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Enjoy the thrill of the open road at home with these compelling road trip movies that will inspire your next motoring adventure.

We all love a good travel story but for some reason this simple narrative rarely translates well to the screen. As much as we’ve all experienced the head scratching drama of navigating a busy airport, or sheer elation of a plane taking off on time, these moments don’t really make for a compelling movie.

Even small pleasures like sipping that first cold drink on a hot beach or finding the perfect secret dining spot in a new city — as great as they are — remain best kept in your diary or in a photo album on your phone.

There is one genre of travel, however, that not only makes for a great experience in person but also a riveting viewing experience too. The humble road trip has been featured in countless films over the years, and the best ones not only entertain but also inspire. Here’s our pick of the road trip movies that will be sure to rev up your next vacation.

Thelma and Louise (1991)

Ridley Scott’s buddy road movie is a heady mix of conflicting themes. There’s the criminals-on-the-run element, as our titular characters (played by Susuan Sarandon and Geena Davis) try to evade the law in an increasingly desperate bid for freedom, but also the equally pressing need for the ladies to break free of the societal shackles they face every day. On a purely visual level, the sight of two carefree individuals taking the roof of their 1966 Thunderbird and charging through desert landscapes gives us all a sense of wild abandon. In the movie the duo go from Arkansas to Arizona, a classic route full of different backdrops, although most of the locations you see in the finished product are actually in Utah.

Explore Road Trip Guides in the USA

The Trip to Italy (2014)

Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon play exaggerated versions of themselves in this foodie tour from Piedmont to Capri. The comedic duo bicker along the way as they compete to see who can do the most convincing impressions of celebrities as they drive through the stunning countryside in the north of the county. The journey is meant to follow that which the great poets took in the past, but as we can see from this spin on the classic Grand Tour you can have much more fun behind the wheel of a car. Take in Rome for a cultural and artistic highlight and follow up with a detour to experience the west coast before relaxing in Capri.

Explore Road Trip Guides in Italy

Easy Rider (1969)

One of the most iconic road trip movies in cinema history actually takes place on two wheels but that’s perfectly fitting for this slice of counterculture from the late 60s. Interstate 40 from Los Angeles to New Orleans is a pretty well-known route, and it’s the main objective of our freewheeling protagonists too, but things don’t quite go to plan. To be fair the film deliberately gives us a number of glorious roads and otherworldly backdrops from New Mexico to Texas and manages to take in popular destinations like Las Vegas and Colorado along the way. Depending on what time of year you decide to follow in the tyre tracks laid by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper and Jack Nicholson, you might want to choose a vehicle with the option of heating as some of these areas can get quite cold. Not very rock’n’roll, admittedly, but we can’t all live life in the fast lane.

Explore Road Trip Guides in the USA

Dumb and Dumber (1994)

The joy of Dumb and Dumber is that its often so funny you forget that the set up is essentially a road trip from Providence, Rhode Island to Aspen, Colorado. Harry and Lloyd (Jeff Daniels and Jim Carrey) embark on a journey to return the lost bag of a mystery woman. Their mode of transport is the Mutts Cutts van which comes with furry ears and wagging tail, or at least it is until the pair get on a mini scooter to complete the last 500 miles of the trip. As you can imagine there are a number of unnecessary diversions we go on with the duo, so make sure you take a more direct route if you want to have the ultimate cross country experience. Can’t fault the soundtrack though, be sure to load up some choice picks from the 90s from the movie before to start.

Explore Road Trip Guides in the USA

The Bourne Identity (2002)

First of all, how is this slick action thriller already 20 years old?! It feels like only yesterday that we first watched Matt Damon take on the title role of Jason Bourne — a man with no memory but a wealth of combat experience. Anyway, the film has spawned a number of sequels and spin-offs, but in the original we get to see one of Bourne’s other hidden talents on display. After initially paying for a ride from Zurich to Paris and sitting in the passenger seat, Jason shows off incredible driving skills to evade a number of people who are in hot pursuit. To be fair, the sweeping mountain roads of Switzerland and narrow streets of Paris are so tempting, we’d want to take the wheel too!

Explore Road Trip Guides in France

The Trip to Greece (2020)

We couldn’t resist another trip with Coogan and Brydon as this format is particularly wanderlust-inducing by design. Even though the original broadcast was conceived as an episodic TV series, director Michael Winterbottom edited feature length versions which work as a superb way to showcase both the road trip adventure and comedic banter. Starting in Troy and following as much of Homer’s Odyssey as possible, we go on an ancient tour through Athens and ending in Ithaca. You get to see some of the most popular destinations in Greece on this trip and even get a spot of island hopping in too. It might be the last in the escapades of the pair — the ending seems to cap off things in an ominously ambiguous way — but at least we have 4 journeys to cherish. As well as Italy, you can also check out the trips through Spain and the UK from the team.

Explore Road Trip Guides in Greece

Cassam Louch

Writer and journalist

Road.Travel — Adaptive Travel Guides

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Best Road Trip Movies to Inspire Your Next Driving Adventure was originally published in Road.Travel on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

«… the quantity of people who are kind, empathetic and capable of deeds is growing.»

15th December

I can hear loud and clear, I can feel how our plane is slowly coming in for a smooth landing. I look at the shut window, trying to postpone the inevitable.

Only one week ago I was an unhappy and dissatisfied with the reality copy-writer, who used to leave big tips after four mugs of unfiltered beer. But no, there is no fear inside of me — I am a child, knowing that he is being brought a present, just not knowing what kind of present it is. This is a battle of expectations, when only intuition, logics and humility, coming hand in hand with each other, can satisfy a boy jiggeting and moving around a leather seat.

What’s going to happen next?

25th April

A drunken Friday went pretty well. I am sitting on a step close to our bamboo house, trying to understand who and when turned on to this road?

