New York to Los Angeles & everything inbetween...

And welcome to the RTA forums.

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We want to start off in New York and finish at Los Angeles. We want to see Washington, the Jack Daniels distillery, Roswell and the Hoover Dam on the way to name a few, and we plan to get married in Las Vegas. We'll have up to 3 weeks to do the trip, but are thinking we'll try and do it in 2 weeks.

It takes about 5 days just to make the trek from NYC to LA. A second week gives you some time for sightseeing but, if you can afford it, I'd really encourage you to add that 3rd week.

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Ideally, we'd like to hire a convertible car - something american, does anyone have any suggestions as to a good hire company that would offer value for money but at the same time have some interesting cars on offer??

Any of the major rental car agencies will have a broad selection of vehicles including specialty cars. You're not going to find any classic cars to rent but you will have numerous choices of typical American cars. Be sure to budget in the drop-off fee as well.

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I've started to plan the trip using Google maps - is this a good one to use? It looks as though it will be a 3,500 mile journey, as i said earlier we are thinking of going to tennesse, new mexico and nevada - is this a good route, and if so does anyone suggest any other cool places to visit?? My knowledge of american tourist attractions is limited, i'd love to see some places most people/tourists miss.

We generally recommend that people keep their miles to no more than about 500 per day in order to have time for a bit of sightseeing. So, this particular route will take 7 days with limited sightseeing time. It's a good route and will yield many places worth exploring.

At this point in the planning process, I suggest you continue reading posts in these forums for ideas and that you get a good paper map showing cities, national and state parks, and other points of interest. Mark the places that intrigue you and see if a reasonable route appears from point-to-point. It makes more sense to me to figure out what you want to see and develop your route from them, rather than figuring out a route and then trying to figure out what to see along the way.

Google maps is just fine.

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we were thinking we'd get motels in most places and are going to budget $60 a night for this, but then i was reading another thread on this forum and noticed that people suggest camping a lot. Now call me a lame british tourist, but i was personally terrified by films such as Wrong Turn, The Hills Have Eyes, dead end and Deliverence... etc!! is it really safe to camp out in random countryside..? IF anyone knows any safe campsites to suggest I would greatly appreciate it.

The United States is not a movie set. It's no less safe to camp in the US than it is to camp in Europe. People do it all the time without a problem. You might want to read this discussion about a woman doing a solo trip. And this one about solo camping. I've done numerous roadtrips solo and have camped many times during these trips. As a woman, I have always felt safe and have never encountered a problem. You just have to use good common sense. Since you won't be solo, you will still want to use common sense but the risks are even less. So don't let this worry you a bit.

Just about any campsite is safe so I'm not going to make specific recommendations. Read the links for more details.

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I'm sure 'll think of a million other questions in the next 18 months.. but if anyone can shed any light on my initial thoughts, or offer any suggestions that might make our trip better i'd be eternally greatful!

Just keep doing your own research and keep coming back here with more questions. We're glad to do our best to help you plan a terrific vacation!