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I live in Oslo. The Danish border is 6 hours by car from Oslo. Not that far but still more than a few hours.
I see you live in Texas. Mexico cannot be that far away. It is under 6 hours by car to the border from Houston but I guess Nuevo Laredo is not your typical tourist destination .
Remember, a car trip to Strömstad from Oslo is not considered "going abroad".
I live in northeast Texas. The closest place I could get to on the Mexican border (looks like Piadras Negras would be the closest - a place I've never heard of and probably not much of a tourist destination) would take me nearly nine hours to drive to - if I didn't stop to eat or get gas.
A better destination would be the border down by South Padre Island. That is a ten hour drive.
That's OK though - most people have a really difficult time grasping just how big Texas is.
Texas is bigger than these countries:
Austria
Belgium
Denmark
Finland
Germany
Iceland
Ireland
Luxemgourg
Netherlands
Norway
Sweden
United Kingdom
Andorra
France
Italy
Liechtenstein
Malta
Monaco
Portugal
San Marino
Spain
Switzerland
Vatican City
Albania
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Czech Republic
Greece
Hungary
Macedonia
Poland
Slovakia
Slovenia
Yugoslavia
Belarus
Bulgaria
Estonia
Latvia
Lithuani
Moldova
Romania
Bahrain
Iraq
Israel
Jordan
Kuiwait
Lebanon
Oman
Qatar
Syria
United Arab Emirates
Yemen
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Bangladesh
Bhutan
Georgia
Maldives
Nepal
Sri Lanka
Japan
North Korea
South Korea
Kyrgystan
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Turkmenistan
Uzbekistan
Brunei
Cambodia
Laos
Malaysia
Philippines
Singapore
Thailand
Vietnam
New Zealand
Papua New Guinea
Solomon Islands
Belize
Costa Rica
El Salvador
Guatemala
Honduras
Nicaragua
Panama
Bahamas
Cuba
Dominican Republic
Haiti
Jamaica
Ecuador
Guyana
Paraguay
Suriname
Uraguay
Djibouti
Eritea
Kenya
Seychelles
Tunisia
Benin
Burkina
Ghana
Guinea
Guinea- Bissau
Ivory Coast
Liberia
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Togo
Burundi
Cameroon
Congo
Equatorial Guinea
Gabon
Rwanda
Uganda
Botswana
Lesotho
Madagascar
Malawi
Swaziland
Zimbabwe
From McLeod, TX to Texarkana, TX is 833 miles. Over 13 hours of drive time. And yes, you're still in Texas!
^ Do you know how long it would take to drive from Boston, Massachussetts to Los Angeles, California? And by plane? These are two destinations I definitely want to visit if I go to the US but I'm not sure if I can fit them into one trip.
Its not like that everywhere in Europe. Infact from my house it would take me something like 3 days to drive to the north of spain for example.
Even so,you are still within half a days' travel of Scotland and England. That was my point. It's a bit easier to be an "international traveler" when you live within a few hours' drive time of other countries. Also, you have more of a need for a passport when you are more likely to cross international borders. A lot is made sometimes of the fact that only 30 percent of US citizens have an international passport.
So - if a US citizen doesn't even plan on ever going to Mexico (me, for example), why would that person even NEED a passport? They could travel for YEARS just in the US and never run out of interesting sights to see and things to do on vacation. I've lived in the US most of my life and am an avid traveler, and yet I've never been to Michigan - never seen the Great Lakes. I've never been to the Northern Plain states. I was 45 years old before I ever went to Las Vegas! I haven't been to California in DECADES so I still need to check out the Napa Valley. I've never been further north than Philadelphia! My gosh, I've got a lot of exploring to do without even leaving my own back yard.
Just for the record - I do have a passport and use it regularly, to travel and explore overseas. I'm just pointing out that US citizens do travel and vacation a lot - but as far as driving to another country goes, we have two choices: Canada or Mexico. I am completely uninterested in one of those choices, and as for the other - meh. I'd much rather go to Michigan, or NYC, or the New England states, on a vacation. I simply am not all that intrigued with either Canada or Mexico. We've got beautiful beaches, amazing mountains, interesting historical sites, fantastic regional foods, comfortable lodgings, lush resorts, and adventurous outdoor activities at our own fingertips - a lifetime of exploring and galivanting!
If I want a taste of Mexico, all I have to do is drive on down to San Antone anyway. Or five minutes from my house.
^ Do you know how long it would take to drive from Boston, Massachussetts to Los Angeles, California? And by plane? These are two destinations I definitely want to visit if I go to the US but I'm not sure if I can fit them into one trip.