The horizon line of Dzhafe at night — a border line between the sky and the hill the lights of which simulate skillfully the stars, and the alcohol, so friendly, blurred all the distinctions giving me this deep sense of oblivion not for the first time.

Who has made that decision, who has created my way, how has I ended up here and in this company? Kazakhstan, Mexico, Italy, France, Greece, Russia, Belorussia, Poland, Malaysia… at this moment the border between us — just thin bamboo slivers creating not bad illusion of walls.

Tomorrow there is a nine a.m. bus to Kathmandu to prolong the visa and to sort some Indian things out. Not a long period, a week, I guess. But I really don’t feel like it! I don’t want to leave the kids, the workers, the guys, everyone, don’t want to lose the jokes during breakfast, don’t want to miss a lesson of Nepali from our commando during lunch break, don’t want to put on hold Jazz from the speakers, don’t want to get out of the habit of immersing in our small pool near the waterfalls. I just want to listen to the stories from all around the world by the lamp being attacked by the biggest nigh butterflies in my life, I kind of want to take everything with me.

And for good reason, now I see, that on the 16th of December Monica opening out Tarot cards in a cheap guesthouse in Delhi told me: run, just run. Run to see the most romantic pictures in your life, starting already the next day in such a carriage on the streets of Agra.

I see a loving couple, she is wearing a flowery dress of a chaste cut, he is dressed in a formal grey suit slightly dusty whether from long days of being in an ancient wardrobe whether just because it was India. They are going along the shaded alley hugging each other and whispering, not knowing that their privacy is just an illusion and now they are in these lines.

He tells her something, she smiles, he hugs her and holds her tight, she closes her eyes and I am ready to see this kiss, in all its amazing beauty, but she with a graceful movement of a traditional fan flowers closes this door just in front of my face, but I am happy and inspired. Because this is just the beginning.

Really, the following series of events and cities was leading me firmly and steadily here, to the night before the departure. And that is not even a real departure, but how many emotions of a drunk person.

That was not always funny, but always to be expected, and therefore it had never had any influence on a good mood. All the problems used to go away by themselves, and good surprises became a tendency. The feeling that you have been fooled, working as a guidance, passes away when you meet dozens of people who cannot fool any more.

Not having a choice, the vendors become real and stop playing the role of a vendor, transforming into people: wives, husbands, mothers, sons and everything opens from the other side. Getting acquainted with many different people from every corner of the planet: dreaming, running away, squeezed in taxi, having broken the chains, bearing their crosses, people who are creating something and even those who are rolling heads over heels into a chosen abyss.

Curious incidents during the trips, in the buses, in the cars, the beauty of human and non-human creations, the first day at the seaside, the rest of the days at the sea, the basics of jewellery making, Indian food, 4–5 hours per day riding a scooter, nights at the beach, all the emotional spectrum of the situation at work, and then dropping down of temperature, tranquility and again surprises, but already in another play, in which the concept of “pleasure” has increased significantly.

At the very end of that chapter I thought for the hundredth time — this is just the beginning.

16th February

A dishonest and unprincipled tour guide, pretending to be a couchsurfer and a decent man, with full authorization from my side, had me fooled and changed the whole further going rout in his own spurious interests.

Later on he escaped with a comfortable for me sum of money, leaving me with extraordinary and unbelievable events of the following days and the memories about Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Udaipur, Ahmadabad, Mumbai and Goa.

Simla met with the warmth of the house of the kindest people and the cold not only of mountain temperatures but of British architecture as well. All through stinking with the money Rishikesh kept something sacred in itself. And after unexpected meeting with Mudja and his blessing, I moved towards Nepal.

Some might say, that the road was awful, for me it was for the first time. India was not satisfied — flimsy and shakey bus and drizzling rain, a cart full of people and heavier rain, a motorbike and intensive rain, a rickshaw without roof and showering rain, a jeep-taxi and the sun.

Mahendranagar — forgotten, trying persistently to be modern, but stuck somewhere in the middle of the way. And yet it saved me from a cold.

It was dusk in Butwal when the bus arrived and the search for a hotel brought me to a small café, and how fortunate. The chance set everything up in a way that there were only two people: the owner of the café and the visitor. Identically surprised, I was shocked by their knowledge of English, the Nepali — by my visit, we got acquainted.

When the owner of the café brought a quality Americano, they asked about the hotel. “Of course, that’s not complicated! I think my father will not be against it! Everything is cool, dude, let’s go, you can stay as long as you need! And don’t say anything about payment!” — told me a twenty-year old guy starting his bike. After five minutes I was in front of the only three-star hotel in the city.

No, that cannot be! You can link it to Karma, you can connect it with the attitude towards Life or even with a chosen living environment, but it became evident — the quantity of people who are kind, empathetic and capable of deeds is growing.

And so it happened — vocations in touristic but of a great beauty Pokhara, gathering, cleaning, drying and preparing coffee in the village of Bhanjhang, noisy and always drunk Kathmandu.

17th December

In the doorway of a guesthouse in Delhi my new friend from Sweden, Yari, is smiling to me and saying as a goodbye: be open to everything that you are going to meet on your way, but don’t be naïve.

10th March

After some pancakes the taste of which I had time to forget, I preferred thoughts about tomorrow’s trip to the village of Jaffa to some healthy sound sleep in Olesya’s apartment.

Once you have decided to help everyone who needs this help, you don’t even know how it can change your-own-self. The world is too big to know everything. The more interesting it is to get to know, isn’t it?

26th April

I just want to take it all with me. To take a sledgehammer, those stones, shovels, even if they are deformed, all the dusty clothes and dirty conversations, “breakfast” in the morning and “buenos noches” in the evening, all the crazy ideas and beautiful citations, hours of work of a Math teacher, minutes when the kids are enjoying their victory, minutes, when you recognize friends in the people that are around you, seconds, when you close your eyes to believe that you are not dreaming.

