Driving from New York to LA in September, any suggestions on what to see, where to go

Nelly 21

Hi folks. I'm starting to plan our US trip for this year. We are flying to NY in september, staying in NY for a couple of days and then driving to La and back. We'll have around 3 weeks to do this. Hopefully making good time on the way over to LA and be able to relax a bit on the way back. Long distances aren't too new to us as we have drove around America before but never this far!
I'm hoping that anybody who may have made this trip before might be able to make some suggestions for us as to where to stop, what to see and so on. I have been looking around on the internet but there is nothing like first hand experience!
It will just be me and my husband, no children so we will be left to our own devices! Any help or suggestions will be so appreciated!

InTheTrees

Nelly 21 wrote: »

and then driving to La and back.

Wow. Just doing the maths... that's an average of about 250 miles a day. Every single day.

Thats pretty intense. And americans dont drive fast so you'll be in the car at least four hours every day.

gambithh

why not fly home from LA and take time to enjoy the trip?

def vegas is essential as would the grand canyon

rockonollie

InTheTrees wrote: »

Wow. Just doing the maths... that's an average of about 250 miles a day. Every single day.

Thats pretty intense. And americans dont drive fast so you'll be in the car at least four hours every day.

I don't know where this americans don't drive fast theory comes from.......driving on the interstate, I've rarely had to drive lower than the speed limit.

But it is a very long drive......if you want to make it to LA quick in the first week.....you'll need to be driving at least 6 hours each day.....without any delays it's a 42 hour drive from NYC to LA

dunphy3

Nelly 21 wrote: »

Hi folks. I'm starting to plan our US trip for this year. We are flying to NY in september, staying in NY for a couple of days and then driving to La and back. We'll have around 3 weeks to do this. Hopefully making good time on the way over to LA and be able to relax a bit on the way back. Long distances aren't too new to us as we have drove around America before but never this far!
I'm hoping that anybody who may have made this trip before might be able to make some suggestions for us as to where to stop, what to see and so on. I have been looking around on the internet but there is nothing like first hand experience!
It will just be me and my husband, no children so we will be left to our own devices! Any help or suggestions will be so appreciated!

start in canada.

InTheTrees

I've never done it, but I've been tempted many times. For americans its a kind of Rite of Passage.

I dont suppose you;'d consider doing it one way in three weeks? That way you could really meander.

I think the main routes are Interstate80 from NY goes to SF. And I-70 goes as far as Utah, where you join 15 South to LA.

rockonollie

be sure to take in Gettysburg along the way.....you'll need at least 4 hours set aside to tour the area

InTheTrees

rockonollie wrote: »

I don't know where this americans don't drive fast theory comes from.......driving on the interstate, I've rarely had to drive lower than the speed limit.

Oh dont start me... It comes from about fifteen years driving in Europe and twenty years driving in the USA.

Americans are generally terrible drivers. Some states are worse than others but the general standard is low.

In most states you can walk out with a drivers licence in about half an hour with little to no prep except skimming the drivers handbook; that gives you an idea.

It makes it easy for tourists though. Its a great place to practice on the other side of the road. My 80 year old mum had no problems driving coming over from Ireland.

rockonollie

InTheTrees wrote: »

Oh dont start me... It comes from about fifteen years driving in Europe and twenty years driving in the USA.

Americans are generally terrible drivers. Some states are worse than others but the general standard is low.

In most states you can walk out with a drivers licence in about half an hour with little to no prep except skimming the drivers handbook; that gives you an idea.

It makes it easy for tourists though. Its a great place to practice on the other side of the road. My 80 year old mum had no problems driving coming over from Ireland.

I never said that they were good drivers.....but I wouldn't categorize them as slow

HTML5!

Take in Santa Fe in New Mexico if you can. Absolutely beautiful! You won't regret it.

Menas

We did this for our honey moon, albeit in the opposite direction. It really was a great trip. Took 2 weeks for us and did it in a cool convertible.

we started off with a few days in LA. Then drove to Hoover damn, vegas, grand canyon, durango colarado, santa fe NM, amarillo texas, arkansaws, memphis, nashville, lexington kentucky, west virginia, washington dc, baltimore and we finished off in Philly. I am sure there were more stop offs, but they were the memorable ones.
Our typical day that after breakie we went straight to the to petrol station to fill up with fuel and stock up on snacks for the day's journey. Drive for a few hours and stop somewhere for lunch. Then drive some more We tried to be at our end destination for about 3pm every day.
Check in, do some site seeing and then out for a meal and hit a bar in the evening.
We alternated driving the 'morning' and afternoon shifts . If you drove the morning shift you could enjoy a beer in the car in the afternoon. Bliss!

