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Hi fromย Igrane!
This small Croatian coastal village is situated on the Adriatic Highway, also known as the Jadranska Magistrala. Less of a real highway, this winding road follows a scenic coastline route all the way fromย Sloveniaย toย Montenegro. Ideal for a road trip!
Suppose you’re not one of those who pre-arrange the convenient airport transfer service. In that case, there is only one real alternative for reaching mini-destinations like Igrane – arriving with one’s own vehicle.
I love road trips. Whether in anย electric car, aย converted bus, or any old-school vehicle that does the job, road trips secure independence and flexibility that areย hardly comparable to any other type of traveling.
After now working exactly two months assisting tourists on how to park a car in the hotel’s parking lot, I’ve learned there are a few quite important things one should know when hitting the road on four wheels
1. Prepare yourself for narrow roads.
Not all roads in the world are four-lane highways. In centuries-old villages such as Igrane, roads were not necessarily designed for two-way traffic (or cars, for that matter), so double-check how to reach your final destination, even by asking your hotel directly. Arriving at the exit ramp instead of an entrance one may mean you’ll have to drive in reverse gear through a steep and unfamiliar environment. You may hit unseen obstacles, like I witnessed when a guest crashed their car into a concrete flower pot in full force.
2. Always take full insurance.
The flower pot crash happened just at the moment when I was looking into another couple’s car, showing me their car’s dent and half-missing headlight. Especially when renting a car in a foreign country, it makes sense to prevent hefty bills by paying for full car insurance, or at least making sure that your rental fee is charged to a trusted credit card that might have certain benefits when it comes to paying for damages.
3. Learn how to put the car in reverse.
Some guests were struggling with their car in front of the hotel entrance and, when I offered my assistance, they asked if I knew how to shift into reverse. I assumed it was just another tourist who didn’t ask their rent-a-car company basic questions about the vehicle type they were not familiar with. But no, these guys owned this very car! Please, PLEASE, learn how to select reverse in your car (rental or owned) – that is an essential function for surviving any road.
4. Accept assistance when offered.
One female driver in a rather large car had to park in the parking lot that had limited maneuvering space. When I saw her struggling, I offered her another, more convenient parking spot; she declined. As she was driving backwards, she was about to hit another parked car, and I yelled: “Stop! Stop!” She responded to that: “Can you please let me park my car?” At that point, I removed myself completely from the responsibility for the situation, as I saw this was a person who doesn’t accept assistance even when it is clearly needed. After a long struggle, she managed to park the car on the spot somehow, but then, ignoring the laws of gravity on this slightly sloped lot, she hit and damaged the neighboring car when opening the door. Even if I actually warned her that she had parked too close to the other vehicle.
5. Don’t over rely on assistance.
Your car is still your car. While hotel staff might be there to assist you in parking your car, it is the person behind the wheel who is responsible for the movement of their vehicle. For instance, you should know your car’s characteristics when parking in limited spaces. One hotel guest had a car with quite a low undercarriage (which was not so obvious from the outside). When he had to park on a truly not-that-high sidewalk, he scratched his car from beneath, and then made a scene out of it, claiming that somehow his car was destroyed by the hotel’s assistance or the lack of it. If you love your property, you should know what you can and can’t do with it to keep it safe.
Parking sideways, engaging reverse gear, knowing the size of your car (width, length, height) are all essential elements when hitting the road, if you don’t want to hit something – by the road.
Road trips are an amazing way to explore a destination. But don’t treat your car likeย a bumper car. Real roads are not a lunapark arena, where hitting things is fun and costless.
Have a safe-drivingย week,
Ivan Kraljย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
Pipeaway.com
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