USA Road Trip - Reccomendations

McDaniel

McDaniel

McDaniel

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So,

After securing 4 and a bit weeks off of work by asking 18months ago for a bit of a dream Holiday I am now less then 3 weeks away from Flying to New York with 3 friends and spending 31 days driving from New York > San Fransisco!

After being told on Feb 7th our building is closing and I am at risk of redundancy after 10 years of working for Lloyds Banking Group it couldn't have come at a better time, a good chance to get away from things.

So, I know a few of you have done this before (Fox I believe did similar?) so wondering what tips you have, what sights you recommend, etc...

Our proposed route is something like this:

04/04/2012 London Flight > New York - NYC
05/04/2012 New York - NYC
06/04/2012 New York > Philadelphia
07/04/2012 Philadelphia > Washington D.C.
08/04/2012 Washington D.C.
09/04/2012 Washington D.C. > Colonial Williamsburg > Roanoke
10/04/2012 Roanoke > Smokey & Blue Ridge Mnts > Ashville
11/04/2012 Ashville > Charleston
12/04/2012 Charleston
13/04/2012 Charleston > Atlanta
14/04/2012 Atlanta > Cherokee Indian Res > Smokey Mnt > Gatlinburg
15/04/2012 Gatlinburg > Nashville
16/04/2012 Nashville
17/04/2012 Nashville > Memphis
18/04/2012 Memphis > Little Rock
19/04/2012 Little Rock > Tulsa
20/04/2012 Tulsa
21/04/2012 Tusla > Oaklahoma City
22/04/2012 Oaklahoma City > Shamrock > Amarillo
23/04/2012 Amarillo > Tucumcari > Santa Rosa > Alburquerque
24/04/2012 Alburquerque > Santa Fe > Alburquerque
25/04/2012 Alburquerque > Gallup > Holbrook
26/04/2012 Holbrook > Winslow > Grand Canyon NP > Flagstaff
27/04/2012 Flagstaff > Las Vegas
28/04/2012 Las Vegas
29/04/2012 Las Vegas > Barstow > Los Angeles
30/04/2012 Los Angeles
01/05/2012 Los Angeles > San Simeon
02/05/2012 San Simeon > San Fransisco
03/05/2012 San Fran
04/05/2012 San Fran > London Flight

I am a bit nervous about driving out there I must say, I think only because I start in New York once on the big open road I will be fine, but to start in a very busy city is a bit scary!

Very Excited for it - and it's all paid for (inc accomodation), currently have £2500-3000 for spending money also just myself so with the other 3 lads the petrol cost shouldn't impact to much of that!

:)
 
Looks good. I would have to go through florida and texas if i went on a road trip like that. I would also skip California (i mean LA) as i have heard it is not as great as people say it is. I would probably go down the east cost, across the south and then up through vegas towards san franciso. My mom did a roadtrip a few years ago. She did a similar route to yours. went down route 66 and visited the presley museum.
 
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Talk about jumping in at the deep end driving-wise - New York will be a challenge for you right off the bat!

I love driving in the US but don't think I'd ever try it in NY - I was only there about 3 days and I must have seen at least a dozen "fender-benders"!!!! :eek:

Wise to avoid Boston too - fantastic city but the underground tunnel system is a nightmare!

And whatever you do, make sure you have a philly cheesesteak! :D

You will have a great time!
 
StevieP said:
Talk about jumping in at the deep end driving-wise - New York will be a challenge for you right off the bat!

I love driving in the US but don't think I'd ever try it in NY - I was only there about 3 days and I must have seen at least a dozen "fender-benders"!!!! :eek:

Wise to avoid Boston too - fantastic city but the underground tunnel system is a nightmare!

And whatever you do, make sure you have a philly cheesesteak! :D

You will have a great time!
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Well we dont pick up the car till we leave, so wont be driving around the City - just out!

One of the guys coming with has an aunt who lives there and I met them when I was in NY 2 years ago - so wanted to see her; and also have tickets for The Book of Mormon on broadway! XD

I've done a lot of Florida, friends parents live in Miami so wasn't to fussed as go out that way regularly (potentially in October this year again) - we all wanted to do more of Texas to but decide to do a smaller dedicated trip another time.
 
Are you going to drive the Blueridge Parkway? I would highly recommend it. Also Savannah is only 2 hours from Charleston and is well worth a visit. Get a Horse drawn tour in Charleston it was very good, we used http://www.classiccarriage.com/ and the tour guide was fantastic.

The Jack Daniels Distiillery is between Atlanta and Nashvile, it' free and a great tour. Good even if you aren't into whisky.

I know it's a busy itiniary, but I would rather have more time in NY and SF there is a lot of interesting suff.
 
Super jealous of your US road trip!

I would advise that you aren’t spending long enough at quite a few places, and half of your selection is rather questionable.

