America Drive, New York to San Fran, Any Advice Welcome
Discussion
I did this:
http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/dec/03/driv...
brilliant way to get across the US cheaply!
http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/dec/03/driv...
brilliant way to get across the US cheaply!
I did New York to Los Angeles last summer, via Nashville and Yellowstone!!! Hired through hertz and the one way drop off was 350 dollars, not bad. Six months later in Palm Springs I saw the red camaro convertable, not taken back to ny. I guess it would eventually get back. I did a mix of hotels and my German Tipee in national parks. Took nearly four weeks so was not a rush.
David Beer said:
...Hired through hertz and the one way drop off was 350 dollars, not bad. .....Took nearly four weeks so was not a rush.
How much was the car for a four week hire? Was it a rortin' snorting' V8, or some econo-job? 
This sort of trip has always been on my bucket list, but with things the way they are I'm not sure it will ever happen now. I'd prefer to buy an old yank tank and do it a lot slower, but that is probably a pipe dream.
I did Washington, D.C. To Los Angeles (well, laguna beach), last year. http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
How much time will you have? Will you be with anyone else? Do you like the outdoors? Or cities?
I ended up doing 6,500 miles in a month, which is a long way and clearly not for everyone. If you can give more info then it's a lot easier to suggest ideas
How much time will you have? Will you be with anyone else? Do you like the outdoors? Or cities?
I ended up doing 6,500 miles in a month, which is a long way and clearly not for everyone. If you can give more info then it's a lot easier to suggest ideas
Having driven up & down and side to side across the US at various times, I'd just like to say choose your car very carefully.
All very well getting romantic about doing in a convertible Corvette or similar (which, of course you can)but consider all the crap you'll be taking and collecting along the way and being comfortable.
My weapon of choice these days is a Ford Expedition or Chevy Suburban for long trips and if you end up somewhere cool for a few days, keep the SUV and nip down to Hertz to rent a Camaro/Mustang/Challenger/Vette for a couple of days.
Not the cheapest way but the most sensible.
Whatever you do, don't get an econo Chevy or similar.
All very well getting romantic about doing in a convertible Corvette or similar (which, of course you can)but consider all the crap you'll be taking and collecting along the way and being comfortable.
My weapon of choice these days is a Ford Expedition or Chevy Suburban for long trips and if you end up somewhere cool for a few days, keep the SUV and nip down to Hertz to rent a Camaro/Mustang/Challenger/Vette for a couple of days.
Not the cheapest way but the most sensible.
Whatever you do, don't get an econo Chevy or similar.
Detroit isn't that bad. If you're going, then the ford and gm attractions are a must. The Motown museum is a little small, but overall Detroit is an interesting and heart breaking place.
Roadside motels vary from about 50/night and up. Super 8, motel 6 and Howard Johnson are your cheapest. But you'll never be too far from a Hampton inn or similar which are a little more.
You will be doing a lot of driving, most of it pretty boring.... But that's how road trips go.
Roadside motels vary from about 50/night and up. Super 8, motel 6 and Howard Johnson are your cheapest. But you'll never be too far from a Hampton inn or similar which are a little more.
You will be doing a lot of driving, most of it pretty boring.... But that's how road trips go.
Re Detroit - I work there a lot (Farmington Hills, Dearborn and Flat Rock) - in my humble opinion it is really not much of a tourist destination - there are a lot more interesting places in Michigan that are also significantly safer. Detroit is one of only two US cities I visit regularly where I feel more comfortable carrying concealed. There are a lot of very, very bad places in the metro area.
For a more easy-going MI experience, may I suggest the Upper Peninsular, Muskegon and Ann Arbor (fun college town).
For a more easy-going MI experience, may I suggest the Upper Peninsular, Muskegon and Ann Arbor (fun college town).
One point on the Indy 500 is that you might have to pickup tickets. This is what happened to me. It's easy enough, but you would want to be there the day before to pick them up (you pick them up from just outside the track).
That time of year is the end of the NHL and NBA seasons (playoffs are on), so it's definitely worth checking that out. You'll obviously need to wait until very near the time to find out who is in the playoffs though.
Have you had any more thoughts on what kind of things you want to do/see on the trip?
Another motorsports one is Pikes Peak, which is just outside of Colorado Springs (south of Denver), and Colorado is definitely a good place to visit (especially if you're into the outdoors). The hill climb won't be on, but you can drive to the top!
That time of year is the end of the NHL and NBA seasons (playoffs are on), so it's definitely worth checking that out. You'll obviously need to wait until very near the time to find out who is in the playoffs though.
Have you had any more thoughts on what kind of things you want to do/see on the trip?
Another motorsports one is Pikes Peak, which is just outside of Colorado Springs (south of Denver), and Colorado is definitely a good place to visit (especially if you're into the outdoors). The hill climb won't be on, but you can drive to the top!