Main tip I would give is that if you are planning in staying in some random place in the middle of the US...make sure it is not in a 'dry' county unless you like that kind of thing.
Other main tip would be to get off the motorway as much as you can. They are very boring and you dont see the 'real' america when on them.

Approx route below.

ballsymchugh

i have nothing to offer, only my jealousy. enjoy it!

Hoop66

If you're going to do it, do it right:

http://www.wired.com/cars/coolwheels/magazine/15-11/ff_cannonballrun

InTheTrees

Trigger Happy wrote: »

If you drove the morning shift you could enjoy a beer in the car in the afternoon. Bliss!

Ouch. A word of caution for others; if you had been stopped you would have been in Trouble.

Any open alcohol container in a passenger car is illegal in every state, depending on the officiousness of the cops (and they can be Strict) they can treat the driver as if they'd been drinking. A lot (most) of states dont use breathalyzer so they may just treat you as though you'd been drinking and haul you in for a blood test. Especially if you have out of state licence plates.

If a cop leans into the car and smells beer then its Trouble time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_open_container_laws

Menas

InTheTrees wrote: »

Ouch. A word of caution for others; if you had been stopped you would have been in Trouble.

Any open alcohol container in a passenger car is illegal in every state, depending on the officiousness of the cops (and they can be Strict) they can treat the driver as if they'd been drinking. A lot (most) of states dont use breathalyzer so they may just treat you as though you'd been drinking and haul you in for a blood test. Especially if you have out of state licence plates.

If a cop leans into the car and smells beer then its Trouble time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_open_container_laws

Ooops. I hope they cannot prosecute me retrospectively!

rockonollie

Ditto InTheTrees......open container laws are taken very seriously in the US....in most states, it's illegal to have any open alcoholic drink in public, and in all states it's illegal to have an open container in a car.

Also worth noting, in Kentucky, you can be charged with rape if you have a girl in your car and she isn't wearing shoes and socks.

Rasmus

I've done this trip going westward. Why are you driving back to NY again, though? It must be a good reason?

Merkin

We did half of this for our US roadtrip last August and it was amazing.I think personally you'd be better off flying directly to LA and spend three weeks driving back to NYC.It's a mammoth task and not much of a holiday to cram in a return roadtrip in such a short space of time.

InTheTrees

Trigger Happy wrote: »

Ooops. I hope they cannot prosecute me retrospectively!

I think you're okay!

BailMeOut

Just make sure the Grand Canyon is on your list and then book the mule ride and camp at bottom well in advance.

Nelly 21

Seriously thanks so much for all the replies. Its always helpful to get other peoples perspective on things!

Nelly 21

InTheTrees wrote: »

Wow. Just doing the maths... that's an average of about 250 miles a day. Every single day.

Thats pretty intense. And americans dont drive fast so you'll be in the car at least four hours every day.

I know its a lot. The driving I don't mind too much. We drove to florida last year from NY and did 14 hours on our way there to make good time and relaxed then. I know thinking about it we are pushing it! Last year we did some early morning driving and got some hours and miles out of the way that way. I know at the same time I wouldn't want to be driving all the time

Nelly 21

gambithh wrote: »

why not fly home from LA and take time to enjoy the trip?

def vegas is essential as would the grand canyon

We were in Vegas a couple of years ago so its not high on my list of priorities but the grand canyon is seriously something that both of us wanted to do. When we went to Vegas my husband wanted to drive to the grand canyon and tour around but financially we just couldn't do it. I always swore to him that we'd eventually get to see it!! So its top of our list this year!!

Nelly 21

gambithh wrote: »

why not fly home from LA and take time to enjoy the trip?

Car hire is pretty pricey to drop the car to a different spot to where you pick it up and the factor in the flights. Having said that, I agree about taking time to enjoy the trip

Nelly 21

InTheTrees wrote: »

I've never done it, but I've been tempted many times. For americans its a kind of Rite of Passage.

I dont suppose you;'d consider doing it one way in three weeks? That way you could really meander.

I think the main routes are Interstate80 from NY goes to SF. And I-70 goes as far as Utah, where you join 15 South to LA.

San Fran is one of our stop offs as we have friends there. I know doing it one way makes sense

Nelly 21

HTML5! wrote: »

Take in Santa Fe in New Mexico if you can. Absolutely beautiful! You won't regret it.

Thanks! Will do, anywhere in particular?

