Musical Road Trip

Hello,

I'm an 18 year old student from London (England) looking to travel around the US with a couple of friends. I'm basically aiming for a gap year style trip condensed into 8 or 10 weeks. I'm really into music and just want to experience the different American cultures.

I was hoping you could help me out with where would be best to start the trip (will be flying over from London) and where would be the best places for me to visit and which route would be best to take.

I know this may sound stupid seeing as I want to take a road trip but I really don't like the idea of travelling down long deserted roads for 500 miles at a time. I also don't wish to try and see as much of the US as I can. I'd prefer to see a variety of places and spend a couple of days exploring them.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

Thank you,

Emma

==

Hi Emma --

Many thanks for writing in to Road Trip USA. Music is a great theme for a US trip -- and you definitely don't need to drive to get to know the country and its people

Though I include lots of music-related places I think you'd like in Road Trip USA, there are many music festivals and clubs and events all over the country, so it's worth your while to do some web research -- whether you're looking for some down-home Appalachian bluegrass or heartfelt Zydeco. On a more practical front, renting a car when you're 18 is difficult if not impossible -- so if I were you, I'd look into getting an Amtrak train pass (something $650 for a month, I think), and seeing the country that way.

For music, I'd start my tour in Chicago, which is a lot more manageable and enjoyable than New York (which I still find overwhelming). From Chicago, you could take the train to Detroit (if you like Motown, and/or Eminem...), and maybe Cleveland (where you can see the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame). Or you could head south to St Louis; again, great music -- home to Chuck Berry, who is still alive!, and explore the stomping grounds of jazz greats like Miles Davis and ragtime Scott Joplin. From Chicago (or with a bus transfer from St Louis), you can follow the Mississippi River south to Memphis (worth at least a month on its own!), and New Orleans, where music is still the lifeblood (along with great food).

In between the two cities is the great Mississippi Delta , where the Blues was born. But alas rural America is hard to enjoy without your own wheels...

If you want t head west, Portland and Seattle both have pretty lively "music scenes", as does San Francisco (which is very pretty, too). To me LA is too business-oriented, and again it's not much fun without a car. But the Sunset Strip is pretty fun, with lots of lively clubs.

Other West Coast cities with energetic music scenes -- Portland and Seattle and SF -- are more manageable without a car (they all have excellent public transport systems), and if you stay at youth hostels you'll probably meet some like-minded music loving fellow travelers.

Another thing you may able to sort out is some kind of "ride share", that would get you out onto the open road for that essential American Road Trip adventure. Websites like craiglist.org often have ads from people offering to drive you places, if you share the cost of gas. Sometimes these ride shares are heading to music festivals, so you may be doubly lucky.

Hope this helps -- and I hope you have a great trip.

With best wishes,



Jamie Jensen
---
Road Trip USA

August Trip in a Camper Van -- for rent?

Hi Jamie,

We are a family of 5 – (3 boys aged 14, 12 and 7). We live in Ireland and are hoping to travel to the States next August . We would like to fly into California, hire a camper van and drive north as far as Vancouver. We have 3 weeks for the trip.

Our kids are interested in any outdoor activities – also any good museums - army, scientific etc. My husband is big into wine. Could you advise what would be the best stops to make on this journey as there will be so many to choose from. Also, do you have any advice on hiring a camper van – what should we look for ? The trip would also have to take in one major city as my kids are really looking forward to some American retail therapy !

Many thanks,

Ann Marie

===>>>

Hi Ann Marie --

Thanks for writing in to Road Trip USA, and your plan sounds like great fun. There are fabulous wineries all over coastal California (some of the best are in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, midway up the state, and there are very famous and expensive wineries in Napa and Sonoma, north of San Francisco), so hubby will be happy. Oregon's Willamette Valley does fine wine, too, as does the Yakima Valley southeast of Seattle.

And California is fabulous for outdoor activities -- surfing, mountain biking, hiking, fishing. And if the kids like amusement parks, you'll want to head to Los Angeles -- home of Disneyland and the more thrilling Magic Mountain. LA's many "shopping centers" or malls have fab shopping too -- just think of all that Hollywood glamour!

