Best Budget Tips for Your Next Road Trip

By Don Nichols   AARP En español Published May 13, 2022

Veteran road trippers know how to cut costs on a driving vacation — particularly important in these days of sky-high gas prices and inflation. Consider their top ways to save while planning

your next big car trip.​​

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Campgrounds in county and city parks are affordable, often-overlooked options, says Rob Taylor, the St. Augustine, Florida-based author of The Road Trip Survival Guide. Taylor and his family

recently camped at Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park in Jacksonville, Florida, for just $28 per night, with a full hookup for their Northland trailer. “Being a city-run park, it had other municipal

services, like a Splash Pad, beach access and bike trails,” he says.

To get the best deals, Taylor suggests making reservations for campgrounds and hotels before leaving home. “Last-minute bookings aren’t cheap the way they used to be. In the last two years,

you can’t just show up and get a last-minute deal, because there’s less availability.”

If you’re camping or lodging in the national parks, don’t forget about the National Park Service’s America the Beautiful Senior Pass. Amy Keng, 67, an avid road tripper and camper from

Dallas, says, “It’s worth its weight in gold. It will get you into campgrounds managed by the government at 50 percent off. In the Grand Canyon, I paid just $9 a night.”

When booking hotels, you can build up points and get discounts if you stick with one or two brands. Taylor says he always tries to book with one of his two preferred hotel brands to earn

points for free rooms and get loyalty rates that save him $15 to $50 a night.

For additional savings, book hotels that offer free breakfasts and free parking. The latter can be hard to come by in urban hotels, especially downtown ones, but Theresa Goodrich, the

52-year-old author of The Complete Guide to Road Trips, uses SpotHero to solve that problem. With the mobile app, she books alternate parking near her hotel in advance at a discounted rate.

“In Denver, we would have paid $150 to park for three nights at our downtown hotel. Using SpotHero, I found parking a block away and paid just $40,” she says.

And, of course, don’t forget about your