Planning a grad trip for next year June/July to about Sept!

Hi everyone,

I'm from Singapore and along with some of my friends (1-3 more) are currently planning our graduation trip next year during the summer/early fall. So far i have done some research and i'm wondering if it is feasible during this short duration and still visit the best places in the US as this would be a first time going to the USA

The itinerary so far is:

Orlando 3 days --> Miami/key west 3.5 days --> Atlanta 2 days --> Ohio 2 days --> Niagara falls 1.5 days --> Toronto 3 days --> Montreal 2.5 days --> Vermont 2.5 days --> Boston 3 days --> NYC 6 days --> Philadelphia 2 days --> Washington DC 2 days --> North Carolina 1.5 days then back to orlando for another 1.5 days before flying to LAX.

Los Angeles 4 days --> Anaheim 2 days --> San Diego 3 days --> Las Vegas 2 days --> Grand Canyon 2 days --> Yosemite 2 Days --> Olympia 2 days --> Seattle 3 days --> Vancouver 5 days --> Long drive back to San Francisco (probably stop over half way to rest for night) 4 days, driving down the coast back to Los Angeles 3-4 days and spending another 2-3 days shopping at Los Angeles.

Total number of days: 36/37 Days for East Coast and 37 Days for the West Coast.

We will most probably be renting a car, one at the east coast which loops from Florida to Florida and Los Angeles and Los Angeles. Since i am under 25 but with about 5 years of driving experience, is it possible for companies to waive off the charge for under 25? Do you think that this itinerary might be too challenging as i would like so see as much of USA as i can? I understand for certain parts driving may be long that is why i plan to stop halfway and take 1 day in that city to make full use of it.

Do you have any suggestions where else I can probably detour to see more nice places or days i should cut down from places that i have listed down?

Our estimated budget so far is about 6000 - 6500 USD per person (this excludes air tickets and shopping expenses). Will that be too little? We should be staying in hostel/motel to save cost and once in awhile stay in hotel to keep us in check.

So sorry for having so many questions and thanks in advance for those who replies to assist me with my grad trip! Reply to this

Thanks for your quick response D MJ Binkley.

I'm currently 23 at the moment and will be almost 24 by the time i visit the states. Not sure if they would allow me to waive off that extra charge but i will still probably check the car companies you listed for more info.

I'm actually skipping Disney World, Epcot and Sea World as my intention was to do it in California so basically just touring around orlando for other attractions like kennedy space centre etc.

I think the webpage that i used to calculate distance between destinations did not included traffic + the normal route just probably the shortest distance possible. My initial plan on stopping in countries like Atlanta, or even North Carolina is to have a break from driving. I mean i like long distance driving probably 10 hours should be alright but i sincerely doubt that i can drive for 22 hours straight from maybe lets say Orlando to New york. So i have plan stops along the way by choosing some of the cities so like making a loop. And since i'm like already doing a stopover there, why not actually just spend a day or two touring the city before moving on. My actual plan was to just travel to ohio for Cedar Point :D . I'm young and seek thrill.

The reason why i have to start from orlando and return back to orlando is that the car that i rent have to be dropped off at the same location else the one time drop off fee seems to be super expensive and probably not justifiable. Is there anyway you could suggest?

I know i probably cant see all the fantastic places in the whole of East Coast, i'm just picking the best of the best so places like orlando, New york, Washington DC, Niagara Falls, Toronto, Vermont, Montreal etc.. Unless of course i give up on Florida and just make a full circle top north since Florida seems to be very out of the way and there are really no states in between i'm really interested in.

To be really honest, i haven not entirely researched on the best attractions the east/west coast has to offer, probably just the really outstanding/famous one. I'm just getting started planning the trip and trying to figure out how many days i will probably need to set aside for each cities then look for key attractions to visit.

Your short advice have been wonderful so far and hope to hear more from you.

