Off-roading is a great way to get out and explore new places while experiencing the thrill of tackling challenging terrain. If you’re thinking of taking your vehicle off-road for the first time, it’s essential to do some research and prepare yourself before you hit the trails.
In this guide, Passport Overland will discuss why you should go off-roading to help make your decision easier!
Top 10 Reasons Why You Need to Go Off-Roading
My soul yearns for the broad road. Along the route, you may come across some unspoiled dirt roads, unexplored wilderness regions, and breathtaking landscape views. Many individuals are heading to the open road to go on off-road adventures right now for several reasons.
The following are ten good reasons to go off-roading on your next getaway.
1. It’s Beneficial to Your Health
Spending time outside is beneficial to both your physical and mental well-being, and it’s true. Spending time in nature helps relieve stress, but it has also been shown to increase its sense of well-being.
According to Psychology Today, outdoor play can even enhance a child’s intellectual development and physical well-being. There are several reasons to consider off-roading as a holiday option, including the physical and emotional benefits of spending time outside.
2. You’ll All Get to Spend Some Quality Time Together as a Family
You may spend quality time with the people in your life who mean the most to you by taking a long road trip to a new off-roading area. However, there are certain disadvantages to being restricted to a small space.
Regardless of the distance, traveling in a small group by automobile allows you to practice dispute resolution and improve your communication skills.
3. You Have Complete Control.
Flights are frequently being rescheduled or rerouted due to airline problems. It’s a real bummer. On the other hand, you have more control, whether you’re out on the open road or off-road. Rather than wasting time at the airport, you may spend it having fun instead.
If you don’t like a specific location or destination, you can move on to the next; after all, you’re the one who decides when to go, where to go, what to see along the way, and when to arrive.
4. As Far as Destinations go, There’s No Limit!
There’s no shortage of places to go off-roading on any given road trip, so there’s always plenty of time to explore all the country has to offer. This allows you to choose a location on a map and begin your journey.
National parks, national forests, and property managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) are excellent places to start.
Before starting on the trek, be careful to check with the park rangers. Rangers and other staff members can tell you about road conditions and provide you with travel advice.
Traveling off-roaders may also check out private and public off-road parks, both of which are terrific possibilities. Trail guides, on the other hand, maybe an invaluable resource when venturing out into unfamiliar territory.
5. It’s a Lot Less Expensive than Conventional Travel
Traditional travel, let’s face it, is prohibitively costly. It’s easy to see how travel expenses, such as plane tickets, baggage fees, and even petrol and new tires, can pile up. Organizing a vacation for a large group calls for extra care.
Traveling by automobile is relatively inexpensive. One of your most extraordinary expenditures will be fuel, but you may also have to spend money on new tires, keep up with essential maintenance, and keep an eye on your vehicle for signs of wear and tear.
Road vacations and off-road excursions are far more cost-effective alternatives.
6. Rekindle Your Passion for Driving
The more automobile technology advance, the more levels of separation there are between the driver and the duty of driving. The constant need to go over rocks and through mud pits makes you feel more in charge of your vehicle’s performance and more connected to the road.
7. Spend Some Time Away from Technology
Off-roading parks are frequently located in isolated places with no phone service. Furthermore, when tackling tough trails, you need your complete focus and entire body to man the vehicle and deal with whatever challenges you encounter along the way. Off-roading allows you to reconnect with friends or family members you invite along for the adventure in a distraction-free setting.
8. Make Contact With Nature
According to Harvard Health Publishing [https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/sour-mood-getting-you-down-get-back-to-nature] , spending time outside can reduce your blood pressure and cortisol levels. One 2015 study discovered that after just 90 minutes of walking in nature, individuals had decreased activity in the prefrontal cortex section of the brain. This area tends to repeat and dwell on unpleasant feelings.
Off-roading is an exciting way to appreciate Mother Nature while also reaping some mental health advantages.
9. This One Is Up To You!
Clear your head, find your way, and make an adventure of it. It is a blank slate.
10. Improve Your Car-Care Abilities
Off-roading will also help you improve your auto-repair and problem-solving abilities. If something goes wrong while you’re roughing it in the outdoors with your buddies, it’s up to you to fix it. In this case, the convenience of roadside help is irrelevant. You’ll feel more confident when a car accident occurs on paved roads, knowing that you can remedy minor difficulties without having to wait for help.
