East Coast Summer Road Trip for Teens

Some friends and I (3 girls and 2 guys) want to go on a road trip next summer. We're Juniors in high school now, and want to go on one last adventure before we all go off to college. Three of us would be 18, and two 17. We live in Maryland, and would like to spend about 10 days sightseeing as much as we can - we want to visit the most off-the-wall places, but still do all the regular tourist stuff. We want to stay mostly on the East Coast. We've all been to NYC and DC before, but wouldn't mind going again. I used to live in VA Beach, and we'd like to make a stop there, too.
We're all great friends, but into different things - two of the girls are really girly, one of the girls is more tomboy-ish, one of the guys is a history buff - you get the idea. But we all love movies, music, laughing, and anything hands-on (watergun fights, NERF battles, kayaking, swimming, etc. - not museums!). We're all very outdoorsy (4 of us are Boy/Girl Scouts) and would like to camp for part of the trip.
We plan on either renting a car (depending on cost) or driving a '97 Town and Country (attractive, I know). Since there's five of us, splitting up the cost of gas, food, motels, etc. shouldn't be too awful. We are on a budget, though, so we don't want to spend a pile of money on things to do.

What are some cool places we could go to/things we can do?

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

You need to know from the very beginning of your planning that your trip will have some major challenges because of your ages.

First, renting a car will not be possible. No major car rental company will rent to anyone under 21, and even in the rare cases where it is possible, the fee is typically more than $50 per day.

Hotels will also be a problem. Motels often rent to 18 year olds, but they typically do not allow unrelated minors to stay in the same room. There are also several other issues that come with being a minor on a roadtrip - for example if you have an accident, you can't authorize your own medical care. You will need to consider all of that when it comes to the size and scope of your trip.

As far as what you can see, the possibilities are really endless. What I would really recommend is that you all get together first and figure out what your top priorities are. Its going to be tough enough to figure out what things all 5 of you want to do. Once you've got the things you want to do most, then we would be in better position to help you put it together and figure out what other things would be in the same area and along the same lines.

Thanks for your help - I had a feeling renting a car would be difficult/not an option. We'll have to talk with our parents about the medical care.

We do plan on getting together relatively soon to discuss plans - we would want to start putting some money aside for this trip now, so it's not a burden when it gets closer.

Thanks.

To combat the motel issue, perhaps you'd like to bring a couple of tents along. I used to camp out with my friends while in college, and it was a new experience for me. Campgrounds, particularly the state parks and national forests, won't be as fussy about your ages as the motel would be.

You can also check out the forum about saving money on your trip -- lots of great ideas there, such as packing a cooler and a few groceries rather than eating out a lot.


Donna