Okay, a scenic drive sounds like the easiest kind of trip to plan. Like, all you do is just pick a route, book a couple of places, stop when something looks pretty, eat something good, repeat. But of course, a week on the road can also turn into “why am I exhausted,” especially if every day involves scrambling for coffee, eating sad snacks in a car park, and arriving somewhere feeling a bit rumpled. Sure, by all means here, it’s totally nice.
But when it comes to road trips like this, though, wouldn’t it be nicer if it were a bit more luxurious? No, really, it’s a fair question. Well, think of it this way: a polished week of scenic drives isn’t about being fancy for the sake of it. Instead, it’s about making the trip feel calm, intentional, and comfortable, like the kind of travel where the photos look great but the experience also feels great. Because yeah, that matters.
Plan the Route More Like a Playlist
What does this mean exactly? Well, a polished road trip usually has fewer stops than people think. Meaning not fewer views, just fewer forced detours that eat up the day. It helps to treat the route like a playlist, a good flow, a few standout moments, and enough space between them to actually enjoy the drive.
So, ideally here, just try and aim for one main scenic stretch a day, then build around it. For example, maybe a viewpoint, a coastal pull-off, a mountain pass, a charming town, okay, you get the idea here. But yeah, honestly, that’s plenty. And it keeps the trip from feeling like it’s constantly chasing the next thing. Thats the problem with traveling, though, it’s this giant to-do list, and it yoinks the magic away.
You Have to Make the Comfort Level Non-Negotiable
So this is where polished trips really separate themselves from the well, non-polished ones. So theres the generic tips here like wearing comfortable clothes, it can be athletisure if you want, but loose-fitting clothes are good enough, but it just helps if they’re comfy and look nice enough to be out and about in. But it’s also going to help to have some small toiletries together, ideally nothing cheap like what you’d get at a 3-star hotel, but preferably something nice (and even better if it’s things you use on a regular basis that you love), and yes, a signature scent helps too.
But there’s a couple of other things, what’s the accommodation and what’s the car situation? For example, are you renting a car and just jumping around from hotel to hotel? Are you considering motorhome hire and maybe staying in campervan parks during the trip? Have you looked into amenities with wher you’re staying? Sure, it’s a lot of questions, but again, the point is for this to be nice and polished, so you have to plan ahead for comfort.
Be Sure to Add One “Reset” Experience Midweek
Well, a week of driving is still travel, and travel can be tiring, even when it’s beautiful. Like, it can be exhausting, and some schedules are “go-go-go,” so there might not always be too much relaxing. So it helps to plan a proper reset experience around the middle. For example, it could be a spa afternoon, a massage, a hot spring, a long lunch somewhere quiet, a scenic walk followed by a really good dinner.
Sure, it’s obviously going to depend on where you are. Hence, it was stated earlier to look at the amenities of where you’re staying, because there might already be a spa included in the price of your hotel reservation.