:-)

There are some major firms renting BIG camper-vans or "RVs" -- Cruise America is the biggest:


And some smaller firms that rent "normal" camper vans, like this one: http://www.lostcampersusa.com/

And if you wanted to start & finish up in Canada, this company looks great: http://www.westfaliarentals.com/flash/index.html

Starting and finishing in the same place is a good idea -- it's usually cheaper, and you get to revisit places that you like the look of.

Hope this helps you have a great trip.

With best wishes,



Jamie Jensen
---
Road Trip USA

Where to Go ? -- Jan 2012

Hi Jamie,

Just wanting some advice on an itinerary for a 4.5 week road trip of the USA end of December to end of January, we are wanting to see as much of the country as we can round trip from LA to LA. We are hiring a car for the entire trip. Your help would be much appreciated. We are 2 adults with no children from Australia.

Kind Regards
Charmaine

>>

Hi Charmaine --

Many thanks for writing in to Road Trip USA. You can get a long way in a month, and traveling in winter you will have some unusual experiences of what is generally a very hot, desert region.

I'd give yourselves a few days at both ends of the trip to enjoy LA -- which has some world-class art museums, beautiful scenery and all the Hollywood glamor you could want. A couple my "must-sees" that are not totally famous would include Catalina Island (26 miles off he coastline) and Laguna Beach, a quaint artsy town surrounded by sprawling suburbia. (LA is HUGE -- so yes you need a car the whole time you're there. )

After LA, I'd say check out San Diego, but depending upon how much driving you really want to do the focus of the trip should be the desert Southwest -- Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah. The Grand Canyon is the most famous spot, but there are dozens of unforgettable setting here -- 1000-year-old aboriginal "cliff palaces" at Mesa Verde and Canyon de Chelley, wonderful Native American communities in he Pueblos around Santa Fe and Taos New Mexico, the Rocky Mountains of Colorado (great for skiing), and the red-rock wonderlands of Utah (Arches, Canyonlands and many more national parks)

If you really want to be ambitious, you could drive all the way "coast to coast", but in January you 'd likely have a lot of dark stormy nights driving along motorway/freeways, which is not exactly fun. I'd choose to spend some time in the plush resorts of Phoenix, rather than drive around New Jersey -- though if you want to see New Orleans and south Florida, you could have a great trip along what I describe as the "Southern Pacific" route, in Road Trip USA.

What is definitely fun, even in the depths of winter, is the West Coast -- maybe as far north as Seattle, but definitely Portland / Columbia Gorge / Cascades region, and the glorious Oregon Coast, and of course San Francisco. I cover the whole West Coast drive in Road Trip USA, and have tons of good suggestions (I'm doing the Big Sur drive myself next week -- it's my favorite highway in the whole USA...)

And one last place to put on your list would be Yosemite National Park, which you can reach via Death Valley, from Las Vegas. (If you like flashy neon signs and over-the-top glitz, Las Vegas is phenomenal !)

Hope this gives you an outline of what you might want to see on your trip -- if you have any specific questions, please feel free to write me back.

With best wishes,



Jamie Jensen
---
Road Trip USA

French Student on the Road, or on a Train? -- May 2012

Hi Jamie,

I have been exploring your blog and I find it really exciting !

I am a French student and I would love to travel across the US for approx 4-5 weeks in May-June 2012.
I have several questions and can't really find answers online, so I figured I could ask an expert :)

- I would be leaving from Toronto and need to fly back to Paris from New York (cheapest transatlantic flights) at the end of the trip, so what do you think a good itinerary could be ? I am not sure if I have enough time to go all the way to the West Coast and drive back !

- My second concern is obviously the price... How expensive would it be ? I think I could save $2500 to take the trip, and may have a friend with me so we could split some costs. I don't need any particular comfort, I won't need to sleep in deluxe hotels.

- What about the car ? I am only 19 so I can't rent a car, I would have to buy one. I saw cheap cars for sale on web sites such as craigslist and all... In your opinion is it the best option ? Because as you wrote on your blog, the car trip looks way more fun than the bus trip... Also I wonder if I can subscribe a monthly insurance as I won't be using the car for more than 4-5 weeks.

