As far west as possible in a (small) camper van.

Hi,
We'll be in New York in November, and before making our way back to sunny London, we'd like to go on a trip.
We have 2 weeks to explore (including return to New York) and are after a complete change of scenery. The ideal destination would be somewhere like Arizona or Utah but we may not have enough time. Has anyone done this trip before? Would that mean having to drive non-stop? Any advice on alternative destinations would be great.

Also, does anyone know where to find VW camper vans for hire in the US? Are they more of a European mode of transport? We have been looking at hiring an RV but they are too big, too expensive and too gas-guzzling for the 2 of us. Do you know of an alternative?

Thanks!

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

I know there are some VW Vans out there, but they aren't the most common thing on the road either. Have you though about Tent camping, its certainly not an ideal solution to your problem, but its an option worth looking at.

In terms of your time frame, with 2 weeks, it would be tough to do much anything in Utah as a round trip from NYC without being very rushed. With that time constraint, I'd either limit your focus to the Eastern US, make it a one way trip, or fly out west and start exploring from there.

There is a place that rents VW Campervans in Vermont. If you could get a one-way car rental to get there, you'd have it made.

If you decide to fly out to the west coast and rent one there, there are lots of places in California that rent them. In the Pacific Northwest, too.

I agree that if you're going to start out from the Vermont/New York area, you're going to have limited time to go west. I'd simply explore all there is to see in that area in two weeks. I'm sure you won't get bored. You could also go south.

However, you will have to do a loop drive because I'm sure there's no one-way drop-off options.

Thanks for your replies. We've had a slight change of plans. Do you think it would be a bit of a stretch to drive all the way to San Francisco in 3 weeks? It would be a one-way trip.
We've given up on the VW idea and are looking for a sleepervan or a van that could fit a bed at the back. Do you know of any places where we could rent sleepervans with a different drop-off location from the New York area?
Thanks again for your help,
Camille and Ollie