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west to east

Planning to tavel -South west over land to North east stuggling to grasp any kind of time i would need.

18 years ago, May 1st 2006 No: 1 Msg: #5424 Delete Edit

thetrace
tracy Goodinson

N Posts: 2

Hello,

This is my first post here.....been looking at the site for weeks now..well done ace site!!

I am in the middle of planning my RTW leaving next year. It has been a dream of mine to travel overland from California to Ney York and then down to florida for as long as I can remember. This will be the last part of my trip.

Really enjoying figuring out budgets for each place and timings etc but kinda have gotten stuck figuring out a timeline for the US. Its just so big!! Worried about not leaving enough time for it. Worried about leaving too much time...then running out of money. How feesable is my plan? Do I have a dream that can not be fullfilled on a low budget? How much time do i really need to cover this? So many more questions and so many worries i fell as though i have hit a brick wall!! I just cannot grasp how big the US is !

I dont expect anyone to do my planning for me! But i would really appreciate a few pointers from people in the know to help me poke a hole in this wall in front of me.

Please Help

Trace Reply to this

18 years ago, May 2nd 2006 No: 2 Msg: #5452 Delete Edit

Savage
Mark Savage

B Posts: 553

Trace... are you travelling alone, and do you have a set period of time to make the trek? You could try hitch hiking... that'd be cheap, but I'm not sure how comfortable you'd feel doing that. There are many sites out there with info on hitching all over the world. In the SouthWest USA, you could use the Greyhound bus system to get from major destination to destination. You might even run into other backpackers that rented a car, chip in some gas (petrol) and you could be golden.

Greyhound busses run all over the country though... long trips, but you can do it. Gas has shot up out here now... while nothing from Euro standards, it's not longer $1 - $1.50/gallon... more along the lines of $3/gallon now. So renting a car can become even more expensive now.

Flights can be had for a somewhat reasonable price... summer rates are high though. June - September look at double or triple the cost as off season. Southwest, AirTran, National & Frontier are all "budget" airlines. We have nothing along the lines of RyanAir.

You can check out Amtraks site, and see where you can go with them. Greyhound will be cheaper by far, but not as comfortable.

One more thing, if you are under 25, car rentals will charge you an extra per day fee. Just a heads up.

Hope that helps the planning stages a little bit. Reply to this

18 years ago, May 2nd 2006 No: 3 Msg: #5457 Delete Edit

thetrace
tracy Goodinson

N Posts: 2

Hiya,

Thanks. I am going with a friend (flatmate who i have known for 12 years). Neither of us drive!! We are trying to plan for 3 months (purely financial reaons) in the states and will probably do the greyhound bus thing. The size of the country is so overwhelming that we cannot figure out if this is long enough without it being rushed. We sat with a map of the states last night and realised we were pretty much gonna be zig zagging across, we ended up just staring at it with no idea of the time we would need. We are just being lame because England is so teeny tiny I for one cannot get my head around how big it is.

thanks in advance!!

Trace Reply to this

18 years ago, May 2nd 2006 No: 4 Msg: #5464 Delete Edit

Savage
Mark Savage

B Posts: 553

Well, in England you have the benefit of a good rail system... althought saying that and British Rail in the same sentence is a bit of an oxymoron.

3 months should give you enough time... you could spend years doing it, but you can do what you want to do. I drove from Seattle to Washington DC in 3 days flat. Saw sod all except for what flew by the window. It was an experience, and I'd do it again, but I would like a chance to stop at a few places. 3 months is generous if you want to see say... 8-10 cities. Going with the bus gives a bit of flexability too. Let's say you get to Vegas, and were planning 4 days there, after 2 you were done and vegas'd out... get to the station and see when the next bus leaves for where and cross your fingers for a ticket. Reply to this

17 years ago, May 9th 2006 No: 5 Msg: #5592 Delete Edit

Penn State Blue
L. Lestochi

N Posts: 1

Three months is plenty of time. If you are into the city scene, I would recommend San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Washington DC. Those have decent, easy to use public transport. DC is probably the most attractive looking of the bunch. You could spend a few weeks there just visiting the musuems and art galleries. Cities like Dallas, Miami, Denver, Boston and Seattle are fun but difficult to get around on public transport. CSmaller cities in the southwest like Santa Fe, Albuquerque and El Paso, have a whole different feel and might be interesting to you.

If you are into scenery & nature then Yosemite, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons and the Grand Canyon in the west are must sees. Almost anywhere in New England States is picturesque particularly in September.

Bus is ok for the short haul. I would limit my trips by bus to 300 miles point to point. That is about the limit for one day of travel time. If a planned leg is longer than 300 miles consider flying but it is expensive on shorh notice. i.e, reservations inside 21 days of desired flight date.

To bad you can't drive. If you could, you could rent an RV (caravan) and go where you want.

I would avoid hitch hiking. In the north east this is a difficult way to travel. I'm not sure how it is in other regions of the country.
Reply to this

17 years ago, May 23rd 2006 No: 6 Msg: #5835 Delete Edit

Screwjack
SteveJ

B Posts: 5

I'm from Boston. It's one of the easiest places on earth to get around via public transport. We've got a cheap subway that goes everywhere, and the city is small enough to get a lot of places by foot. Definitely worth a visit if you've got the tim. It can be expensive, but stay in a downtown hostel and you're golden. : )

I agree with the poster above: San Francisco, Chicago, and New York are all musts if you like cities. DC is not in the same league but has great museums and of course if you're into the whole seat of government thing (visiting the Capital, White House, Supreme Court) it's good for a few days.

Other less-travelled places that are nonetheless really cool, depending on the route you drive:

--Austin, TX: great live music and bar scene; beautiful hill country scenery; great mexican and bbq; Hippy Hollow -- a nude beach run by the State of Texas (no joke!)
--Portland, OR: quaint small city, near amazing natural beauty in Mt Hood and the Gorge
--Teddy Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota: amazing badlands, very different looking that the more famous Badlands National Park in South Dakota, far fewer visitors
--Devil's Tower National Monument in Wyoming: yeah, it looks just like Close Encounters. Good hiking!
--Mount St. Helens (on the way to the Seattle if you're driving up the West Coast from California or Oregon) is a blast 😊
--One word: CARHENGE. In Nebraska, an exact replica of Stonehenge made out of old cars.
--Route 66: lots of corny, tacky Americana along this long stretch of road that used to be the main East-West highway through America Reply to this

17 years ago, June 29th 2006 No: 7 Msg: #6425 Delete Edit

weary traveler
Paul

N Posts: 6

You could always give green tortoise a try I did a 2 week crossing from Boston to San Fran, they stop at really neat places along the way I stopped at Great lakes, Chicago, badlands, Canyonlands, Bryce Canyon, and Zion, Carhenge which is just bizzare,but kinda cool. Its a bit of a hippie trip but if you are ok with that give it a go! Reply to this