Life can be incredibly hard, and sometimes taking that long drive on a road trip to relive the good ol’ days are what we really need.

It may not sound like the most daring thing to do “take a road trip,” but going where the open road is and stopping along the way with blasting music and road trip games sounds like the perfect opportunity to be surrounded by views, towns and people you never knew existed!

Here are reasons why you should hit the road with the best road trip quotes and captions perfect for long drives with your friends.

Travellers from around the world share a bit of the best road trip quotes that resonate with them and why they think road trips are the best way to discover more than what you did before!

Best Road Trip Quotes & Captions For Long Drives

1. “Road trips require a couple of things: a well-balanced diet of caffeine, salt and sugar and an excellent selection of tunes – oh, and directions.” – Jenn McKinlay.

***“Road trips require a couple of things: a well-balanced diet of caffeine, salt and sugar and an excellent selection of tunes – oh, and directions.” – Jenn McKinlay.***

When it comes to planning a successful road trip, the above formula seems pretty spot on to me.

My two-week road trip around Scotland was the first that I had done and although the sights were amazing, the journey was arguably what I remember most about the trip.

I’d made a number of playlists before my boyfriend and I set off and it wasn’t long till we were belting out Bon Jovi as we road-tripped the Isle of Skye’s Trotternish loop.

We had time to spare so we were able to play it by ear and change our plans on a whim. In fact, just as Jenn McKinlay says in her famous road trip quote, we were mainly driven by caffeine cravings and rumbling tummies!

Being the millennials we are, we were of course armed with a Sat Nav to keep us from veering off track too much, however, we did manage to get lost in Glasgow when our phone signal died.

Printed directions or an old fashioned map would have served us well then!

By Sheree Hooker from Winging The World

2. “Road trips are the equivalent of human wings. Ask me to go on one, anywhere. We’ll stop in every small town and learn the history and stories, feel the ground, and capture the spirit. Then we’ll turn it into our own story that will live inside out history to carry with us always. Because stories are more important than things”. – Victoria Erickson

The open road gives a feeling of freedom. The ability to choose where to go, when to stop, and the desire to live in the moment.

Sometimes we have a plan, and sometimes there is no plan beyond a destination into the future. Road Trips open the door to more flexibility, being able to reach places that tours do not frequent.

It gives a more authentic and honest travel experience. It is those meaningful experiences that change us and make us into who we are.

It is those experiences that teach us to learn to live in the pursuit of happiness, rather than material things.

We mostly travel as a family, with our children.

Each road trip we take opens up new possibilities for the kids to learn in a classroom without any walls, experience life in different environments, and learn to appreciate the spirit and importance of each place.

Road trips help us all to learn, flourish, grow, and to have a better understanding, acceptance and admiration of the world around us.

While the thrill of buying ‘things’ quickly fades, the memories and happiness created from the smallest experiences on the open road, to the most epic adventures, will last a lifetime.

By Debbie Fettback from WorldAdventurists.com

3. “To move, to breathe, to fly, to float,
To gain all while you give,
To roam the roads of lands remote,
To travel is to live.” – Hans Christian Anderson

Undeniably, this quote by Hans Christian Anderson is one of the best road trip quotes for long drives.

As you probably know, he is the author of some incredible fairy tales that have inspired me to take road trips, smile and feel enchanted.

When I go on a road trip, especially to ‘lands remote’, I genuinely feel like I am writing my own story and enriching my life with excitement and adventure.

This quote especially resonated with me on a road trip from Perth to Esperance in Western Australia, where you feel like you live and discover places that other people have not yet found.

The raw beauty of the secluded beaches and ancient towering trees allows you to breathe, move and feel free.

It was probably my favourite road trip that I have ever had the privilege of going on because of the abundance of fairylike beaches to ‘float’ in the crystal clear waters, mini hikes ‘to move’, 40m treetop walks to ‘fly’ and to enjoy the company of kangaroos on the beach.

You really feel like you’re living and are on an adventure, and that’s what a road trip is all about, and this quote sums that up perfectly.

