Cruise control

In sunny Portugal, NEVILLE BHANDARA makes a case for a return to the road trip

- NEVILLE BHANDARA

WHEN I WAS a child, my grandparents would pop me into the backseat of their Contessa with a packet of wafers and a bottle of water and we’d set off on an adventure. I’d watch the landscape change from tall buildings and dusty streets to open stretches of highway and rolling hills, feeling lighter and lighter the farther we got from the city. And with some good tunes on the radio, the three of us would sing along as the kilometres flew by.

As life got in the way, road trips became less frequent—my last was in the US in 2014. And until a few years ago, it seems road trips didn’t feature on many people’s vacation plans either. Holidays became about maximising our time off by seeing how much we could squeeze into an itinerary. But covid changed that, teaching us to slow down and enjoy the little things. Post-pandemic holiday trends reveal the road trip is currently surging in popularity, with Indians moving away from cookie-cutter hotel trips and city itineraries to embrace the great outdoors. There are many companies offering driving itineraries—both in India and abroad—that team luxury experiences with supercars and slow travel. Ironically, the best way to slow down seems to be by climbing into a fast car.