My trip over here too a great deal of time, much more than those three months. But exactly during this time the fate prepared me to this stock of events that I want to keep in my memory forever. It prepared me to feel the kindness of unspoiled people and to meet the people who chose kindness as a part of their life plan. It prepared me, I believe, to set up the crossbar for all my future deeds and actions. Because this is just the beginning.

Author: Elmurat Nigmatov

Building a School for Nepal was originally published in Road.Travel on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Part II: How to Plan Road Trips and Get Full Freedom of Movement?

Most of our Timescenery team love travelling by car. It’s absolutely amazing to have full freedom in movement. And the impressions you get are completely different from those after a package tour or a guided one. While driving from one place to another you can find new interesting spots along the road. Let alone the scenery around you!

You can prefer to travel by your own car, but usually it’s more comfortable and less risky to rent a car upon arrival to the airport or railway station and start your road trip from there. Most of the car rental companies even allow you to drop-off your car in their other locations, but for an extra charge.

Going on a road trip is not just booking a vacation, it’s an adventure! I’ve decided to share some experience and create this cheat sheet of the basics. If you think I missed something, feel free to comment.

Automobile

Of course, everyone would like to ride a Mustang on a long road in Arizona, but take it seriously.

When choosing a car think of your driving skills and the class of the car. Renting a Smart for mountain roads is not a good idea.

Consider location!

Borders

You should respect the privacy of people, the road regulations of the country and the rules of your car rent company.

Do not drive on private territory. Do not go over the speed limit. Do not forget to ask the car rental company about the rules of driving outside the country where you pick-up the car. And make sure you have the visas.

Charge & Charges

If your car doesn’t have the navigation system installed you should have an app for it on your personal device. Remember to take the portable charger with you or connect one to the car.

Most of the navigations apps work offline to save your money and battery life (you just need to download the maps of the place where you are going to drive).

As for the charges: buy a local sim-card or a travel sim, turn-off mobile data while you don’t need it, mind the toll roads on your way.

Destination

At first, check the roads you are going to take. You can read about its quality in travel forums. Consider renting a 4x4 if the roads are mostly rough.

Calculate the routes in advance and plan stops for each 2–4 hours. If you are lucky to drive in places like Norway or Iceland, plan your night stops carefully and have absolute freedom at daytime! Enjoy 360° of beauty!

Economy

Speaking of Norway and Iceland — it’s not a cheap vacation if you want to see the nature’s heavens. But it’s worth it!

Remember, that getting somewhere is just the first step. You may buy a cheap flight ticket but don’t forget about the prices in your destination country.

Take your credit card, but don’t get confused by foreign numbers.

Fuel

Keep your car well fed. Do not go to extremes thinking that there will be another gas station soon. Surely you don’t want to find yourself in the middle of nowhere with no fuel.

If you are driving in areas with low population density, plan your routes wisely.

Goods

When packing your things for the journey, remember that you will always be on the road. Packing process should be easy. Take minimum, but useful. Don’t forget your personal hygiene.

Gas stations usually have small shops, where you can refill not only your car, but also your bag. Visit supermarkets on your way to buy some food for long road trips.

Help

Let’s hope you won’t need it. But
forewarned is forearmed! Save the emergency phone numbers of the car rental supplier and your travel insurance company. It’s also good to have at hand the phone numbers of lodgings, where you are going to stay for the night. Locals can find help much quicker. If you stuck on the road with no mobile coverage, ask other drivers to get you to the nearest place where you can make a call.

Insurance

Usually the CDW (Collision Damage Waiver) is included for car rentals. It states an amount, which differs depending on the car rental company and the type of car. It’s a maximum sum of money you will pay in case of damage dealt to the car.

Consider paying extra for the full protection. All costs for repairs will be not your headache.

Jams

Traffic jams. No matter where you are, there is always a possibility of a traffic jam on your way that slows you down.

It can be a narrow road with a slow motion driver in front of the car caravan or a highway with an accident ahead of you.

When planning your movements, take it into account and include some extra time to your schedule to be on the safe side.

Kit

You never know what situations you will face in your adventure. Always take a medical kit with things you need personally and the basics like bandages, disinfection stuff and pain killers.

Apart from meds you might need some tools. Take a swiss knife which has a small knife, scissors and other usefull things.

A flashlight, a repellent and some energetics would be a good addition.

Lodgings

To have maximum comfort, plan your overnight stops in advance. In some secluded areas you might find it difficult to find a place to stay.

Check the map, find hotels or other lodgings along the way and book accommodation prior to arrival to have a place for rest.

You don’t want to sleep in your car, do you?

Lodging

Morning

Try to start your day as early as possible. You get advantage among other drivers and can catch great views as the one on this picture. Let alone the extended time you will have for your trip and stops in interesting places.

Sleep is extremely important in long trips by car, so make sure to go to bed at proper time to have a good rest before next day.

Navigation

Sitting on a bench with your loved one and checking the map together can be romantic. It works for city walks, but not for road trips.

Remember to get a navigation tool installed. It might be a GPS system provided by car rental company or an app in your smartphone. Some of them work offline so you don’t have to worry about the connection.

Oh my God!

Just a few full screen photos for motivation.

Police? No! Pain in the back.

I am not going to remind you that you should follow the rules of road wherever you are. If you don’t, you might get into trouble with officials.

Sitting in the car for a long period of time is bad for your back. Make stops at least each 3–4 hours to stretch your body, especially your back. Driving non-stop for the whole day might create a gap in your route as you won’t be able to get up from the bed.