Thanks a lot for everything !

Cheers,

Jean

===>>>

Hello Jean! -

Many thanks for writing in to Road Trip USA, and I hope I can help you plan a great trip.

The way you approach such a big trip is very revealing of your personality -- you sound very adventurous, which is great! Most (older...) people dream of being 19, but they tend to forget what it was like to be too young to rent cars, and to poor to stay in hotels. When I was 19, (100 + years ago...), I myself set off on a similar sort of adventure, with a backpack, a tent, a stove and $200 in my pocket, thinking I would "see the country" for 6 or so weeks, mostly by hitch-hiking).

My trip ended up lasting nearly 3 years (if indeed it ever ended...) -- and I didn't rent or buy a car the whole time. But this was a long time ago, when the world was (or at least in America, it seemed to be...) a more generous place

:-)

So even at 19, seeing the USA can be done -- and going with a friend will make your family feel a lot better about the whole thing, I'm sure.

Much as I love driving, I think maybe getting yourself a train pass would be the way to go -- you could travel around the whole country for a month, for something like $650. Without fear of having your "cheap" car break down in the middle of North Dakota, stranding you miles from anywhere.

Taking the train will give you a great overview of the US landscapes, and you can see a lot of places -- New York, New Orleans, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle -- without having to sit in raffic or pay $50 a day just to park. And while rural America is still very car-centered, most of the major national parks have public transportation links to the train system.

Also, there are good inexpensive HI hostels in most US cities -- $20 a night, which is $600 for your month, so you could afford to eat, too! And best of all, at hostels you'll be able to meet Americans and other travelers, which is very hard to do when you are cocooned in a car. (To buy the legal minimum Insurance etc for your own car, being a 19 year old foreigner, would cost you more than $2500 for a month, I'm sure.)

Then when you're 25, you can come back again and explore the places you like the look of. Though the world is going through some crazy times, I suspect the USA will still be here in 2020.

Hope this helps -- even if it's not exactly what you asked for. Let me know what you think, and

Happy Trails,


Jamie Jensen
--
Road Trip USA

Route 66 – Still a Classic? Yes !

Hi Jamie,

first of all, thank so much for this website and for sharing your experiences about traveling across America. I am from Europe and I’ve always been fascinated by the road trips across America, and about the States in general; now I’m planning to get your book, and to do my first road trip, and I really would follow the Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica.

The thing is, my father traveled along the Route 66 in the 1970s, and I’ve always heard his beautiful stories about that, but now he says, in his opinion, Route 66 is too commercial and too touristic, and that it is definitely not the same wonderful thing it was in the past, when he traveled along it.

Well, I am looking for a road trip that best embodies the spirit of the real America, I want to meet and speak with people along the run, this is what I am looking for. In your opinion, now would it be a waste of time driving across the Route 66 Mother Road, or is there still something special there?

Or, perhaps, are there other trips that would be more suitable?

Thank you very much for your advices and your patience, molto grazie,

Andrea
>>

========

Hello Andrea --

Many thanks for writing in to Road Trip USA, and for sharing your plans (and your father's Route 66 relationship...)

To me, there are two "Route 66" worlds -- one which is indeed over-commercialized and over hyped, and another, just under the surface of that world, which is still pretty darn fantastic. Yes, there is too much nostalgia, and too many tacky / kitschy knick-knacks for sale along Route 66.

But there is also a real vitality, and the road takes you to so many wonderful places that it would be a shame to miss it. Chicago is a great American city -- full of all the boundless enthusiasm and optimism that still makes the US so endearing. There are also once-great slightly fading cities -- like St Louis -- and amazing scenery (like the Grand Canyon!). Not to mention the absorbing Native American heritage of the Southwest, or the cowboy energy of Oklahoma, or the allure of Hollywood at the road's western end.

So however right your father may be about Route 66 being over-commercialized, don't let that stop you from "getting your kicks". (Though I do agree with him that those 1970s Kodachrome colors were better than today's schemes...)