Thanks Matt
Still in early planning stages, 1st thoughts NY for a few days , Washington 3, Niagara falls, Detroit 1, Chicago ? Indianapolis for weekend of 23rd May, Nashville ? Memphis, ? ? ? ? , Monument Valley, G Canyon & skywalk, Vegas, then either fly back from LA or San Fran (been to SF before)
Still in early planning stages, 1st thoughts NY for a few days , Washington 3, Niagara falls, Detroit 1, Chicago ? Indianapolis for weekend of 23rd May, Nashville ? Memphis, ? ? ? ? , Monument Valley, G Canyon & skywalk, Vegas, then either fly back from LA or San Fran (been to SF before)
King Herald said:
How much was the car for a four week hire? Was it a rortin' snorting' V8, or some econo-job?
This sort of trip has always been on my bucket list, but with things the way they are I'm not sure it will ever happen now. I'd prefer to buy an old yank tank and do it a lot slower, but that is probably a pipe dream.
Always the ss V8 convertable. Being a four seater you can get two suitcases on the rear seat, cool box between , tipee in the boot, full camping kit scattered around. This summers bill was 2300 dollars inclusive, it was 22 days though, in and out of LA. Think the daily rate out of NY was the same but the one way was extra. This was my fourth summer camaro and each year they add bits and bobs, in all a very fine car. For the winter road trips always a V10 motorhome, slightly different driving! In the winter the motorhome is 90 dollars a day but 8 mpg.This sort of trip has always been on my bucket list, but with things the way they are I'm not sure it will ever happen now. I'd prefer to buy an old yank tank and do it a lot slower, but that is probably a pipe dream.
Edited by David Beer on Monday 25th August 19:51
I think you'll need to make a decision on going north/mid/south, otherwise you're going to be going all over the place and you'll need far more time.
Beware that Niagara Falls is quite a long way off your direct route across!
You should put it into Google maps to get ideas of driving times. You can do 600miles/day, but you wouldn't want to. I have done that, but i can't imagine that would be for everyone, so try to limit the distances per day, and break up long sections. Eg. Washington DC to Indianapolis is 600 miles, and over 9hrs. You could do it in one go, but would probably want to break it with a stop in somewhere like Pittsburgh.
Personally i love the national parks, and am trying to visit them all. Therefore i would strongly suggest you go and visit some. There's so much more to the US than cities, and you can easily make it so you see a huge variety of landscapes, eg. big mountains, lakes, sand dunes, beaches, etc...
To give you a bit of inspiration, these are some of my favourite places i've visited so far in the US:
Yellowstone National Park, Horseshoe Bend, Grand Teton National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, Yosemite National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Arches National Park, etc...
There's no need to be into hiking to enjoy parks either, as it's the USA, and so much of it is accessible a few ft from the carpark in a lot of places...
For my last trip i rented a Dodge Charger from National. I quite liked it. It had enough space (i was on my own), and was ok for MPG (though tbh, that's slightly irrelevant, i think i spent about £600 on fuel, and did 6,500 miles...). I had a Corvette for a few days at the end (time before i had a Challenger R/T). National were good as you can join Emerald Club and choose your own car. Mine was brand new, and i handed it back with many thousands of miles on it
If i could afford it i'd probably take a large SUV though.
Beware that Niagara Falls is quite a long way off your direct route across!
You should put it into Google maps to get ideas of driving times. You can do 600miles/day, but you wouldn't want to. I have done that, but i can't imagine that would be for everyone, so try to limit the distances per day, and break up long sections. Eg. Washington DC to Indianapolis is 600 miles, and over 9hrs. You could do it in one go, but would probably want to break it with a stop in somewhere like Pittsburgh.
Personally i love the national parks, and am trying to visit them all. Therefore i would strongly suggest you go and visit some. There's so much more to the US than cities, and you can easily make it so you see a huge variety of landscapes, eg. big mountains, lakes, sand dunes, beaches, etc...
To give you a bit of inspiration, these are some of my favourite places i've visited so far in the US:
Yellowstone National Park, Horseshoe Bend, Grand Teton National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, Yosemite National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Arches National Park, etc...
There's no need to be into hiking to enjoy parks either, as it's the USA, and so much of it is accessible a few ft from the carpark in a lot of places...
For my last trip i rented a Dodge Charger from National. I quite liked it. It had enough space (i was on my own), and was ok for MPG (though tbh, that's slightly irrelevant, i think i spent about £600 on fuel, and did 6,500 miles...). I had a Corvette for a few days at the end (time before i had a Challenger R/T). National were good as you can join Emerald Club and choose your own car. Mine was brand new, and i handed it back with many thousands of miles on it
If i could afford it i'd probably take a large SUV though.andywill53 said:
Thanks again Matt,
Thinking caps still on and will be for some time I think,
Looked at your post re trip & photos including horseshoe bend, spectacular I wouldn’t be able to take that photo.
Andy
I took this pic of confluence overlook in a Cessna , I was not flying though! Thinking caps still on and will be for some time I think,
Looked at your post re trip & photos including horseshoe bend, spectacular I wouldn’t be able to take that photo.
Andy
Edited by David Beer on Monday 25th August 22:22
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