I'll be couch surfing my way out to San Francisco..alone.
Hey Guys!
I'm so happy to be part of this community. I wanted to share my plans here in case any of you have any recommendations.
So, I get to work remotely, and I want to take a road trip from my home in Orlando to San Francisco. I plan on leaving June 6th, which is a sunday. Here's the itinerary:
June 6 - June 13 = New Orleans
June 13 - June 27 = Austin
June 27 - July 5 = Phoenix
July 5 - July 18 = Los Angeles
July 18 - Indefinite = San Francisco
I plan to couch surf my way out to California and soak in these places as much as I can. 😊
Sometime in August/September I'll leave San Francisco and go take in Idaho, Montana, etc. and see the west.
It's really my first time travelling alone so I have no idea what to expect. Any suggestions/tips would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks guys!
Reply to this Tom,
Welcome to Travelblog, and the adventure of the open road! I did my own solo road trip several years ago, which was both very fun and an incredible learning experience.
Handling a long journey alone requires only a few things: a diary, music, a good first aid kit, and a way of staying in touch with home. You'll meet people on the road; I rarely had issues with loneliness. Try to limit the travel time each day; its very easy to push it and burn out.
The US is so big that suggestions in part will depend on your interests. What do you like to experience? Reading blogs from a place will produce lots of ideas.
Assuming you have a vehicle, my one definitive suggestion is to swap Phoenix for either Flagstaff or Las Vegas. Phoenix is unbearably hot in the summer and also short on things to do. I also highly recommend carving out at least three days to drive the Pacific Coast Highway from Los Angeles to San Francisco, one of the most scenic drives in the world (read the blogs under 'Big Sur' to see it)
On the return leg, weather in the northern Rockies starts to get sketchy by mid September. Yellowstone National Park normally closes by the end of the month. Utah and Colorado, by contrast, are incredible in October with amazing foliage.
Your trip will be amazing. Looking forward to the blogs.
Reply to this Hiya Tom,
Ezra has great recommendations above and I agree about the Highway One Run (aka Pacific Coast Highway) -- it's truly stunning and there are plenty of beaches -- both popular and secluded -- where you can stop by to take a break from the wheel.
As for the couchsurfing -- I've met many people who do this and rave about it. I never actually couchsurfed at anybody's place but have done "meetups" with bigger groups of couchsurfers at restaurants or "places to visit" in various countries. The folks you meet through couch surfing combined with a massive amount of bloggers on TravelBlog who share their experiences doing roadtrips in the US should provide a wide variety of things (and great food at many of those destinations) for you. Definitely take advantage of the top right-hand search bar to look up specific destinations and relevant blogs.
Have fun!
Michelle
Reply to this Couch surfing is a great way to travel but it depends on the host. I've had a couple creep me out. Hostels make more sense because you meet several people staying there that want to go out and will invite you along, maybe try to do both if your budget allows. Solo travel is fantastic, and your route should be really fun. Best of luck and safe travels!
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