By the same token, what makes Route 66 great for visitors is the same energy that makes it worth exploring all the smaller, older roads I cover in my Road Trip USA books -- US-50 across Nevada is an unforgettable trip, as is the Great River Road across the Mississippi Delta between Memphis and New Orleans. And the Appalachian Trail, and Route 1 down the Big Sur coast of California...

All the drives I cover in Road trip USA are great trips -- it really is up to you to decide which of these 40,00-plus miles strikes you as the most appealing. To me, the trick of having a great "American" experience is to keep away from the franchised sameness -- of fast-food chains, IKEA + Wal-Mart mega-stores, and personality-free motels which seems to follow the super-fast freeways and big roads.

Instead, take the time to savor the "slow roads", like Route 66 and all its many cousins. Hope this helps -- please let me know how your plans evolve.

Happy Trails,



Jamie Jensen
--
Road Trip USA

West Coast Road Trip – Summer 2012

Hi Jamie,

My sister, bro in law, and my two nephews 10 and 12 are going to do the San Francisco, Yosemite, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, LA trip next summer and my husband and I without children would like to catch up with them here and there but we’ve always wanted to do Route 1 in a convertible, with some wine tasting, a canyon and some desert somewhere, plus anything to do with "the movies".

Any suggestions how we might do that even if we have to fly a bit? We’ll all be flying in from the UK into SF or LA. I reckon we’ll have two weeks or so.

Thanks

Debbie


>>

Hi Debbie --

Many thanks for writing in to Road Trip USA, and I hope I can help you have a memorable trip. It's hard to go very wrong traveling around the West Coast (so long as you don't place any reckless bets in Las Vegas!)

Traveling with such a varied crew (10 years old and up), you'll all have different interests for sure, but there's enough variety in California to accommodate you all -- you could definitely leave the in-laws to do Disneyland (and Six Flags Magic Mountain, if they are thrill-seekers) in LA, while you and hubby cruise the Route 1 / Big Sur coast in a sporty convertible. (LA is the best place to rent exotic vehicles.)

There are great wineries north of Santa Barbara (locations of the quirky film "Sideways" were around the Santa Ynez Valley, where you can stay somewhere like the very romantic Ballard Inn near the late Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch (where Elizabeth Taylor got married... how's that for Hollywood glamor!?...)

Since California is ideal for road -tripping, the only place I think you might want to fly would be Las Vegas, which is a long hot drive from anywhere, but very handy for the Grand Canyon

(Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon are about 4 hours away each other).

And if you want to do more than spend a day at the Grand Canyon, southern Utah makes a great 2 or 3 day road trip out from Las Vegas, touring Zion National Park and the deserts around Monument Valley (as seen in John Ford's classic Western Stagecoach); this route also lets you see the Grand Canyon from its calmer North Rim, which only gets about 5% of the crowds that can clog the more popular South Rim.

SF and Yosemite are definite "must see" places -- and the Wine Country areas of Napa and Sonoma north of San Francisco are also worth a day or two, for wine tasting and sight-seeing (Muir Woods, just north of the Golden Gate Bridge, is also very special).

OK, there's a a short summary of what will be a magical 2 weeks -- for details, I cover all these places in Road Trip USA (apart from Yosemite, which deserves a book all by itself), and I hope all this helps you plan a great trip.

Happy Trails,



Jamie Jensen
--
Road Trip USA

East Coast or West Coast – in Nov / Dec 2011 ?

Hi Jamie,

My partner and I are in New York for a week of business which will finish in mid-November 2011 (next week!). We then have some time off before Christmas, and are really taken with the idea of staying "state-side" and taking a US road trip. Ideally we would like to take a drive over a ten day period, and return to the UK from our final destination.

We are quite happy to fly to the West Coast to take your Pacific Coast Highway route, or perhaps we should head down to Key West? Your advice and recommendations would be greatly appreciated and of course, we will buy your book on the route you advise!

We love the scenery, are art lovers, interested in American history and are foodies.

We look forward to your ideas.

Kind regards and love the website!

Mary and Gerry

===>>

Hi there Mary and Gerry --

Many thanks for writing in to Road Trip USA, and I hope I can help you plan a great trip. I'm in at least two minds about what to suggest, so I'll try to give you an idea of pros and cons and let you decide what feels right.