By Rachel from Average Lives

4. “I love road trips. You get into this Zen rhythm; throw the sense of time out the window.” — Miriam Toews

Travel is about spontaneity and road trips are great for that.

The amount of planning is significantly reduced when travelling by car, versus other forms of transport, meaning less time stressing and more time enjoying the journey.

All this leads to a mental state that can only be described as zen. There's nothing quite like a long drive on an open road to clear the mind, a major benefit of traveling.

I've noticed that it doesn't matter what's going on in your life, a road trip has a way of removing the distractions and clutter of life, allowing you to focus on what truly matters and be present in the moment.

The flexibility offered by this form of travel also allows you to not be concerned about following a set schedule and a sense of time is set by the rhythms of nature rather than what's shown on a clock.

By Rai from Rai of Light

Also Read: 27 Best Hiking Quotes From Inspiring & Outdoorsy Storytellers

5. “It’s your road and yours alone. Others may walk it with you but no one can walk it for you.” - Rumi

**“It’s your road and yours alone. Others may walk it with you but no one can walk it for you.” - Rumi**

Rumi is my spirit animal, my spiritual teacher and his words always inspired me.

I was heading to a road trip in Patagonia and wasn’t too sure if I should do it.

I was super excited about the trip, just not too sure about the length of road trip and then I came across this beautiful quote while flicking the pages of an old quotes book I had looking for something for an article. There it was, so plain and simple.

I was spellbound, that’s the reason I love Rumi, his words resonate with me at so many levels.

At one point during the road trip next to the border of Chile on the way to Torres del Paine, I sat on a stone watching the horses run wild in the huge steppe and recited it back to me.

I knew I would get a different meaning and this time I was absolutely overjoyed that I was getting to experience this on my own instead of hearing about it from others.

By Ucman from Brown Boy Travels

6. “Sometimes the road less traveled is less traveled for a reason.” – Jerry Seinfeld

This quote is such a perfect fit for our Yellowstone experience! It was our whole family's first time visiting and we'd been warned off by some people that the whole park was "overhyped" and too crowded to be enjoyable.

Normally I'm all for trying to find less visited areas too but on this trip, we went full tourist and hit all of the most popular spots. They were amazing!

While you might never have Old Faithful or the Grand Prismatic Spring all to yourself, there's a reason why they're so popular and I'm very glad we took the time to go see them.

Whenever we drove through a spot we'd never heard of, we usually remarked to each other that there was a reason we hadn't heard of it, it was unremarkable!

Don't let anyone convince you not to explore somewhere simply because it's popular and only explore somewhere less traveled when you have the time to gamble (though sometimes those adventures pay off too!).

See some of the Yellowstone hikes for families we took as we drove through!

By Stephanie from Explore More Clean Less

7. “Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go.” – T.S. Eliot

When my family and I started planning a long-term road trip in our 1979 camper to check out the national parks on the east coast, we knew it would either be an adventure to remember or a massive failure. Would our toddler hate sitting for that long?

Would we go nuts being together all day in such a small space? Was our vintage camper going to break down in the middle of the highway?

This quote from T. S Eliot captures the spirit of our long adventure on the road.

Like so many things in life, sometimes you have to take a blind leap to know what you’re capable of doing. Our grand road trip turned out to be amazing.

We did break down, we did get annoyed with each other at times, and our toddler did get annoyed sitting for so long. It was also fun, life-changing, and the trip of a lifetime!

By Christina | Live A Wilder Life

8. “Sometimes the best therapy is a long drive and music.”

I love to sing. I’m not the world’s best singer, but before the pandemic I used to be in a choir, and one my greatest pleasures is turning the radio up loud in the car and belting along to whatever cheesy hit comes on next.

The delight when a song you really love comes on and you can shout it out to your heart’s content with no one else to judge you or hear how bad you are (though sometimes I get funny looks at traffic lights).

Now add to that the heart-thumping joy of travel, of exploring new places and discovering new sights with no work calls and no deadlines, and you really do feel like you’ve left all your problems far behind.

