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My partner and I will be visiting the States for the very first time in October and will be driving across country for the first time.
We will be starting in New York and ending up in Seattle. We are really looking forward to seeing some great sites like the Grand Canyon, Niagra Falls, Las Vegas and definitely a national park. We want to get as much fun adventure out of this month as we can, but urgently need your help!
1. Which is the best route to take to help us see as much of the great sights along the way as possible?
2. Which would you recommend - drive a campervan and stay at campsites each night, if so are there many along the way...or drive a car and stay in motels?
3. I'm sure there are too many to mention, but can you suggest some places of interests/things to see and do along the way to break up the drive for my other half, he has a bad back so can't really drive for more than 3 hours without a good break to stretch his legs!
4. Anything else you may think we need to know....as I mentioned this is the first time we have visited the country and possibly hired a campervan, we need as much advice as possible.
Thank you for any light you can shed. I hope to hear from you soon.
My partner and I will be visiting the States for the very first time in October and will be driving across country for the first time.
We will be starting in New York and ending up in Seattle. We are really looking forward to seeing some great sites like the Grand Canyon, Niagra Falls, Las Vegas and definitely a national park. We want to get as much fun adventure out of this month as we can, but urgently need your help!
1. Which is the best route to take to help us see as much of the great sights along the way as possible?
2. Which would you recommend - drive a campervan and stay at campsites each night, if so are there many along the way...or drive a car and stay in motels?
3. I'm sure there are too many to mention, but can you suggest some places of interests/things to see and do along the way to break up the drive for my other half, he has a bad back so can't really drive for more than 3 hours without a good break to stretch his legs!
4. Anything else you may think we need to know....as I mentioned this is the first time we have visited the country and possibly hired a campervan, we need as much advice as possible.
Thank you for any light you can shed. I hope to hear from you soon.
Sarah
All the 'font' stuff in the post makes it very difficult to read. It showed up in the original post on my computer, but it didn't show up when I quoted the original message.
But, to answer one question, I generally recommend driving a car and staying in motels, since that generally works out to be cheaper than, or about the same cost as, driving an RV. When you mention a "campervan" I don't know if you mean an RV (class "A" or class "C"), or something simpler and more fuel efficient, like a van conversion (also known as a class "B" RV). I have yet to see any place that rents van conversions, but there may be something somewhere.
Where people with RVs tend to save money is on their food. If you buy your food in the grocery store, and "eat in," so to speak, it's cheaper than eating out for every meal. If you tend to eat out while traveling, as I do, I don't think the RV would save you any money. The people I know that have RVs and use them for long distance travel generally have pets, so it's easier to stay in the RV than to find a place that accepts pets.
As long as you're driving a fuel efficient vehicle, and staying in affordable motels/hotels, you will probably come out ahead by doing this. It also depends on how many miles you put in each day you travel. For me, I drive about 500 to 600 miles each day. The RV becomes more cost effective the fewer miles you drive each day.
Here's the cost analysis I use to justify my position, based on the type of driving I do, without accounting for food expenses:
Car: 600 miles @ 30 MPG = 20 gallons of gas. x $4/gal. = $80. Add the motel @ $80 = $160 per day.
RV: 600 miles @ 10 MPG = 60 gallons of gas. x $4/gal = $240. Add the cost of a campsite @ $20 = $260 per day.
At 300 miles daily, the cost for a car using the same formula is $120, and the cost for an RV is $140. Obviously, this is much closer to breaking even.
These calculations do not take into account the cost of the vehicle, which will be significantly higher for an RV.
After rereading the post, I figure you'll probably want to limit yourselves to no more than about 300 miles daily, due to the bad back situation you mentioned. What I would recommend is figuring out several places that you feel you absolutely must see, then plan your trip around that.
You mentioned Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, and "a National Park." The Grand Canyon is a National Park, but it's only one of many. Since it is fairly close to Las Vegas, you will want to see things in that part of the country.
I would recommend that while you're in that area, you also see Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park, at least. They are not very far from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. You should also try to see any of the other places you have time for in Utah and Arizona before heading into Las Vegas.
Once you leave Las Vegas, you will have to decide which route you want to take, since there are lots of things to see in a variety of routes between there and Seattle. One suggestion would be to head north to Great Basin National Park, then head west into California, and on to Yosemite National Park. From there you can take Highway 49 through the California Gold Country, then head toward the coast for a drive on Highway 1, possibly up through the Redwoods, eventually ending up in Oregon. Once there, I recommend Crater Lake National Park. There are lots more places along the way, so you'll want to plan your trip according to the amount of time you have.
I sympathize, I too have a bad back. Driving is painful.
Why not consider taking AMTRAK across country - you can walk around, sleep,
eat, drink (beer, if you like) as the scenery slips by your window.
Make stops at various places along the way, rent a car as needed, and see the
nearby sights. You'd save a fortune on gas that way.
