Super helpful in making the most of a road trip
347090
I got this book a few years back for my second trip to Yosemite National Park. This trip was converted into more of a driving tour when I broke my foot a couple of months before the planned arrival.

I really wish I had had it the first time! I'd recommend it especially for anyone whose exploration of Yosemite will mainly be on the road. But, while brief and simple enough to be read through easily, the book contains a great overview of the park - history, geography, plants and animals - for any visitor.
971259
I bought the 2nd Edition just before publication of the latest version, so that's the book I'm talking about.

My wife and I have just returned from touring Route 66 from Albuquerque to Williams AZ and back to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. I cannot imagine having such a great time without the book.

The pages are well organized with option of following along going either westbound or eastbound. The author gives clear directions to indicate when the old road dies out and drivers need to rejoin the Interstate. He warns of rough or unpaved roads.

The book points out countless original buildings, bridges, giants and neon signs. We would have missed most of them without the guide. For instance, we were able to find the old (now abandoned) building where Captain America and Bill tried to get a room in the movie Easy Rider. I can't tell you how much we laughed as we played "Born to be Wild" and pulled up to the inn just like they did.

Also included are the author's recommendations for places to stay and places to eat. We let serendipity guide us, mostly, but when we followed the book's suggestions we were not disappointed.
This is a great help to anyone trying to explore Route 66. I heartily recommend it. So get it and start getting your kicks.
316663
My husband and I have been on the road for almost a year, and we owe much of this successful year to Phil and Carol's book.

I bought the book because I wanted to figure out how we could take some time off without going broke, and Road Trip Dream succeeded in helping us do just that. We aren't even close to retirement, and this book really helped us to see that a trip like this was possible at our age.

With the release of its second edition, the Whites' book is as vital as ever when it comes to considering every critical aspect of how to plan, execute and live your own road trip dream. Don't even think of embarking on a journey without reading and following the advice laid out by these two seasoned road trippers.

Great Budgeting Information
Based on our own spending habits over the last year, I can vouch for the fact that the book's budgeting methodology is on the money. Their budget's "memory joggers" will help you look at every aspect of road trip living that you'll spend money on, from postage to Internet access. They also spotlight important things to consider, like realizing that you need to plan for fluctuating costs in different regions around the country (for example, campground fees in the east are much higher than in the west).

Get Creative, and Get on the Road NOW!
For working age people like my husband and I, the Whites have included a section about sabbaticals, working from the road, and even "road schooling" for families. The information, suggestions and ideas provided in this section help get a reader's mind around the fact that you don't have to be retired to take time off to travel. With some creativity and flexibility, they illustrate how even working people and families can hit the road. In this edition of the book they've provided a number of resources and ways to research this further.

Keeping In Contact on the Road
Technology changes so much in just a couple of years, and the revised tech section in the book is great. I can appreciate how the Whites do a good job of presenting a general overview of road technologies, without going over the heads of novice users. They did a fabulous job of explaining air cards for internet access, which is what most people end up using on the road. A comprehensive resource section at the end of the book includes lots of great websites to consult.

Hit The Road with the Information You Need
By reading and following the White's advice in Live Your Road Trip Dream, we were able to pull off our journey in the kind of organized, budgeted and well-prepared manner that makes us both comfortable. If we had just taken off without doing our research first, this journey might have ended months ago.

There are so many things to consider and planning for something like this can seem overwhelming. Don't let it. Buy Road Trip Dream, and you will receive the comfort and encouragement that it takes to believe in yourself, and know that you can get your way to living your own road trip adventure.
248742
Highly recommend this book if you're spending days in Utah but it's helpful even if you're just driving through. Clear information on the routes and what to look for during the drive.
3054759
Great guide. Don't miss the packing list in the back--it made our trip so much better!
2830720
This book is wonderful! Unlike most of the guide books you usually find, this one has lots of information for drivers. Within the thematic "routes" they have planned, there are lots of possibilities for arranging one's own routes based on individual preferences. You can make your itinerary as long or short as you wish.
1818686
I bought this for our March 2014 trip and found it to be very helpful. My favorite part was the one where they advise you against hitch hiking.
2193563
If you're wanting to travel and work, this will be the most important piece in your travel kit. Why? Because it spells out exactly what you need to do to make yourself a productivity machine! Being a productivity machine will free up your time to get out of that cafe and exploring the place you actually traveled to.

Mish lays out all the tools and tons of thoughts necessary to help you balance your travel and working lifestyle. She's been doing it for years, so she is the go to resource that I rely on as I try to build my own business on the road. I can't thank Mish enough for creating this book. It's helped me solve problems that had me tearing my eyebrows out.

Mish is an amazing writer. She makes topics like cloud storage and travel insurance actually entertaining to read about.
4588790
If you are thinking to go on a driving tour anywhere in France, buy this book!  My wife and I had an impromptu 1 week road trip at the end of a 6 week business trip last September and I really could have benefited from this book!  It helps you decide where to go and what you can see along the way.

