April Road Trip (NYC to Chicago)

I have just booked my flights for my Road trip during the Easter holidays.

I will be landing in NYC on the 31st of March and need to be in Chicago for the 14th where I will meet up with some friends before travelling with them to Nashville for a wedding. I am thinking about doing the 2 weeks with a greyhound bus pass and am looking to do the following cities on the route in the following order:

NYC
New Haven/Providence
Boston
Montreal
Ottawa
Toronto
Pittsburgh
Chicago

What i would like to know is, am I being realistic with the amount of cities I want to see or should I tone it down? Is there anything I should know or consider before I start finalising things? Does anyone have any tips for me?

All gratefully received.

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

The key to whether this will work or not (and I strongly suspect that it will) is Greyhound's schedule. You'll have to go over the routes and departure/arrival times they offer with a fairly fine-toothed comb to make sure that their schedule fits your schedule. But assuming that you're comfortable with what they offer (and comfortable with possible/probable delays) and with attractions and accommodations that can be reached from their terminal locations, then the only other things you need to plan are your passport, of course, sights to see, etc. The one leg that will probably cause you some problems is the Pittsburgh to Chicago leg. While that would be drivable in a day, Greyhound busses are typically a bit slower than the average passenger car and make more frequent and longer stops. I'd be very surprised if you can make that journey in a day.

AZBuck

Welcome back to the RTA Forum!

I think your plan seems realistic as long as you are ok with only spending a day in each place. I don't imagine you'd have much more time than that. Of course, you'll have to see what the bus schedules look like, as that will play a huge role in how much you can do.

If there is one spot to drop, it would seem to be Pittsburgh, just because it is a ways off the direct path from Toronto to Chicago. A trip through Detroit would make more sense, however, again, that's something where you'll have to look at what your bus options are. I suspect that you are planning to use an unlimited pass option from Greyhound, but you could also look at Megabus which offers low cost express service between the cities you are looking at, which could be a big time savings over greyhound.

Would have to agree, check the scheduling before you make too many more plans. But as far as AZBuck's reservation about the Pittsburg to Chicago leg...

It was in 2001 when I travelled with Greyhound from NYC to St Paul MN, with a lay-over in Chicago. From what I remember, we left NYC at 1am, and got into Chicago early the next morning. I recall it well. One of the drivers was on the phone all the way, argueing the whole time. They were the days before talking on a hands held phone was banned.

Lifey

Guys thanks for your advice,

I don't really want to rush the cities, so looks like I should cut a few off the list.

I have an idea or two, I'm really keen to see Canada, do you think I should do that as a trip on it's own another time and then keep this trip purely stateside?

Would this give me more time to stay a bit longer in a few of the cities I mention?

Are their any cities that you actually think may not be worth spending more than a day in?

Thanks