Reply to this

hi, one idea might be to find those websites where they have people who need their car taken from one destination to another...for free or a very small fee! Or perhaps an RV? I dont have time to google but ive definitly investigated them before and they do exist 😊 But might save you heaps of costs. Otherwise we bought a brilliant car for US$900 that we sold 2 years later for $800 so that might be an idea...although not sure if you'd need a drivers licence for that? Maybe someone from the US might be able to help with that one. Or....just buy cheap flights and packages! We travelled everywhere by plane and there are certainly flights between places like Orlando and NY for less than $100.

hth, tam
Reply to this

In response to: Msg #144787

Well i suppose both my plan are pretty aggressive as i would really like to make the see as many things as possible during my stay there. I really appreciate your comments and opinion that was why i decided to post on the forum to seek help whether it was do-able. Like you mention i have still plenty of time to plan and do some research, i'll probably use the advice so far and discuss it with my friends.

Just a general guideline how long will a whole trip of the west coast be and what would be the ideal budget overall or daily be? Is there any must see places or small cities that we should not miss? At least this will help us in our planning and amount so save up within the time we have.

Also, lets say i decided to do the west coast. Is it better to fly from one area to another then rent a car and go around the region or best to just rent a car all the way? Like probably rent a car in LA and drive around to LV, SF, Yosemite etc.. Then fly from LAX to Seattle and tour the area + a little bit of canada? Reply to this

Finding someone who wants their car dropped off will not work as they expect you to drive it straight to the location. They will not want any additional miles on the vehicle. They give you a very short period of time to move from one location to the next.
Reply to this

Hi Leung,

I must say you do have quite an ambitious trip, but one thing that maybe can help you and your friends is that while in the Northeast you could rely on using the extensive transportation system that exists. It's very easy to take a bus from NYC to Boston as cheap as 10 dollars per person! This of course varies which day and time you leave though! If you do this, take either Peter Pan, Lucky Star or Megabus (Megabus is the one that will charge you 10 dollars for your trip) but still you can get a round trip for as cheap as 35 dollars, so I'm sure it could be half of that for one way. You can also take the bus from either Boston or NYC to go to your other destinations in the Northeast, including VT, Philadelphia, DC, even to Montreal! Then you could take the bus from there to Vancouver probably. Amtrak can be too expensive but that's another option however the bus stations are packed and have regular lines. I would do this before renting a car-I would actually if I were you, start your trip in Vancouver, take the bus to Montreal, then take a bus to NYC, then one to Boston, then take a bus to VT from there, head back to Boston, then take a bus from there to Philadelphia and then maybe from Philadelphia head to DC. It's here that I'd rent my car, however you might have trouble since you are under 23, however you said you are traveling with two other friends, are any of them 25 or over? If so, maybe have that person in charge of renting the car and you can divide up the costs and give your portions to him or her.

If you're not going to the parks in Orlando, there's not much to do I will warn you that, so I would only spend a day. However, I will give you this food for thought: I had a German friend in high school who had been to Disney World and Disneyland and he found Disney World to be more interesting because of the four parks and the rides were more up to date and lively. However, I understand why you want to go to Disneyland because it's the original. I will admit I have a lot of nostalgia connected to Disney World because I grew up in FL and my family and I go annually. It's a great park and if you go to Orlando missing it I feel is a little crazy, however don't take this as me judging you-I'm just warning you that there will not be much to do in Orlando if you do that. I would go to Sarasota, FL for its museums and zoos and/or St. Augustine because it's the first European settlement in the Americas still in existance! It also has great beaches and a lovely light house worth visiting! I will warn you that your drive from DC to Miami is insane! It will take you 10 hours just to go from the panhandle of FL to the tip (take it from someone who has done it before biannually just for college!) It will take you 5 hours to drive from Orlando to Miami. Miami is nice, however you have to drive there and traffic is notoriously insane! You might also get stuck because certain parts of Miami are un navigable without a knowledge of Spanish! However, South Beach is gorgous, there's a great aquarium there that has connections to the Flipper television series; my parents always took me to the Monkey and Parrot Jungles as a kid which are zoos themed around these animals. The Metro Zoo there is also very good. I haven't been there since Hurricane Andrew, however I understand it's been update and redone so it's quite good. I grew up in a small town called Everglades City, located of the Gulf of Mexico, which is a common day tripper destination for visitors to Miami and/or Naples for an air boat ride, however we have two history museums that are quite good, some of the best fishing in the US, probably world even, and a unique cuisine which features fried gator tale and stone crab claws! My family and I know some of the tour guides, maybe we can get you guys a discount or something! You'll also be close to Everglades National Park, Big Cypress National Park and lots of other parks themed around the swamp. Naples is great for the beach, but there's also a vibrant art scene. There's a great art museum connected to the Naples Philharmonic Center of the Arts, however there is also a nice history museum about Southwest FL that's free and worth a visit. There's also Seminole Indian reservations nearby which might also be an interesting cultural experience for you and your friends if that's your thing. I've heard awesome things about Key West from my parents and foreigners visiting because it's beautiful, has lots of character and history, but also the food is good there.