New York is amazing…The way you have planned it, you will have 1 ‘proper’ day there, which in my opinion is just a waste of a fantastic location. New York should be 3 days minimum.

The whole Tulsa/ Oklahoma/ Albuquerque (plus other random places like Flagstaff) seems rather odd and pointless. Why on earth would you not just go straight to Vegas from the Grand Canyon?

I was thinking of doing a similar trip over 3 weeks a year ago and my plan was something along the lines of –

New York (3 nights)
Cleveland (1 night)
Chicago (3 nights)
Kansas (2 nights)
Colorado (not sure exactly where) (2 nights)
Salt Lake City (1 night)
San Francisco (3 nights)
LA (2 Nights)
Las Vegas (4 nights)

I’m sure no matter what you decide on you’ll have a blast either way. :cool:
 
Lima said:
The whole Tulsa/ Oklahoma/ Albuquerque (plus other random places like Flagstaff) seems rather odd and pointless. Why on earth would you not just go straight to Vegas from the Grand Canyon?
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Clearly Flagstaff is just somewhere to spend the evening/night near to the GC, before driving to Vegas the next morning. It's hardly random.

Williams would probably be more convenient as you wouldn't have to double back up I40 to Flagstaff.
 
L.A. is a dump - I would just avoid it completely. I would head down to San Diego instead.....especially if you have any interest in cool military stuff as the place is one big base :) L.A. has some OK places (it's massive after all) but, honestly, there are better things to do in Cali. The rest looks interesting - not been to some of those places myself.
 
Would have to agree with Lima above - although I'd only recommend more than a couple of days in New York if you really like shopping!

Definitely more than a day in Vegas (even if you hate gambling - the casino's there are more like resorts with loads of free stuff to do and see!) and Curio is spot on about San Diego - Seaworld is worth a look at the very least!! :p

Other than that, what sort of motor are you looking at hiring?

I'd definitely recommend a 4x4 a) for comfort since that's a lot of driving and b) for safety - I drove from Vegas to LA and within a few minutes of seeing a storm in the distance, we were in the middle of it with torrents of water flowing across the road carrying mailboxes and tyres! :eek: If we hadn't been in a Buick Rendezvous (sp?) then we would have been in trouble!!!!
 
Lima said:
Super jealous of your US road trip!

I would advise that you aren’t spending long enough at quite a few places, and half of your selection is rather questionable.

New York is amazing…The way you have planned it, you will have 1 ‘proper’ day there, which in my opinion is just a waste of a fantastic location. New York should be 3 days minimum.

The whole Tulsa/ Oklahoma/ Albuquerque (plus other random places like Flagstaff) seems rather odd and pointless. Why on earth would you not just go straight to Vegas from the Grand Canyon?

I was thinking of doing a similar trip over 3 weeks a year ago and my plan was something along the lines of –

New York (3 nights)
Cleveland (1 night)
Chicago (3 nights)
Kansas (2 nights)
Colorado (not sure exactly where) (2 nights)
Salt Lake City (1 night)
San Francisco (3 nights)
LA (2 Nights)
Las Vegas (4 nights)

I’m sure no matter what you decide on you’ll have a blast either way. :cool:
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So a couple of things:

I spent 4 days in New York 2 years ago so I have done most things there; as have the people with me - so I know it's not long - the reason for so many places is because it's a lot to do with the open road; these are guides so we could derail from them.

Flagstaff is because one of the guys did volunteer work there with ACE for 10weeks a few years back and wants to show us the area and re-live some memories.

I've been to Vegas twice in the last 5 years both for 2 weeks at a time so may shorten that journey also as want to spend a bit more time in San Fran.

Will def check out the Jack Daniel's distillery though - one of the blokes with me is a massive JD fan; so that will be cool.

I may review the LA Situation; a lot of people say the same, but I still want my own experience, I do like the sound of San Diego though (esp as I can have an excuse to quote Anchorman!).
 
StevieP said:
Would have to agree with Lima above - although I'd only recommend more than a couple of days in New York if you really like shopping!

Definitely more than a day in Vegas (even if you hate gambling - the casino's there are more like resorts with loads of free stuff to do and see!) and Curio is spot on about San Diego - Seaworld is worth a look at the very least!! :p

Other than that, what sort of motor are you looking at hiring?

I'd definitely recommend a 4x4 a) for comfort since that's a lot of driving and b) for safety - I drove from Vegas to LA and within a few minutes of seeing a storm in the distance, we were in the middle of it with torrents of water flowing across the road carrying mailboxes and tyres! :eek: If we hadn't been in a Buick Rendezvous (sp?) then we would have been in trouble!!!!
Click to expand...

See my post just now re: NY and LV.

We will be going by a 4x4 for a) comfort b) luggage room (4 of us afterall) and safety, if it was only 2 or 3 of us I think I def would have gone Mustang. :D
 
McDaniel said:
So,

After securing 4 and a bit weeks off of work by asking 18months ago for a bit of a dream Holiday I am now less then 3 weeks away from Flying to New York with 3 friends and spending 31 days driving from New York > San Fransisco!

