Top Tips to Planning a MINI Adventure

Have you ever thought about planning a MINI adventure? One of the main appeals of a MINI is its versatility and durability for long drives, and whether you own or rent a MINI, it’s worth considering a long distance trip; this might be for charity, for a holiday, or just a weekend break to somewhere near to your home. When planning a MINI adventure, you need to think about areas like finding the right model, getting insurance and parts, and where you can go to make the most of a MINI.

Getting the right MINI model for your trip means considering what size and speed you want – you may want to use a classic MINI Hatch or a MINI Cooper, with the latter offering greater speed and aerodynamic handling. Alternatively, you might want to bring the family along in a MINI Countryman or Paceman, or you may want to enjoy the sun with a MINI Convertible. It’s possible to get excellent deals on a new or used MINI from a Cooper MINI dealership, where you can also receive extended warranties and genuine replacement parts.

In terms of where you go for your MINI adventure, the amount of time you can afford to take off, and the resulting cost, need to be weighed up. For an epic drive, you might want to rent a MINI in the United States for a cross country trip. Alternatively, you could drive your MINI through the Eurotunnel to France for a long distance drive through Europe. For weekend adventures, you can enjoy pushing a MINI to its limits on the back roads of the UK.

When budgeting for a road trip, you need to think about some travel basics like fuel costs, as well as what your day to day spending is going to involve. Are you going to camp or stay in hotels along the way, and will you need to add any storage items to your MINI like a roof rack? Similarly, can you save money on food by bringing along supplies and a cooler, and are there any particular places where you can safely lock up your MINI for the night?

In terms of general safety, it’s important to pick up the right kind of car insurance for a trip. Check to see whether your existing insurance covers trips overseas, and consider whether it’s worth getting specialist breakdown cover. If you’re buying a MINI through an authorised dealership, you may be able to sign up for overseas breakdown cover and access to replacement parts and approved garages before you travel.

Other issues that you should check before going on a MINI adventure include seeing whether you can make navigation easier on yourself through travel apps; inbuilt sat navs in MINIs can potentially allow you to avoid mobile phone roaming charges if you are going abroad, while you can also sync up your social media and maps with tablets and laptops if you need to keep travel documents in one place.

Taking these steps can ultimately help you to enjoy the best possible MINI adventure.

Sophie Wiggins is a freelance writer and inspired explorer.

She is currently working with Cooper MINI to raise awareness of the many dealerships up and down the UK. Sophie loves exploring in a MINI and thinks it’s size makes it ideal for ad hoc traveling.