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American Roadtrip / Holiday

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Not sure if there's a similar thread on here, but seriously considering going over to the states next year. Looking to spend around 2 weeks out there, will this be enough time? Any recommendations / routes to take? 

 

We're thinking of driving east to west. Any help / tips would be much appreciated!

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At work atm but will post later - I've travelled the US and have never shut up about it. It's quality

You sound perfect  :thumbup:

Try and take in some if the blue ridge mountain parkway when over. That's beautiful to drive on...

I'm thinking of hiring a camper of sorts. The national parks can be camped on right?

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Good luck!  :)

 

Did three weeks there last september, and only managed to do the lower west coast... drove from...

 

LA  to SanFran...to Yosemite...to Vegas.... both sides of the Grand canyon and then back to LA.

 

Awesome place... but HUGE  :)

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I did San Francisco to LA to Las Vegas to Denver to Chicago to Indianapolis to Columbus/Ohio and back to Chicago and San Francisco in a couple of weeks in 2008/2009.

 

The rental car and gas was cheap as ****.

 

I spent a longer period of time in the molokh that is LA. Santa Monica's probably the nicest part of it, followed by Santa Barbara and Venice (just don't go there at night). Be prepared for massive traffic jams and VERY long distances between the different districts.

It looks spread out on a map, but in real life, it's even more gigantic.

If you're into film, you'll also have more than just one déjà-vu - the entire city is a backdrop for all sorts of Hollywood movies, obviously.

 

I can recommend doing the Route 1 between San Francisco and Los Angeles, where you're driving along the Pacific coastline. Just make sure you fill up on gas, there's only a few petrol stations on the way.

Santa Barbara Wine Country, which lies Northwest of LA, is also quite nice in terms of landscape and climate.

 

If you're down in California, don't forget to check out the OC (Orange County in between Los Angeles and San Diego) for the posh neighborhoods.

San Francisco's really nice, not just because of the architecture and the wineries, but also because you can visit a couple of really nice National Parks nearby - Mammoth trees inclusive.

 

You won't be able to cover a lot the country in two weeks, so I'd recommend sticking to California instead.

Make sure you get yourself a day trip to Las Vegas, if only to admire the kitschy scenery (the city itself is a bit of a dump in the middle of nowhere, err, Nevada).

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I did a six week trip,eighteen months ago, if you are restricted to two weeks

You'll have to be very discerning as to what you would like to see.

R.Vs (camper vans to you and me) are a great way to do it, everything is

Geared up to accommodate them.

Everyone has their own favourite place not to be missed,mine was the

Grand Canyon nothing can prepare you for the scale of it.

Whatever you decide it will be fantastic.

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Where you go depends on what floats your boat.

 

I'd say there are several options.

 

Hotel or RV?

 

Renting an RV is expensive, you are then confronted with high insurance, a gas guzzler that does about 8 miles to the gallon at $3.50 - $5.00 per gallon. On top of which you will have overnight and hook up fees when you get to the campsite. Then you have no transport to go out for dinner unless you unhook everything which is a ball ache.

 

There are many good hotel chains from the cheap and plain Motel 6 to the somewhat upscale Hilton and Marriott franchises. Personally, I used to use Holiday Inn Express but now favor Hampton Inns as they don't charge for pets. The latter can cost about $140 per night depending where you are. I strongly recommend using one or the other and get points for every stay. They will soon add up and you could get a free night or two later in the year if you use a well known chain. Of course when you are in a big city you will pay through the nose for accommodation so one alternative is to stay on the outskirts and drive in. Overnight parking in city is also very expensive. In Manhattan, New York, you can pay $80 a night just to park the car at your hotel.

 

As to where to go that depends on what you want to see. If Las Vegas is a must, bear in mind it will be over a 100F every day in the Spring and Summer, that is true throughout the deserts of California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah. Temperatures over 115F are not uncommon.

  • There a some nice trips from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon and if you skirt around the Eastern side you can visit the lands of the Hopi and Navaho nations.
  • From Las Vegas you can drive through the Sierra Nevada mountains and Yosemite, the Gold Country and on to San Francisco. You can also visit the wine country in Napa Valley. To the south along the Big Sur, beautiful coastal road to Carmel and Monterrey. 
  • Alternatively head South West to Los Angeles then San Diego.
  • Since I used to live in and have seen a lot of California my choice would be to head North through Utah, into Idaho and Wyoming. I'd stay in Jackson Hole and from there you can visit the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. However, I appreciate that may not be your bag if you haven't seen the other stuff.

If you want somewhere nearer, New England is nice. The flight into Boston is the shortest and from there you can head North taking in New Hampshire, Vermont, Upstate New York via the Finger Lakes to Buffalo. Don't stay there, it's a dump but head across the Canadian border into Niagara to see the Falls. You can either head East into Quebec or down to New York City. Philadelphia is another 2 hour drive if you like history etc.