Queues

Where there are queues on the road? I have mentioned traffic jams and borders above, but I forgot (yeah, ok) that border crossings can also be overcrowded. Google for people writing about the place where you are going to cross the border. You might need to add extra time to your schedule.

And Remember — queue jumping is for losers!

Rules

Speaking of the rules…

Even if it’s ok to go over limits in your home country, the situation can be much worse abroad.

Fines can be really high depending on the country. It doesn’t matter if you are a foreigner. You will have to pay the fine. You can even be restricted from traveling to this country in future if you don’t pay.

Side

The majority of countries on our planet drive on the right side, but there are places where most of the drivers get confused.

It really takes some time to get used to another side driving.

Don’t forget to check your travel destination and be super careful for the first couple of days of your journey.

List of left- & right-driving countries - World Standards

Transmission

When you book a car for rent, always consider the transmission of the car. And it’s not only about your driving skills.

If you‘ve been driving cars with automatic transmission, you have no choice. Unknown roads are not the best place to start learning.

Mind the landscape. Manual transmission is always better for hills and mountains.

Ultra-violet

You might feel temptation to open the roof of your cabrio or put your hands out of the window when it’s hot outside. Fresh wind makes you feel comfortable.

Driving fast on the surface of the Earth means nothing in the eyes of the Sun. Covering your head and skin or using the sunscreen is a must!

Vision

Have your sunglasses at hand. The angle of sunlights can be annoying. You can also catch a bright flash with your eyes if the sunlights are reflected.

Also it’s better to have your headlights always turned on for others to see you better. If you are alone in the wild, use the high beam at night to see obstacles in the good time. But turn it off if you see a car in front of you.

Wild

Humans with their noisy cars are not alone on this planet. Respect other living beings and be careful on the road. Maximum attention in the forests and savannas.

Unfortunately, insects are killed in tens in each road trip. Mammals are bigger, so you can see them. But remember! They might appear right in front of you, so use caution.

X — NEVER EVER’S

X-ray is not connected with road trips, so I decided to list some things you should never do on the road wherever you are:

• Never leave your car opened, even it’s just a short stop.
• Don’t drive too much at night. Fatigue is deadly for drivers.
• Don’t go too far from the civilization without a full tank and, possibly, some extra fuel.
• Don’t stop to watch a deer or a bear walking by if it’s close.
• And finally… Don’t be an asshole. Everyone on the road is equal!

You

You, and only you are the boss in a road trip. You can go wherever and whenever you want. This is what the real freedom is!

Trips can be different. You can love lying on a sandy beach, skiing in the mountains, walking in the cities or hiking in the mountains.

With a road trip you can combine it all in a single journey!

Zigzags

The last but not the least. The real adventure doesn’t have to be dangerous. You can get a priceless experience that will stay with you forever. And remember — zigzags can be amazing!

Part II: How to Plan Road Trips and Get Full Freedom of Movement?

Author: Kirill Khomko

Road Trip How To (Roadtripper’s Cheat Sheet) was originally published in Road.Travel on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Flights with stops are chosen in terms of economy, or as a last choice when there are just no other variants. But every coin has its other side.

Is there something interesting in such flights which can change your mind from accustomed comfortable direct flight? What to do at a stopover instead of sitting in the building of the airport and eating in expensive and mostly tasteless restaurants? Of course, if you have a business class or a first class ticket, you’ve got free access to convenient lounges, sometimes to first-rate spas… But is it the thing we mostly travel for?

If you have plenty of time between flights consider a short trip to the city! These are things you should remember about.

Calculate Routes to and from the City

For instance, your stopover lasts 4 hours. Is it enough to leave the airport and go to see the city? Presumably not. Most airports are far from its cities, and you would need about an hour to get to the center.

Add to this the time you would spend to get down the airplane, go through all the formalities and come to the transport which would deliver you to the city. Moreover, you should return an hour or two (depending on the flight) before your next departure. If the flight is international, even more time should be required because of passport and customs controls.

Before departure, calculate the time for getting from the airport to the city and multiple by two — for return trip. Check the schedule of the public transportation in advance if you are not going to take a taxi.

Check the Entry Regulations for the Country

Before you decide to go to this little adventure you should get to know the entry regulations for foreign citizens. Usually you don’t need visa for the airport transfer, but if you leave the airport it would be an official entry to the country.

If the visa is required consider whether it is worth the money you would pay for it and the time you would spent on all the official red-tape. The optimal variant is EU countries from Schengen zone. You surely may leave the airport building and go to the city if you have a Schengen visa.

Always check in advance the website of the embassy to inquire the entry regulations and visa requirements for the citizens of your country.

Decide in advance what to do in the city

Explore the places you’d like to visit. It could be a museum, a park, a national cuisine restaurant, or just a walk in the center of the city. Do not try to get everywhere — you would not in several hours. But you would sure feel the spirit of the city and probably decide to explore it later in more details.

The longer your stopover is, the more places you can visit, but do not overdo it. It is quite possible you would get tired or suffer from the jet lag. Try to suggest the time you need for everything planned. If there is a possibility to make a booking for a certain time in advance or to buy a ticket and not to stay in queue, do it.

Avoid long night stopovers

You should surely take the time of a day into consideration. If the stopover is at night then probably the walk at the unknown city at 3.00 AM is not a good idea. So avoid long night stopovers if you can. They are exhausting and useless.

Get to know the baggage regulations in your ticket

If your flights are booked in a single ticket, your luggage would be probably automatically transferred to the next flight— check this in advance. If the two flights are separate, you have to go to the baggage claim area, get it and check it again for the next flight.

For instance, in US you would anyway have to claim your luggage after arrival in the transfer airport. The majority of airlines do not permit to check luggage long before the departure, so you would have to find the luggage boxes or the locker room in the airport. You can explore this problem in advance to understand which choices you would have.