My first instinct was to say that once you're done with you week in NYC, you get a car and hit the road -- appreciate some art in cities like Philadelphia (fabulous museums!), DC( more museums, and obviously a lot of history...), and so on down the East Coast. (Spending quite a lot of time in charming small Southern cities like Charleston and Savannah, which are fantastic for food and art and history and architecture and so much more besides!)

(By the way, Charleston just surprised a lot of people by being named "Best US City" by Conde Nast Traveler magazine, a high end US food and culture magazine):


Florida has some great food and lots of fun, too -- I enjoy the sense of history in St Augustine (location of the Fountain of Youth!), and Miami and Key West are super places, too.

In fact, I was going to say -- on the other hand, the West Coast is pretty great, too. But as I wrote I'm changing my mind -- you can "do" the West Coast on another trip, but the West Coast is actually farther from New York than New York is from London, and seeing as you're already on the East Coast, take advantage of it and don't subject your self to another long day in an airplane (and waiting for your airplane -- with security etc it effectively takes 12 hours to get across the USA, even by plane.)

And in any event the East Coast is full of possibilities -- though it may be worth your while to fly back to England directly from Miami, if you can re-arrange your return; or maybe you can get a Miami-to-NYC flight, or even make the drive back and re-visit the places you liked the look of on your way south.

(And don't worry, San Francisco will want for your next visit!)

:-)

And by the way, if you can take this trip thru the end of November, you'll be in the US during our best national holiday: Thanksgiving, when we all eat to excess and enjoy ourselves. On a Thursday!

Hope this helps you plan yourself a great trip.

Happy Trails,



Jamie Jensen
---
Road Trip USA

Springsteen and More – New Jersey to Memphis, Sept 2012!

Hi Jamie!

Thank you so much for your great information! We are planning to go to the USA on the last two weeks of the next September for 15-20 days more or less.

We want to stay in NYC for 5 or 6 nights and then get in the car! So I guess that we have around 12 days to make our road trip with these compulsory stops to visit the cities:

- Asbury Park
- Atlantic City
- Philadelphia
- Washington
- Chicago (we added that last week)
- Nashville
- Memphis

What do you think about it? Is it too much for the days that we have?

Thanks in advance for your help! I can't wait for coming back to the States!

Best wishes,

Edurne from Barcelona

=====>>>>>>

Hello Edurne --

Sounds like a grea trip! I myself am a huge fan of The Boss, and have made the pilgrimage to New Jersey many times over many years. I have to say it can be kind of underwhelming -- there's certainly no Madame Marie or Fireworks hailing over little Eden tonight, to quote some oldies but goodies. And Asbury Park itself is actually kinda druggie and depressing, especially since the real estate / financial crisis pulled the plug on its planned "redevelopment".

But the culture + history is very interesting, for sure -- here's a fan page website, recounting some Asbury Park history:

http://www.drakkar91.com/ap/asbury9.htm

The same story is true of Atlantic City -- it was bold and brash in its 1920s heyday, and is now looking old and trashy (and massively corrupt), with a few huge hotels housing massive but impersonal casinos. It scares me, to be honest, but as the Boss said,

"...Everything dies, baby that's a fact ... so put your makeup on, put your hair up pretty, and meet me tonight in Atlantic City!

But on the upside, there are a couple of really enjoyable places on the New Jersey shore: Wildwood, for younger folks, and the truly historic Cape May, with a phenomenal collection of late 1880s house and hotels. And some great places to eat, and a lovely clean beach. Definitely a place to check out!

Philadelphia is unloved but very interesting -- it's the oldest real city in America, was the first capital of the USA , and has a ton of character. And some great museums (including a new home for the venerable Barnes Foundation, opening in May 2012)

So I guess what I'm saying is you may find that Asbury Park and Atlantic City don't demand too much of your time -- I would almost say you could see them on your way from NYC to Philadelphia, and if you like them, you can come back easily enough. But i wouldn't plan on three days along the Jersey Shore (though you should try to spare time for Lucy the Elephant in Margate, which I describe and illustrate in my Road Trip USA books!)

