History Main / RoadTripPlot

Not all Road Trip Plots involve use of a vehicle, but it's often what one associates with the genre: a family or group of friends traveling in a car--or a van, or on horseback, maybe even on a boat--from one place to another, with stuff happening at each location. A variant is the outlaws on the run Road Trip, in which the hero (or a couple) are [[CarChase pursued by law enforcement]]. Road movies can overlap with horror if the heroes are fleeing zombies, serial killer families, and the like.

Not all Road Trip Plots involve use of a vehicle, but it's often what one associates with the genre: a family or group of friends traveling in a car--or a van, or on horseback, maybe even on a boat--from one place to another, with stuff happening at each location. A variant is the outlaws on the run Road Trip, in which the hero (or a couple) are pursued by law enforcement.

Films with a Road Trip Plot are called "road movies" and are a distinct cinematic genre. Because of the vastness of the continental United States, its extensive highway network, deep-seated car culture, its love of the "rugged individual" character, and a still-lingering affection for TheWestern (a genre which road movies draw on a lot), most Road Trip Plots take place there. Characters may discover both [[EverytownAmerica wholesome small town]] and

A Road-Trip Plot is a work about characters taking a trip to go from point A to point Z. Along the way, they stop by points B, C, D, et al. while things happen to them at each point. Oftentimes a comedy, but occasionally a drama. The things that happen often teach the characters things they didn't know about themselves. Unsurprisingly, this type of plot opens itself wide to {{Cliche Storm}}s and {{Narm}}, but creators conscious of what kind of story they are telling can defy these and create very original and poignant tales.

Not all Road Trip Plots involve use of a vehicle, but it's often what one associates with the genre: a family or group of friends traveling in a car--or a van, or on horseback, maybe even on a boat--from one place to another, with stuff happening at each location.

Films with a Road Trip Plot are called "road movies" and are a distinct cinematic genre. Because of the vastness of the continental United States, its extensive road network and deep-seated car culture, most Road Trip Plots take place there.

Live action television programs (As well as other episodic works) often have Road Trip Episodes in which the characters take a trip. Due to the episodic nature of TV--StatusQuoIsGod--these episodes are typically one-off affairs made to give the characters something new to do.

HardTruckin is a SisterTrope, as it's a road trip, combined with delivering a load to its proper destination. Compare [[TenMoviePlots Blake Snyder's description of this plot]], under the title ''Golden Fleece''. Also compare TheQuest, along with [[Literature/TheSevenBasicPlots Booker's version]] of the archetypes behind it.

* ''Film/{{Weekend}}'' by Creator/JeanLucGodard is a satirical roadtrip in a WorldGoneMad in which everything is SeriousBusiness.

* ''[[{{VideoGame/GetInTheCarLoser}} Get In The Car, Loser!]]'' is a Road Trip Plot fused with the plot of your standard RPG - a party goes on a journey to defeat a recently revived ancient evil, they just happen to have a nice car.
* ''VideoGame/DarkestDungeon2'' takes place on the road, with four heroes seeking to keep hope alive in a world going straight to hell.
* ''VideoGame/DeathRoadToCanada'' is a road trip game that takes place during the ZombieApocalypse. Alongside fighting zombies, dealing with bandits or rescuing survivors, your party members will have to deal with mundane things like figuring out who farted in the car.

* ''Film/BetweenTwoFernsTheMovie'': The crew drives from North Carolina to Los Angeles, interviewing several celebrities along the way

* Parts of ''Film/CarryOnCamping'' is based around this, depending on what [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters character story]] the movie chooses to follow. One subplot follows a simpleton who spends most of the runtime looking for a place to stay after his tent is blown away in a landmine accident, whilst a HenpeckedHusband travels around the countryside with his absent-minded wife as he is attacked by nature, as well as two sexually-frustrated thirty-somethings driving around England looking for a nudist camp with their prudish girlfriends.

* In Stephen Manes' ''Chicken Trek'' Oscar is forced to enter a coast-to-coast chicken-eating contest so he can use the grand prize to pay for the one-of-a-kind camera he accidentally [[PricelessMingVase dropped and broke]].

* In Stephen Manes' ''Chicken Trek'' Oscar is forced to enter a coast-to-coast chicken-eating contest so he can use the grand prize to pay for the one-of-a-kind camera he accidentally [[ExpensiveMingVase dropped and broke]].

* In Creator/{{GrahamGreeneAuthor}}'s ''Monsignor Quixote'' the title character and his best friend decide to drive from El Toboso to Madrid to buy some purple socks his friend considers mandatory for the Monsignor's new position. Along the way they get into a variety of misadventures and have some fairly heavy philosophical and ideological discussions.

* In Creator/{{GrahamGreene}}'s ''Monsignor Quixote'' the title character and his best friend decide to drive from El Toboso to Madrid to buy some purple socks his friend considers mandatory for the Monsignor's new position. Along the way they get into a variety of misadventures and have some fairly heavy philosophical and ideological discussions.

* In Keith Robertson's ''Literature/HenryReedsJourney'' Henry, his best friend and her parents travel across the continental US.

* In Creator/{{Graham Greene|Author}}'s ''Monsignor Quixote'' the title character and his best friend decide to drive from El Toboso to Madrid to buy some purple socks his friend considers mandatory for the Monsignor's new position. Along the way they get into a variety of misadventures and have some fairly heavy philosophical and ideological discussions.

* ''Literature/BlueHighways'' by William Least Heat Moon is a nonfiction chronicle of the author travelling around the US in his camper-outfitted van on back roads (highways that were often colored as narrow blue lines on old gas-station maps), visiting many obscure or ideosyncratic small towns, in the 1970s.

* ''Literature/TheGrapesOfWrath'' follows the Joads, a family of tennant farmers displaced from Oklahoma journeying to California where work is said to be plentiful.

* Music/WeirdAlYankovic's ''The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota'' tells the story of a family on a three day trip to see the titular tourist trap. Notably, the journey is actually extremely pleasant. Even when the father's camera is stolen by a homeless man and thrown out of the attraction for getting too emotional, he looks on the brightside and the family is excited to come back the next year.

* ''[[{{VideoGame/GetInTheCarLoser}} Get In The Car, Loser!]]'' is a RoadTripPlot fused with the plot of your standard RPG - a party goes on a journey to defeat a recently revived ancient evil, they just happen to have a nice car.