1. Set the anchors
Start, finish and the handful of stops that are the reason for the trip. Decide early if it is a loop back home or one way, because one-way car hire often carries a drop-off fee.
2. Order the stops
Put your anchors in the multi-stop route planner. It orders them to cut backtracking, then opens the list in Google Maps for real driving times.
3. Split the drive into days
Use the calculator here. Pick a daily driving limit you will still enjoy on day five, not just day one, and add a rest day every few driving days. Road-safety bodies such as the UK's Highway Code advise a break of at least 15 minutes every two hours.
4. Book where you sleep
Each overnight should sit at the end of a driving day. Book ahead in peak season and near national parks, where rooms run out.
5. Budget the fuel and the rest
The road trip cost calculator turns distance into fuel or charging money; add tolls, parking and rooms in the budget planner.
6. Plan something for the evenings
Rural stops mean dark skies, and a clear night far from towns can be the highlight of the drive. The Moon decides how many stars you will see: a bright gibbous washes out the Milky Way, while the nights around new moon are the darkest. To time a stargazing stop well it helps to know why the Moon waxes and wanes at all, and ahaboo's Moon-phase explainer walks you through it with narration.
7. Write the itinerary
Load the 7-day road trip template into the trip planner, rename the legs after your towns and add booking references. Export it to your calendar so everyone in the car has it.
8. Prepare the car and the bags
Check tyres, oil and your breakdown cover; download offline maps for areas without signal; and build a packing list that includes snacks, water and a phone mount.