Road Trip

mylesm

Hi

First let me say I am not in the first flush of youth recently took early retirment

at 55 and I am going on a trip for a year with my Wife doing it at this end of our life as we couldnt do it when we were 20 like all the young people today can

So I dont have all the contacts the young people will have to ask where to go and stay etc

So I have a few Questions

I am going to Argentina for 3 months then Inca Trail Macchu Picu etc then I hope to cross over into New mexico and drive through USA for 3 -4 months then finishing in Vancouver visiting relations

FIrst of all what would people say is the best thing to bring for communication and checking out places to stay eat etc

Is a smartphone the way to go or a netbook or a Tablet I would really like to hear what people think

Also if driving in the States for 3-4 months can i purchase a secondhand car and insure it over there and drive it

Any other Advise Gratefully Appreciated

Thx

mylesm
mylesm is offline Reply With Quote

mikedragon32

The Indy forum is really the place for this, despite your not so tender years!

Trust me, they've got the knowledge you want.

Congrats on the retirement, hope it's long and happy! Certainly giving it a great kick-off.

dory

i would go with a netbook for communication. A smartphone is too small to be booking places on. I've done it once or twice but the little screen drives me mad. If you get one with a big hard drive (about 160GB) and maybe even an SD slot at the side you can use it to back up your photos too. A tablet isn't as useful as the hard drive is usually smaller and some don't have USB slots. With a netbook you could also have a camera and make Skype calls home.

As for the US part; I'm not sure how it all works, but I know my brother had no trouble as a 21 year old buying a campervan and driving it across the US. So it is possible!

mylesm

thanks for replies so far any more advise greatly appreciated

thx
mylesm

WilcoOut

i personally feel ill at the thought of carrying a big lump of laptop around on a trip

an ipod touch did me just perfect last year when interrailing.

most hostels etc have internet access and a communal PC so you can book ahead and research that way

internet access is much more widely available than people imagine!

congrats on the retirment and a big pat on the back for undertaking such a trip. ill be in argentina and macchu picchu this year myself, might cya for a drink

sarkozy

In Argentina, you'll find access to internet in most places. Certainly, you'd be able to use internet cafés everywhere but the remotest areas. However, the convenience of a light, portable netbook would be a real plus as you cannot always spend as much time in cafés/hostel computers as you'd often need.

You can also use it to download digital photos, but I'd highly recommend bringing an external back-up storage or two and split it across a few bags. You can get very large USB keys these days, and/or a standard external mini-hard-drive.

lc180

I spend two months driving across america with my friends, I had a laptop and personally I thought it was too big and awkward to carry around so I recommend a netbook. you can get them real cheap now too.

To cut costs we always booked cheap motels that offered free breakfast and free wi-fi. Saved a fortune! cheaper than a hostel in most cases.

As for the car, we were in Vancouver (you'll love it!) on a working holiday visa when we purchaesed the car, we had social security numbers etc so its prob different for you just travelling. sorry can't help you there.

Best of luck, i think you are awesome!

FouxDaFaFa

Hey OP,
First of all, you're not at the "end of your life".:D Far from it! Fair play for planning such an ambitious trip, I'd say it willl be amazing.
So, I'm going to jump on the netbook bandwagon also. I was in the states for almost 4 months last year and brought a small yet sturdy netbook and it was invaluable. It was cheap but I could make bookings on it, use free wifi spots (which are pretty plentiful in the US), skype people at home, look at maps to plan trips, etc. It will save you a fortune (using internet cafes all the time is deceptively expensive). Now, my netbook was stolen in New York so it wasn't exactly an ideal ending but I had purposely brought a very cheap one on ebay that I wouldn't be too cut up about losing one way or another.

I'm not sure if you wanted information about phones also but I personally just had my mobile unlocked (make sure it's a quad-band phone to work all over) and bought a sim online with a monthly deal where you could get unlimited calls and texts within the US for x amount. You could also get some skype credit and call from the netbook, which could be a good idea if you're moving countries a lot.

mylesm

thanks very much everbody for your help

a netbook seems to be the way and as i have an aldi netbook allready it should do

can people give any advise on driving in states

I hope someone can answer a question for me I want to drive up the west of America for approx 4 months can i buy or lease a car and insure it and legally drive



I was also thinking of renting a small motor home but this seems very expensive if anyone has any advise please help



Thanks

mylesm

AIDO Tours

in the US buy a ford explored 94ish model, cheap as chips, 1500 or so and the back seat folds down flat. Very easy with a good two inch sponge mattress to make a camper van out of it. Easy to buy with just an international drivers permit but it varies from state to state as to how easy it really is.

A tablet or netbook is way better than a smartphone and you can keep all your guidebooks on it too. You can do this with a smartphone but browsing a guidebook on it is not so much fun, much easier on a computer. I end up not using my guidebook on my phone except to find a contact number for hostels if I am arriving into town late. You shouldn't be using a guide book on the road anyway, talk to locals and other travellers. Books are written for everybody, another traveller is giving you advice on the way he thinks you are. It is much more likely to be advice you will follow.

With Machu Picchu you must book the Inca Trail about three months in advance. Otherwise you can do a different version but not arrive at the sun gate at sunrise which is supposed to be amazing. I did an altered version and walked up from the bottom on my last day so I can't say the "traditional" route is better. But you should know the numbers are limited so think about how much you want to do that. If you are down south in Argentina cross into Chile and visit Torres del Paine NP, it is amazing.

Happy travels