That’s why, after I finished a volunteering placement in Kampala, I invited a friend to join me for two-week road trip around Uganda.

We hired a car and driver, and I was in charge of the music.

I put on hit after hit, and together we belted them out as we bounced over Uganda’s bumpy roads and views of the country’s vivid green rolling hillsides and lush forests emerged and disappeared round every corner.

My companions didn’t even seem to mind when I sang all six verses of American Pie at them! In spite of all the stresses of daily life, those days on the road in the Ugandan sunshine with music blaring out really were the best therapy.

By Bella from Passport & Pixels

9. “Part of us believes the new car is better because it lasts longer; but, in fact, that’s the worst thing about the new car. It will stay around to disappoint you, whereas a trip to Europe is over. It evaporates. It has the good sense to go away, and you are left with nothing but a wonderful memory.” – Daniel Gilbert

This quote always resonated with me because it accurately describes how memories of a trip feel and how they cannot be attached to physical objects.

As Gilbert says “the car will disappoint you whereas the trip to Europe evaporates.”

That way no one can take that memory from you and even if the car is no longer there the memory will last forever.

For me, it symbolises the importance of doing something with your life and experiencing things because in the end, this is the only thing that will truly last.

By Victoria from Guide Your Travel

10. "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

Probably all of us are familiar with the Chinese proverb "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step". It is a quotation from Chapter 64 of the Dao De Jing ascribed to Laozi, founder of Taoism.

The meaning of this proverb would be that even the greatest achievements start with the first, small step. Its motivational tone establishes motivation and avoids procrastination.

This is one thing I had to repeat myself when in 2 months I would visit the Czech republic, move to Mexico and Guatemala and again move to Egypt before returning home to a new job.

The plan was set for a trip to Mexico a few months before but since then evolved and included many new things. Two weeks before departure I got a panic attack.

But I said to myself, you got this - A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

It was intense but I managed it and now these are probably the best 2 months of my life. So, don't be afraid of the trip no matter how difficult it looks, start with the first step.

By Džangir Kolar from drjamtravels.blog

11. “We were born to be free, to expand our horizons by going where we have never gone before, and not to hang out in the relative comfort and safety of the nest, the known. There is a place within us that is courageous beyond our human understanding; it yearns to explore beyond the boundaries of our daily life.” – Dennis Merritt Jones

There are so many amazing quotes about road trips but this one from Dennis Merritt Jones really stands out to me. It’s so much easier to stick to our routines and comfort zones. Sometimes that’s all we know and we don’t want to stretch beyond this.

But it’s only when we step out of those zones and have new experiences that we can truly be free which I realised on my 12-hour drive from London to Scotland.

At this point, we begin seeing all that life has to offer from a different perspective.

The more experiences we have, the more we expand our understanding and our open mindedness of all that exists in the world.

We are only chained by the boundaries we make for ourselves but in reality we are free to do whatever we want, to go wherever the road takes us.

Don’t be victim to the fear of the unknown, rather be willing to explore. Once we realise this, who knows how unstoppable we’ll become.

By Venaugh

12. “A road trip is a way for the whole family to spend time together and annoy each other in interesting new places.” - Tom Lichtenheld

This quote perfectly sums up what it’s like taking a road trip with kids. While it isn’t glamorous by any means, the journey is absolutely worth it.

Crying kids, messy snacks, and little space to move around make road trips difficult.

Not to mention being stuck in the car with the same few people for hours on end, especially toddlers, can certainly become annoying.

Lichtenheld’s quote sheds light on how humorous travelling, especially road tripping with kids can be. Numerous times during each road trip, I ask myself, why did we do this again?

Without fail, though, the journey together and memories made along the way continue to prove why we enjoy family road trips.

The opportunity to make a spontaneous stop to watch a sunset, take a hike, or just exist together on the open road make it all worthwhile.

Despite the annoyance of packing the car with extra diapers, baby pouches being thrown around, and echoing voices yelling are we there yet, we always do it again!