Nelly 21

Trigger Happy wrote: »

We did this for our honey moon, albeit in the opposite direction. It really was a great trip. Took 2 weeks for us and did it in a cool convertible.

we started off with a few days in LA. Then drove to Hoover damn, vegas, grand canyon, durango colarado, santa fe NM, amarillo texas, arkansaws, memphis, nashville, lexington kentucky, west virginia, washington dc, baltimore and we finished off in Philly. I am sure there were more stop offs, but they were the memorable ones.
Our typical day that after breakie we went straight to the to petrol station to fill up with fuel and stock up on snacks for the day's journey. Drive for a few hours and stop somewhere for lunch. Then drive some more We tried to be at our end destination for about 3pm every day.
Check in, do some site seeing and then out for a meal and hit a bar in the evening.
We alternated driving the 'morning' and afternoon shifts . If you drove the morning shift you could enjoy a beer in the car in the afternoon. Bliss!

Main tip I would give is that if you are planning in staying in some random place in the middle of the US...make sure it is not in a 'dry' county unless you like that kind of thing.
Other main tip would be to get off the motorway as much as you can. They are very boring and you dont see the 'real' america when on them.

Approx route below.

This is serious information and thank you so much for talking the time to type it up!!!! We've been to Memphis and Nashville (Loved it) and wouldn't mind seeing it again. Our plan there is to stay a night in Nashville and visit graceland on way through Memphis and not stay in Memphis.

BailMeOut

have you looked at the car transportation companies? There are a few on East and West coast where you can transport a car for someone across country. I have a friend who did it and worked out well. You just pay for the fuel some small fee for insurance I think. I am sure there are some J1 folks reading who have done this.

Nelly 21

Rasmus wrote: »

I've done this trip going westward. Why are you driving back to NY again, though? It must be a good reason?

Reading though all of these replies I'm thinking the same thing myself. In my head I figured if we do loads of driving on way over we'd make time on the way back but I am having a good think about that! One issue is the car hire charges on dropping the car back to a different drop off point

Nelly 21

Merkin wrote: »

We did half of this for our US roadtrip last August and it was amazing.I think personally you'd be better off flying directly to LA and spend three weeks driving back to NYC.It's a mammoth task and not much of a holiday to cram in a return roadtrip in such a short space of time.

Reading through these messages I'm agreeing with you! I need to really plan things out

Nelly 21

BailMeOut wrote: »

have you looked at the car transportation companies? There are a few on East and West coast where you can transport a car for someone across country. I have a friend who did it and worked out well. You just pay for the fuel some small fee for insurance I think. I am sure there are some J1 folks reading who have done this.

Really? There's no harm in ringing them so. I've just been pricing them on line. I'll look into that. Thanks!

BailMeOut

Nelly 21 wrote: »

Really? There's no harm in ringing them so. I've just been pricing them on line. I'll look into that. Thanks!

here is one that is base in Canada http://www.torontodriveaway.com/driver_info.html

Menas

Maybe things have changed, but when we did our trip in 2010 it was not overly expensive to hire in LA and drop car off in Philly.
Perhaps $100 more expensive than normal.
Driving long journeys like this is not unknown and you will see cars in the car hire parking lot with far away state plates. So do look around some more!

InTheTrees

Trigger Happy wrote: »

Maybe things have changed, but when we did our trip in 2010 it was not overly expensive to hire in LA and drop car off in Philly.
Perhaps $100 more expensive than normal.
Driving long journeys like this is not unknown and you will see cars in the car hire parking lot with far away state plates. So do look around some more!

Agreed. I've dropped off cars in different states and you just budget in the charge. Unfortunate but I can see why they have to do it...

Caliden

Get tickets for Jerry Springer. He does his show in Stamford, CT. Pure cringe but deffo worth it for the laugh and if you're seated in the middle you can see yourself when the show airs on TV!

spideog7

Just to echo what everyone else has said that is an awful long way there and back! Don't forget to factor in the price of fuel too, you're looking at at least 500 dollars one way.

InTheTrees

...although...

If you did do it you'd have to do a "circuit"; so maybe go west on the northern route to Seattle, down the coast and east through the south, then up the east coast.

I'd give it two months. And if you picked the time of year you could avoid the oppressive heat of the south in the summer and the cold of the north in the winter.

ozmo

Kinda obvious in this day and age - but last trip to the states i brought a gps and it was great being able go off the main track looking for old ghost towns etc(death valley) and to be sure you can find civilisation again
Just be sure its a real one not a phone or something that needs gps internet to search - wont always have that...
I got a cheap pre-pay sims for our unlocked phones also rather than pay high roaming data charges....