Driving from LA to New York (for sale, apartments, rent)

[Evo20]

Hi

I'm an Australian travelling over to the States in November to meet up with my mate who's currently living in Vancouver. He's going to come down to LA to meet me and we're going to road trip it across to New York over about a 3 week period

A few questions:

1. I heard of some system where people get travellers to drive there car from city to city as they don't want to drive the long distances and fly instead, but they still want their car to be at their destination. Anyone have any insight into this?

2. What other options are there? Buying an RV? (how cheap can we get them?) Greyhound buses?

3. Any must see cities on the drive? Vegas is a must for starters...

4. If we're looking at about 4-5 hours driving per day, and a couple of dual nighters in fun cities, will we get across in 2-3 weeks?

5. Any good acommodation ideas? We were thinking that couch surfer website. Trying to do this as cheap as possible as my mate has spent all his money on Canada and Europe and may be broke..

Cheers for any advice guys

Ev

[timelesschild]

2. Greyhound buses are one way to do it. Amtrak (the national train system) is another. Or you could rent a car. Check craigslist: los angeles classifieds for jobs, apartments, personals, for sale, services, community, and events for prices on buying a used RV in LA.

3. Since you are traveling in November, consider snow in the Rocky Mountains as a factor - either for skiing, or as it might slow your progress in driving. As for must-see cities, a lot depends on what you like in a city. The most direct route takes you through Chicago, which I would consider must-see from an architectural and cultural standpoint.

4. Yes, that is plenty of time. You could make the trip, pushing hard, in 3-4 days - so your plan for short driving days and plenty of enjoyment sounds perfect!

I don't have specific insight as to your 1st and 5th questions. I, like you, have heard of these options, but don't have any information about them.

[BRinSM]

i did this drive with my family almost 10 years ago. it certainly is a lot of driving, but also can be a lot of fun if you stop to see the right places. a great route would be LA to Vegas, Vegas to Utah (unbelievable national parks), Utah up to Yellowstone, Yellowstone to Mt. Rushmore. After Mt. Rushmore there is really nothing for hundreds of miles, but you would hit that in the midwest no matter which route you took. you could then go through chicago, detroit, up to toronto, then down through niagra falls and into new york.

[Paula Lynn]

To avoid the Rockies, you may want to take I-40, which is the old Route 66.

Enjoy the trip!!

[Lumerian Feast]

You can find people who will drive a car from one city to another, but it's not really a system; you just have to find someone trustworthy you can pay to do it. Don't bother; it's much easier and cheaper and less dangerous to just rent a car when you get to the new city.

The Amtrak is definitely something to think about -- it doesn't have the physical weariness of driving, it's very scenic, and the routes are designed to stop at interesting places. Downside: in some towns, there's only one stop a day, and if you miss your train, you can be stuck for a day. There's less flexibility to turn off and see unplanned stuff. There are a lot of routes you can plan at amtrak.com. Look into using the USA Rail Pass. They have a 15 day pass, and the LA to Chicago/Chicago to NY routes might suit you.

As far as accomodations, if you want to go super cheap, there are hostels in most big cities. Otherwise, camp, use cheap motels, sleep in the car/train. Or rent (not buy) an RV. The only thing is that an RV sucks for city driving. Consider renting an SUV or van (VW with a pop top?) and sleeping in that. In college, some buddies and I drove a van around the south for a few weeks and slept in that, parking overnight in church parking lots.

As far as "must see" places between LA and NY -- you're kidding, right? There's an entire book industry dedicated to sightseeing in the US. Just off the top of my head: White Sands, Grand Canyon, Badlands, Mt. Rushmore, Chicago... and that's just if you take the direct route. If you scoot up to the Pacific Northwest and cut over, and down to the Southeast, there's even more. It's kind of a massive country with tons to see and do.

If you drive, I would advise every now and then getting off the interstate and taking little local routes. They can be much more scenic and interesting, though a bit slower.

[Just1Lion]

amtrack is really expensive. i would love to ride the route from Chicago to San Fran, but its just too much $.