**American Roadtrip Ideas??**

slickmcvic

Me & me mate are planning on headin to the states for a 6 > 8 week roadtrip...We're teachers so its gotta happen between June to August.....
We sorta got it in our heads that miami'd be a good startin point but checkin things out a bit i dont really know where to go ta from there.

Another idea is the San Fran/San Diego/LA/Vegas route.

Anyone any suggestions/Ideas??

Raekwon

Why not try 'Route 66'?

You start of in Chicago and drive to Los Angeles and you get to see cool cities like St. Louis, Oklahoma City, Albuquerque & Las Vegas.

I did it and it was on of the best trips of my life

slickmcvic

Cheers Good Idea!! didnt know there was as much to see in the midstates!!

dingding

Last year went from San Francisco to Las Vegas via Monterey, Santa Barbara, L A, Santa barbera, san diego, Phoenix and Las vegas.


Great Holiday took the coast road great holiday.

Used price line for the accomodation and flew from london to san francisco with american airlines and back from vegas via LA to london.

Cheers

ANXIOUS

has anyone rented like a camper van or something? Has anyone a link?

slickmcvic

Is it doo-able??

Provisional Departure Date: Monday 2nd July
Provisional Arrival Date: Tuesday 14th of August

American Roadtrip



This is designed as a rough guide to whet the appetite of those who think they mite be interested in a bit of craic, a lot of driving, seeing 24 states of the USA and 2 states of Canada, and possibly the wee-est bit of drinking and stuff!! It is only a rough guide and can be altered accordingly.


Florida

Leg 1 – 410 Miles – 8 Days



Leg 1 – 410 Miles – 8 Days


Day 1 Miami – Land, find a place to stay and bed in.
Day 2 See all that the vice city has to offer, South Beach and the Shopping!

Day 3 See all that the vice city has to offer, South Beach and the Shopping, Collect car

Day 4 Up early and up the road along east route 1 stopping off at one of the many world famous beaches such as Palm Beach or Vero Beach. Continue on up the road, stopping at Cocoa Beach.
Day 5 A day in Cape Canaveral and see the Kennedy Space Centre, after back to Cocoa Beach
Day 6 Up and drive the 50 miles to Orlando find a hostel to base yourself at head for Disney land and see Mickey!
Day 7 Continue having the chat with Mickey
Day 8 Leave Orlando, and head for Daytona beach ending up in Jacksonville


Leg 2 – 500 Miles – 1 Day



Leg 2 – 500 Miles – 1 Day


Day 9 LD Leave Jacksonville and put in a long day skipping through the bad lands and clan country of Carolina and reaching rocky mount or somewhere near it





Leg 3 – 430 Miles – 7 Days



Leg 3 – 430 Miles – 7 Days


Day 10 Rocky Mountain to Washington D.C. Get into a hostel and go and see the sites. Pennsylvania Ave., the white house, capital hill, the lincon memorial etc
Day 11 Washington D.C.
Day 12 Washington D.C. to Philadelphia find hostel and out on the town
Day 13 Philadelphia and see many of the sites it has to offer e.g. the liberty bell
Day 14 Philadelphia to New York – Rest
Day 15 New York
Day 16 New York



Leg 4 – 673 Miles – 4 Days



Leg 4 – 673 Miles – 4 Days


Day 17 New York to Boston
Day 18 Boston
Day 19 Boston
Day 20 LD Boston to Buffalo,




















Leg 5 – 610 Miles – 4 Days



Leg 5 – 610 Miles – 4 Days


Day 21 Buffalo to Niagra Falls spend the day in and around Niagra Falls and that night settle down in Toronto Canada in hostel.
Day 22 Toronto
Day 23 Toronto
Day 24 LD Toronto to Chicago
Day 25 Chicago
Day 26 Chicago



















Leg 6 – 1400 Miles – 4 Days


Leg 6 – 1400 Miles – 4 Days

Day 27 LD Chicago – Austin or beside it approx 450 miles
Day 28 LD Austin – Gillette approx 500 miles
Day 29 LD Gillette to Yellowstone National Park and see Yogi Bear!!


Leg 7 – 800 Miles – 2 Days



Leg 7 – 800 Miles – 2 Days

Day 30 Yellowstone NP – Spokane
Day 31 Spookane – Seattle
Day 32 Seattle
Day 33 Seattle


Leg 8 – 809 Miles – 9 Days



Day 34 Seattle -
Day 35 Spend 3 days driving down the pacific coast on route 101 west, and stopping off at the little towns on the way reaching the one way hell of the streets of san fransisco on the third day.
Day 36
Day 37
Day 38 Spend four days chilling after the hustle and bustle of heavy driving and if Bars still there catch up with him
Day 39
Day 40
Day 41
Day 42 Head for home and back to school!!



