{"id":14484,"date":"2026-11-05T12:42:21","date_gmt":"2026-11-05T12:42:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/?p=14484"},"modified":"2026-11-05T12:53:15","modified_gmt":"2026-11-05T12:53:15","slug":"usa-road-trip-planner-pdf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/road-trips\/usa-road-trip-planner-pdf\/","title":{"rendered":"The USA Road Trip Planner: Free PDF Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-src=\"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/10\/usa-road-trip-planner-convertible.jpg\" alt=\"A dark convertible sports car parked in a softly lit studio, ready for a road trip\" class=\"wp-image-14414 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/sites\/6\/2026\/10\/usa-road-trip-planner-convertible.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/sites\/6\/2026\/10\/usa-road-trip-planner-convertible-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/sites\/6\/2026\/10\/usa-road-trip-planner-convertible-768x432.jpg 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1024px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1024\/576;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Planning a road trip across the US? <strong>The USA Road Trip Planner<\/strong> is our free PDF guide to planning a road trip with a rental car, from the route and budget to the right car, safety tips and classic drives like Route 66, the Overseas Highway and Colorado&#8217;s mountain passes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/pdf\/usa-road-trip-planner.pdf\">Download the guide (PDF)<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How do you plan a road trip in the USA?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pick a destination and route, check the weather along the way, set a budget, choose a car that fits the terrain and your group, and pack with a checklist. Then hit the road on a classic drive: Route 66 runs about 2,400 miles through eight states, the Overseas Highway links the Florida Keys over 42 bridges, and Colorado&#8217;s Trail Ridge Road is the highest continuous paved road in the US.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What&#8217;s inside the guide<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>How do you plan a road trip in the USA?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How do you plan your route and charging stops?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What is the best rental car for a road trip?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How much does a road trip cost, and how do tolls work?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How do you stay safe on a long-distance road trip?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Which classic US road trips should you drive?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Which road trips work best in summer and winter?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Road trips with kids and pets<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Road trip essentials: the packing checklist<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Frequently asked questions<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Traveling with kids? Our <strong>Family Road Trip Guide<\/strong> covers car seats by age, choosing between a minivan and an SUV, road trip games and snacks, and four family routes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"625\" height=\"469\" data-src=\"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/10\/usa-road-trip-planner-electric-suv.jpg\" alt=\"A white electric SUV with its headlights on, shown from the front\" class=\"wp-image-14415 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/sites\/6\/2026\/10\/usa-road-trip-planner-electric-suv.jpg 625w, https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/sites\/6\/2026\/10\/usa-road-trip-planner-electric-suv-300x225.jpg 300w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 625px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 625\/469;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Find the right car for your road trip<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Choose from our distinctive fleet, from high-end convertibles to premium SUVs, add unlimited mileage and GPS when you book, and share the driving with an additional driver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Ready to hit the road? Rent the car.<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/car-rental\/usa\/\">Rent your road trip car with SIXT<\/a>, from compact cars to SUVs, minivans and convertibles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/pdf\/usa-road-trip-planner.pdf\">Download The USA Road Trip Planner (PDF)<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our free PDF guide to planning a road trip in the USA with a rental car.<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":14414,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[231,28,260,24],"class_list":["post-14484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-road-trips","tag-driving-tips","tag-roadtrip","tag-travel-planning","tag-usa","entry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to Plan a Road Trip in the USA: Free PDF Guide | SIXT<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Plan a US road trip with a rental car: route, budget, tolls, the right car, safety tips and classic drives like Route 66. Download our free PDF guide.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/road-trips\/usa-road-trip-planner-pdf\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Plan a Road Trip in the USA: Free PDF Guide | SIXT\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Plan a US road trip with a rental car: route, budget, tolls, the right car, safety tips and classic drives like Route 66. Download our free PDF guide.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/road-trips\/usa-road-trip-planner-pdf\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SIXT rent a car Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-11-05T12:42:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-11-05T12:53:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/sites\/6\/2026\/10\/usa-road-trip-planner-convertible.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"576\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"akhila\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"akhila\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Plan a Road Trip in the USA: Free PDF Guide | SIXT","description":"Plan a US road trip with a rental car: route, budget, tolls, the right car, safety tips and classic drives like Route 66. Download our free PDF guide.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/road-trips\/usa-road-trip-planner-pdf\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Plan a Road Trip in the USA: Free PDF Guide | SIXT","og_description":"Plan a US road trip with a rental car: route, budget, tolls, the right car, safety tips and classic drives like Route 66. Download our free PDF guide.","og_url":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/road-trips\/usa-road-trip-planner-pdf\/","og_site_name":"SIXT rent a car Magazine","article_published_time":"2026-11-05T12:42:21+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-11-05T12:53:15+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":576,"url":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/sites\/6\/2026\/10\/usa-road-trip-planner-convertible.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"akhila","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"akhila","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/road-trips\/usa-road-trip-planner-pdf\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/road-trips\/usa-road-trip-planner-pdf\/"},"author":{"name":"akhila","@id":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/74ac29f38fa2a93c3151c1838618e58c"},"headline":"The USA Road Trip Planner: Free PDF Guide","datePublished":"2026-11-05T12:42:21+00:00","dateModified":"2026-11-05T12:53:15+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/road-trips\/usa-road-trip-planner-pdf\/"},"wordCount":322,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/road-trips\/usa-road-trip-planner-pdf\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/sites\/6\/2026\/10\/usa-road-trip-planner-convertible.jpg","keywords":["driving tips","roadtrip","Travel planning","usa"],"articleSection":["Road Trips"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/road-trips\/usa-road-trip-planner-pdf\/","url":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/road-trips\/usa-road-trip-planner-pdf\/","name":"How to Plan a Road Trip in the USA: Free PDF Guide | SIXT","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/road-trips\/usa-road-trip-planner-pdf\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/road-trips\/usa-road-trip-planner-pdf\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/sites\/6\/2026\/10\/usa-road-trip-planner-convertible.jpg","datePublished":"2026-11-05T12:42:21+00:00","dateModified":"2026-11-05T12:53:15+00:00","description":"Plan a US road trip with a rental car: route, budget, tolls, the right car, safety tips and classic drives like Route 66. Download our free PDF guide.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/road-trips\/usa-road-trip-planner-pdf\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/road-trips\/usa-road-trip-planner-pdf\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/road-trips\/usa-road-trip-planner-pdf\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/sites\/6\/2026\/10\/usa-road-trip-planner-convertible.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/sites\/6\/2026\/10\/usa-road-trip-planner-convertible.jpg","width":1024,"height":576,"caption":"A dark convertible sports car parked in a softly lit studio, ready for a road trip"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/road-trips\/usa-road-trip-planner-pdf\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The USA Road Trip Planner: Free PDF Guide"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/","name":"SIXT rent a car Magazine","description":"Travel Tips and News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/#organization","name":"SIXT Rent A Car","url":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/sites\/6\/2025\/10\/SIXT_Logo_Pos_RGB-2.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/sites\/6\/2025\/10\/SIXT_Logo_Pos_RGB-2.png","width":2000,"height":804,"caption":"SIXT Rent A Car"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/74ac29f38fa2a93c3151c1838618e58c","name":"akhila","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ae9dd99159c41e02f5c238384d25740fce639e450c5abb9ad9657a3245c29881?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ae9dd99159c41e02f5c238384d25740fce639e450c5abb9ad9657a3245c29881?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ae9dd99159c41e02f5c238384d25740fce639e450c5abb9ad9657a3245c29881?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"akhila"}}]}},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/81"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14484"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14484\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14499,"href":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14484\/revisions\/14499"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sixt-rs.life\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}