I have seen a lot of posts which ask if driving more than 10 hours a day is possible, it certainly is possible and I am telling you that with my personal experience and would add some tips too.

I have done multiple trips that were way over 10 hours of drive in a day without a hotel/sleep stop and with just one driver, some of them are :

1: Minneapolis,MN to Brooklyn,NY ( 1200 miles, took around 22 hours ) and return took 20 hours.

2:Chicago,IL to Orlando,FL ( 1156 miles, took around 26 hours ) and return took around 22 hours

3: Chicago,IL - Detroit,MI - Bayfield,WI ( 954 miles, took around 17 hours )

4: Chicago,IL - Niagara Falls,NY - Chicago,IL ( 1111 miles, driving time : 13 hours roundtrip ) - Niagara Falls was like a big pitstop.

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Now Advice:

It is certainly possible to drive multiple hours. It all depends on how much you love driving. If it feels like a chore to you, then you will not be able to pull it off on the other hand if you treat the journey as a vacation itself, then yes it will be fun.

Tips:

1: Try seeing when you feel the most awake, if it is during the morning hours, then try to start your drive at 7pm, so that once your body starts to tire itself, you body would feel fresh and vice-versa if you feel more awake during the night.

2: If planing to drive during the night, try to do it on the interstate and not on backroads, it helps to see other vehicles around and even the act of changing lanes to pass other vehicles, become a great relief from driving through the flat midwest states.

3: Take plenty of stops, even if they are just for 10 minutes, it helps your body to relax and become calm.

4: Use caffeine, only if you really need it. If you start taking energy drinks early on, there will be a point in your drive where the caffeine will just stop working.

5: Do not be Adamant about doing the drive completely in one go, if you feel tired of fatigued and have trouble keeps your eyes open, go get a motel and sleep.

6: If you think you need a rest stop, get to an exit or a rest area as soon as you can, the earlier you take the stop after getting the thought, the better you feel psychologically about the entire drive.

7: Just keeping your eyes open while driving is not enough, if you feel you are not attentive enough or if you start having a few close calls during lanes changes and mergings. Start looking for Motels/Hotels immediately.

8: Try using the rest stops on the tollways/turnpikes/interstates, instead of taking exits to rest, it helps a lot to be just there on the highway when you resume your drive.

9: Grab a great playlist or a couple of audiobooks and podcasts, they will help during the journey.

10: If possible, take someone with you for the trip, they will make sure you are attentive and will keep out the boredom.

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If this is you first time trying to attempt a 12-20 hour drive, do not plan your trip according to the fact that you will get there in a day. Try listing out a couple of Cities in your mind where you might get a hotel to sleep. Keep on continuing until you feel completely burned out. The very first long distance trip I took was from MN to NY and I did not plan to drive all the way in one go, it just so happened that I never felt the need to get a hotel because I was still feeling fresh with the exciting drive!

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Comment down below about you first trip and also the longest distance you have ever drive without a hotel break, I would love to know what other people do while driving long distances