Kiwi-travel Los Angeles to Florida Return

On the 24th of July I will spend 11 full days in your country.

My plan is to hire a car. My goal is to drive to Florida and pick up some equipment I have purchased and drive back to Los Angeles to Fly out on the 4 August 23:20

Along the way,. I plan to see as much of the country side as possible,

So far I have thought of : on arrival 10am Pickup hire car (hopefully has GPS if not will purchase) and head towards Vagas via Dante’s View, Death Valley. Than after Vagas, Grand Canyon-Monument Valley.

Well that’s about all I have planed so far, only decided to travel to America yesterday, Flight are really cheap from Australia (I’m originally from New Zealand, hence Kiwi)

Doing this trip to save 200 dollars in postage :), OK I haven’t got a calculator handy.

I know very little of what between LA and Florida, except what i have seen at the movies

So Please, give me MUST see things along the way, maybe major sights I shouldn't see,


Looking forward to your help.

Just one more question, what car should I hire? have no idea which would be suitable for the long drive, I'm by myself, should it be Chevrolet Cobalt, Chevrolet Aveo or should I blow the budget and go for the Pontiac G6

could not find a web site that offered campers, ie vans that sleep 1-2 people, has bed and not much in the way of kitchen (not important), could anyone advise me on that

Thanks you every one in advance

PS I'm open to a traveling companion, non smoker
Stephen

Hello and welcome to the RTA froums !

It will take you most of your available time just to travel across country and back, travelling 9-10 hours a day for 10 days with time for short stops for food, gas bathroom breaks and a quick stretch of the legs and photo ops. With the time you have I would have thought a one way trip would be far more suitable and allow you time for sight seeing.
After an International flight and by the time you have cleared customs and picked up your rental and got through LA traffic you won't make Vegas via Death valley. If anything you would be better off just getting out of the urban sprawl to get ahead the following day.
All rental co's list there range of cars and give an indication of size [although don't gaurantee a particular model by putting "or similar" in the listing] and this would depend on your budget and what size equipment you need to transport.
The only such company I know of for a camper like you describe isLost campers based in SF but I have not used them or no anything about the company so it's not a recommendation as such.

Have a look around the forums and you will find lots of info on things that may be of interest to you. We don't do "must see's" as the road trip is all about individual interests rather than a "one trip suits all" philosophy.

As you have new questions just ask away !

Thanks Dave for your reply,
Had a better look at what I'm trying to archive, At first I didn’t appreciate the distance so now I need to work out how I’m going to make this work.

I’m comfortable with long distance driving, I have done a lot of that in Australia, So my next question is, if I push it hard, I have been told I can drive LA to Florida in 3 days, is that correct? Now if I did that, that leave me 7 day to drive back.

Is there a (free) trip planer on line I can use to assist with time/distance with my trip?

Stephen

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Originally Posted by stephenb465

I have been told I can drive LA to Florida in 3 days, is that correct?

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If you were to drive 8-10 hours per day, it would take most of five (5) days to drive from LA to Florida. If you had 2-3 co-drivers and stopped only for fuel (eating when the car was being fueled) you could cover that distance in three days. I have done a couple of these coast-to-coast runs in under three days -- very brutal and there's no way you can turn around and drive back, safely.

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Is there a (free) trip planer on line I can use to assist with time/distance with my trip?

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There are actually several, but none of them really can beat our standard.... When east of the Mississippi River, if you drive 8-10 hours and at or slightly over the speed limit, you'll be able to average 53 mph. And west of the Mississippi - it's about 57 mph. There are some new products that our members were beta testing -- here's a couple of them -- and here's a very outdated list of free online planners (I need to work on this page). Plus, there's always Mapquest and Google.

Mark

Hi Stephen.

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Is there a (free) trip planer on line I can use to assist with time/distance with my trip?

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Well, a tried and tested average speed that has been agreed on RTA by experts with millions of miles between them have come up with an average speed of 57 mph in the West and 53mph to the East, which is travelling on Interstate and main highways and allows time for food, gas, bathroom breaks and an occasional stretch of the legs but no major sight seeing. We usually recommend 9-10 hours of driving on multi day trips which see's you covering between 500- 600 miles a day. To travel across the country which is over 2500 miles will take a minimum of 4 days which would be considered a speed run and tough going on a multi day trip. But the fact you are coming in on an international flight would mean trying to do a 5-600 mile run on your first day while suffering from jet lag is a big NO NO !

You all probable think I'm on Drugs, I'm rethinking my plan.

Maybe I should drive one way and fly back.

hire a car drive LA to florida and fly back from Tampa to LA,

I guess you are right, better to have 11-12 day driving one way than stress going both ways.

still working on my plan


Another Question:
Flights from Tampa (florida) to Los Angles on the 4 August, anyproblems such as school holidays, I could leave the booking when I arrive in America
Stephen

P.S thanks for the link for the camper, all booked out and workes out expensive

I wouldn't wait to book your flights. In general, the longer you wait, the more you'll pay. If you wait until you are in the US, and less than 2 weeks from your travel date, you'll end up paying quite a bit more for your tickets.

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Originally Posted by stephenb465

You all probable think I'm on Drugs, I'm rethinking my plan.

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I for one, am pleased that you are willing to reconsider your plans -- RoadTripping in America is a fabulous holiday opportunity -- Every one of us, (RoadTrip Enthusiasts), would prefer to be on a road trip as opposed to giving advice about taking one -- So, it's encouraging for us to hear about someone taking our advice and thinking about the quality of the trip versus the quantity of distance.

Fly and Drives are great alternatives -- here are some tips about that.

Mark

OK back to the drawing board,

Main reason for this visit was to pick up equipment from Florida (postage would cost 200USDto send to Australia) but I just wanted to have a reason to travel to the USA.

Did my calculations, I would save 750USD if I got the package posted and instead of driving over to Florida, (Car return fee is the killer) and besides the return flight from Florida wasn’t very attractive, wasting to much time at Airports with stop overs.

So now I’m planning to hire a car from LA airport and return same place. Now I need to find out what’s there to see, Salt Lake, Monument valley, Grand Cannon and that’s all I know so far, next couple of days I need to do some research.

Thanks for the feed back, and keep it coming, Just think, if I didn’t check out the Forum I would have just done what I initially planed, mmmm death trap

Stephen

Why not fly in and out of Florida and do a loop trip of the Southeast from there?

Hi Stephen,

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So now I’m planning to hire a car from LA airport and return same place. Now I need to find out what’s there to see,

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That sounds like a decent plan ! Here are some links to some of our favorite threads in the West. You will find many more by using the search button but to give you a start a very popular and incredibly scenic and diverse route would look something like this LA > Grand canyon > Vegas > Death valley > Yosemite [via Tioga pass] > San Francisco > LA taking a couple of nights down the amazing Pacific coast highway. That would be well suited to an 11 day trip to get an overview of these great locations.

I thought of flying to Florida at first, but it was cheaper to Fly to Los Angeles, have booked and paid.

I'm sure there is plenty for me to see and do around LA and a bit further out. My number one option was the drive to Florida, but after doing some research and feed back from this forum, I'm having to think of other options.

Flights I have found so far from Florida to LA, all with a stop over and I loss a day at the airports.

Now with only 12 days in America, every day counts.

But still have given up on the idea about driving to Florida, it's just the flight, haven't found a direct flight from Florida to LA yet.

thanks for the tip SouthWestDave,

I looked on southwest.com and they have quite a few 1 stop flights from Tampa to LAX - you won't lose much time, they are all same day flights. Remember you gain 3 hours with the time zone change.

Thanks glc, the flights fit in really well with my arrival and exit ticket, so I have options

Option one: drive LA to Florida, 10 days

Option two stay in LA area for 10 days

With option ONE, I would drive LA-Grand Canyon- New Mexico- Dallas-New Oreans-Alabama-Mississippi (maybe)
The above are only place I’ve seen on the map or heard about. So is 10 days enough to see that general path?

So what I’m asking is, 4 days you can drive across to Florida in a rush, so 10 days would be comfortable and am I correct to say that there is a lot to see along the way?

Stephen

You can see quite a bit in 10 days. You would only have to maintain about a 300 mile a day average.

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So what I’m asking is, 4 days you can drive across to Florida in a rush, so 10 days would be comfortable and am I correct to say that there is a lot to see along the way?

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Yes, there is plenty to see along the way but this is the time you need to get the map out and look for things that interest you and research them and check your budget, as only you can decide which of these options to take. To cross the country other than in a "mad dash" is 5-6 full days so you have time for some sight seeing along the way if that's the route you decide to go.

Thanks Dave for the advice,

Other trips I have done, I have purchase traveling books and maps to help me plan, However, I only decided to do this trip just over a week back and planning is a bit difficult for me at the moment, I’m at work at the moment in Papua New Guinea in the high lands on a Gold mine site, the internet speed is very slow and I have no access to maps/books.

I fly back home a day before I’m due to Fly to America, I’m planning to purchase/hire and GPS for the car and find a shop and purchase a road map once I get to Los Angeles.

I’m not lazy at doing research, infact I like it, but I haven’t got the resources at the moment.
I’m interested in seeing what makes America, drive past little towns, avoid the major H/ways if I can, and see some of the country side of America.

What I want to do is visit the biggest Shopping centre in Los Angeles on day one of my arrival, (shopping list from my family) buy food, water for the trip. Drive a couple of hours to get out of the city, and I’m planning monument valley & Grand canyon is my starting point.

Address for Shopping centre so I can type in GPS would be handy anyone?

From there, I’m heading to Florida (10days drive)

So my plan was to find out major sights to see “very American stuff” and navigate using these points with the assistance of tourist information centers each day.
4-6 hours drive each day and the rest is sight seeing, and special events, i.e. Your American foot ball would be great to see, one of those big shows where you have monster trucks destroying everything. Half day bush walks and a little relaxing.

Stephen

Sorry to say, but you will not be here during American football season. Before renting a GPS, compare rental prices to purchase prices. You can buy a basic serviceable GPS in the $100 range.

I personally wouldn't shop anywhere near LAX. If you are planning on driving a couple hours you would have an easier time doing your shopping that way, perhaps out in the Ontario area. There is a large mall (Ontario Mills) right at the I-10/I-15 interchange. Take I-105 east out of LAX to I-605 north to I-10 east.

Thanks glc

According to the google map Ontario Mills is about 58miles, so an hour and a half drive. that will get me started for the first day and somewhere about there I'll find some accommodation.

will do more research over the next couple of days :)

Stephen