If you travel with hand-luggage only, you do not have to worry about the luggage. But you may want to leave your bag in the locker and not to carry it through the city. You should surely take your money, passport and everything you may need during your adventure in the city of stopover.

You should take additional time for any actions with the luggage whether this be searching of a locker room or re-checking the luggage. Include this time in your stopover plans.

Prepare the necessary currency or a bank card

It is simple if your stopover would take place in one of the cities in your country or in a country that uses the same currency. Otherwise, you will have to be sure of the exchange rates. Consider changing your currency before the trip not to loose precious time. It also might be a problem to find a place to change your currency if it’s not a popular one.

The bank card is a convenient choice but get to know in advance whether they are accepted in the country and inquire the conversion regulations in your bank. Remember that some banks charge a fee for operations abroad in the currency other than the currency of an account.

You should have a notion about the cost of goods and services otherwise you could take too much or too little local money.

Make a deep breath and be determined

If you decided to go to the city during your stopover you wouldn’t regret it. Short acquaintance with the city would bring a lot of impressions. It is not an easy task to find time and money for the full-fledged trip to the city, and now you can see a new place and probably plan a new trip.

Always consider all pros and cons before you go to the city during your long stopover. Do not forget to inquire the visa regulations, calculate the trip time with dew regards to traffic jams and the walk in the city. If everything fits — surely go!

Personal experience

Opinions and real experience of long stopovers.

Anastasia Rikhter — content director in a marketing agency.

Long stopover adds one checkpoint on the route, and it is always interesting. Sometimes you just feel it’s beyond your strength to walk between the flights. But remember that our life is quite short and the planet is too enormous to miss a possibility to see a new place.

For instance, 6 years ago I visited Kiev this way. I arrived at 5 AM after Kazantip and found it really, really difficult to decide to go for a walk. But double espresso gave my mind back to me, and I spent 7 hours walking in this beautiful city. In the meantime, I managed to ascend to the Upper Town in the cableway, walk to Andreevsky slope where I nearly bought a gramophone, around the historical district of Podol, in the catacombs of Kievo-Pecherskaya Lavra, think of the eternal in the rose garden, get astonished by the architecture and celestial lights of Mikhaylovsky cathedral.

Kiev Pechersk Lavra, Kyiv

I added to this the gastronomical must-have — Ukrainian borshch with pampushki and horylka. After this, I had some more stopovers in the Ukrainian capital, and once I made use of two-hour delay of my flight and reached the Maydan.

Another time, while returning from Rome to Mocow, we had a nice walk around Vienna with my friend. We chose Vienna as a transfer point to visit the famous Vienna opera, but by mistake we bought tickets in Volksoper, not in State Opera, so we decided to go for a walk.

Per 6 hours, we visited the Christmas fair against Karlskirche, reached the symbol of the city — St. Stephan’s Cathedral which stabbed heavy foggy air, like in a horror film, and had a classical Vienna dinner in the restaurant Plachutta… By the way, we still managed to see the interior of the Opera.

Once there was 17-hour night stopover in Riga and morning walk around the historical center in search of a bank: we need a local currency to buy some water at least.

Very soon, the night stopover in Berlin is forthcoming, and as a final flourish of the vacations, I will certainly go to CDV (Club der Visionäre), meet my friends and dance a lot!

Etapp Kyle — DJ and producer

Via Skype from Berlin

Actually, I don’t know how to spend time in the airport if you don’t have any work. In the laptop, for example. I just like airports, so I feel good being there.

Some advice. First of all, I want to share my experience from the previous weekend when I had a set in Batumi and decided to get there via Istanbul. It was the most acceptable choice — faster and cheaper than via Kiev, for instance.

So we selected this variant. Turkish Airlines fly from almost all main European airports, and their hub locates in Istanbul. Then they sort out who and where travels next. The stopover was just 1,5 hours to Batumi and 50 minutes on the inbound flight. This short stopover turned to be a problem. That is why I decided to share this experience. I was late for the connected flight and had to spend 12 hours in Istanbul.

In Batumi we were told that we can’t depart yet as they can’t accept us in Istanbul. We were late for 15–20 minutes and I had only 50 minutes for changing planes. I checked in online and hoped I was on time. But I wasn’t.

When you go boarding, they announce for transfer passengers, for instance: flight to Berlin, gate number something. You understand you would be expected even if something would go wrong. It happened to me that I wasn’t even checked in, and the officials wrote my boarding pass just by hand, met right near the arriving board, took along to the departing one, and I flew out.

So, the gate number was announced. Finally, I was late for 7–10 minutes only, but the gate was already closed, and I realized that I have to stay for the night in Istanbul. I was lucky because at the transfer desk I met a guy whom I had seen in the airplane. I understood that he tried to go to Berlin, too. He also turned to be a DJ.

We got acquainted, he saw my suitcase, asked whether I’m a DJ, we fell into talk. We were at once offered to stay at hotel and get transfer to and from it. I wasn’t pleased to stay in Istanbul for a night, but there was no choice.

Actually, I was lucky because this guy had sets in Istanbul before. He knew some promoters. We called them. Then we went for a walk, saw some tourist streets, hopped to the bar. So I managed to carry off the time spent in Istanbul, because it’s clearly nothing interesting just to sit in the hotel.

What about previous experience and advice how to spend time if you have a long stopover…

Of course, first of all, if possible, go to the city. You should calculate everything in advance and check in for your flight online. With the seat. Sometimes you can check in online and still not get a seat. This happens. If this is the situation, I do not recommend to leave the airport. If you don’t get a seat an overbooking might be a problem for you. In this case, it’s better to come an hour before the boarding starts.

If going to the city is impossible, I recommend to provide yourself with good movies. This is an important moment. Airports not always have free Wi-Fi, especially European ones. And if they do have it, it is quite slow, so it’s hard to expect you manage to download something. Online streaming is also unreliable.

