NYC > Chicago by road

yew_tree

Hi all,

Have been to states a few times > just east coast though. Few lads thinking of going for 8 nights in October and do say 4-5 night's in nyc and then drive to Chicago and fly back from O 'Hare. Would it be worth it?

Has anyone done the drive and would there be anywhere worth stopping off along the way. I think it take 15-16 hrs to drive. Or is it all boring highway in effect. Might be cheaper to fly but where is the adventure in that?

We know a guy from home who has a bar in Chicago that's why the road trip appeals.

rockonollie

Depends what you look for in a holiday..........Philadelphia has plenty of historical locations to visit. And the Gettysburg battlefield would be on the way too.

You'd pass close to Cleveland where the rock and roll hall of fame is.

InTheTrees

Its a great idea. Unfortunately most Car hire places will add a hefty charge for dropping off a car in a different state to where you picked it up.

Its can vary depending on the states involved so make sure to check before booking a car, neighboring states sometimes allow it. NY to Illinois is a few states away so I'm not so sure.

Even with the charge, a car full of people can be cheaper than flying.

RGDATA!

US Road trip - great idea. Haven't done NY to Chicago, doesn't necessarily strike me as the most interesting or scenic of all the six day trips you could do, but I'd still do it tomorrow with a few of my good friends if I had the opportunity.

If part of your reasoning was where Aer Lingus fly directly to/from, it might be worth looking at Orlando to DC which would be doable and more interesting to me personally - you could head down to Miami, the everglades, maybe up through Georgia (Athens is a nice town) & the Carolinas, maybe back to DC for a day before you come home.

spideog7

That particular journey wouldn't be the most appealing in the world. If it's earlier October the leaves might be changing which would be nice, my guess is you'd be taking I80 which is fairly nice through PA (a lot of trucks though) but it gets a bit boring after that. It might be worth doing but I wouldn't make a big trip of it, go flat out and enjoy it from the seat of the car, could do it in a day sharing the driving or 2 if you wanted to do it all in daylight.

montreal2011

You could do that drive in one, long, day if you wanted.

There is not a whole lot of interest on that route. You have Amish country in Philadelphia and probably not the most interesting cities of Pittsburgh nearby and Cleveland is along the way.

As US roadtrips go, I'd skip this one and fly. The extra time in Chicago would be a better use of your time and money.

montreal2011

@spideog7 Don't mean to slag Pittsburgh! :pac: I have never been, but I notice it gets picked on in US tv shows as not being too interesting!

I have been to Galway and I like it!

yew_tree

Cheers for the advice guys - Id say the drive would be more a straight run (maybe one stop) if we were to do it. Again as a few said, flying might be easier.

What about the train? Or would that work out more expensive then driving or flying?

RGDATA!

yew_tree wrote: »

Cheers for the advice guys - Id say the drive would be more a straight run (maybe one stop) if we were to do it. Again as a few said, flying might be easier.

What about the train? Or would that work out more expensive then driving or flying?

if you're not looking to have a proper road trip, as in stop a few places along the way, it's pointless to do anything else other than fly i would have thought. there'll be little or nothing between cost of a flight and train, if anything train will be more expensive

spideog7

montreal2011 wrote: »

@spideog7 Don't mean to slag Pittsburgh! :pac: I have never been, but I notice it gets picked on in US tv shows as not being too interesting!

I have been to Galway and I like it!

Not to worry, Pittsburgh is a fairly nice city to live and work in but not worth going out of your way to visit, worth taking a peak if you're passing by though. Supposedly it's the new Portland if you're into hipsters, craft beer and biking and whatnot.

I've heard the train from the East Coast makes for a nice journey but it's horrendously slow and expensive.

rusheen

Yew Tree ? if you have Mayo connection you should stop in Scranton Penn. It has connections with county Mayo going back for years .Look into it .

spideog7

rusheen wrote: »

Yew Tree ? if you have Mayo connection you should stop in Scranton Penn. It has connections with county Mayo going back for years .Look into it .

There is no reason for anyone to go to Scranton... ever!

yew_tree

rusheen wrote: »

Yew Tree ? if you have Mayo connection you should stop in Scranton Penn. It has connections with county Mayo going back for years .Look into it .

Cheers for that tip. I see alot of people from Ballina settled there. Indeed current VP Joe Biden was born there. He also has Mayo connections.

southsiderosie

I'm from Chicago and have made the drive to DC and Boston many times. It isn't worth the drive if you don't have to do it - Ohio and Indiana are flat and boring, and the roads in New York are horrible. You can buy a one-way ticket on JetBlue for $79 that is probably your best bet, and it will be much cheaper than renting a car, having to gas up three times, and then paying to drop it off in Chicago.

novarock

I did the train from chicago to DC last summer, 18hrs overnight, great experience if you can afford first class. October you will also be lacking daylight a bit.

yew_tree

Thanks for all the info guys. Have decided to stay on the east coast as its only an 8 night trip. Flying into and out of Newark - might spin up to Boston for a night or two or down to DC.

Will save the long distance driving for the west coast in a year or two....warmer driving too