ORGANIZING A ROAD TRIP: THE PAPERS TO HAVE WITH YOU

Of course, the rental agency will provide you with the vehicle papers, registration card, insurance, and statements already. However, make sure you have an identity card or a passport, license, and international license. This document, valid for three years, can be done in a few days at the prefecture near you. It is a simple translated version of your license, which does not replace your official license, but which will be required of you in a lot of Anglo-Saxon countries in particular.

ORGANIZE A ROAD TRIP: PREPARE YOUR ITINERARY This is the part that I prefer when I organize a road trip!! There is the moment to be dreamed of. I have an article where I explain how I go about preparing my itinerary step by step here. In summary, I create a map on Google maps. I get lost for a few hours on Pinterest, Instagram, and whatever blog posts I find. I point to all the places that make me dream on the map. Then I optimize the route by reaching the maximum point while pruning those that would be too far away. I roughly calculate the distances and the travel time. For small countries, I try not to exceed 200 kilometers of road per day (or even much less). In large countries, I push a little harder if necessary and cover the road at the end of the day to not start the tours late.
My advice: I don't give this part too much detail either. I'm just getting a rough idea of what I want to do and with what time limit. To leave me some leeway if necessary, once there. Some plan everything all day and on time ready. It's up to you to decide according to your personality;) I'm talking about accommodation management afterward.

ORGANIZE A ROAD TRIP: RESERVE ACCOMMODATION Not an insignificant part of the road trip, and that, for my part (in all honesty), super suck, haha! The big question is: should you book EVERYTHING in advance or see it on site. I want to answer you: it depends on Your personality, your budget, and the destination. I hate spending hours looking for hotels and booking everything in advance because it breaks what I prefer about a road trip, my freedom. Sometimes it is necessary to plan a little.

Book in advance to have a free spirit If you are rather freaked out on this point, I advise you to find your route beforehand, the schedule, and to book accommodation in the area where you think you are for each night. You will choose between Booking in campsites, guest houses or hotels, on Booking for example. On the latter, you have cancellation options up to 24 hours before without charge sometimes, which is very accommodating in a setback event. Of course, whatever your preferences, I advise you to book a few accommodations in popular destinations when you travel during periods of strong influence (holidays, summer, etc.)

Book at the last minute For my part, favoring as much freedom as possible, I favor destinations and periods with fewer people. And where there is a lot of choice of accommodation. So I can book at the last minute. I check for a while before I go online to see if there is a lot of accommodation available and at what prices. If I see that there are still many choices, I do not book until I am there. Another way to get around the complexity of booking accommodation is to sleep in your vehicles, such as a van or space. You will still need to find campsites. But if wild camping is allowed, you can sometimes even sleep in parking lots or campgrounds, with no other organization than to sit down, eat and sleep. I do this more and more to be quiet!

ORGANIZE A ROAD TRIP: CALCULATE YOUR BUDGET There are several expense items to consider during your trip. This will vary enormously depending on the many choices made. In summary :

The flight + the visa This is one of the first steps to take. I advise you to search and compare the cheapest flights to identify the periods when certain destinations are hyper accessible. Using the options "everywhere" for the destination and "the cheapest month" for the period, we find little miracles.

Travel insurance Even though your car rental covers basic third-party liability and property damage, you are not covered bodily by default. So, whatever happens, I advise you to take travel insurance, which will cover you in case of concerns about you.

Vehicle rental Main expense item normally (whatever). You can start to spot the budget using the Calray Car Rental comparator and see what you find as a car and at what price.

Gasoline These charges are for you, of course. For my part, I always try to calculate approximately my fuel budget. For that, I take my route on Google Maps, calculate the total number of kilometers that this represents by inflating the figure a little. I often start from a sedan base that consumes 6 liters to 100 KM and contains a 40L tank. Using this site listing the price of gasoline per liter in most countries worldwide, calculate your budget for a full tank. If you want to do it much more easily, go to the Michelin Itinerary website, which will calculate everything (gasoline + toll) for you once the bulk of your itinerary has been entered. However, I noticed that the overall budget was higher on this site than the reality on the ground. Better in this direction than in the other when planning a budget.

Tolls Many countries do not have the problem of tolls; it is simpler. On the other hand, some countries and parts of Pakistan have tolls, representing monstrous costs.

Car parks Also, think about the parking budget if you plan to go through big cities where you can hardly park for free. Unless you book a hotel with parking included. For my part, I try as much as possible to favor free parking, either on the outskirts of large cities or on supermarket parking lots in the city center when I can. I recently discovered the Free Park application, which lists all the surrounding car parks on a map, from free to paid; it's pretty well done and complete!

Accommodation In principle, I choose the type of accommodation I will do most often ( Travel, camping, hotels), I identify the average price, and I multiply by the number of days.