You would definitely have to fly unless you had DAYS to drive across country. It would take 48 hours of non stop driving to drive that distance. Unless you want to have a miserable trip, you'd need to break that down into about 5 days minimum. That's the time frame that most people give themselves if they are driving (all day every day) from one seaboard to the other in the US.
It would take you about, oh, probably 8 hours to fly it, if it was a nonstop flight.
That's how long it takes for me to fly from Dallas to the UK!
My advice would be to plan at least two trips - an eastern trip and a western trip. There is so much to see that unless you have a month to travel (or more) or don't mind spending most of your trip driving, you can really end up with a miserable traveling schedule trying to get from one destination to the next.
I'll give you an example of a good trip. You could see the New England states - fly into Boston, see the historical sights there, then tour (by car would be best) up through Vermont, CN, NH, etc - then maybe hit NYC. You could do all that in one week - though ten days would be a more leisurely pace.
Or you could fly into DC and see all that, then hit the Chesapeake Bay area (MD and VA) and mosey on down to the Historic Triangle of Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown, and then drive three hours to the Appalachian Mountains - see them and then explore Amish Country in PA and fly back out of Philly. That would be a REALLY interesting trip you could do in about a week to ten days.
Another interesting trip would be to fly into Dallas, explore Fort Worth and Dallas, then drive down to Austin and San Antonio, spend a couple of days in the Texas Hill Country (a big winery region with stunning vistas), and then fly back home out of Austin. That would be a nice week or so.
You could fly into Atlanta and see that city, Charleston, and Savannah in 5-7 days. This would be very laid back and include some beach time! Lots of beautiful homes, history, etc. One hour north of Atlanta you would be in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and it's beautiful up there.
On the west coast, you could spend two weeks just exploring California - San Francisco, LA, Hollywood, the Napa Valley, all along that stunning coastline - don't cut that state short! And I haven't even gotten started on our beautiful Northeast - Washington and Oregon - or the Great Lakes Region, which I have yet to explore (but it's on my radar!). I can't wait to see that area!
A common mistake I see many people from other world regions make, is trying to cram too much of the US into a week or two week vacation. I have some very good friends from Belgium who visit the US about once a year. They do it right. They focus on one region, like the itineraries I just gave you. They rent a car (NO TOURS - JUST SAY NO TO TOUR GROUPS!) and they take the time to savor each day and each locale. They've been making a trip to the US nearly every year now for about 8 years and they STILL haven't seen a ton of stuff they want to see.
Last edited by KathrynAragon; 08-03-2012 at 09:01 AM..
You would definitely have to fly unless you had DAYS to drive across country. It would take 48 hours of non stop driving to drive that distance. Unless you want to have a miserable trip, you'd need to break that down into about 5 days minimum. That's the time frame that most people give themselves if they are driving (all day every day) from one seaboard to the other in the US.
It would take you about, oh, probably 8 hours to fly it, if it was a nonstop flight.
That's how long it takes for me to fly from Dallas to the UK!
My advice would be to plan at least two trips - an eastern trip and a western trip. There is so much to see that unless you have a month to travel (or more) or don't mind spending most of your trip driving, you can really end up with a miserable traveling schedule trying to get from one destination to the next.
I'll give you an example of a good trip. You could see the New England states - fly into Boston, see the historical sights there, then tour (by car would be best) up through Vermont, CN, NH, etc - then maybe hit NYC. You could do all that in one week - though ten days would be a more leisurely pace.
Or you could fly into DC and see all that, then hit the Chesapeake Bay area (MD and VA) and mosey on down to the Historic Triangle of Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown, and then drive three hours to the Appalachian Mountains - see them and then explore Amish Country in PA and fly back out of Philly. That would be a REALLY interesting trip you could do in about a week to ten days.
Another interesting trip would be to fly into Dallas, explore Fort Worth and Dallas, then drive down to Austin and San Antonio, spend a couple of days in the Texas Hill Country (a big winery region with stunning vistas), and then fly back home out of Austin. That would be a nice week or so.
You could fly into Atlanta and see that city, Charleston, and Savannah in 5-7 days. This would be very laid back and include some beach time! Lots of beautiful homes, history, etc. One hour north of Atlanta you would be in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and it's beautiful up there.
On the west coast, you could spend two weeks just exploring California - San Francisco, LA, Hollywood, the Napa Valley, all along that stunning coastline - don't cut that state short! And I haven't even gotten started on our beautiful Northeast - Washington and Oregon - or the Great Lakes Region, which I have yet to explore (but it's on my radar!). I can't wait to see that area!
