Where Does CT Stand On The List Of Best Road Trip Destinations?

CONNECTICUT — American novelist and Beat Generation icon Jack Kerouac advised us to "Live, travel, adventure, bless, and don't be sorry."

Unless your road trip takes you to Connecticut, Delaware or Rhode Island.

That's the consensus of the analysts at personal finance website WalletHub, who ranked those states at the very bottom of their list of "Best Road-Trip Destinations for Summer."

To create the rankings, WalletHub compared the 50 states across costs, safety and activities. Those categories were then evaluated using 33 relevant metrics, including such diverse criteria as toll costs, quality of bridges, violet crimes, miles of shoreline and amusement parks per capita. The complete methodology can be found here.

WalletHub's list is dropping at a good time, as travel and health experts have determined that Americans are hankering to hit the road after more than a year of coronavirus cabin fever.

"I believe with increasing vaccination rates, more people will take more road trips this summer.," said Dr. Richard Lichenstein, professor of Pediatrics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. "There is a palpable yearning to get out after being in lockdown for so long, and many destinations outside of the United States are still problematic as not all countries are allowing visitors. The personal vehicle offers the most freedom and options for travelers and a sense of more safety (albeit difficult to prove) than air travel."

Neighboring New York is at the top of WalletHub's destination list, its position bolstered by strong scores in both the safety and activities categories. Families on a budget may want to consider heading down to Louisiana, which ranked best overall for costs and still scored pretty well in the activities category. The most expensive state to go road tripping in is California, but it's also the one ranked highest for activities. So, you pay your money, you take your choice, as the saying goes.

There's pretty much nothing to do in Delaware, according to the WalletHub editors, who placed that state dead last in the activities category. Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut and West Virginia rounded out the bottom five positions on the activities list.

Jukka M. Laitamaki, clinical professor at the Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality at New York University, offered these budget-saving tips for those about to venture out onto the open road:

• Use your own tent on registered campsites with modern facilities.
• If you plan to use home-sharing such as Airbnb or vrbo – book early to find the best deals.
• If you plan to stay in hotels use kayak.com to get the best prices and book early.
• Research dining options in advance that meet your budget and try to support local businesses.
• Plan refueling in states with lower gas prices.
• Book visit times to attractions in advance to avoid long lines.