteps, and I hope you’ll teach me a thing or two when your own trek concludes.

Onward to the 28.2!

PREPARATION

1. Keep a budget. From gas to food to sunscreen, the funds rack up quickly. Regardless the length of your road trip, it’s wise to know where your money is going and, just as importantly, how much you have left.

2. Load up on all the best road trip apps for your smart phone. I highly recommend Roadtrippers for predictable / unpredictable roadside finds. Gas Buddy will help you find the lowest gas prices in your area. And it goes without saying, but Instagram was made for road trips.

3. Get your car a complete tune-up. There’s never been a better time to get those whistling brakes hushed.

DRIVING

4. Drive 5 miles under the speed limit. You’ll feel like an incompetent granny at first, but you’ll conserve gas and learn to appreciate what’s whizzing past everyone — except you.

5. Get regular oil changes and check your tires. Yes it’s annoying, but not stranded-on-the-side-of-the-road annoying.

6. Keep a running road trip playlist for songs of all flavors. No shame.

7. Invest in podcasts. Music gets old sometimes.

8. Invest in silence. Noise gets old sometimes. Talk to yourself, talk to God, or marvel in the unfurling world before you.

ACCOMMODATIONS

9. Get and use a Couchsurfing profile. Yes, it’s weird at first. But yes, it’s safe. You’ll soon find that people will make a place special, not so much the place itself. When it’s all said and done, you’ll remember them more than it. That you’ll save tons of money on hotels is a secondary bonus.

10. When stuck on finding somewhere to stay, use social media to your advantage. Post an update about your upcoming visit to a region and your need of a couch to crash. Sometimes you’ll be met with silence, but sometimes your old high school classmate’s former college roommate will take you in and you’ll have a new best friend.

11. Go camping. It’s not regularly for everyone, but I promise at least one night under the stars is for everyone.

12. Don’t be afraid to sleep in your car. Find your own secluded area of a rest stop or Walmart parking lot. Invest in a sun screen for your windshield and tie some shirts or towels to your windows for privacy. Bask in the beauty that you and your car and the road are melding together as one.

FOOD & DRINK

13. Skip lunch. Do breakfast and dinner, but snack on trail mix and granola bars during the day. Your food budget will thank you.

14. Use a water bottle and refill it often. It’s easy to get dehydrated on the road.

15. Ask your hosts what to do and where to eat in their cities. They know their cities and regions better than Google or Bing or AskJeeves.

16. Check out the bars and local coffee shops for a better feel of a city. Coffee shops especially give you much needed chances for rest.

PICTURES & PLACES

17. Take lots of pictures. Bridges and parks and rivers and lakes and abandoned buildings make for epic backdrops you’ll cherish forever.

18. “Experience first, capture second.” Before you start snapping a flurry of pictures, though, actually look at the thing or natural wonder you’re visiting. How tragic a reality when you look back on all your epic pictures and don’t even remember being there.

19. Limit the selfies and timers. Instead, make friends with strangers and have them take your picture for you. Disclaimer: only ask people less than 60 to take your picture on a smart phone, and have the shutter sound enabled for them. Trust me on this.

20. Keep your research of a park or attraction limited, especially when it comes to looking at other people’s pictures of the place. It’s much better when you experience a place for yourself first.

21. Wander aimlessly with no agenda. It’s okay to walk city streets or woodsy trails and find nothing sometimes. The times you do find something eclectic and wondrous will far outweigh the times you don’t.

SNEAKY TIPS

22. Enter national parks in the wee hours of the night and early morning. The gates will be open, but you’ll avoid pesky rangers and their entrance fees. You’ll see some of the most spectacular scenery your imagination could hardly conceive, and you’ll do it for free.

23. Park in residential areas a mile or two away from city centers, then walk. Just keep an eye out for parking signs. You’ll save on outrageous parking fees and get the bonus of exercise while trotting past all the stuff you’d have wanted to see anyway.

24. Keep a journal and document your road trip with plenty of thoughts, logs, and random stats (miles driven, states visited, coffees consumed, gas prices, etc). It’ll be tedious stuff, but you’ll be so glad you recorded your road trip beyond the photograph.

25. Send lots and lots of postcards. Include others in your journey — especially those you’ve encountered in your rear view mirror.

LIFE LESSONS

26. Embrace some spontaneity if you’re a structured person; take time for organization if you’re more carefree. Every successful wanderer need a solid balance between the two.

27. It’s okay to be lonely or miss what you know. Realize you’re right where you need to be — amid the uncomfortable in between. That’s where growth happens.

28. Embrace every moment of every day. Your road trip will seem so long and forever, but then it will be over. Like you woke up when the dream was just getting good. You’ll want to go back to sleep, but you can’t. It’ll be time to wake up and walk into your new you.

28.2. Travel well out there.

Got any other road trip tips from personal experience? Please add them to my travel list and teach me a thing or two for my next big adventure!