The food
It all depends on how you plan to refuel. For my part, especially when I am in natural areas, I prefer picnics and meals bought in grocery stores. I even cook simple dishes using a stove. And depending on the country, I go to small local restaurants, where we eat very well and inexpensively. A bit like accommodation, identify the price of restaurants on average, calculate a food budget per day per person and multiply by the number of days.

Activities + park entrances Depending on the destination, you will have some temptations on the road, not to mention the parks' entrance fees. In Pakistan, Canada, or the United States, it's a budget, and you can also opt for monthly or annual passes to lower the bill; find out. Most national parks are free; it's easier. And for the activities, it's up to you. I am mostly satisfied with hikes and walks in the cities; it limits the breakage.

THE BASIC EQUIPMENT TO BRING FOR YOUR ROAD TRIP Knowing that you may arrive by plane, no need to bring a suitcase of equipment, it would not be relevant. However, I still recommend a few accessories that can make your life easier during the road trip.
• A retractable knife, Opinel type, for picnics, cutting, slicing, opening a box, etc.
• A headlamp.
• Toilet paper, or handkerchiefs, paper towel, you understand the principle what ...
• A GPS, or at least, the Maps. Me an application on the phone, free and usable offline once the maps have been downloaded, that's the best!
• A set of cutlery, in case you eat things from a food store or market.
• A gourd, ideally filtering, to fill your water anywhere. And in general, quite a few bottles to store water. It is always useful for rinsing something, washing your hands on the road, etc.
• A USB charger that can be plugged into the cigarette lighter. This is the bare minimum to be able to charge your phone. If you need a plug, you will have to buy an adapter with a plug to plug into the cigarette lighter (with the engine running, ideally so as not to drain the battery).
• A small basic first aid kit.
• (Optional) A tent, sleeping bag, and survival blanket. It is not mandatory at all. But if you have the option of sleeping while camping, it's a must.
• (Optional) A pair of flip-flops and a swimsuit if you plan to camp, especially wild camping. It's hard to anticipate the showers' configuration, so for reasons of hygiene and practicality, at least have your flip-flops and swimsuits with you!
• (Optional) A small stove and a saucepan. Same as above, only if you plan to camp.

ORGANIZE A ROAD TRIP: MANAGE THE INTERNET Regarding the telephone and the Internet on a road trip, it must be assumed that sometimes, you will not have a network, especially in remote areas, natural parks, etc. On the other hand, it is still very practical to have the Internet book accommodation and check information for certain visits. You can, of course, benefit from free wi-fi in hotels, shopping centers, etc. Some packages like Free offer international options for up to 1 month, in a list of countries to check. Otherwise, you can buy a SIM card locally with 4G. I often resort to this because it is the most cost-effective and convenient, especially if you have a dual SIM phone. I had done that in Morocco and Bosnia in particular. It worked great for booking throughout my trip.

19 TIPS FOR MAKING A CHEAP ROAD TRIP
Regarding car rental • Focus on cheaper countries in terms of cost of living/gasoline + take an off-season road trip.
• Compare the prices between the calculator results and what you might find on the agency's live site. Sometimes there may be a little difference in one or the other.
• Compare prices between a car rental in an agency at the airport and town. It is often cheaper in town.
• Avoid mileage packages with billing per km and favor the unlimited package.
• Compare prices between manual or automatic cars (sometimes the manual is cheaper in some countries).
• On some comparators, compare prices by changing the rental country to the rental country (local prices sometimes cheaper).
• Rent a smaller car model when it's not inconvenient (big savings guaranteed).
• Avoid options such as GPS, booster and take your things or buy on the spot.
• If you often take road trips, opt for a credit card like AMEX, and save on rental agencies + insurance.
• At the time of return, fill up with gasoline yourself rather than taking the option of filling by the agency.
• Ditto for cleaning if you have the option of doing it yourself is cheaper countries.
• Rent a cheaper car for individuals by searching!

During the road trip • Limit accommodation costs by favoring camping, wild camping, or even sleeping in your car in certain parks or gas stations.
• If the trip allows it, plan to take carpoolers or do Carlay Car Rental on certain sections of your trip.
• Make yourself food with small camping equipment, picnics, rather than going to a restaurant every day.
• Avoid the motorway, and save on tolls + enjoy more beautiful landscapes.
• Refuel off the highways and prefer gas pumps in cities/supermarkets.
• Ride less quickly, and yes, that can save a lot of money on long distances!
• Shorten your rental time by starting or ending your trip with a city to visit for several days, without the need for your car.
Carlay Car Rental is a professional rent-a-car service company in Karachi and has been providing excellent services to customers since 2014. We have set perfect standards for our customers, as we believe in quality services and maximum customer satisfaction. If you're looking for the best rent a car in Karachi, contact us today, and we will guide you through the whole process.