Overlanding is Another Fun Adventure
Overlanding, for the uninitiated, is traveling in a purpose-built vehicle with an adventure overland business. Or, to put it another way, it is hopping on a truck with a bunch of like-minded travelers to traverse the world.
For the better part of a decade, I’ve worked as an overland tour leader/driver across Africa, Europe, Central, and South-East Asia, Central, and South America, and Australia.
1. You Get Off the Beaten Path
Traveling in an overland vehicle allows you to see locations that would be extremely difficult, impossible, or expensive to visit on your own. You can only go so far on public transportation. Suppose you genuinely want to see those sites, which are around 300 kilometers off the main road (and bus route). In that case, your only real options are to hire a vehicle or go on a locally organized tour, both of which may be time-consuming to manage and relatively expensive.
2. Safely Visit ‘Dangerous’ Countries
Certain nations have a perceived “risk” element when it comes to travel. Overland travel makes countries such as Venezuela, Pakistan, and Nigeria more accessible to the typical individual.
3. Get a Real Feel for a Place
Because of the nature of overlanding, you will be passing through and staying in tiny settlements. It is frequently the most acceptable approach to truly understand individuals and how they go about their everyday lives.
4. Interact with the Locals
Overlanding entails camping, which means stopping in little villages to purchase food at local markets, where you may have to barter with the little old lady selling tomatoes.
You could be invited to the house of a local craftsman to have dinner and meet his family. You can even find yourself playing a random game of football with the youngsters in the nearby village.
5. Local Knowledge is Essential
Your tour guide and driver will have no doubt traveled through the area several times and will be well-versed in the region’s best-kept secrets (not be found in your guidebook).
They will know the most significant activity firms, the best ‘tried and true’ local guides who can genuinely transfer their love and unique understanding of a place, the ideal times to explore local sights, and, most significantly, the best pubs and restaurants.
There’s no need to spend several hours pounding the streets and thumbing through your guidebook to find the restaurant that every other guidebook-toting traveler is visiting.
6. Get Back to Nature
There is nothing like bush camping — swimming in a lake, going up a mountain, sitting around a campfire, sleeping beneath the stars, waking up to the birds.
7. Gain Exposure to New Things
Traveling in a group may be eye-opening. It can introduce you to new things that you would not have explored if you were traveling alone.
Other group members may be aware of an obscure attraction you were unaware of, may push you to participate in an activity you would never have considered or may provide other perspectives on things or life in general.
8. It’s a Less Expensive Form of Travel
Overlanding is a low-cost mode of transportation. Sharing transportation expenses, insider knowledge, and access to group discounts on things like activities and lodging all mean that exploring an area on an overland trip is often less expensive than doing it on your own.
9. Make Long-Term Friends
Traveling in close quarters with a group of people fosters connections (and perhaps relationships) that may last a lifetime. How many times have you returned from a trip only to discover that your friends and family are uninterested in hearing about your adventures?
Sharing the experience with like-minded travelers ensures that you will always be able to recollect with someone who was there with you.
10. Slow Travel
Trend-setting tourists’ catchphrase is “slow travel.” For a two-week vacation, country-hopping isn’t the same as a more leisurely exploration of a location.
A typical response from persons who have already completed a long-distance trip such as a round-the-world trip is, “I wish we would have gone slower.”
“Slow travel” is made possible by overland travel. Instead of hopping from one location to the next, your trips are constrained by factors such as speed limitations, fuel availability, and the demands of your requirements (i.e., bathroom breaks).
These more regular trips will help you get to know the area a little better if you’re passing through. It’s a great way to see the country up close, meet the people, and learn about their culture.
Final Words
If you’re looking for a way to experience another culture and its people indeed, then off-roading may be the perfect vacation. From interacting with locals in small villages to exposing yourself to new things like camping or playing football with villagers, there’s no shortage of reasons why going off-roading isn’t worth it.
If you want help planning your next overland trip, reach out! We can provide insider knowledge about locations around the world and recommendations on different modes of transportation options that will best suit your needs. We look forward to hearing from you soon!
