Road Tripping in the USA!

[TW]Fox said:
I think it's ideal and I really enjoy them. It's 3 series sized. What is it with people on here squeezing so many people into cars in road trip holidays?!

I find the ATS an ideal size for two, we fill the boot with the luggage but you can probably seat two comfortably in the back.
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Is there some sort of requirement for a roadtrip to only have two people?

Maybe it's a symptom of this thread being in Motors, where everyone assumes most of the fun is physically driving the car, rather than just being in it and seeing all the surroundings/being with friends and family?:p
 
Man, compared to Motel 6 Super 8 are sheer luxury.

Nah, M6 are OK for a quick stop, my only gripe was some of the rooms stank of fag smoke even when you asked for a non smoking one.

I stayed at a La Quinta for $120 one night and you do notice the difference that's for sure.
 
Afternoon chaps!

So I need some advice. We will be spending 9 days on the west coast at the end of September and need some advice on good stops for the middle part of the trip:

  • LA 2 nights (hotel booked)
  • Leave LA for a slow drive up to Nappa Valley on the PCH where possible. Stops are undefined but want to stay the night in 2 different places. Can anyone recommend some good stops? San Simeon? Monterry? etc?
  • Nappa Valley 1 night
  • SF 2 nights (yet to book hotel)
For the stops between LA and Nappa I was planning on winging it with Motels...So the question is would you recommend booking these in advance or going with the flow?

Oh and of course I have booked the obligatory Mustang as the choice of vehicle :)
 
I find pre-booking gives you peace of mind in case you land on a night where every place in town is sold out because
of a big social/sporting event.

Driving about a strange town at 10pm looking for a
motel room is not something I'd recommend.

Hopefully the PCH will be open south of Monterey by Sept.
 
gam3r said:
For the stops between LA and Nappa I was planning on winging it with Motels...So the question is would you recommend booking these in advance or going with the flow?
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I'd just get on Booking.com before you leave the current place and sort out a hotel for the next stop. It makes life a lot easier and you don't end up being stung with a $200/night hotel.
 
gam3r said:
Afternoon chaps!

So I need some advice. We will be spending 9 days on the west coast at the end of September and need some advice on good stops for the middle part of the trip:

  • LA 2 nights (hotel booked)
  • Leave LA for a slow drive up to Nappa Valley on the PCH where possible. Stops are undefined but want to stay the night in 2 different places. Can anyone recommend some good stops? San Simeon? Monterry? etc?
  • Nappa Valley 1 night
  • SF 2 nights (yet to book hotel)
For the stops between LA and Nappa I was planning on winging it with Motels...So the question is would you recommend booking these in advance or going with the flow?

Oh and of course I have booked the obligatory Mustang as the choice of vehicle :)
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Use AirBNB and go with the flow :)

We did our whole trip just finding places to stay as we went using it, booking one or two nights in advance depending on how we were getting on. Found some lovely places to stay, and it can be a great way to meet interesting people, which is part of the fun of travelling. And allows you to be a little flexible if you decide you want to spend an extra night somewhere, or move on.
 
At the very least have some ideas of where you want to stay. There's nothing worse than spending many evenings on your holiday trying to find a hotel to stay in the next night, especially if things end up being booked up and you have to start bouncing around hotels in the local area because none are available the entire time.

Flexibility is good, but have some important hotels/accommodation booked before you get there.
 
Booked flights to LAX last night from Glasgow (via Heathrow) for £350 each with BA. Prices had dropped by at least £150 over the weekend so I went for it, having missed similar prices a couple of months ago. Going for 3 weeks at end of Oct into November.

Planning on visiting LA, San Diego, Vegas, San Francisco and Pacific Coast Highway. Just needing to come up with an itinerary, car rental and hotels now.
 
If anyone ever plans on going to houston or need to fly there. Singapore airlines fly from Manchester to Singapore for £350 return as long as it's off season.
Probably the only decent way of crossing the Atlantic from the UK.
 
jamoor said:
If anyone ever plans on going to houston or need to fly there. Singapore airlines fly from Manchester to Singapore for £350 return as long as it's off season.
Probably the only decent way of crossing the Atlantic from the UK.
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Nice find, might have to take a look.

Still need to do a deep south tour, maybe when the little one is older :)
 
Peerzy said:
We took 20KG in a duffle bag each and 10KG in hand luggage for our month trip in a Mustang and that *just* fitting in the boot, it was about 22KG and 10KG on the way back due to shopping.

The two hand luggage bags did use up both back seats though so the car became a 2 seater.
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So 50kg of luggage?

My last two holidays (both 3 weeks) I managed off 13kgs and 9kgs for the 2nd. Albiet with a small hand luggage too, mostly holding headphones, kindle etc. I just chucked my clothes into a launderette and picked them up the next day, takes all of 5 minutes.

My sister just came to visit me, and brought the same 21kg of clothes for herself, I can't understand how anyone needs so much clothes.
 
With Tioga being closed has anyone gone the long route to Yosemite from DV? Any recommendation on where to pitch up for the night?

I plan on pushing on all the way to Fresno which would mean a total of 9 hours in the car, is that a bit ambitious? (were departing from Vegas).

The way I see it is that it is a balancing act and anything we don't do in the evening we would just have to get up earlier and do the next day. Fresno is still probably 2 hours from the park and will be hitting it on a Sunday so there will be an incentive on getting there at a reasonable time.

According to Google maps it's around 9 hour driving and approx 532 miles. Obviously plenty of stops in the first half of that in the park. Plus a decent break probably in Bakersfield for dinner if not before.
 
Seems pointless posting in a new thread despite not being USA related..

I need car hire from Limoges Airport for 1 week from 1 August. Only needs to be Fiesta sized for a 2hr journey on the other side and then local driving. Best I can see is £148 with any number of companies (rentalcar GO, Avis, easycar etc etc).

Any tips for good companies and other general advice?

I assume I'll be wanting excess insurance akin to this thread too
 
ALWAYS pick an international major (So Avis would be my recommendation of those you've listed) and buy the excess insurance separately.

Don't pick based on headline price, you will regret it.
 
If you buy a rental voucher in advance, be sure not to fall in the murky waters of buying " extras " or upgrades at the rental pick-up office.

Apart from sat-nav, the other extras are just money making bids by the care hire company.

It's a year old car, is it likely to break down ?
What if you get a puncture ? you change the wheel.
What do you need personal insurance for ? you have already got Holiday Insurance [ haven't you ? ] .

Be careful of local taxes and fees, they can add up to a fair amount.
 
I recently got back from a 2 week holiday in Orlando.
We hired two cars; a standard and full size SUV. I was driving the full size for the whole trip - a Ford Expedition hired from Alamo for about £700. In terms of driving and quality it was totally rubbish but it seated 7 passengers in comfort perfectly. Even the 3rd row seats were full size and folded flat into the floor.

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