By Tori from tori-leigh.com

13. “I’m not lost. I’m exploring.” - Jana Stanfield

**“I’m not lost. I’m exploring.” - Jana Stanfield**

One of our favourite things to do on any road trip or when visiting a new area is explored. By that, I mean we turn off the sat-nav and just drive around, seeing what places and roads we find.

This is particularly fun with a motorbike, but we also do it in our motorhome too.

It’s a great way to discover festivals or events on in the area, or find a beautiful tourist attraction, park or waterfall you didn’t know about.

This quote by Jana Stanfield totally encapsulates that sense of exploration, without worrying about trying to find our way to somewhere specific or be anywhere by a certain time.

It also covers all those times when we DIDN’T mean to be somewhere unexpected- but calling it an exploration is so much better than admitting we’ve taken the wrong turn and are now way off route.

At least- that’s the story in our motorhome journal and that’s what we’re sticking with!

By Kathryn from Wandering Bird

14. “It’s not about the journey, it’s about the destination.”- Ralph Waldo Emereson

**“It’s not about the journey, it’s about the destination.”- Ralph Waldo Emereson**

Like many folks, my husband’s and my busy international travel schedule swiftly changed due to the coronavirus pandemic to include a lot more road trips and exploration of my own backyard of the Pacific Northwest.

We went on three epic road trips (each racking up over 2,000 miles on our little Prius) in 2020 from our home in Seattle- to Grand Teton, Yellowstone, and Glacier National Parks; around the National Parks in Utah; and finally, exploring our neighboring state of Oregon.

These kinds of trips are never about any particular destination for us- they’re all about stopping and exploring along the way, whether that’s a roadside diner, an interesting historical monument, or an underrated state park.

Even beyond that, they’re about the time my husband and I spend in the car together, talking and planning for the future, listening to podcasts, and having our very own dance parties.

Shifting my perspective to think of the entire road trip as an adventure in and of itself has made road tripping so much more fun- and meaningful.

By Jessica from Uprooted Traveller

15. “I want to go on a road trip. Just you and me. The highway, the radio, the blue sky, the back roads, and windows down. We’ll talk about everything and nothing. We’ll sing our hearts out, and we’ll make memories we’ll never forget. Just you and me.”

We don’t know the author of this quote, but I like it very much because it reminds me of my French Riviera road trip last summer, from Paris to Nice and back.

Paris is a wonderful city but is also busy and very stressful for those who live there.

After a long and atypical winter in Paris, a self-drive vacation in the French Riviera in Southern France was the best plan.

The French Riviera is well known for its sunny beaches, colourful architecture, hilltop villages, and long promenades.

It is a touristy place in the summer that attracts crowds from everywhere. But as soon as we took the back roads, it was only us, the road, the blue sky, and our favorite songs.

By Elisa from Travel France Bucketlist

16. “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” – Marcel Proust

On the surface–or even as you delve deeper–the early 20th Century Frenchman Marcel Proust can be a bit obtuse. What does it mean to have new eyes…since unless you’ve had a cornea implant, you can’t have new eyes?

But what this quote about travel means to me is that you have to finally, determinedly, without reservation, open your eyes – and all your other senses–to the new possibilities opened up by going somewhere new.

The people are different. The food is different. The smells are different. The timbre is different.

Even the light is different. All of these assault your preconceptions and open you up to experiencing, and, more important, learning something new. And when you learn something new, you become bigger and better, and yes, renewed.

That’s the point of travel: to disrupt all complacency and jolt all prejudice. And force you to open your eyes anew to all that is possible.

By Tom from Travel Past 50

17. “Map out your future – but do it in pencil. The road ahead is as long as you make it. Make it worth the trip.” - Bon Jovi

**“Map out your future – but do it in pencil. The road ahead is as long as you make it. Make it worth the trip.” - Bon Jovi**

This verse by Jon Bon Jovi is one of my favorites since that is how I plan most of our road trips and travels.

I map an itinerary out in pencil, sort of a guideline but we are always open to changing them as we get there.

When something catches our eye, we want to linger just a little longer and explore it some more – whether that is Europe, California, or Texas!

