4 people on a cross country road trip! Can we do it?

Me and 3 possibly 4 friends want to make a cross country trip next year. I was wondering if someone could help figure out costs and planning.

Here's what we have so far.

-We are all best friends for over 5 years now so we get along great.
-We are driving a 1966 mustang convertible
-We are all going to be 20 years old.
-We are going to be driving in shifts since all of us can drive.
-Money is a factor so we will be eating mostly bought food and cooking it ourselves on a grill, with take out and other cheap alternatives being our primary food, and sit-down places factoring in when needed.
-We will be camping a lot to save money and staying in CHEAP (under 50$) motels every once-in-awhile.
-We have UNLIMITED time since we will have all summer.
-We have a number of places that we want to see so we dont have a set plan. This is more about the trip then the destination.
-We are starting in Washington, D.C. and want to end at some beautiful southern beach in california.
-We have a TON of places we want to see and are going to criss-cross the country visiting some of the best national parks, deserts, canyons, forests, las vegas, white sands, ect...
-We want to drive on at least one of the descelet, flat, empty, stretches of desert highway you see in the movies. Know of any?

So thats about it. Ask any questions you want that will help you set a price/time frame/tips.

I appriciate any and all help!

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

While I like a lot of your plan and your goals, I've got one big question: How on earth are you going to fit 4 or 5 people plus camping gear into a 66 Mustang?

As much fun as it would be to be in a classic car, it also isn't very practical, and would border on impossible for this trip.

Also, is this a round trip or will you really end when you get to California and fly back?

I'll also say, while it is great to keep things wide open, you do have some limits. You've got 3 months, but you've got limited funds, and the more time you are on the road, the more money its going to cost. If you don't yet know how much you'll have to spend total, you should figure that out. It doesn't need to be an exact figure, but at least a ballpark number will let you know how much you can really do.

ya we figured that space was going to be our greatest enemy. We're working on finding another car for the trip.

We want to basically see some of the great attractions. The grand canyon, las vegas, redwoods, yelowstone, white sands, death valley, RT 66, califronia cost, lake tahoe, utah, bryce canyon...ect... i have no idea what we are going to settle on but you can be sure it will include all of the most gorgeous and surreal places in america...we arnt really looking for city visits except las vegas.

Its a round trip full and through! Drive to california stay at the beaches for a day or two (we have free housing) and then drive back.


Tips on places to visit are a huge help since that is a tough part of our trip.

Death Valley is my favorite spot and it can be done during summer, but Mother Nature must be honored (heat kills). Watch the movie "Zabriskie Point" and you might end up going there.

Arizona has lots of good Route 66. The drive between Seligman and Oatman can be done on the Mother Road. Route 66 from Holbrook to Winslow to Flagstaff is good. During Pi Day 2007, I enjoyed doing Route 66 through Albuquerque.

White Sand Dunes National Monument in southern New Mexico are nice, but they are well south of Route 66.

I'd be happy to do US Hwy-50 from DC to West Sacramento. San Francisco and the Bay Area (Silicon Valley, Stanford, UC-Berkekely, Googleplex, etc.) are not far away.

If you're on a major roadtrip, I'd go north along the coast to the state of Washington. Visit Mt. St. Helens and Rainer on the way to Seattle. Return home on US Hwy-2.

If you want southern CA beaches--Venice and Malibu in LA. I visited Black's Beach in SD about 30 years ago.

thanks for the tips! those have defently been added to the list.

Im looking for mostly about how much it will cost to do a pretty decent trip taking any amount of time to visit the places we want.

Pretty much set the price of the trip and we will try to make it! not the other way around! thanks for the tips though they are really helpful!


Edit!

Heres the routes we are BASICALLY going to take....

using these routes Im going to take 9 (loneliest road) to get to california. Then take 1(Pacific Coast) down to beverly hills! HOLLYWOOD SIGN! Spend some time at the beaches...then take 11 (RT 66) till it crosses with 9 again and then take 9 home!

Costs are, of course, highly individual. But here is a good general review of what you'll have to budget for and what your options are.

AZBuck