Washington DC is worth some time -- lots of amazing museums, and monuments galore. It's about the only "planned" city in America -- very Beaux Arts / Bellas Artes / neo-Classical / neo-Imperial...

I think I'd be tempted to continue south from DC, onto Nashville and Memphis (and maybe New Orleans?!)

Then head back up the Mississippi River, via St Louis (stop to enjoy the stunning Gateway Arch, which is way more impressive and beautiful than the Eiffel Tower!). Though it would be nice to have a few days to the drive, you can drive from Memphis to St Louis in a day, and St Louis to Chicago in a 2nd day -- following Route 66!

So you can definitely do the whole NYC / NJ / DC / Tennessee (New Orleans!) / St Louis / Chicago / Back to NYC road trip in 12 days, and get back to NYC for your flight home. And you can do this all at a pretty reasonable pace, without racing too fast -- just make sure you bring along some good music to listen to, for those long hours across Virginia and Tennessee and Route 66.

(Doing a circle / loop with your rental car is usually the cheapest way to take a road trip.)

OK, there's a lot here to digest, so let me know what you think and tell me how your plans shape up -- I hope you have a great trip!

Happy Trails,



Jamie Jensen
---
Road Trip USA

Great Plains + Mississippi & Florida, too

Hi Jamie!

First of all I'd like to thank you for such an insightful and useful website. I will be sure to order your book. Just a quick question. Both myself and my girlfriend are looking to travel down US-83 or 'The Road to Nowhere' next July. Once we arrive in Texas we want to carry on through Louisiana, Mississippi etc before entering Florida and travelling to Orlando where we have friends who live there.

We want to do this in approx. 5 weeks. Am I underestimating the scale of the trip? Would it be better to end the journey in Texas in order to fully enjoy the trip without rushing?

Hope you can help!

Ross from Essex, England

===

Hey Ross --

Thanks for writing in to Road Trip USA -- and thanks for your nice words.

I'm glad to hear you're going to be hitting the Road to Nowhere -- it's a fascinating tour. And I think you've got plenty of time to enjoy yourselves --- more than enough time to get to know New Orleans (and Memphis? and Austin?? and all the other fascinating US places you'll be passing thru... ) You wouldn't want to miss these, for sure, and 5 weeks is a very generous amount of time; I think 10 days is enough to do the US83, top to tail, at a pretty leisurely pace.

(And just to let you know -- I usually end my Road to Nowhere tours in the Hill Country around San Antonio and Austin, because I have found the lower Rio Grande Valley to be a bit ugly and depressing -- not to mention dangerous, with all the cross-border crime of recent years...) The rest of the "Road to Nowhere" is so wide open and sparse, while this section is busy and sprawling (and US-83 turns from being a calm two-lane stroll into an 8-lane freeway free-for-all ...)

Another thing: be aware that summer is the start of hurricane season -- a few years ago (in 2005, I think) I got caught in Hurricane Dennis, which made travel just about impossible. So watch the weather reports, and take heed. Fortunately, Hurricanes (in contrast to tornados!) usually give days if not a whole week of advance warning, so you can adjust your plans if one is brewing next July. Which I'm sure it won't be....

:-)

So, I hope you have a great trip -- I suspect you'll love the wide-open spaces of the Great Plains (and if you want a good read before you go, look for the book "Great Plains" by Ian Frazier, republished by Granta -- it's wonderful!... )

Happy Trails,



Jamie Jensen
---
Road Trip USA

Motorbiking Road Trip -- Across the USA!

Hi

My husband and I are planning a road trip next year by motorbike from San Francisco to Boston. I was thinking we'd follow your "Loneliest road" to St Louis then a bit of the river road and finish on the Oregon trail. We’ve got three weeks and based on experience touring Europe would plan on covering about 3,500 – 4,00 miles total.

What do you think? We’d originally thought Route 66 but there is so much else to see. It will be our first trip to the states (we're from England) and we want to make the most of it.

Needs to be West to East as flights and bike hire work out best value that way.

Any advice welcome, love the books – bought the route 66 one but have just ordered Road Trip USA from Amazon

Thanks

Esther

===

Hi Esther --

Many thanks for the nice note.