Surely, it is convenient to have some kind of cushion as you always want to lie down and nap for 2–3 hours after the flight. The seats in good airports usually don’t have elbows, so you can lie down. I had an experience of sleeping on the floor — it’s quite okay, not too cold. You can sleep or just sit down.

But the most pleasant entertainment at the airport, as for me, is eating tasty food. Often it’s expensive, and good food is available not in all airports. For instance, in Terminal C in Tegel. There is nothing to eat there. You can’t buy anything but bratwursts and cola. Or maybe a panini made 3 days before.

I work with a computer often, so I always know how to spend my time at a profit: I can begin working. When I know I’m going to sit at the airport for a long time, I even leave some work for it on purpose. You can get prepared for the show. Because writing music at the airport… as for me, it’s some kind of perversion. Maybe you can make some sketches, but full-fledged composing with all this noise is impossible.

Michael Miroshkin — interior designer (Geometrix Design)

Live broadcast from Copenhagen airport

When traveling with a little child you are a bit afraid of a long stopover. But we were lucky to have spent the whole day at Copenhagen airport! Here is a separate child zone around 300 square meters in area with lots of toys and activities — slopes, iPads, constructors, and so on. Special wickets prevent children from running away, and parents can have a nap nearby. Strongly recommend. Some photos:

Vadim Shevchenko – RED BULL

Something about stopovers and how to make them comfortable. Some basic things first.

It is better when your flights with stopovers are issued as a single ticket. It is possible when both airlines you fly with are members of the same alliance (SkyTeam, SkyAlliance, OneWorld, etc.). In this case, if the first connection flight is delayed or canceled, your chances to get to the final destination without losses would raise significantly.

Do not avoid loyalty programs of the airlines: the miles collected via them would sooner or later turn to a free ticket, and after reaching an “elite” status you would get an access to business lounges which would make your life in the airport much more comfortable. Moreover, the airlines are more loyal to loyal passengers which would raise your chances in case of mishaps.

And now about the stopovers.

• 1–2 hours — enough time to warm up a bit in the airport, have a bite, smoke a cigarette (it is not permitted everywhere, though).
• 3–4 hours — the least convenient terms. Too little time to go to the city, enough time to get bored.
• 5–10 hours — you can go for a walk if you have a visa of the country of stopover. You can leave your heavy bag in the locker room. Note the time you would spent for the trip from the airport to the city center and leave this time plus 30 minutes for the return trip. If you don’t have a visa then explore the airport.
• 12 hours and more — several airlines (Qatar, for instance) provide a free hotel for the passengers with long stopovers. Others give coupons to enter a special lounge where you can have a bite. Inquire all the available options on the website of the airline before you depart.

My favorite airports:

Schiphol (Amsterdam).

This is probably my European favorite. It is enormous but really convenient, with perfect navigation. Actually, there is no reasons to get out of it — it has everything. There are two hotels (conventional and capsule), several spas, library, children’s playroom and countless shops, cafes and other duty-free entertainments. Among other special things, there are a fine cheese shop and a smoking room in Irish Pub where you can combine the harmful with the harmful. But if you have a Schengen visa, it is worth going to the city for a while. If you are not slow you can get from the airplane to Amsterdam Centraal railway station in approximately 40 minutes.

Hamad (Qatar).

The old Qatar terminal was quite gloomy, but the new one really boggles the mind. It seems there is everything you could dream about, and this “everything” is created with the Oriental swing and luxury. You can see examples of the monumental contemporary art — Urs Fischer’s Lamp Bear in the central hall, Tom Klaassen’s Oryx in the arrival hall. Works by Damien Hirst and other contemporaries are hiding somewhere nearby.

Everything is made for your comfort: a lot of “quiet rooms” to take a rest, smoking rooms, shower, pray rooms, incredible diversity of premium lounges. Silver card gives access to the lounge with cozy sofas, snacks and shower, golden card leads you to personal cabins for rest and free alcohol. Some lounges (Oryx Lounges) charge an admission fee — about $60. There is a hotel in the airport, and if your stopover is long, the airline often grants a hotel in the city and free round-trip transfer.

By the way, Qatar Airways miles (the airline is in OneWorld alliance) could be spent right in the airport. The card of the airline is accepted in any Duty Free. So if you do not plan to save miles for a premium ticket, the miles for one round trip would bring you a bottle of good whiskey.

One more life hack from this airport: in Qatar, they ignore the prohibition to take liquids in the hand luggage. Presumably, they are not afraid of terrorists being situated in the very heart of the Islamic world. So you should not worry about your expensive SPF in the beauty bag or about a bottle from the previous airport Duty Free not covered in plastic. They won’t take them away :)

My next favorite airport is not built yet but I already dream to get there. The new terminal in Beijing was designed by one of the greatest architects of modern world, Zaha Hadid.

Authors: Valeriy Bespalov and Kirill Khomko

7 Main Rules to Enjoy Long Stopovers was originally published in Road.Travel on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Every year hundreds of festivals take place in the world — musical, theatrical, art, gastronomical… Suited to every fancy. Now we are going to tell you about a very special annual event dreamed about by men and women from all over the world. Anyway, our friends persistently ask themselves a question: “Shouldn’t we go to Burning Man next year?”

Yes, Burning Man is one of the frontrunners in our list of must-see places. We tried to collect as much useful information as possible in this article — from the very first preparation steps till the days of the festival. It is nearly a step-by-step guide: after reading this, you just have to buy tickets and prepare for Burning Man 2016!

A Bit of History

Like many great stories, Burning Man appeared spontaneously. Larry Harvey, one of the Burning Man co-founders, tells: “I woke up and it was the solstice, and I thought “I’m tired of this.” So I called up a friend and I said “Let’s… let’s burn a man, Jerry.”

