Hi my lovely readers!

Last year I took my first European road trip with my car. I took the Stena Line ferry from Harwich in Essex, to Hook of Holland in the Netherlands and then drove all the way to Berlin.

Normally, I would just catch a flight as that’s of course the fastest option. It never crossed my mind to drive to Berlin, but the pandemic changed all that.

In fact, I noticed many benefits of taking the car and go on a road trip instead of flying. I’m actually planning on taking the car this year again to Berlin to see my family and will most likely continue to drive to Germany in the future from time to time.

With no further ado here is why taking road trips is better than flying!

IT’S OFTEN CHEAPER

Taking the car is often cheaper than flying, especially when you are a big family. The more people you have in the car the cheaper the journey.

Plus, think of your normal holiday and how much money you spend on buying plane tickets for everyone and then renting a car at the destination. All these costs add up.

YOU CAN PACK MORE

Another benefit of going on a road trip is that you’re able to pack as much as you can fit in your car, which is likely a lot.

When you’re flying, there are always luggage restrictions and I’m sure all of us have been in a situation where we wanted to pack more in our luggage, but couldn’t.

Especially today you see more and more airlines either reducing how much luggage you can bring or entirely removing luggage and making you pay extra for it.

YOU CAN BRING BACK MORE

This benefit is super important, at least for me. When travelling by car you can bring back more of everything. More food, more clothes, more souvenirs and big, heavy and bulky items that would be too costly to ship.

In my case this also means that I can shift all my stuff from Germany to the UK without having to pay for extra luggage, worrying about my delicate things such as glass breaking in the luggage and bringing back foods that I’m not allowed to import when flying.

Last year, I brought back two full shopping bags with different foods, several spirit bottles and some beers that I can’t find here in the UK, Easter and Christmas decorations as well as a table that I dismantled.

This year I have a carpet on my list. Taking a road trip makes all of this possible.

YOU CAN BRING BACK DELICATE AND BIG ITEMS

This overlaps with the previous point that I made, but driving back allows you to bring back all those items that you’re not allowed to take on a plane or can’t bring on a plane.

I guess food and booze comes to mind first for a lot of people, but also delicate, heavy, bulky and sometimes restricted items are difficult to transport on a plane.

That’s often not a problem when you go on a road trip as you can fill up your car and customs are more relaxed if you travel to different countries, for instance here in Europe.

I mean who doesn’t want to bring back all these goodies such as wine and cheese from France or olive oil and really cute and pretty looking Mediterranean serving platters from Italy?

MORE FLEXIBILITY

Travelling by car just allows you to do what you want to do, go where ever you want to and actually get to places that are more remote.

Furthermore, a road trip allows you to be flexible. You can be on your way to the next destination and all of a sudden see a sign on the motorway telling you that there is this really incredible waterfall close by.

You have the choice of going there or not, but at least you have the choice. You can be flexible and change your schedule.

IT’S SAFER DURING COVID TIMES

One of the most important points for me at the moment is that I feel safer travelling by car than flying.

I don’t have to share the cabin with hundreds of people in a closed and confined space, I don’t have to go to the airport where there are hundreds of people waiting in queues and it’s less likely that I will catch the virus. At least that’s what I believe.

I’m concerned for my health of course as I haven’t got an idea how my body will react to Covid, but I’m more concerned and scared passing the virus on to my family if I was a silent carrier.

I’m lucky enough to live in Europe and there are many stunning, beautiful and interesting destinations that I have never been to, even in Germany.

Therefore, going on a road trip right now seems like a very good option.

COMFORT

I don’t know about you, but flying becomes less and less enjoyable for me. Back in the good old days it was an experience. I used to look forward to getting on a plane, the food, watching movies and playing with the games. I was always excited about the different airplanes.

Now it’s just a means of getting me to my destination and I actually don’t like booking flights that much anymore. The seats are getting thinner and thinner, leg space is disappearing, now they’re asking me to pay for my luggage for my two week holiday and I’m supposed to pay for drinks and food, too.

It’s just becoming crap basically and as I have a back injury, flying becomes literally painful for me as the seats are so uncomfortable now.

I don’t have this problem with my car though. I can change the seating position if it gets uncomfortable, I have seat heating and can warm up, I can stop on my way and go for a walk if I must and I can drive for a few hours, then stop somewhere to do some sightseeing along the way to take a break and stimulate my brain.

WATCHING THE SCENARY

What I also love about road trips is that you can watch the scenery and see a different site of the country you’re visiting.

A drive through the countryside in the UK for instance is such a joy. You pass all the idyllic villages with the local pubs and drive through big, wide open fields.

On my list is a road trip up to Scotland to see Edinburgh and drive the NC500, which is supposed to be the most beautiful scenic drive there is in Scotland and one of the best scenic drives in the world.

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What are your thoughts on road trips?

Have you been on one lately or is flying still your go to option for getting from A to B?