Total Distance: 5650 miles


Approximate Cost:


Flights: € 827.76 per adult inc. € 52.76 tax & fees

Car Hire: around 2500 in total though this is per car is obviously divided by the number of people going, so the more that go the cheaper it gets

Accommodation: 40 per nite for 42 nites: € 1700

Fuel: 270 US gallons @ $2.50 per gallon approx = $670, again this is divided amongst every1 so the price comes down the more that go.




2-14

Charlie

A small suggestion, skip Seattle and go to Vancouver. Absolutely fantastic city with such a beautiful backdrop. I spent the summer there and Seattle is a similar to Vancouver but not as nice and not as much on offer.

netwhizkid

My father and others drove from New York City to San Fransico and down to San Jose over 3 and a half weeks in 2005. The Route they took was,

SNN to JFK, NYC to Intercourse , Pennsylvania to see the Amish in Lancaster County. Then up to the Catskills up state New York, and across southern Ontario in Canada and then into the State of Michigan, Ferry across lake Michigan and into Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, North & South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Nevada and Finally California.

A flight to NYC and 3days there then before home to Ireland. 4,600miles were put up on the Dodge Wagon over those 27days the car was hired out at JFK and dropped off at San Fran. He said it was on of the best things he ever did in his life but they did not give themselves enough time. The John Deere place was visited as was old Faithful in Yellowstone.

I'd say go for it as you will get to see the America never shown on TV. It is amazing to see what people live in poverty there especially out west, America as you will see on these trips is run like a Religious Dictatorship, with the wealth in the hands of a small few, Sad Really. I'd advise going for it.

sonners

dingding wrote:

Last year went from San Francisco to Las Vegas via Monterey, Santa Barbara, L A, Santa barbera, san diego, Phoenix and Las vegas.

Hey Dingding,
I'm looking at doin pretty much the same route in september. Goin from Vegas to San Diego, then up through LA to San Francisco. Just wondering how long it took you to do it. Where do you recommend stopping off etc.??

tbot

have you heard about driveaway companies? I did it a few years ago and went from San Fran to NYC. Free car, only have to pay petrol. It's great if there's a car going where you want to go so you have to be lucky
www.autodriveawaydc.com/carlist.html

slickmcvic

some great advice...thanks a mill folks

metrovelvet

Hi,

If it were me, Id love to do the southwest, definitely. The time of year you are travelling though - way too hot.

In the autumn - the northeast is stunningly beautiful.

Oh Im so jealous. Have a great time. Bring sunblock.

duckie87

sonners wrote:

Hey Dingding,
I'm looking at doin pretty much the same route in september. Goin from Vegas to San Diego, then up through LA to San Francisco. Just wondering how long it took you to do it. Where do you recommend stopping off etc.??

Not sure if this helps but Vegas to San Diego is something like four hours, San Diego to LA is about three (give or take depending on traffic... you do not want to get stuck in it during rush hour), and around six more to get to San Francisco. If you keep heading north from there it gets really stunning, especially the Redwoods. Oregon and Washington are both great (the Oregon coast is especially nice) but the weather tends to get drearier around that time of year (September).

*done this route several times

LostinBlanch

sonners wrote:

Hey Dingding,
I'm looking at doin pretty much the same route in september. Goin from Vegas to San Diego, then up through LA to San Francisco. Just wondering how long it took you to do it. Where do you recommend stopping off etc.??

If you're going to be in Vegas, you can go to the Grand Canyon, I went on a tour, picked up at hotel about 7.00 in the morning (!) We went via Lake Meade, the Hoover Dam, into the Mojave Desert and thenonto the Grand Canyon, this part was on the Hualapai indian reservation and it was absolutely amazing. I definitely recommend that, it wasn't very touristy, the northern end isn't compared to the southern end at Flagstaff. But it'd be a huge pity to go to Vegas and not see the Grand Canyon.

I haven't gone the whole way between SF and LA. But I did go down to Big Sur, via Monterey. There's a restaurant called nepenthe that has some brilliant views; and the foods not bad either! I've heard people say a lot of good things about San Simeon where William Randolph Hearst built his estate/castle. Never made it down there yet. So far!

sonners

Thanks duckie87, those timelines are just what I'm looking for, I've heard about the traffic around LA, not looking forward to it :rolleyes:

LostinBlanch did you just do a bus trip out to the grand canyon? I'll be in Vegas for 5 days before I head off on our road trip and had planned on takin a day trip out the canyon from there. But there's so many different ways to see it; helicoptor, canoeing, walking trips, off road hummers, I just cant make up my mind!! Have you any ideas about these options (what to stay away from aswell as whats worth it!)