Finally, Washington DC is arguably the most cultural city in the US with a ton of things to see. You can then head into the Blue Ridge Mountains which are wonderful unless it's rainy, in which case you see bugger all due to the fog and wish you'd gone elsewhere.

 

Edit: Just re-read you OP. I definitely would not drive across the country if you only have 2 weeks. From the Alleghenies's to the Rockies there's a lot of nothing, Do one or the other and I much prefer the West Coast. 

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Though the Grand Canyon is a must if your going that way,i actually thought that Bryce Canyon in Utah was more impressive.Stunning red rock formations that seem to just sprout up from ground.Can walk down to the bottom easy as well.Love the states,such diversity.I'm off for lazy month in Key West in July,gonna be a beach bum and go around on a skateboard and relive my youth.lol

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Personally I wouldn't do the east - west drive due to the 2 week time limit.

A few years back we travelled the west coast through Oregon and California, missed out on LA and hedged across to the Grand Canyon. Some great places along the way.

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I agree with most of posters above- much better to focus two weeks on a region rather than rushing through places. I drove from west to east and it was five weeks in the total yet I was not able to see all of cities that I wanted to visit. 

 

Washington, NY and Niagara Falls is doable in two weeks I would say but it is lacking in beaches if that is what you are looking for.

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Right...

When I was out there it was for 2 weeks travelling after working on the Camp America programme for 4 months. I was working in Pennsylvania and we were dropped off at Port Authority (Manhattan's main bus station) in Midtown. From there we stayed in New York City, Philidelphia, Vegas, LA and Hawaii.

TRAVEL

Don't underestimate just how vast America is, it's huge. But it's easy to travel around. We used the "Greyhound" which is their version of National Express or Megabus to get from NYC - Phili and Vegas - LA. Cheap as chips and only a few hours journey which gave time to catch up on sleep.

Also, internal US flights are like busses and trains to us, honestly, Americans think nothing of flying away just for a weekend somewhere. I used a website called www.cheapair.com to book my own tailor made round trip (Phili - Vegas, LA - Hawaii, Hawaii - NYC ready for my prebooked flight home that evening). Selecting what dates and destinations I wanted. I checked the price of the trip every day for two weeks and watched it fall. The day it started to rise again is the day I booked it and all 3 flights cost me $600, about £300 at the time.

ACCOMODATION

This is down to personal preference, we rented an Apartment in NYC close to Times Square which was quite expensive, A hostel in Phili but we all of us filled a room of 6 and felt quite safe. Stayed opposite the Bellagio in a cheap hotel called the Imperial Palace in Vegas, it's nothing special but it's location is ridiculous so it's worth looking at. Don't stay off-strip if you go to Vegas, it costs more but it's worth it.

Don't JUST do the touristy stuff (but defo do it too, Vegas is Disneyland for adults). For example when we went to Hawaii we avoided staying in Waikiki as that is the main tourist spot and the day we visited it was rammed. Instead we stayed in Kai'Lua (sp?) either way it was a deserted beach (where Lost was filmed infact!) and looked like the typical image of paradise. It's also now my favourite place on the planet.

If you want the best ever fast food stop at In-N-Out burger. There is one half way between Vegas and LA in a town called Barstow, the Greyhound stops right there anyway. It's all fresh, made to order and you'll never look at a cheeseburger in the same way again.

Also, a others have said, Route 1 down the west coast is quality, as is Santa Monica beach.

EDIT: Some of my personal highlights from each city now you've got me thinking...

NYC - Times Square, drunk, borrowing a buskers Trumpet to knock out a tune (I used to play) and drawing a pretty sizeable crowd myself, some people even have me money! Empire State Building and Top of the Rock.

Phili - The Liberty Bell, Rocky Steps

Vegas - $20 all you can drink Hard Rock Hotel Pool Party, surrounded by waitresses who looked like supermodels and the pool is actually an artificial beach with swim up bars etc - I woke up the next day back in my hotel bathtub without my shirt and a new pair of shades.

LA - Go for a walk in the Hollywood Hills, the views of this vast, vast city are incredible - walk of fame and the Chinese theatre are also worth a look.

Hawaii - Obviously the beaches but... Swim with sharks in the cage - awesome day out that was

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If you want the best ever fast food stop at In-N-Out burger. There is one half way between Vegas and LA in a town called Barstow, the Greyhound stops right there anyway. It's all fresh, made to order and you'll never look at a cheeseburger in the same way again.

 

 

The one I had in SF was terrible :P Best fast food burger I had was from Jack in the Box.

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I've done 42 states now but California would be my pick. It's got everything - great cities, deserts, canyons, mountains, forests, spectacular coastline, great climate, glitz & glamour, theme parks and most importantly, hot babes.

 

Wouldn't drive coast to coast in two weeks, as you'll spend the whole time in a hire car  :thumbup:

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