Top 5 Best Travel Tips for Alabama

What do you think of when you think of winter? Hot chocolate, sitting by a fire, time with family? Winter brings Thanksgiving, The Iron Bowl, Christmas and other seasonal holidays that require you to travel. For some, this means traveling five minutes over to grandma and grandpa’s house. For others, this means traveling hours to see family and friends in other states or countries.

If we are being honest, the car rides are some of the most dreadful part of the holiday season. Hours in the car with siblings, the kids, or the spouses can bring out the worst in us, and usually causes one to pray that their whole family makes it to their destination still as a family.

As one who has been in this situation before, here is a list of places to stop, games to play and other things to do that hopefully make the drive go more smoothly this holiday season, whether it’s 30 minutes or several hours.

• With its Alabama locations in Leeds, Robertsdale and in 2022 in Auburn, Buc-ee’s gas station is an easy stop for the family while traveling. From gas, T-shirts, snacks, clean restrooms and more, the gas station offers everything for each family member. Buc-ee’s is a fun and enjoyable stop for everyone to get out of the car and take a break.

• Alabama offers many historical “mini-trips” to stop at during your travels. With 11 covered bridges all over the state, these bring many new sights to everyone. For a quick trip, three of the bridges are quick drive throughs. The others offer a vehicle or walk-through option if you need some time to stretch your legs. These bridges can bring good conversation and new sights after being bored on Interstate 565.

• No matter if you are traveling from north Alabama to south Alabama, there is a pretty good chance that you will get to travel through at least one of Alabama’s eight state parks. From Russell Cave in Jackson County to Blue Springs State Park in Barbour County, these state parks offer scenic and hands-on activities that bring good experiences to everyone in the car. Some parks, like the Tuskegee National Forest, can add a scenic view to your travel route.

• Many know that there are only so many games one can play on your device and only so many movies one can watch in the car before you cannot look at the screen anymore. My family would always play the “Alphabet Game” in the car, where you would point out words on billboards, signs and even cars that started with A and then go all the way down the alphabet. A good start most of the time would be Alexander Shunnarah. The “License Plate Game” was also another one we would play to see who can find the most states on passing cars.

• The car being supplied with plenty of snacks and drinks is another necessity for a fun and easy-going car ride. Some fun stops to make to get full meals, or just a quick snack could include the Conecuh Sausage Company, Peach Park and Durbin Farms. With all offering peach pie, peach ice cream, fresh vegetables and fruit, jerky, sausage and other goodies, these places could even be a good place to stop for a last-minute forgotten gift.

With Alabama offering different scenic options, there are many ways that could make your travels enjoyable this year. Maybe while stopping at Peach Park, driving through Tuskegee National Forrest, or even playing the license plate game, you will see the slogan on the Alabama tags “Alabama the Beautiful” and truly understand the meaning behind the phrase.