Two years before, Larry parted with his girlfriend and was seriously distressed with it. He remembered them celebrating the solstice together. Something pagan was in this beach action. They burned a sofa with two fully dressed dummies to the strains of shamanic music.

Larry Harvey and Jerry James built a man’s figure from useless wooden pieces about 2.5 m high and burned it on one of the San Francisco beaches in presence of 12 friends. To set the figure on fire, they used petrol, therefore the flame was great and bright. This drew an attention of people being around. So the first “festival” was attended by 35 people. This was in 1986.

Next year, Larry and Jerry decided to repeat the burning. In 1988, they seriously got down to business and released flyers and T-shirts. So, the history of Burning Man has started. Every year, not only the wooden mannequin heightened (from 2.5 up to 32 m), the number of spectators also rose (from 35 to 65,000). This is not just a festival. This is a special culture and philosophy.

10 main principles are declared:

• Radical Inclusion
• Gifting
• Decommodification
• Radical Self-reliance
• Radical Self-expression
• Communal Effort
• Civic Responsibility
• Leaving No Trace
• Participation
• Immediacy

Basics

1. Burning Man is created by its participants. The organizers urge to be real participants, not just spectators. Only taking part in the festival can lead to obtaining new real experience in your life.
2. No rubbish. Everything you brought with yourself should go out with yourself. “If it wasn’t inside you, don’t put it in the pot,” the organizers say on the Burning Man website.
3. Nothing is bought and nothing is sold on Burning Man — reciprocation only! Two exceptions: Center Camp Cafe to buy coffee and Arctica to buy ice.
4. Burning Man is made for pedestrians and cyclists. Only several representatives of public offices, service providers and persons who got accredited by the Department of Mutant Vehicles can drive cars there.
5. Personal security is the responsibility of every participant. Particulars will follow.
6. Don’t make noise. Treat your neighbors with respect. People whose installations contemplate the mounting of the sound systems should obey the festival regulations. They have to locate in special areas — Sound Art Zones.
7. The visitors under 18 should be accompanied by parents or guardians. Children up to 12 visit the festival for free, from 12 to 18 — for full price.
8. Pitching tents is allowed in special areas only.

How to become a good Burning Man citizen

These are the main rules. Obeying them is a prerequisite of having a good time side to side with thousands of other burners.

1. Your tent should be pitched thoroughly and reliably. The night wind could be up to 120 km per hour, so everything which can tear off and fly away should be mounted well, otherwise it will tear off and fly away and can do some harm.
2. If you want to spend your time with comfort, you can arrive in your pickup camper. There is a special zone for them.
3. It is strictly prohibited to sell anything on the Burning Man festival. With and without benevolent intentions.
4. Logos and advertising are also prohibited. Even if you arrived by a rented car you should paste over all logos of renting companies. So are the rules. Rules are for everyone.
5. Pets are not allowed on the Burning Man festival. This is made both for the security of the participants and for the animals’ health. Burning Man is a noisy place, and your pet will likely be stressed seriously.
6. Do not steal road signs. As obvious as this could seem, the initiators claim that lately the signs are stolen right after the opening. Meanwhile, not only visitors, but rescue services also need them.

If you agree with these principles, it’s time to go to the next step.

How to buy tickets to Burning Man

The tickets to BM are sold in several steps. But it is really hard to buy them. 20,000 tickets are sold in 20 minutes.

Strange as it may seem, the most expensive tickets go on advanced sale. They are intended for those who, amongst other things, want to help to reduce prices for discount tickets. Burning Man has its special Low Income Ticket Program.

Katya Vinnikova

Regional contact for Burning Man in Russia

Shares important dates for taking part in Burning Man.

— Up to November 30 — application for art grant.

— February 10 — application for ticket pre-sale to BM — 990 USD and 1200 USD per ticket

— February 25 — application for collective tickets (for yearly participants invited by BM)

— March 16 — main sale — application for individual tickets — 390 USD per ticket (signing in is compulsory)

— April 13 — application for those who didn’t manage to buy tickets during the main sale (STEP)

— July 27 — OMG sale application — 1000 additional tickets — 390 USD per ticket

— August 28–September 5 — Burning Man 2016!

More information about the tickets on the official website of the festival.

Arrangements

Tickets are bought. Now let’s check whether we have everything to “survive” on the festival with some comfort.

1. Water, food and tent. You should have everything with you. You may be not allowed to visit the area if you would not comply with minimal claims for provision of your own security.
2. Don’t forget ear plugs if you are going to sleep.
3. Bicycle (with a lamp!) is an ideal vehicle for the area.
4. 6 liters of water per person for a day — to drink and wash yourself.
5. Water flask
6. Medikit. The more the better.
7. Everything for sun protection: cream, sunglasses, hat.
8. Warm clothing. It could be really cold at nights — it is a desert, after all.
9. Waste sacks and everything which helps you leave no trace at the place.
10. Glasses and mask for dust protection.
11. Flashlight (for instance, to fix on the forehead) and batteries.
12. Reflector signs. For bicycles and clothes.
13. Fire extinguishers, especially if your installation would burn or set fire.
14. Good humor and funny bone. If you forget anything from the list, only other participants would help you, for nothing could be purchased on place.

Read here to see a full list of things you might need and to get to know how to return from the desert safe and sound.

Andrey Koval

Non-media director in the advertising agency Traffic Isobar

What should be taken with you as a must.

The best way to plan your luggage is to Google «burning man packing list», read it carefully, erase any outright bullshit like “axes” or “artificial trees” and buy or lend all the other elements.

The special attention should be paid to any light-emissive sources: flashlight in hand, on the forehead, on the bicycle, to hang near a tent. Everything is necessary.

