One-Tank Getaways

AAA TourBooks and customized TripTiks® — with step-by-step maps and guides, including current construction — are free at aaa.com and available free to AAA members at local AAA offices and by mail. A fuel cost estimator, fuelcostcalculator.com, will help ensure your one-tank vacation comes in on budget. RandMcNally.com also provides trip planners, travel guides and suggested road trip routes. To book hotels and find destination information, go to aarp.org/travel.

Visit byways.org for maps to the U.S. Department of Transportation's America's Byways, 150 scenic roads in 46 states that lead to distinctive cultural, historic, natural and recreational sites. For national parks, visit nps.gov and download maps, helpful tips and a calendar of nationwide events.

Once you've made your plans, you should always plan for change, says Priscilla Nogales, 49, who often travels with her husband and three teenage sons. "There are times the boys decide they want to camp out on a beach rather than stay at the hotel we reserved," she says. "Road trips give you the freedom to be spontaneous, and that is why it's our favorite way to travel."

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