I like the sound of your cross-country road trip -- by Harley Davidson? -- and think the US50 "Loneliest Road" is the best route across the country (even though it lacks the theme tune that celebrates Route 66...) Make sure you allow enough time to explore the Arches / Canyonlands / Monument Valley area of Utah -- this is some of the most spectacular scenery anywhere, and it looks best from a motorbike.

Then from St Louis, you can follow one of the best stretches of the Great River Road -- Mark Twain's Hannibal, and the restored Mormon frontier settlement of Nauvoo, and some great small towns like Galena and La Crosse. Then hop on US-20 and head into Chicago, the greatest American city, ending up in Boston (maybe after a quick cruise east to the tip of Cape Cod, just to say you rode all the way ! ? )

One question: are you planning to have a few days at both ends, before and after hiring the motorbikes? It would seem like a good idea -- you probably don't want to have learn to ride a new bike while fresh off an airplane and jet-lagged in hilly San Francisco!

OK, I'm sorry it took me a while, but hope my reply confirms what a great trip you have in store. And if you have any more questions, feel free to fire away.

With best wishes,


Jamie Jensen
---
Road Trip USA

West Coast vs. East Coast for a One Month Road Trip?

Hi there,

I am an Australian and my partner and I are planning a USA road trip holiday for September next year.... We were hoping to fit seeing as much of the USA as physically possible within 1 month. Our plan was to fly into New York and drive along the east coast to Miami within 2 weeks and then fly over the west coast and drive from California to Seattle (via Las Vegas and grand canyon) in 2 weeks.

Do you think this is possible or are we trying to fit itoo much in and wouldn't allow time to stop and explore? We are young so constantly being on the go suites us fine, but we don't want to pass through places so quickly that we don't get a feel for them either.

Or alternatively can you suggest a better route for us? We are really into the landscape and really would love to see a wide variety of natural landscape that USA has to offer. We are not so much into the typical tourist attractions but definitely want to experience New York city and Las Vegas.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Suzy

===

Hi Suzy --

Thank you for writing in to Road Trip USA.

Your plans for an East Coast + West Coast, two-center tour sound just about perfect. I think you might want to allow a little more than half your time out West, because there is that much more to see, and it's so much bigger, too. If I had a full month, think I'd give myself 12 days for NYC to Miami, then a flight, then 18 days for LA - Route 66 to Grand Canyon / Sedona / then Las Vegas - Death Valley - Yosemite - San Francisco - Portland - Seattle + national parks ...

I'm thinking 4 or 5 days just in NYC, then get a car a cruise the coast and mountains, which should all be at peak condition in September.

Hope this helps -- Happy Trails,



Jamie Jensen
---
Road Trip USA

Winter Honeymoon Road Trip?

Dear Jamie,

Thank you for your fantastic website and brilliantly compiled book. It has been a huge inspiration to my plans.

Here's the thing; I am getting married in London UK on Sunday 11th December 2011. Having celebrated in style we then fly to New York to begin a road trip honeymoon. We plan to take it easy for a few days in NY and then spend a couple more days with family friends in Philadelphia before hitting the road. Our plan is this; we want to potentially head south from Philadelphia to Georgia or thereabouts and then head across towards Texas. We then want to head north and try and visit some of the National Parks around the four corners of Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico.

But I wonder -- what are these places like in Winter?

We then want to head across to California and take the coast road up to Oregon to visit family. My question is this; can you advise me on driving conditions and enjoyment restrictions on covering these various areas in Dec/Jan time? What would a good scenic winter route be from Texas to the Californian coast? Bearing in mind that we want to see as much of the natural beauty of the country as possible. We have around 5 or 6 weeks for our trip. Can't wait to embark on it. Any winter advice would be hugely appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Philip

PS: We don't want to ski!

Thanks.

===

Dear Philip --

Thanks for your message, and I hope I can help.

First off, I'd suggest you wait to get a car until you're ready to leave Philadelphia and hit the road for real -- New York City is one place where a car is an expensive burden, and you can catch one of the few surviving trains services down to Philadelphia, which will spare you the aesthetic pain of the New Jersey Turnpike.

