Looking to take a trip this summer? I am by no means a travel expert, but I have a strong recommendation for anyone looking to get away.

A lot of the time, people choose to take exotic trips to the Caribbean islands or fly overseas to Europe. While these destinations certainly make for a fulfilling vacation, if you haven’t seen your own country, I believe you should before you hop in a plane, especially if you live in the U.S.

If you’re looking to take a trip across America, you should still avoid traveling by airplane and drive instead.

That’s just what my brother, a friend and I did this past summer and it was the best experience of our lives.

I believe you cannot truly experience all that America has to offer unless you drive, because if you take a plane, you’re just flying over everything.

Because we drove, we were able to see 17 major cities, six ballparks, four national parks and enjoy all of the small things that we would have missed up in the clouds, even if we had a window seat.

From the vast plains of America’s heartland, the incredible views of the Rocky Mountains, the arid, scenic deserts, to cruising down the beautiful California coastline, there is just so much to see in what is perhaps the most geographically diverse nation in the world.

That was the best part of our trip; the scenery was ever-changing and never disappointed.

There was always a feeling of awe as we would be drive through snowcapped mountains and hot deserts in the same day, seeing a national park in the morning and a new city by night.

Every time we were in the car on the interstate there was excitement because we knew the next destination was something new that we had never seen before.

It’s hard to put the experience into words, but I can tell you that you will feel the need to take a ridiculous amount of pictures.

Even the little things like pulling over at the state lines to take a group photo with the signs, the countless pit stops at gas stations to pick up snacks and the desire to park at every rest stop to see the view were what made the trip special.

I’m an advocate for world travel because I think there’s a lot to see and learn in other countries that you can’t experience within these borders. But at the same time, I think it is so important to learn to appreciate the beautiful country that we live in, because it is truly spectacular.

So my advice for you if you’re interested in taking a trip of a lifetime is to get your friends together, save up some money, get in a car and drive. You won’t regret it.