After being told on Feb 7th our building is closing and I am at risk of redundancy after 10 years of working for Lloyds Banking Group it couldn't have come at a better time, a good chance to get away from things.

So, I know a few of you have done this before (Fox I believe did similar?) so wondering what tips you have, what sights you recommend, etc...

Our proposed route is something like this:

04/04/2012 London Flight > New York - NYC
05/04/2012 New York - NYC
06/04/2012 New York > Philadelphia
07/04/2012 Philadelphia > Washington D.C.
08/04/2012 Washington D.C.
09/04/2012 Washington D.C. > Colonial Williamsburg > Roanoke
10/04/2012 Roanoke > Smokey & Blue Ridge Mnts > Ashville
11/04/2012 Ashville > Charleston
12/04/2012 Charleston
13/04/2012 Charleston > Atlanta
14/04/2012 Atlanta > Cherokee Indian Res > Smokey Mnt > Gatlinburg
15/04/2012 Gatlinburg > Nashville
16/04/2012 Nashville
17/04/2012 Nashville > Memphis
18/04/2012 Memphis > Little Rock
19/04/2012 Little Rock > Tulsa
20/04/2012 Tulsa
21/04/2012 Tusla > Oaklahoma City
22/04/2012 Oaklahoma City > Shamrock > Amarillo
23/04/2012 Amarillo > Tucumcari > Santa Rosa > Alburquerque
24/04/2012 Alburquerque > Santa Fe > Alburquerque
25/04/2012 Alburquerque > Gallup > Holbrook
26/04/2012 Holbrook > Winslow > Grand Canyon NP > Flagstaff
27/04/2012 Flagstaff > Las Vegas
28/04/2012 Las Vegas
29/04/2012 Las Vegas > Barstow > Los Angeles
30/04/2012 Los Angeles
01/05/2012 Los Angeles > San Simeon
02/05/2012 San Simeon > San Fransisco
03/05/2012 San Fran
04/05/2012 San Fran > London Flight

I am a bit nervous about driving out there I must say, I think only because I start in New York once on the big open road I will be fine, but to start in a very busy city is a bit scary!

Very Excited for it - and it's all paid for (inc accomodation), currently have £2500-3000 for spending money also just myself so with the other 3 lads the petrol cost shouldn't impact to much of that!

:)
Click to expand...


You seem to miss many of the best parts of the US and do a lot of driving.

I would focus on a smaller area. And when I mean smaller, an area the size of central europe... A clasic, Sw USA tip is usually he best option, but otehr ideas include:
NW trip including cascades mountains, crate lake NP, olympia NP, Mount Rianer NP, Glacier NP, yellowstone NP, Grand Teton NP, lots inbetween, seattle and portland cities.


Rockies Trip: starting at one end or the other and can icnlude the many NPs in utah: Glacier NP, yellowstone, Grand Teton, Rocky Mountain NP, lotads of stuff in colorado, wasatch mountains UTA, southern Utah NPs if time (Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands).

Otherwise an Appalachian road trip. The full Atalanta to Maine trip is still quite far but includes lots of interesting scenery and a few NPs long the way, blue ridge mountains, smokey mountains, Shenandoah NP.
 
And others have said, LA is absolutely vile.


From Vegas you can go through Death Valley NP, up the Owens valley n 295 for some spectacular scenery, visit mono-lake, go to the most amazing place on planet earth - Yosemite, Bode ghost town, visit stunning Lake Tahoe and end up with a short pleasant drive to San Fran.

The only reason to go near LA is to get a cheap flight or to drive up Highway 1.
 
While it does look good I can't help but feel a single day in most of these places won't be enough to fully enjoy them. I agree about what Curio said about L.A too, Downtown L.A is a complete and utter dump. We spent a couple of days there towards the end (Or so we thought, you gotta love Icelandic volcanoes :p) of our road trip around a few of the western states and it wasn't the best of places. Much prefered the drive up highway 1 and stay in San Francisco afterwards.
 
There obviously is a fair chunk of driving and the

x > y > z - is more "one of these places, potentially all of them" we will see the work coming.

So we leave Washington and head to Roanoke for a stay but could go via Colonial Williamsburg for instance, not a def.

I am a big fan of the USA and have been a fair few places before, as have those with me - so some of the bigger more popular places etc... we have done :)
 
Do not spend a night in Philadelphia - most of the city centre is completely run down and feels dangerous in the evening. Drive from New York to DC in one day, with a two or three hour stop in Philly to see the Liberty Bell, etc. This will be enough time to see everything worthwhile in Philly and give you two full days in NYC, which isn't nearly enough but still better than one.
 
Cool.

I think we might skip L.A. then; Philly is a stop gap before Washington to see the Liberty Bell and then maybe go to the Zoo! :D
 
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