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Me and about 7 or 8 other friends are planning to take a road trip next June. We had originally planned to start in SC and do a loop around the whole country, but we only have 2 or 3 weeks and I'm pretty sure that will never work. Should we just do a East Coast trip, and go up towards Maine and back? And also, should we rent a car or drive our own?
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Two weeks would be too tight to fit in a nationwide loop trip. It takes five days to go from one coast to the other. As far as what vehicle to use - are all of you planning on going in the same vehicle? If so, then you are going to have something rather large. Do any of you own a multi-passenger van? If not, then you'll have no choice but to rent. I would highly recommend all of you take our RoadTrip compatibility quiz so you'll all be on the same page when it comes time for your trip.
Also, what kind of budget are you looking at?
What are your interests, your friends' interests?
Will you be starting out in South Carolina, regardless of the trip?
about the budget, I'm not really sure, maybe $1500 for each of us? I don't know if that will cover everything though... will we need more money?
We've decided to go with the East Coast trip, and yes, we are starting in SC regardless. We plan to pretty much stay on the coast all the way up to Maine, then on the way back go by the Appalacian Trail, mostly.
I love picturesque spots and scenery, and want to see a lot of small villages and that sort of thing. Some of my other friends want to see the big cities, and big tourist places. Will our route work for all of us?
And we've decided to not rent, since all of us are only 18, but we're taking two cars; my Jeep Liberty and my friend's Honda CRV.
I agree that two weeks is too short to fit in a nationwide trip, but you could see some of the western states if you pushed yourself. And if you have close to three, I think you could do quite a bit of damage. I've done the equivalent of a roundtrip excursion out to the west coast from NY in just about three weeks before and had just enough time to see a nice sampling. Like Tim said, it all depends on what you want to see -- or if it's even just about the joy of the ride and hanging out with your friends.
For me, any time I have more than a week, I like to get out west for a trip. It's so different from the east that it's worth a little extra work. And by "extra work," I mean I usually spend the first 2 days and last 2 days in a driving marathon to get at least to the plains and back. You can get from SC to the far side of Texas in two long days. This may be too much for most people, but like I said, it's always been worth it for my friends and me because of the rewards once we get there. It may be different for you and your friends (they are VERY long, uneventful days).
As far as road trip companions, I've personally never done a "personality test" for a road trip. In my case, I've found that once I have a group together that's committed to a road trip, though there will always be occasional tensions, we're generally committed to having a good time in spite of any difficulties along the way (days running longer than expected, not being able to find camping). That said, aside from a couple hurricane relief trips to Mississippi and Louisiana (in which there was 15+ each time), my road trip groups have never been more than 4 people. (Though if your life is anything like mine, by the time your trip actually occurs half your friends will have dropped out of the trip and you'll end up with 4 or 5 that will fit comfortably into one car.)