Best Route

[jo_barca]

I´m brazilian and i´m not that experienced in roadtrips, specially in US. i´d like some advices about the best route, something that you recommend. west coast? east coast? coast to coast? i have 1 month and a half from december. what do you recommend?
i already thank you.

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

Your question is basically impossible to answer, because there really is no best route. There are millions of possibilities, and each and everyone one of them will have things that are better or worse than other aspects.

Think of a Roadtrip like a Canvas to paint on, not a math problem to solve with the best solution.

A month and a half will give you lots of time to see many many things. I'd start looking at the things you might be most interested in, and then build your trip from there.

[jo_barca]

Your question is basically impossible to answer, because there really is no best route. There are millions of possibilities, and each and everyone one of them will have things that are better or worse than other aspects.

Think of a Roadtrip like a Canvas to paint on, not a math problem to solve with the best solution.

A month and a half will give you lots of time to see many many things. I'd start looking at the things you might be most interested in, and then build your trip from there.

I was thinking if someone could give recommendations, from your point of view. i´m not completely sure about what i want to see and what i don´t.
if you went on a roadtrip and would recommend, i´d love to know :)

from brazil is kind of hard to know and plan a good trip without tips!
thanks very much

[Midwest Michael]

This forum is filled with tips, ideas, and suggestions about things to do and places to see. If you really have no ideas what you'd like to do on your roadtrip then I'd suggest spending some time browsing through the forum and look at the trips other people are planning.

Without at least some basics about things you already know about or ideas about the kind of things you'd be interested in, any specific suggestions would really be like throwing a pebble into the ocean.

[jo_barca]

i will take a look, but this forum is a huge source of information. i thought that would be easier and more personal get information by a post. but ok.
i feel free to come over again and ask when i need.

[Gerald Thurman]

Are you driving or flying into the U.S.? Does your roadtrip have a hub?

I'm not clear on the duration of your roadtrip; Is it 1 1/2 months (i.e. about 45 days)?

Is your roadtrip during Dec/Jan? If "yes," then we have to take winter into consideration.

Are you into camping? Do you like to hike? Do you want to explore or avoid big cities?

At a minimum, see you doing the southwest visiting spots like Joshua Tree and Death Valley and Saguaro National Parks. New Mexico and Texas are full of stuff. A drive along the west-coast (LA to Seattle) is a good time. Visits to Mt. St. Helens, Crater Lake, Bonneville Salt Flats and so on are all possiblities, but we need a little more information from you in order to provide better guidance.

[RedCorral]

Howdy,

You are picking an interesting time of year to visit, being off season for many areas means some things will be open and available and others won't. Regardless, there is more to do than you can accomplish in 45 days.

I agree that the sights in the Southwest states of Arizona, New Mexico and even Texas would be great at that time of year. You can also get up into Utah and Colorado if you aren't afraid of a little snow (December shouldn't be too bad). There are many National Parks in that area that are very unusual, even unique. The Grand Canyon is just about everyone's top pick in that area with Zion and Bryce and Arches close behind. I'm also partial to Death Valley National Park, Acoma Pueblo Indian village and Bosque Del Apache migratory bird refuge as three very different places in the area that everyone should see. But this is just a fraction of what the Southwest offers.

Also, the West coast and the Northwest would be very accessible and provide a lot of great ocean, and mountain scenery. San Diego is a beautiful city with a world famous zoo and animal park. Los Angeles has the TV and movie studios as well as some great museums, culture and sports. Between Los Angeles and San Francisco are the Pacific Coast Highway and Big Sur (dramatic coastal road), the Monterey Aquarium, and all the cities along San Francisco Bay including San Jose and Palo Alto (the heart of Silicone Valley). San Francisco has a charm and fascination all its own, and the nearby Yosemite National Park is fabulous, even in winter. Between San Francisco and Portland, Oregon are the famous wine regions of Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley, the Redwood National Park where the big trees are, Crater Lake (the most amazing blue water you'll ever see), and the Oregon coastline, complete with sea stacks and sand dunes. Between Portland and Seattle, Washington is some great scenery such as Mt. St. Helens and Mt Rainier (both are volcanoes, one is a dormant, and the other we hope is.)

The Northeast around Boston, Philadelphia, New York, and Washington DC, and the surrounding area, will give you a good taste of what the eastern US has to offer - lots of history, culture and scenery. Christmas in New York is amazing, but it is also memorable in places like Santa Fe, New Mexico, or Ouray, Colorado.

I shouldn't leave out New Orleans, Louisiana or the Kennedy Space Center in Florida as other uniquely American destinations that may be of interest.

What this really comes down to is you need to pick up a guidebook or two, look for things that are of particular interest to you, and see where they are located and if they are accessible at that time of year. Plot them on a map and then see what roads can be used to string them all together. You may find that it is more efficient to see the eastern part of the country first then fly to the west unless you find things in the middle that you just have to see. The St. Louis Gateway Arch comes to mind, as do museums in Chicago, or the missions in San Antonio.

Good thing you have several months to plan because you'll need them. Fortunatly, too, at that time of year accomodations will be relatively easy to get except in popular places during the holidays.

You should have an intriguing task of planning a wonderful trip ahead of you.

Craig Sheumaker
co-author of the travel guide: America's Living History-The Early Years