At my first Burning Man, I made a mistake: in San Francisco I moved my belongings from the trolley to the huge backpack which weighed nearly 40 kg taking into account water and food. It was terribly unpleasant to go down the desert at +40ºC.

Burning Man has a strong soil everywhere. This is not Sahara or Gobi with their huge and unfixed barkhans. So it is absolutely OK to ride the bicycle and even wheel a heavy trolley.

How To Get To Burning Man

Burning Man locates at the desert of Black Rock, NV. If you are not from the USA, prepare for a long trip. Whencever you are going to Burning Man, there are three main hubs.

Reno-Tahoe international airport

From Reno airport, you need to get to Black Rock where Burning Man takes place. You can rent a car (from $200 per week). Or take a bus. Bus routes are organized from Reno airport to Black Rock City.

San Francisco international airport

The distance between San Francisco airport and Black Rock is about 566 km. You can rent a car for approximately the same price (from $200 per week).

Also, you can reach your destination by bus organized by Burning Man:

Black Rock Municipal Airport

Another airport is situated nearly in 4 km from the Burning Man location. You can get here by a private plane. There is a list of companies which cooperate with Burning Man and have all the necessary licenses.

The planes will suit every taste and budget. You may even find an option to split all expenses between all passengers (and sometimes a pilot, too!).

For a more detailed information, click this link.

How to take part in Burning Man

The correct words are “to take part”. Not just “to be a visitor”. Your participation is a keystone of Burning Man. This is your gift for the community which would certainly return with good.

It is really difficult to invent and mount your own installation. It’s all about time and money. An original costume is also a good choice. But if you have decided to go to a desert for a week, it is probably worth to go nuts a bit more than usually. You can then tell something to your grandchildren. Or vice versa, take the secret to your grave :-)

So. How to become a full-fledged Burning Man participant?

1. Enlist as a volunteer. Let’s put it straight: this won’t give you a free ticket to BM. It’s just an opportunity to help and get an intimate glimpse to Burning Man. To become a witness of the event from the start to the very finish. Only years of volunteer work, when you get involved in complicated processes and become, for instance, a team leader, would provide you with a free ticket. But this would happen only when you are so absorbed with the community that a free ticket is the last thing you are thinking about.
2. Make an art installation, a themed camping, a mutant vehicle, a performance. Only your own imagination and security regulations can stop you here. The Burning Man website contains a lot of advice — for instance, how to fir your camping or to get a license for an art vehicle.

Survival code

Pavel Vardishvili

Society column editor in Interview Russia

About tested lifehacks

— Sleep, sleep and sleep. Any free time. You never know when you can take a nap the next time. Usually, I allocated 5–6 hours for a sleep at night (because at dawn all important performers and Djs begin their sets), 3 hours at afternoon and an hour or two between my wanderings in the desert.

— Drink a lot of tea. Tea tents are distributed on the whole Burning Man area. Hundreds of sorts are poured out by competent people who can prompt which sort to drink (judging from your condition) and, as usual, cheer you up.

— Use numerous retreats and relaxation rooms. They are copious on each destination of the desert.

— Do not try to drink all alcohol possible. It consumes a lot of time and energy which would rather be spent for new discoveries.

— Choose poultry, not meat. It digests better and takes much more energy.

— If you are tired to walk or ride the bicycle, hop on the art cars passing by: usually they give you a lift, give something to drink and amuse.

How to hang out at Burning Man

Kirill Chekharin

Club event manager, CEO & Founder — HIGH

About Burning Man as a unique party place.

The most popular and well-known moveable dance floor is ROBOT HEART. We followed the heart of a robot for a long time and finally found it. When we got close by and saw that our friend Jamie Jones is operating ones and twos we decided to go inside the bus, say hello and observe this huge field of the beautiful people in the most different images and costumes from the platform. At the door there stood a tall guy — 2 meters probably. We came close, said hello and told him that we want upstairs, and one of us is NIKITA, the president of Kazantip! Offhandedly, he got down on his knees and repeating NIKITA let us pass. It was a real jumble and quite uncomfortable to stay for a long time, the music was also nearly not heard.

The next day, we had a “summit”. We were invited by Katya Vinnikova, the Burning Man regional contact in Russia. There was an undress brunch with Midsummer Night’s Dream organizers — Russian guys who created an installation “The Cradle of the World”, and the BM team, including its founder Larry Harvey. Nikita awarded him a medal, Melik and me were interpreters in their communication. But we can’t uncover the details because we have signed a non-disclosure paper.

Useful links for those who decided to participate:

Mutant Vehicles — rules and application

Event Camp — how to organize your themed camp: pieces of advice

Art-Performance — ideas and prompts for your performance

Volunteering — everything about Burning Man volunteering

SPARK — space to find like-minded people for creating your own project

The Jackrabbit Speaks — subscribe to the newsletter to be aware

Burning Man for 30 years of its existence has become something very large and multi-facetted. If you read stories written by people who were lucky to be there… I’m sure you don’t get to know anything. Someone writes about nude people, someone is shocked by collective masturbation sessions. Other people tell about an outstanding creative atmosphere and pieces of art.

Some experienced burners claim that Burning Man is past prime — we know this rhetoric, don’t we? It is too commercial. It became one more leisure area for wealthy office people. For instance, Mark Zuckerberg, Sergey Brin and Elon Mask were already seen there.

It seems to me, for some reason, that such powerful cultural formations as Burning Man are already beyond the control of their creators. As banal as it may seem, they belong to everybody and nobody. So Burning Man is a must-see event — at least once in a time, but in earnest: with all these costumes, mutant cars, installations and sessions of collective… Well, we’ll see!

Author: Valeriy Bespalov

Burning Man — How to Get, Where to Live, What to Eat, How to Hang Out was originally published in Road.Travel on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.