Most of our summers start with some sort of road trip. We love mapping out road trips in Europe or in Texas and California when we can’t travel internationally. This verse resonated with me on one such California road trip.

California, I think it is one of the most incredible places in the world, whether you love the city lights or camping under the star and among ancient trees there is something for everyone in California.

We have done several California Road trips that take you from San Francisco to San Diego, and on such trips, we discovered the charming storybook town of Carmel by the Sea.

By Priya Vin from Outside Suburbia

18. "I take to the open road. Healthy, free, the world before me." - Walt Whitman

Our family loves road trips and I feel like everytime we get ready to travel, I'm instantly in a good mood.

From the moment we get into the car, I anxiously await the change of scenery and soak in my surroundings.

This quote resonates with me because this past summer just as states started loosening restrictions, our family embarked on a cross country road trip.

We stayed self-contained, ate takeout and enjoyed the national parks.

We didn't have a set plan, we were free and would plan a couple days at a time ahead of us.

We stayed healthy the entire time, and even tested upon our return, just in case, but this quote signifies that trip in many ways and I'm so thankful we weren't afraid to take it.

If we have learned anything this last year, it is that nothing is certain and you have to explore the world around you while you are still here and healthy.

By Margie DQ from DQ Travel

19. “Sometimes the most scenic roads in life are the detours you didn’t mean to take” - Angela N Blount

Road-trips and detours go hand in hand, atleast for us, personally. We don’t like taking the normal route, which often used to be the fastest route and boring.

So many times during our road trips - both short ones and long trips, we often end up taking detours - the longest route to reach our destination. It is often these off-the-beat paths that enhance your travel experience altogether.

And almost 8 out of 10 times we have stumbled on a nice scenery that otherwise we would have missed, had we taken the normal route.

We have discovered hidden waterfall, secluded beaches, stunning views, shimmering lakes or a quiet yet postcard perfect picnic spot, only for ourselves.

It is probably because of the success rate and wonderful experience we encounter, we often end up detouring wherever we go.

There are also horrid times when we attempted to detour in a snowstorm and got stuck for hours in the dark, which altogether is a different story.

But honestly, those bad experiences never stop us from taking the detour. These are the ones that made us storytellers.

By Anuradha from Country Hopping Couple

20. “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” —Howard Thurman

This is hands down one of my favourite travel quotes about empowerment.

While the act of travel itself is exciting and novel— driving down the empty highway on a warm afternoon, arriving at your new beachy destination, devouring plates of pungent paella and juicy fresh fruit — reading inspirational quotes further hypes me up for the travel experience.

This quote is a gentler reminder to follow your heart and intuition, and for me that surfaces through exploration and adventure.

As a traveller and health enthusiast, this quote embodies my deep passionate desire to learn through travel.

It motivates me to stay curious, roam freely and spread joy because that what makes me feel alive.

By coming alive through travel experiences, I hope to inspire others to do the same following their travel heart and stepping into that warm space that makes them feel alive.

By Ciara from Wellness Travel Diaries

21. “Everyone wants to know what the journey was like. But how can I explain the power, the rush of being alive, of feeling connected to everything, of simply “being”?” - Juliana Buhring

On road trips and long journeys, I miss being on the open road, heading into the unknown. This quote by Juliana is particularly meaningful as I was at a stage in my life where I didn’t know which exit to take.

I recalled how I felt when I went on a road trip in Armenia and Europe — the music blasts through the wind, and all I can think are the memories of my life, and the ones that I am about to make.

I also took short mini road trips in my home country and I found this quote to be a perfect summary of how I felt about all the journeys I took in life.

I learnt that the world functions superficially and it’s business as usual for most people, but I felt stuck in a different period and always yearned for being on the road.

The journey to adulthood, the journey of quitting my job, the journey of the open road through travel, it changed me and a road trip was the perfect vessel to ponder on all these memories, the in-between times and simply “being”.

by Pashmina from The Gone Goat

For inspirational quotes, read my other posts: