USA Road Trip - from Australia (incl route 66)

aHi!

My boyfriend and I are planning a big roadtrip across the US! We're very excited and just wanted any suggestions/tips for our upcoming trip.

We're flying into San Fransico and driving from San Fran to Santa Monica,then we're heading along route 66 to Chicago,we're planning on spending a few days in Chicago before heading to Cleveland, then onto New York. We're going to be in NY for about 4 days then we're going to fly to Oralando for staying in Disneyworld.

It's our first time to the US and this is costing us a LOT but we're so excited. We plan on heading over in May 2009.

Any tips/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Sorry - I should have included our plan!

Day 1 – San Francisco, California
Day 2 – San Francisco, California to midpoint between Santa Monica, California
Day 3 – Midpoint to Santa Monica, California
Day 4 – Santa Monica, California
Day 5 – Santa Monica, California
Day 6 – Santa Monica California to Las Vegas, Nevada
Day 7 – Las Vegas, Nevada
Day 8 – Las Vegas, Nevada to Grand Canyon, Arizona
Day 9 – Grand Canyon, Arizona to Holbrook, Arizona
Day 10 – Holbrook, Arizona to Albuquerque, New Mexico
Day 11 – Albuquerque, New Mexico to Santa Fe, New Mexico
Day 12 – Santa Fe, New Mexico to Amarillo, Texas
Day 13 – Amarillo, Texas to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Day 14 – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to Springfield, Missouri
Day 15 - Springfield, Missouri to St Louis, Missouri
Day 16 – St Louis, Missouri to Chicago, Illinois
Day 17 – Chicago, Illinois
Day 18 – Chicago, Illinois to Cleveland, Ohio
Day 19 – Cleveland, Ohio to New York City, New York
Day 20 – New York City, New York
Day 21 – New York City, New York
Day 22 – New York City, New York
Day 23 – New York City, New York to Washington, DC (drop car) then flight to Orlando, Florida
Day 24 – Orlando, Florida
Day 25 – Orlando, Florida
Day 26 – Orlando, Florida
Day 27 – Orlando, Florida to San Francisco, California
Day 27 – San Francisco, California to Melbourne, Australia

hi there
that sounds like a wonderfull trip!!
i guess that would be wide open to a number of options,so what are your main interests?
from l.a. a visit to vegas is a must for most travellers and from there a trip over the hoover dam and then you can pick up an old part of route 66 through seligman and,again, the grand canyon is an obvious choice[a must do one imo if you have not been before]. it depends on how much time you want to give to this end of your trip,the national parks around here are stunning.you could give a few days up in utah where you have parks like zion,bryce,capitol reef and so on,not to mention death valley and monument valley easily accessed from vegas and grand canyon.
i would have thought it would be a comfortable 6 day drive giving you 9 days to play with in between but i'm sure some one with experience of this will be along to help out.

I do have to say.. a lot of visitors to LA always head for Santa Monica? And I'm curious.. why Santa Monica? It's near the Santa Monica Pier, a couple of good beaches, not far from the Getty Musuem, and Venice Beach... But most of the rest of LA is like on the other side of the city. Access to Hollywood is pretty much via surface streets and a fair distance (like 15 miles of surface streets) Disneyland is like an hour away.

You are allowing yourself a fair amount of time to stop and explore along the way. You won't be able to linger for hours, but you should be able to see most things if you keep at a nice, steady pace.

I agree with Larrison that there are other places more centrally located to things you might want to see. If you're planning on seeing the Mouse, stay in Anaheim, for example. Why don't you share with us what you plan to see in LA and someone can give you advise as to where you should seek lodging. Since it looks like you're going to DisneyWorld in Orlando, it would be fun to compare the two parks.

I picked Santa Monica over the last couple of days because I was a little overwhelmed with where we should stay right in LA. We’re looking to stay somewhere for no more than $200 per night in LA, if you have any suggestions that would be great. We probably won’t do Disneyland but would like to go see the celebrity houses, the walk of fame, Rodeo Drive, Sunset Strip etc. Just pretty much all the touristy things. We could possibly go to Disneyland if we’ve run out of things to see and do. The thing I was worried about in LA was picking the right places to stay. I’ve read on the internet and watched discovery shows on the gangs and I didn’t want to pick somewhere dangerous (ignorant I know!! – sorry). Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated?
I think we’ll stay in Santa Monica the night before we begin our journey to Vegas so we can head straight onto route 66.

Is downtown Chicago the best place to stay while we’re there too?

Yeah – we’re spending the last bit of our trip at Disneyworld.

Thanks so much for your responses!

Just a bit envious of you.

Glad you chose Route 66 for the trip to Chicago.

We have stayed at the Redondo Beach Motel on the Pacific Coast Highway. It is about 20 miles south of Santa Monica and was around $100 when we stayed in September 2006. Of course, rates fluctuate with the season.

It is within walking distance of the Redondo Beach Pier which we like better than the Santa Monica Pier.

Another really neat "undiscovered" town we found was Segundo, located between the two towns.

For a real treat, while in Springfield, Mo, drive about 8 miles south on US-65 and get rolls "throwed" at you at Lambert's Cafe. That will be an experience.

Of course, in the other Springfield, the Lincoln Museum, Bill Sheas, and Cozy Dog's. Here, I'd stay at the Route 66 Hotel south of town. Definitely try a horseshoe while in town.

A little north of town, drop in on Ernie Edwards at the old Pig Hip Restaurant in Broadwell. He and Bill Shea will tell you lots of great stories.

Chicago hotels are very expensive. Perhaps stay in the suburbs and take the Metra train downtown, which will drop you off at Union Station on Route 66. This will put you right by Lou Mitchell's and the Sears Tower.

By the way, congratulations to your country for the locating of the HMAS Sydney. That is quite an interesting story.

I was just wondering if you knew what the best guide to mapping out 66 was?

I'm struggling to get my hands on some good maps/guides in the bookstores in Australia and was hoping I could order something online.

Thanks for all your help RoadDog, I'll be sure to look into your suggestions.

This is going to be a trip of a lifetime for us!

On the RTA Route 66 Page, there is a whole list of recommended books on the subject. There are even links to the appropriate pages at Amazon, so even in Australia, you could easily purchase anyone of them, should you find one to your liking!

thanks so much for all your help :)

we're so excited about this.

i know this forum is about roadtripping but i was wondering if anyone could recommend a website to buy internal USA airfares. We need to fly from NY to Orlando and from Orlando to San Fransico as this is where we have return flights to.

Sounds like a plan to me!! never made the trip on 66 from west to east (have east to west).

I have just a couple refinements that you might want to consider. Like you I believe it will be much cheaper to stay in Santa Monica than in L.A. and not being familiar with LA you could find yourself in unsafe areas. It is not that long of a drive to see the things you want in LA from Santa Monica.

When going from Santa Monica to Vegas, if you choose to use 66, which I recommend, be sure to take it from Needles/Topock to Kingman---probably the most scenic part of the route. It is only about a two hour drive from Kingman to downtown Vegas. Add a couple hours if you stop at Hoover Dam. When going from Vegas to the Grand Canyon, go back to Kingman and hit 66 thru Peach Springs going on to Seligman for a brief stop. Unless you have reservations for rooms at the Grand Canyon, you will probably want to stay in Flagstaff. On the east side of town there are old motels that fit the 66 motief but are clean and comfortable and cheap.

So far as guide books on route 66, the best I have seen is "EZ66 Guide for Travelers" by Jerry McClanahan.

Hope I have been of some help and
Remember the journey is as important as the destination
Scotishbob

Quote:

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Originally Posted by alissha

I was just wondering if you knew what the best guide to mapping out 66 was?


This is going to be a trip of a lifetime for us!

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You've got that right. Just be carefull, 66 IS ADDICTIVE.

When my wife and I cruised the Mother Road in 2006 from Chicago to LA, we used Jerry McClanahan's EZ Guide to Route 66 and David Wickline's Images of 66.

David's book consists of pictures and captions of the places you'll be seeing. We had people sign the pictures as we went along for an added bit of enjoyment and memories.

If I recall, Jerry's book also is west to east as far as directions.

Have a great time!!

Keep on Down that Two Lane Highway. --RoadDog

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RoadDog

David's book consists of pictures and captions of the places you'll be seeing. We had people sign the pictures as we went along for an added bit of enjoyment and memories.

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Thanks for that idea, Road Dog!

Thanks so much for all the fantastic advice. We haven't booked anything in yet so will definately take your suggestions on board when going from Santa Monica to Las Vegas and Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon. I wasn't sure if it was better to stay in Flagstaff or at the Grand Canyon but I think we will definately stay in Flagstaff.

I'm really keen to see Peach Springs.

Thanks for the tips on the Ezy guide, we will definately purchase. I'm glad you mentioned it had directions from LA to Chicago as we know the most common route is Chicago to LA and I haven't been able to find much help going the opposite direction. It's the easiest way for us as flights from Australia only go direct to San Fran or LA and we want to do some things in NY and Oralando at the end of the journey.

Do you think $10,000 spending money is enough for two people ? This would cover food, attractions and souviners only. Lodging, Travel and petrol would be pre-determined and budgeted separately.

Thanks again

Quote:

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Originally Posted by alissha

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Do you think $10,000 spending money is enough for two people ? This would cover food, attractions and souviners only. Lodging, Travel and petrol would be pre-determined and budgeted separately.

Thanks again

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I would definitely say it would.

It is also a good idea not to book ahead except perhaps in major cities. You never know when you'll find something worth a bit more investigating which you might not be able to do if you have a predetermined place to spend the night.

Hey Alissha

Just read your plans they sound great.

Was interested to know what you guys plan on doing with internal flights. Once we arrive in Miami we want to get a flight to NY spend a few days then fly back to San Fran before heading home to Perth. Im not sure whether to buy tickets before we leave or just wing it and hopefully pick up some cheap flights over their??? Which would be good so not to be locked into any dates.

Let us know if you get any good suggestions

Cheers
Clint

Hey Clint

For internal flights I think we're just going to book them online. We'll probably stick to a schedule because we've got so much ground to cover so will probably book before we go but it'd be just as easy to book online while you're over there from a hotel or net cafe if you'd prefer to be unscheduled. I think you'll probably get cheaper flights at the last minute too!

Cheers
Alissha

Quote:

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Originally Posted by alissha

Hey Clint

For internal flights I think we're just going to book them online. We'll probably stick to a schedule because we've got so much ground to cover so will probably book before we go but it'd be just as easy to book online while you're over there from a hotel or net cafe if you'd prefer to be unscheduled. I think you'll probably get cheaper flights at the last minute too!

Cheers
Alissha

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I personally think JetBlue is one of the better airlines. You can always use an Expedia or some such website though, to try and determine the best airfare....have a great trip!!

G'day Alissha.

My wife and I are flying to the States for just under a month, and we'll be doing it in April/May... might cross paths somewhere along the road!

Just wanted to wish you all the best with the holiday.

Hello

I've posted before with my plans to travel the USA but I thought I'd post my updated itinerary and see what people thought. The main part of our trip will be Route 66. I've also added in our budget at the bottom and where we expect to stay. If you have any "must see's" in any location please let me know because we want to fit as much in as we can!

We are planning to leave august next year. If you know anywhere we can stay where I have put question marks next to accomodation that's also be great. Otherwise we will have to try and find something online via Expedia or another such website.

Day 0 – Arrive Los Angeles, California
Accommodation (approx $150) – The Standard Hotel

Day 2 – Hollywood, California
Accommodation (approx $150) - The Standard Hotel

Day 3 – Hollywood, California
Accommodation (approx $150) - The Standard Hotel

Day 4 – Hollywood, California to St Luis Obispo, California
Accommodation (approx $150) – ??

Day 5 – St Luis Obispo, California to San Francisco, California
Accommodation (approx $150) - ??

Day 6 – San Francisco, California
Accommodation (approx $200) – Best Western or Expedia

Day 7 – San Francisco, California to Mammoth Lakes, California
Accommodation (approx $150) – ?

Day 8 – Mammoth Lakes, California to Las Vegas, Nevada
Accommodation (approx $150) – MGM Grand or other

Day 9 – Las Vegas, Nevada
Accommodation (approx $150) – MGM Grand or other

Day 10 – Las Vegas, Nevada
Accommodation (approx $150) – MGM Grand or other

Day 11 – Las Vegas, Nevada to Flagstaff, Arizona (via Grand Canyon)
Accommodation – Hotel Monte Vista (approx $100)

Day 12 – Flagstaff, Arizona to Holbrook, Arizona
Accommodation – Wigwam Motel (Teepees) – (approx $55)

Day 13 – Holbrook, Arizona to Albuquerque, New Mexico
Accommodation - Monterey Motel, Albuquerque (on 66) – (approx $70)

Day 14 – Albuquerque, New Mexico to Santa Fe, New Mexico
Accommodation (approx $100) – El Ray Inn or La Fonda

Day 15 – Santa Fe, New Mexico to Amarillo, Texas
Accommodation – Big Texan Motel (approx $100) -

Day 16 – Amarillo, Texas to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Accommodation – Whitten Inn, Oklahoma City – ($100>?)

Day 17 – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to Springfield, Missouri
Accommodation - Best Western Rail Haven ($100)

Day 18 – Springfield, Missouri to St Louis, Missouri
Accommodation – (approx $150) - ??

Day 19 – St Louis, Missouri to Chicago, Illinois
Accommodation – (approx $250) – Hard Rock Hotel

Day 20 – Chicago, Illinois
Accommodation – (approx $250) – Hard Rock Hotel

Day 21 – Chicago, Illinois to Cleveland, Ohio
Accommodation – (approx $200) – ??

Day 22 – Cleveland, Ohio
Accommodation – (approx $250) – ??

Day 23 – Cleveland, Ohio to Washington, DC
Accommodation – (approx $250) - ??

Day 23 – Washington, DC
Accommodation (approx $250) - ??

Day 24 – Washington, DC to New York City, New York (via train - Amtrak) – early morning
Accommodation – (approx $300) - ??

Day 25 – New York City, New York
Accommodation – (approx $300) - ??

Day 26 – New York City, New York
Accommodation – (approx $300) - ??

Day 27 – New York City, New York to Orlando, Florida (via plane) @ night

Day 28– Orlando, Florida (total cost approx $3000 including flights/food/Disney passes)

Day 29 – Disneyworld, Orlando, Florida

Day 30 - Disneyworld, Orlando, Florida

Day 31 – Disneyworld, Orlando, Florida

Day 32 – Orlando, Florida to Los Angeles, California

Day 32 – Los Angeles, California to Melbourne, Australia


TOTAL COSTS
CAR $2000
ACCOM $4500
DISNEY $4000
FLIGHT $9000
FUEL $2000
SPEND $8000
TRAIN $500
______________________
$30,000

I'm not much help on accomodations because I camp so much when roadtripping but I see a few concerns with your route.

First, there's a lot to see in Yosemite and most of it is via the internal bus service in the park. You may be very rushed to see much since you're driving SF-Mammoth Lk that day, too. In order to get the most out of that stop, you will want a very early start.

Second, the Las Vegas-Flagstaff Day (via Grand Canyon is not giving you much time at all to see the sights there. It's about 380 miles. Figure 5 hours to get to the gate into Grand Canyon. Don't be surprised if it takes 30-60 minutes to make it through the gate. It will be crowded. I can't imagine seeing the Grand Canyon in less than 5 hours, and even that is really a quick stop.

The next day, you're just driving 90 miles to Holbrook. A very short day.

I might suggest that you enjoy a more leisurely drive to Flagstaff with stops enjoying Hoover Dam, Seligman, and maybe even a detour to historic Oatman with the wandering burros, spending the night in Flagstaff. Then do the Grand Canyon the next day on the way to Holbrook. It would give you more time to explore that wonder.

Judy - thanks for your suggestion that sounds like a really good idea!

Here's an article about Oatman and other things to see on the way. And, yeah, you could stay at Williams AZ instead of going into Flagstaff as well. it saves you a few miles.

Alissha,
I'm new to the forum and just saw your post and this thread. You have a great plan ahead of you.

Enjoy.

Cheers
Mike

Upon popular demand.... here is Mike's site about a trip along the length of Route 66 that he took with his son.... Lots of resources for Route 66 fans therein.

Be sure to look at the blog links for data like this:
Mileage Driven
Route 66 Out - 2474
Highest Mileage Day Out - June 11 - 500 miles
Return Trip - 2485
Highest Mileage Day Back - June 19 - 895 miles
Total Miles - 5210 (incl. drive to Chicago and drive around LA)

Fuel & Oil
# of Fill Ups - 30
Most Fill Ups in One Day - tie - June 17th & 19th - 5 fills
Fuel Consumed - 350.1 Gallons
Avg. MPG - 14.9
Oil Consumed - 9 quarts

Mike,

Welcome to the Great American RoadTrip Forum -- We look forward to hearing more about your motoring expertise

Mark

Hey Mike,

Thanks for looking at my post. Am getting excited about the trip now! We're going 2010 because the Aussie dollar against the US dollar is not so flash at the moment!
Regards
Alissha

we did this drive last year, our first time to US. you are gonna luv it. Must do Alcatraz in San Fransisco - book ahead.
we drove the PCH Highway 1 - stunning views really amazing. not scarey as published.
carmel and Monterey - take in the 17 mile drive along Pebble Beach.
drive along the Big Sur and stop for lunch at Nepenthe Restaurant.
its seal pupping so will see them at Morro Bay
fpr a great laugh stay at THe Madonna Inn san obispo- each room themed every room on their web site. this is a good mid way point between san fran and santa monica.
santa monica watch for car parking charges in some hotels!

hope you enjoy it as much as we did, we continued our journey to San Diego.

Hey, i need some help with planning a road trip going from Connecticut to LA. Im going with my friend and we're in the USA for 3weeks. Can anyone suggest a good route to take. We want to see things, but have a time limit. any suggestions???? We're also planning on hiring a car, ages are 21yrs and 20yrs.

Hello and welcome the R.T.A. forums ellie.

There are thousands of possibility's and it just wouldn't be possible to start listing them without having any idea of your interests, what time of year you are traveling and if this is a one way trip or a return trip.

You know your start and finish points so I would get a map out and look for things of interest to you between your start and destination points. You can search the forums and road trip planning pages using key words and the search button.

When you have some more idea of what you want to do post up questions as you go and we can help you to piece it together.

We generally reccomend no more than 9-10 hours on the road which equates to about 500-550 miles per day and 5-6 days to cross the country.

I expect you have already discovered that renting a car at your age will mean some pretty hefty surcharges.

Also, the 20 year old will not be allowed to drive a rental car.

Just read over this thread and found some good information. I'm planning to stay in several of the hotels/motels listed by alissha. As suggested by one smart Roadie, I'll be traveling sans reservations for most of my trip, as a great part of the fun of this Road trip will be to stop along the way when something interesting catches the eye. Most of the time, I'll be living on luck, and sometimes camping at will, too. It's going to be an adventure!

I checked the prices of hotels/motels along the road and nearby, the only ones who've cut prices at this time are in Las Vegas. I was stunned to see such low prices across the board for that city. I guess it's true, LV is struggling.

I've done the Arizona stretch of Route 66 previously, including Hoover Dam, the drive from LV to Kingman, and on to Oatman and loved it. That winding drive to Oatman is my favorite part. It's gorgeous out there, all the lovely red mountains and the wide open spaces - a real treat for any cityslicker.

Thanks for all the great suggestions, even though they weren't officially directed to me. Happy travels, everyone!

You'll make a good road warrior, LOL.

I hope you'll come back and share a roadtrip report with us upon your return home. I have a feeling you're going to have fun adventures to share.

Thanks, Judy, for the encouragement. I have to admit, I've been dreaming of this for quite a while. It's a special birthday trip (60th!) and I'll be going alone. Not the first time for a solo roadtrip, it's just that I want to celebrate in my own way - without others saying, "That's not where I want to go"......blah, blah....if you know what I mean. The last time I was on any part of The Road was eight years ago (alone then, too, to my daughter's chagrin) so it's time.

I'll be sure to make notes and post about it when I can. I won't be doing the whole Road this time, although that was the original plan, but I changed my mind after doing a solo road trip throughout Texas in late December-early January this year. I came back tired and ill after being caught in a freezing rain the day I left to head home and drove wet all day because I kept getting wetter every time I got out of the car.

I bought a tent for double the price I wanted to pay, but it had great reviews, and after thinking about it, a $200 tent, plus tax, equals less than three nights' stay in a decent hotel, so if I camp out only four nights, maybe five nights, I''ll make out like a bandit.

I'll share with everyone when I get back, or if I take some time to post from on the Road, depending on wireless connections.

Have a great trip Alexa!

I will also look forward to hearing all about it when you return or from the road.

You are smart for flying from DC to Orlando, FL. I've driven that stretch of 95 about 15 times. It's boring and dangerous. There is nothing to see and the traffic is heavy and dangerous.

We subscribe to the philosophy that there are no boring roads. Yes, I can see where traffic might be an issue on some stretches but that doesn't mean it's boring to someone who has never driven it.

Boring is an attitude, imho, not a fact.

Wow! This is really ambitious! I am glad you are giving yourself a lot of time, and I might even add in a few days unplanned for just in case. The drive from the rockies to Chicago is pretty boring and long, be sure to stop when you are tired! When You get to Chicago You should go to Millennium park. It is right on the lake, and has open air free concerts most nights in the summer. It is also right next to the Art Institute, which is an amazing collection. If you like Egyptian Archaeology, The Chicago Field Museum has one of the largest collections of artifacts in the world, with the University of Chicago as an authority on Egyptian archaeology. I think it is worth the money and convenience to stay downtown and use public transportation to get around the city. Google search Chicago metro or nightlife and you will find some good sites for restaurants and concerts. Maybe a trip to buddy guys for some Chicago blues, or perhaps a baseball game at wrigley field? Second City has comedy show almost every night too!
Have fun!

Bunda, thanks for taking the time to offer suggestions, but the thread you've responded to is over 2½ years old, and I'm sure the trip is now a fond memory.

AZBuck