So get a car in Philly, wind down the coast (via Cape May, and the Outer Banks, and Charleston SC and Savannah Georgia...), then decide whether to drive into Florida or not -- but make time for New Orleans, and Deep South towns like Natchez and Oxford Mississippi.

From there on west to California and Oregon (both of which are wonderful!), the troubles with travel during winter are pretty obvious -- fewer hours of daylight, and colder / snowier weather making some roads treacherous. Also, some of the national park sights, like the cliff palaces of Mesa Verde, are sometimes closed during winter, mostly out of concern for safety (slippery snows causing honeymooning tourists to plunge to their deaths -- makes for not-so-great PR...) But Chaco Canyon and Canyon de Chelley are open year-round, and truly unforgettable, as are the other sights like Monument Valley, and Arches and Canyonlands and all the other Utah parks

But there are many upsides to off-season travel -- not least of which is the fact you avoid summer's sweaty crowds, especially in the Southwest. To my eye, the Grand Canyon, and the red rocks of Utah, look best with a dusting of snow -- and Taos and the other Pueblo communities of New Mexico are truly amazing, with their blending of native and Christian traditions. New Year's Eve in Las Vegas? And the coast of California and Oregon can be gorgeous even in late December / January -- plus in winter you get the chance to see the migratory grey whales, which are pretty amazing creatures (Santa Barbara CA is a great place for whale-watching and honey-mooning, too!)

So basically -- go for it! :-)

Congrats, and thanks for writing! With best wishes,


Jamie Jensen

DC – Deep South – Las Vegas = Road Trip?

Hi Jamie,

A friend and I are looking to spend a couple of months driving around the states. We're a couples of Thelma and Louise wannabes! So we want an amazing adventure. We're looking to go from east to west but going as southern as we can.

I was thinking of flying into Washington DC from London and driving down through the Carolinas and I guess into your “Southern Pacific” trail, but ending up in Las Vegas rather then San Diego. We're gonna do it as cheaply as we can but seeing as many of the interesting sites as we can!

How much $$$ do you think we'll need, and how long will it take?

We'll be renting a car!

Thanks for all the effort and info you've already shared with us.

Georgina !

====

Dear Georgina ! --

Many thanks for writing in to Road Trip USA, and I'm glad to hear you've been enjoying the website (and the book?)

A couple of months, huh? That opens up an awful lot of opportunities for Thelma & Louise -style trouble-making (and sight seeing, too)

:-)

Depending upon your taste in weather, I'd aim for a Spring or autumn road trip -- summer is too hot and too sweaty/humid. The 100 degrees F and 100% humidity you get across most of the USA in summer, from DC / Carolinas all the way west to Arizona and Las Vegas is not fun for anyone; just look at the fires etc that Texas suffered thru this past summer.

Did you have some dates in mind? Spring is nice for azaleas and rhododendron flowers (as along the Blue Ridge Parkway in western North Carolina), magnolias in Mississippi, and you also get a ton of wildflowers across Texas and Arizona. While September/ October brings "fall color" of autumn leaves. Both are magic.

Late summer is better than Spring for music festivals and the like, and summer has the widest range of fun things too -- 4th of July BBQs, and long hot days and nights.

My Southern Pacific route is great for fun, and food and music too. I'd suggest you add in some detours along the Great River Road (to Memphis and the Mississippi Delta), US83 down to San Antonio and Austin Texas, and of course Route 66, especially in New Mexico (Santa Fe and Taos are brilliant!)

The one problem I foresee with all this, and especially if you drive for 2 months, is that your rental car costs will add up pretty high -- cheaper than England, probably, but count on something like $250 a week as a minimum. You do get better deals if you do "loop" trips and drop the car back where you got it, so maybe you could consider doing a few trips, looping around one city with one car, then moving on to another big city and doing another big loop there. Though America is definitely best seen by car, since US cities are best seen by foot (and taxi); I'd include DC on this list, since it has very good "Metro". Other good car-free cities include NYC and Boston, Charleston and Savannah, New Orleans, Seattle and Portland, and San Francisco (not on your list, but a great place to visit!)

Hope you have a great trip!



-- Jamie