Thanks for the tips so far lads...starting to get all excited now:D

duckie87

sonners wrote:

Thanks duckie87, those timelines are just what I'm looking for, I've heard about the traffic around LA, not looking forward to it :rolleyes:

Some things you might like to do:
Disneyland - Better when you're young of course but still fun with friends.
Six Flags - Rollercoasters.
In N Out - Only in CA as far as I know... Hamburgers. You'd probably end up at one anyway but in case you don't... well I'm telling you to.
Sea World - Not a fan myself, but then I worked there and hated it.
Corvette Diner - Downtown San Diego. Fun 50s themed restaurant.
Pat & Oscars - You want their breadsticks. Delicious.
Pacific Beach - It's... interesting. This is where you'd go if you wanted go get a spur of the moment tattoo.
Mexican food - All over southern CA and really cheap. And oh so good. Take advantage of this!
Crossing into Tijuana - Not recommended. Dirty in general and drunk underage kids galore.
Hookah bars - If you're into that sort of thing.
Second stopping in Monterey.
Also be sure to take ID with you everywhere if you're planning on drinking. They will card.

I'm from San Diego. Feel free to send a PM my way if you want any suggestions or whatever:)

LostinBlanch

Sonners,

I took a minibus tour from the hotel. You can find loads of flyers dvertising all kinds of tours. It was a long day but well worth it, the driver was brilliant with lots of really dry, laconic observations about anything and everything. Nearly worth the trip in itself. Going through the Mojave we stopped at some little village i.e. about 5 forty foot containers souvenir shop, other souvenir shop, post office (with wanted posters - yes they actually do still use them). Drive through about 20 miles of dirt roads to get to the Hualapai reservation, stop off and get pictures of Joshua trees on the way. Be careful if you lean on them, they can break cos they're really big flowers not trees. You'll know when you get there as the roads are paved (Federal funds).

Eagle point is really worth seeing, loads of eagles flying around and then see if you can spot one in the rock across the point!

I checked out their website and looks like they are doing a load of other tours. So you takes your choice really. Enjoy whatever you do.

Oh and take Duckies advice about In and Out. They're great

sonners

Thanks Duckie, we might have a 2 and a half yr old travelling with us, in which case we'll be hitting Sea World and the Zoo while in San Diego. Still finalising arrangements at the moment.

About the ID, we'll have our passports with us but obviously dont wanna be flashing them around, so would they accept an irish driving licence as ID??

Also, its gonna be 3 girls travelling on our own, all in our early 20's and have done a fair bit of travelling before so we're not stupid (famous last words!). But I'm just wondering if there's any places we might want to steer clear of/keep an eye out for.

EDIT: just saw your reply LostinBlanch, thanks for the link, looks to be just what I'm looking for

Thanks again for the info,
S.

Zaph

LostinBlanch wrote:

I've heard people say a lot of good things about San Simeon where William Randolph Hearst built his estate/castle. Never made it down there yet. So far!

If you're doing the Big Sur drive Hearst Castle is an absolute must. You won't see anything quite like the place anywhere else. Further up the coast is Monterey, from where we took a 200 mile detour to Yosemite National Park and then back another 200 miles or so to San Francisco. Yosemite is stunning and well worth going out of your way for.

For the Grand Canyon we booked a flight there and back - the drive takes something like 5 or 6 hours each way. We were collected at our hotel and brought to a small airport (North Las Vegas I think it was called), and flew over the Hoover Dam and Lake Meade in an 18 seater plane. Can't remember how long it took, but it was less than an hour. The area we were brought to was run by the Hualapai Indian tribe and as mentioned earlier, isn't all that touristy. After a spot of lunch you're free to wander around for a couple of hours, but the day we were there it was over 40 degrees, which meant that most people hung around the same area where there was some shade. It didn't really make you want to go walking far, although the canyon is so big that your view wouldn't change that much unless you walked a few miles. The one regret I have is not signing up for the package that brought you by helicopter down to the Colorado River for a short boat trip. the packages are generally fairly pricey, but it is a once in a lifetime experience and I would recommend signing up for the best you can afford. The Hoover Dam itself is a great place for a day trip from Las Vegas, it's only a 40 minute drive.