Road Trip: 5 Tips To Reduce Expenses

When deciding to go on vacation by car, the journey to your destination always represents a significant budget, especially if you have planned a stay far from home. Fortunately, a few good habits can help reduce fuel expenses. We offer you 5 tips to reduce costs on the road to your vacation.

1- Have your car checked before departure.

The first of the 5 tips to reduce fuel costs is to have your vehicle checked before going on a road trip.

Not only is this check-up a useful precaution for your safety and that of your passengers, but it also helps you avoid excessive fuel consumption due to a mechanical problem.

Before hitting the road, also remember to properly inflate your tires as under-inflated tires by 0.5 bar lead to a 2.4% increase in fuel consumption.

2- Avoid refueling on the highway.

If you are planning to take the highway for a car vacation, make sure to fill up elsewhere beforehand.

Since fuel prices are always higher on the highway, this precaution is the second of the 5 tips to know in order to reduce costs on the vacation route.

To find the best fuel prices near you, also consider using online comparators that are updated in real time. This way, you can save a few cents per liter.

3- Prefer a route without highways.

If your destination allows it and you have the possibility to drive at your own pace, avoiding the highway is another of the 5 tips to reduce costs when going on a road trip.

As long as the non-highway route doesn't significantly lengthen your journey and therefore increase your fuel consumption, taking national and departmental "secondary roads" can save you a few tens of euros.

To save time and money, avoid peak travel days as much as possible. Rely on Bison Futé's advice to avoid traffic jams! Being stuck in traffic consumes a lot of fuel due to frequent stops and restarts...

4- Start practicing eco-driving.

Do you know the term eco-driving? This word simply refers to a set of good practices that allow you to save fuel.

During your car vacations, if you want to apply this economical driving style, remember that you should:
• remove all unnecessary accessories that could lead to excessive fuel consumption, such as a roof rack for example
• reduce your speed by 10 km per hour on the highway; although this speed reduction is modest, it can save up to 1 liter of fuel per 100 km
• anticipate traffic to drive smoothly and avoid abrupt braking; to avoid unnecessary fuel consumption and spare your brake pads, it is better to use engine braking
• limit the use of air conditioning to hot days; on small roads and at low speeds, it is better to open the windows to ventilate the vehicle.

5- Taking passengers in carpooling.

The last of 5 tips to reduce costs on your vacation road trip is to carpool and take passengers with you.

If you have empty seats when you leave, don't hesitate to sign up on a carpooling website like BlaBlaCar! The website will suggest the amount to charge your passengers. This way, people who want to join you for part or all of the trip will contribute to the fuel expenses.

Thanks to this increasingly popular practice, your car vacations will be both more environmentally friendly and cost-effective. Have a safe journey everyone!