From Gigha Scotland to Montana!! (Missoula, Dillon: car rental, rental, insurance)

[Gigha]

Hi all

My wife and I are coming over to Montana in Sept/Oct this year, heading in from Chicago and planning a roadtrip along the I90. We plan on spending 2 weeks in montana, touring around and taking in the big sky.

We would welcome any links to sites that give a kinda "rough guide" view of Montana, any suggestions of places to see, stay and eat (my wife is an excellent cook and we really like eating!).

Thanks in advance, and hi from a tiny island on the west Coast of Scotland.

Andy

[rickers]

Well here are two links for you. The first one is an index of online articles in the official magazine of the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife And Parks, some are older but very informative still. The second link is more of an official tourist welcome site. Oh and welcome to the board.

Articles by subject

Official State of Montana Vacation, Recreation, Accommodations and Travel Information Website

[Montana Baby]

Enjoy your stay. Met a couple from England last year in Missoula --- they were trying to find the REI store (they sell hiking shoes, etc). Told us they had some touring to do in the Mission/Flathead valleys.

[Gigha]

Originally Posted by rickers

Well here are two links for you. The first one is an index of online articles in the official magazine of the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife And Parks, some are older but very informative still. The second link is more of an official tourist welcome site. Oh and welcome to the board.

Articles by subject

Official State of Montana Vacation, Recreation, Accommodations and Travel Information Website

Rickers - thanks a lot for these - we will enjoy reading them. From looking around on this forum I think we may ditch the I90 idea and take a more scenic route. Thats if I can decide which car to hire - I have a deep deep feeling that a Dodge Calliber is too small to deal with 3000miles, but cannt really afford anything bigger ...

Andy

[grizzfan]

Thats if I can decide which car to hire - I have a deep deep feeling that a Dodge Calliber is too small to deal with 3000miles, but cannt really afford anything bigger ...

I agree! If you want a comfortable American automobile, consider the Cadillac CTS - total luxury. But expect to pay a hefty premium at the rental agency.

Be sure to shop around the various rental agencies as the rates and benefits differ wildly. When I've rented in Germany and Australia, I charged the fees to my VISA Gold or American Express Platinum card to avoid the costly, but necessary, liability insurance. Check with your card holder's benefits. I've always had good luck with Budget Rent-a-Car in terms of price.

If the Cadillac is too steep in price, consider a Toyota Camry or Honda Accord for comfort and fuel economy.

One more thing, in October be prepared for the possibility of snow in the mountains!!

Enjoy!

[Legendtrust]

Hey Andy, Welcome to Montana, It all depends on what you are wishing for in terms of entertainment..... But lets say you are looking for a place to close to ghost towns and local history! I live in Dillon Mt. and it is a great place for fishing, and 30 minutes from a great ghost town called Bannack!

A fine out of the way for place for trailer hookup, or lodge rental is
a sweet little place called "Rivers Edge Lodge" it is about a mile away from Clark canyon dam, and about fifteen minutes south of Dillon, There is some great fishing there! They have a website as well, Rivers Edge Lodge Bed & Breakfast

You can rent the lodge, or rooms at the lodge and have your wife, do all the cooking, or you can get sent out to explore the gold country of Montana after a great hearty Montana breakfast cooked by the owner!

September 5-7 this year is the biggest rodeo in Montana and it is hosted at the fairgrounds in Dillon! A small fair is also there! And lastly we have a great little chamber of commerce, and museum in this town! I know you would have fun here!

Originally Posted by Gigha

Hi all

My wife and I are coming over to Montana in Sept/Oct this year, heading in from Chicago and planning a roadtrip along the I90. We plan on spending 2 weeks in montana, touring around and taking in the big sky.

We would welcome any links to sites that give a kinda "rough guide" view of Montana, any suggestions of places to see, stay and eat (my wife is an excellent cook and we really like eating!).

Thanks in advance, and hi from a tiny island on the west Coast of Scotland.

Andy

[rickers]

When renting a car be sure they wont pull some funny business about charging outrageous extra charges for going out of the county where you rent the car in. I got dick-ed by a sleazy car rental place once. Read all the fine print.

[rangerider]

Hi and welcome! A couple of suggestions for places to visit:

The earthquake area and visitor's center near Yellowstone: The Montana Traveler: Madison River Canyon Earthquake Area (Other links of interest here as well).

Virginia City and Nevada City: Virginia City Official Website
If you enjoy history, this is a great place, and up the road in Butte, MT is also.

I have a couple ideas of places you might like to eat, but we can't post advertisements on this board. PM me and I'll give you a suggestion or two and directions.

Enjoy your stay!

[Gigha]

Thanks for all the info - we are still planning our trip and trying to decide where to stop off. We are looking to stay in motels, b & b's with the occasionalt treat thrown in. Looks like we will be able to get a reasonable deal in a motel on the day at this time of year so we will take the laptop and plan one or two days ahead. The treats - have seen some lovely cabins - will be booked well in advance so as to make sure that we get a place.

Areas look like Glacier County, West Yellowstone and Earthquake Lake with others being added daily.

Many thanks again and if any more suggestions spring to mind, keep 'em coming!

Andy