I have been to NYC, DC and I live in the Boston area and I will warn you that 3 days is not enough in either of these cities. I spent 4 days in NYC and barely saw 1/3 of what the city has to offer, but my bf and I had a blast! I went to DC with my family as a child and we spent a week and still didn't see everything. There's also a lot to see in VA that you might want to consider like Charlottesville, where Monticello (Thomas Jefferson's mansion) and UVA are located. There's also Alexandria w/ Mt Vernon (G. Washington's home), Yorktown (site of the last battle of the American Revolution), Jamestown (first "permanent" British settlement in the US) and Williamsburg (VA's colonial capital and heart of the Southern patriot movement). I've lived in the Boston area for the past 3 years, and I feel like I'm learning more and more everyday about this city. You could spend a month easily in this area and still not have seen everything! I will also warn you that once you're in New England that city and state borders start to blur so because of that people travel from one city to the other and also one state to the other like it's no big deal. This is not true in the Southeast, where cities are too rural and spread out! There's tons of options for side trips outside of Boston, like Salem, Lexington, Concord, Glouster, Plymouth, Nantucket, Martha's Vinyard, Cape Cod, even Providence, RI (all accessible via Boston's metro system, aka T, and commuter rail for as cheap as $6 round trip!). There's also a lot of rich history in CT like in Mystic, New Haven and Hartford! VT is great if you like skiing, hiking or maple syrup and don't forget the Ben and Jerry's ice cream factory which I've heard is a lot of fun! Please feel free to message me for more info on planning your trip to Boston and FL because I have lived in both places and I could write a book on what you could see and do. I also wouldn't mind showing you guys around when you come!

For NC, I would recommend Raleigh-Durham, Asheville and Charlotte which all have lots of museums, great restaurants, parks and history. Boone is also a great destination for skiing if that's your interest. Concord, NC also has a really huge mall that you and your friends might find interesting. I'd recommend maybe making a sidetrip to Savannah, GA while in GA, but also Myrtle Beach, SC is nice, as well as Charelston, SC and Historic Brattonsville in SC is nice as well. I know absolutely nothing about the West because I am from the East Coast and have only traveled in this part of the US. I hope this helps you and I wish you the best for your trip! Please don't hesitate to message me if you have any more questions, comments, etc.! Take care! Reply to this

Imagine this: you and your whole crew travelling the world together. Lounging in the sun on a tropical beach or hitting up some of the world’s best ski resorts to get your shred on. S-Trip! takes care of all the planning so you can fully enjoy the awesome events, once-in-a-lifetime excursions, and night activities these incredible destinations have in store!

Watch our Grad Trip Trailer to get pumped up: &feature=channel_video_title

We have incredible staff that will help plan your trip - your very own trip planner!! We'll help you figure out the ultimate destination for you and all your friends. Once you arrive, staff will run a crazy program for you; from excursions (ziplining, surf camps, jeep safaris and more) to daytime activities (pool parties, battle of the sexes, salsa lessons etc) and every night we'll have a party (full moon party on the beach, toga party in a bat cave) and the best part is - you’ll be doing it with all of your friends and meeting tons of students!!

Sound awesome? Organize a trip at your school and you could get discounts off your trip, or even travel for free! Not bad, right? Want more info? Give us a call at 1.866.627.8747 or email info@s-trip.com

Check out our Facebook page, ask us questions, get in on convos, and win free stuff: http://www.facebook.com/StudentTrip

S-Trip! is the best trip you'll ever go on - so don't miss out!!

www.s-trip.com/gradtrip Reply to this