There’s something absolutely magical about a road trip.

Maybe it’s the open roads, the feeling of freedom or even the time you get to spend with friends and family. Whether you go on a road trip this Spring Break or not, here are some great road trip movies to enjoy on your couch or the couch of some faraway place.

“Little Miss Sunshine”

Hilarious and heartbreaking, this film follows a family that takes its ancient Volkswagen bus and tries to get to California in time for the youngest member of the family, Olive, to be in a beauty pageant.

The premise seems adorable, and the beginning certainly is. But, there is darkness dwelling underneath the surface of what appears to be the typical American family. This films touches on subjects such as suicide and self esteem, doing so in quiet, beautiful ways. After the credits rolled, I was surprised to feel a great sadness and utter joy at the trials and tribulations of the Hoover family.

“Zombieland”

A story set in the zombie apocalypse doesn’t really seem like much of a road trip movie, but the traveling and bonding done by the four main characters in a world of dead ones is fantastic.

After a rocky start, these four realize they’ll need to travel together in order to survive the cruel wasteland of post-apocalyptic America, now known as “Zombieland.” The humor throughout the film is clever, often doing away with zombie movie clichés or putting a fresh coat of paint on the best ones.

There are also surprisingly touching moments in this film. It really made me think what my life would be like in a zombie-filled USA.

“The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”

A stellar adaptation of a science fiction series of interstellar proportions, this movie calls to the explorer in all of us — or at least the part that gets dragged along.

Arthur Dent is a hapless earthling who is plucked away moments before the destruction of the planet to build a massive hyperspace bypass. His resulting adventures take him to fascinating and bizarre worlds, such as the planet Magrathea, where the answer to the question of life supposedly lies.

To see the answer, as well as all the crazy characters Arthur meets along the way, venture to the stars with this film.

Alan Rickman also voices a pessimistic, “paranoid android” named Marvin who often steals the spotlight with his melancholy quips.

“The Book of Eli”

Most of the movies listed here are comedies, so I’m going to shake it up a bit with one of the bleakest, but also fascinating post-apocalyptic journeys there are.

The titular Eli is a rugged survivalist badass played by Denzel Washington. (I hope my editor will let me keep badass because there’s no other word to describe this machete-wielding, stone cold, martial arts-performing hunter.) The plot is also intriguing, exploring the darkness in mankind and what we’d do to survive in an apocalypse.

It’s very dark but very good, and it’s definitely a film that should find itself on your TV screens this spring break.

“National Lampoon’s Vacation”

This is the quintessential road trip comedy and has everything you want: Chevy Chase in his prime, a ridiculous car, a loving family and a hysterical plot.

The patriarch of this family is Clark Griswold, a family man with an insatiable love for the open road. Clark’s drive and obsession to get his family to the famed theme park Walley World borders on insanity, something that is pretty satisfying to see.

You shouldn’t really find enjoyment in one person’s mental breakdown, but Clark’s is pretty great. If you love the 80s and love comedy, take a long trip with the Griswolds.