This book is a great for the arm-chair traveller, for someone actively planning a trip, for your first trip, or if you've been there before -- as well as for taking along on the trip.  France has a such a wide variety of scenery and sights, and this book helps you find things that would be interesting to different people.  The meat of the book is the 39 road trips which are organized by region, but there's also a cross reference page that lists which tours would be for those interested in art, French cuisine, nature, wine tasting, architecture, or historic sites.

The book is organized into sections for each region of the country, and each one has a different color that you can quickly see at the edge of the book.  Paris & Northern France, Loire Valley & Central France, Alps & Eastern France, Provence & Southeast France (and Corsica), Pyrenees & Southwestern France, Atlantic Coast & Western France.

There are a few walking tours sprinkled in, although not always alongside a driving tour that would take you there.  For example, there's a walking tour of the city of Chinon and it mentions you can take this on driving tours 11 & 12, but in the book it's between tours 14 & 15.  Just find the walking tours at the end of each regional section.

Given my recent road trip in the heart of France, I was curious what kind of driving tips the authors included.  I was surprised that there's only a few pages on the topic, and no mention of navigating the myriad of roundabouts which we found (TIP: cars already in the roundabout have the right-of-way -- unless otherwise stated), or road etiquette on the autoroutes (TIP:  never pass on the right!).  We traveled without a euro-style chip-and-pin credit card and discovered that there are some gas stations that are fully automated and they would not accept our US-style magnetic swipe card.  (TIP:  Look for manned gas stations, they'll take US-style cards).  The authors mention that many autoroutes have tolls, but doesn't give an idea of how much they cost (TIP: Paris to Lyon cost about 30 euros).

The included fold out map is useful, and it includes badges marking all of the trips.  The badges on the pull out map only show the start of the tours, but they are color coded and numbered so you can quickly turn to the detailed description of any tour.

Tour Routes that intrigued me:  #38 - The Lot Valley, #18 - The Foothills of the Alps, #10 - Breton Coast, #20 - Rhne Valley

For those traveling light and considering packing this along, the book weighs 487.5 grams (just over 1 pound).

Over all, I like the book and it has made me start thinking that my next trip to France will be a road trip!
1517944
I love it for traveling because it is a great help when there is a problem up ahead it reminds me of it and helps me in getting around the area that is blocked and gets me back on the road that I want for were we are going without losing more time than I would have trying to find my own way around.
1683293
As a travel writer, I loved this book because it offers a way to get so much more out of travel. So many people miss the REAL travel experience and only visit the tourist hot spots. This offers so many suggestions to interact and truly live like a local wherever you travel. There were some ideas I had not though of or tried like using Airband instead of staying at a hotel. Others I use like engaging with locals and discussing with them the things they are doing that to them are everyday but to a visitor are an interesting look into the local way of life.
271407
Got this before heading on vacation, and it made life so much easier. Doesn't always seem to give the best route, but it's not bad, and does get you to where you're going.
202157
Worked very well on our recent road trip.  It gives suggestions on what to see if you only have a day in the park which was nice.  It's nice that it's alphabetical as well.
1436564
We bought this before a trip to the redwoods.  It was extremely helpful in finding the hotels, making restaurant suggestions, finding gas stations and points of interest.  It has made me more confident in driving into an unfamiliar area and wondering if I'll be able to find my destination.
1255233
Just completed a road trip from Washington State to Rhode Island with two children, almost 3 and almost 7.  Needless to say we are glad that it is over, but really enjoyed using this book along the way.  My son, the 6yo loved looking at the pictures and reading all of the interesting facts as we entered each state.  It was a great learning experience because we would be so excited when we reached a new state.  I would have him read from the book and we would try to memorize all of the capitals from every state, which I am not even sure they make kids do that these days, but I can recall all of them from when I was little!

The last pages has some games and puzzles which he enjoyed, and there was a license plate scramble at the end, which I thought was a little difficult for him to decipher.  I would have much rater had them blank so he could color them in once we saw that plate on the road.  We ended up having him write them down on a piece of paper instead of crossing them out in the book.  I think it would have been easier to color, but oh well.  I also wish that there were some blank pages in the front or back to write down your own observations, as we were trying to make it a learning experience for him as well.

I will have to note that this is not a comprehensive map or detailed version of what is in every state.  Some of the highways and freeways that we traveled on were missing, which was confusing for him because he wanted to know how we went through this state without a road , so we brought out the rand McNally road atlas that we purchased here on Amazon, and that made it a little more understandable.
1246218
My sister and I are planning a trip to California.  Since we have never driven ourselves there before, I bought this program to help us know where to go.  It has taken a few weeks of playing with it to really find my way aroung in this program but, that's probably just me.  It is a great tool for planning not only your route but for details along the way.  It gives you names and locations of all sorts of points of interest like historical sites and museums as well as restaurants and hotels with addresses, phone numbers and average cost...Everything!  And if you have kids to travel with, it even has games for different ages, up to adults, that you can print out and take along.  If you want  or need a lot of help in planning a trip or finding a location, I would say this is it.
1596552
Very accurate on seating locations and spot on with the food choices.  Really helpful for our west coast road trip