A common mistake I see many people from other world regions make, is trying to cram too much of the US into a week or two week vacation. I have some very good friends from Belgium who visit the US about once a year. They do it right. They focus on one region, like the itineraries I just gave you. They rent a car (NO TOURS - JUST SAY NO TO TOUR GROUPS!) and they take the time to savor each day and each locale. They've been making a trip to the US nearly every year now for about 8 years and they STILL haven't seen a ton of stuff they want to see.
Thanks! There are so many different places I want to visit in the US but the problem is that they're all so far apart. I would love to visit Portland, Oregon as well. If I go to the US, I don't want to spend most of my holiday in the car or in a plane but going back every year would be too expensive. I liked your first suggestion (the New England states) and your fifth suggestion (exploring California), I guess I could combine them in one trip if I spend about a month in the US. An 8-hour flight isn't too bad then. But first I have to scrape the money together to afford this expensive trip
Btw, unlike some of the Europeans on here, it only takes me 15 minutes to cross the border into Germany or French-speaking Belgium. I can be in a major city like Aachen or Liège in just 30 minutes (I live in Maastricht, the NL). It takes about 3 hours to cross my entire country
Thanks! There are so many different places I want to visit in the US but the problem is that they're all so far apart. I would love to visit Portland, Oregon as well. If I go to the US, I don't want to spend most of my holiday in the car or in a plane but going back every year would be too expensive. I liked your first suggestion (the New England states) and your fifth suggestion (exploring California), I guess I could combine them in one trip if I spend about a month in the US. An 8-hour flight isn't too bad then. But first I have to scrape the money together to afford this expensive trip
Btw, unlike some of the Europeans on here, it only takes me 15 minutes to cross the border into Germany or French-speaking Belgium. I can be in a major city like Aachen or Liège in just 30 minutes (I live in Maastricht, the NL). It takes about 3 hours to cross my entire country
I am jealous. I loved living in Germany where I could be in basically one of about seven European countries in just a few hours' time! My parents would call and I'd tell them, "Well, this weekend we're going to the Alsace Lorraine region of France, and next weekend we're going to go check out Prague!" It was fantastic.
We went to Europe last year and saw five countries in ten days - and we didn't have to kill ourselves doing it either. We visited Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Germany, and Austria. Next time we go back, we want to fly into Frankfurt and go back through the Alps and then head east into Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Poland and then fly out of Berlin.
But the UK is next spring so our next trip to Germany will have to wait awhile! These trips can be very expensive - but they are a priority to my husband and me. We try to take a big trip each year and usually alternate between a big US vacation and a big overseas vacation. This year we are going to Virginia, DC, and the Pennsylvania Amish country. And I went and explored Ohio with my brother while my husband was working out of state earlier this year - HAD A BLAST. I had no idea that Ohio was as lovely as it really is. Then I drove down to West Virginia where my husband was working, and we explored some of the Shenandoah Valley. We loved it so much that we are seriously considering moving there.
We've got wanderlust BAD.
Good luck on planning your trip. I would really recommend avoiding tour groups and instead renting a car and a GPS and just hitting the road yourself. You should find it very easy to get around and you can pull over and poke around in little shops or restaurants all you want!
You will probably find that the New England states are similar to some European towns - but still different enough to hold your attention. Now - the West Coast - TOTALLY DIFFERENT. I LOVE Portland, Oregon! It is so clean and beautiful, and the coast is only about an hour away. If you like humane zoos, be sure to check out the Portland Zoo - the animals seem so happy there! And then be sure to drive along that Oregon Coast - the views are amazing, absolutely amazing - and you will almost certainly see whales!
I live in northeast Texas. The closest place I could get to on the Mexican border (looks like Piadras Negras would be the closest - a place I've never heard of and probably not much of a tourist destination) would take me nearly nine hours to drive to - if I didn't stop to eat or get gas.
A better destination would be the border down by South Padre Island. That is a ten hour drive.
That's OK though - most people have a really difficult time grasping just how big Texas is.
Texas is bigger than these countries:
Yes, it is a big state. Norway is a small country but it is also quite long. From Lindesnes (southern tip) to Nordkapp (northern tip) it is 2508 km / 1599 mi. Sure, it does not help that the infrastructure is among the worst in Western Europe.
Some distances:
Oslo - Bergen (second largest city): 518 km / 322 mi - over 6 hours by car (non-stop)
Oslo - Trondheim (third largest city): 494 / 307 mi - over 6 hours by car (non-stop)
Oslo - Tromsø (biggest city in Northern Norway): 1642 km / 1020 mi - around 22 hours by car (non-stop)
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. 
Or five minutes from my house.