There are places, such as along the California coast, where, if you are driving, you
have to choose between staying on the road, or looking at the breathtaking scenery.
Trying to do both could end up ending your breathing permanently.
And there are other places where driving is dangerous for other reasons.
Driving through certain areas can be risky, and you may not be aware of those areas.
Oh, and on AMTRAK, you can talk with people from all over, and meet someone other
than motel operators and burger-chain clerks. (not that there's anything wrong with that
Hi Sarah B! Glad you two have decided to visit the U.S. A.! There's a lot to be said for all three of the modes of travel; car, RV AND train. I lean towrds the RV but you could also do well with the other two. I've seen a number of Visitors to the U.S. rent RVs. And I'm guessing you come from a country where your currency is doing well against the U.S. dollar, so your costs will be more reasonable than for us to travel!
Sarah, I guess the first thing that takes visitors (especially Europeans) by surprise is the size of the U.S. It is 2,994 miles (about 4700 km) from New York City to San Francisco. That's a good 6 days of driving without ANY sightseeing! You might consider focusing on just a region of the country to tour more thoroughly than if you see just a lttle bit of the whole country. For example, the Southwest has many scenic national parks, Southern CA has a lot to offer and, of course, gambling and shows in Las Vegas. If you stayed on the East Coast, the Northeast (NY, PA, MA and the other states have LOTS of history and culture to enjoy) The Midwest has plenty to see and do, but the attractions tend to be more spread out. I'm also fond of the Northwest (Northern California, Oregon, Washington State and even British Columbia, Canada!
What kind of things interest you and your partner? Do you have hobbies that you might want to pursue? Do you enjoy making your own food or would you prefer restaurants? Please give us a better idea of what you two would like to do while you're here and we can help you narrow your trip planning to something a little more manageable. (October would be an excellent time to visit the U.S.; cheaper prices, still-mild weather and FALL colors of the trees (especially in the Northeast!)
It looks like a car/RV is out of the question for my partners bad back, we didn't realise just how long it would take us, it will also blow alot of the budget too especially as we will be then going onto canada, Aus and NZ before coming home.
AMTRAK sounds like a perfect option jumping on and off at different locations, all we need to do decide on the places to see and plan our route around that.
I'm really grateful for all of your advice, it seems like we have a lot of research to do before booking our trip!
It looks like a car/RV is out of the question for my partners bad back, we didn't realise just how long it would take us, it will also blow alot of the budget too especially as we will be then going onto canada, Aus and NZ before coming home.
AMTRAK sounds like a perfect option jumping on and off at different locations, all we need to do decide on the places to see and plan our route around that.
I'm really grateful for all of your advice, it seems like we have a lot of research to do before booking our trip!
Thank you x.
Sounds good. Note that Canada has much nicer rail service than the US,
and it's possible to connect between US and Canada in at least 3 places,
Vancouver, Niagara Falls, and I think Detroit?
Both US and CDN rail have passes for visitors, but the passes don't include
any extras, like sleeping accomodations or food in the diner. For 3 and 4 day
trips, those things are important!
Also, it's a very good idea to check out the train stations on the internet.
Some are large and elegant, others just shacks, or less. IOW, some of them
aren't good places to be dropped off in the middle of the night.
I'd call ahead, hotels and rental-car companies will often meet you at the station.
Don't know if Euro phones will work here, but a cheap disposable
can be bought everywhere.
Call an auto transport company and ask if they need drivers to take a vehicle from NY to the West Coast or somewhere you would like to go. It is free use of a vehicle and they allow 11 days to make the crossing.
I used AAATransport out of NY. But that was long time ago. I got a free car to Miami. In Miami I got one back to NY (Stopped in DC). IN NYC I got one to San Diego. You could use it for part of the trip and get another at the drop point.
It is difficult to book too many hotels ahead of time as you are wandering. If you want great deals, try Priceline. Bring a laptop and book a day ahead bidding 50 bucks for nice hotels.
Amtrak has rail passes for non US residents. You can get a one month pass, but it will leave you short on a lot of places you might want to see like Devil Tower or Mt Rushmore or Yellowstone. BUT, if this is your first time and you only have a month, you will spend a few days in NY then you want to see some of NE. A 15 day NE pass for 299 dollars will cover the entire NE. I am using one next month. It will cover Niagra, Montreal, Washington DC, Boston, Philadelphia and back to NYC where you can THEN pick up an auto transport. (Contact them first and plan ahead).
Amtrak is good in that they stop in the major cities where you can easily get to a hotel and to the attraction you want. But past Chicago, you need wheels.
Oh. Depending on your age, you might want a Let's Go USA and or a Lonely Planet USA.
Last edited by Bob The Builder; 06-04-2008 at 12:02 PM..
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Road Trip
Road Trip
