1st Road Trip 1st time driving in the USA.

I am in the US on business mid July.

My plan is to hire a car in New York on a Sunday, and spend the day getting use the the roads (I am staying in Palisades so will drive around NJ a bit). Business Monday to Friday 22nd lunch time (may do a couple of runs in the evening) - again just getting used to things.

My flight back to the UK from JFK is Sunday evening on the 31st.

I have booked a flight from San Francisco that leaves 11pm on the 30th. That gives me 9 days to cross via route 50 which I will intersect where it crosses the I81 at Winchester - and I need to average around 350 miles a day.

It looks doable here are some example stops: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?authu...8c5355448cd747

But there is no contingency.

I am on my own I am not bothered about stopping and seeing things I am happy to take the scenic route sitting in the car for 8 hours a day chilling out. I will stop at motels - too middle aged to rough it.

I have not booked the car yet. I keep toying with the idea of taking a plane out of NY on the Friday and starting closer to the west coast - but can't find anywhere suitable to fly too.

What do you helpful people make of my plan?

HI Electronspin,

just got back from the west coast and was my first time driving 'on the wrong side' too. Just keep "short right, long left" in your head and you'll be fine. I found the road system very intuitive and, from my short experience, US driver's very polite.

A GPS is a must though, especially one with lane assist.

Have fun.

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

If driving across country what you decide to do, it will certainly work and you have the time to make it doable, but I am not sure what to add. Have you chose that route for a reason ? If you don't want to stop and see 'things', I wonder Why ? [I am getting a blank map with the link you gave.]

You could fly into any number of destinations out West and do a tour from there, either a loop or one way trip. SF is a fantastic place to start a loop from. Denver, Las Vegas, LA would all be possible options. Until we know a little more about your interests and goals for the trip it's hard to add much more.

As mentioned above, the driving side of things become very natural really quick, so I wouldn't worry to much about adjusting.

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Originally Posted by big-lebowski

A GPS is a must though, especially one with lane assist.

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But make sure you have good maps as well.

Lifey

I was interested in peoples views of the logistics i.e. 9 days - 350 miles per day. I think that is enough time but wanted some reassurance - having never done it before.

I think of this road trip a bit like the way I walk up hills. It the achievement of getting to the top that I like, and get a buzz from. Driving across the states is to me a bit like getting to the top of a very big hill -something I can say I have done. If I was with family / friends I would plan it completely different - and indeed when the time is right would like to do that.

I don't want to go to extremes though, and therefore picked this route since it looked like I was going to get a decent view out of the windscreen.

I am going to delay booking the car for a bit - the option of a loop starting from the west is of interest.

Decisions decisions.

The link I think works now though.

I'm also curious as to why you chose that particular highway. True, it IS one of the few coast-to-coast US highways that hasn't been replaced by an interstate.

Logistically, 350 mi per day for 9 days is pretty easy. But with things to see and do, you might think about that loop trip that SW Dave suggested. Perhaps you might want to see something on your way across, if that drive across the US is just calling to you. If you wanted to do that, that are different ways to go and different things to see with each route. There's a Map Center on this site that you can play with, to see what's available along the route you choose. Or just get a good USA road map and see what's where that's of interest. Once you do that, we can help you figure out what else is out there along your route.


Donna

If your purpose is to be able to say that you drove cross country, I cannot think of a better route to choose. US 50 is a diverse road, as it crosses the continent. There are many places along it where you may want to stop and look. And the diversity of accommodation you will find, will give you a good overview of the country and culture.

I'd say, "Go for it!"

Lifey

Well I am going to spend the rest of the day exploring the start and stop in San Francisco option. Since the car is not one-way and it is a week not two weeks hire the rental is 20% of what I was going to have to pay. Even with an extra flight this is still much less money.

I am quite enjoying planning this - but boy is it taking time.

Weighing up all your options and deciding what is best for you and putting your plans in place is all part of the fun !

Here's a few links to some of our favourite threads covering the Southwest to help you on your way. As mentioned, the Map centre will offer Lot's of attractions in the Southwest, or for the cross country drive. If you are going to climb 'that hill' you might as well choose one with great views as a bonus. ;-)

With 9 days to get from SF to NY, I think I'd do the west coast loop and fly back to NY rather than driving all the way across. You will be able to see a lot more attractions instead of just piling on miles and miles. Now, if you had 3 weeks to get across, then I'd drive the whole thing.

OK after much deliberation I have booked the car for the cross country road trip. I started looking at loops and soon saw that any decent radius loop starts to hit milages similar to the cross country run. Also due to me finishing Friday lunch I can get a good start on the Friday if I can jump straight in the car. Flying to the west coast would have taken all day and I would have arrived late evening - not the best time to start the adventure.

Rental is _really_ expensive but since work has paid for my fight to the US and I only need motel+food+gas on top of the rental+flight back for SanF to NY I can justify the outlay.

I got a couple of AT&T go-phone sims off ebay recently one for my ipad one for a phone that I have yet to source (my old gsm handsets are only dual band). I really don't want to do this without a cell phone, fingers crossed I can activate the sims. Maps and GPS I also have to sort out.

I am going to pin down the route in great detail, but remain flexible about where to stop. Ideally I would like to do the the first 50% quicker as I think I am going to be more wowed by the second half of the journey more.

Worst case scenario is I don't make it, have to drop the car off somewhere else and pay for another flight back to NY in time for my journey back to the UK.

I am a little bit apprehensive. I am sure 25 years ago I would have done thing like this without a second thought!

Thanks for being so helpful.

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I am a little bit apprehensive. I am sure 25 years ago I would have done thing like this without a second thought!

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Don't worry it will be a great experience ! Don't figure on covering any more than 500-600 miles a day to stay fresh and enjoy the ride. That's the equivalent of about 9-10 hours of driving with time to stop for short breaks and to fill with gas. That could get you to Denver in 3.5 days, perhaps 4 with a couple of longer stops, Chicago, St Louis perhaps. That would leave you a nice bit of time to drive through some incredible scenery of Colorado, Utah and Arizona perhaps. Once you have some dots on the map we can help fill in the detail.

Congratulations on your decision. I am absolutely sure you will not regret it.

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I am a little bit apprehensive. I am sure 25 years ago I would have done thing like this without a second thought!

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Yup, I know what you mean. But hey! the first time I hit the road I had attained my senior citizen status. In those days I did not know anything about planning a trip, in fact, I was not aware that a trip should be planned. I got in a car, and drove. All I knew was my final destination. Now, a decade later, I am still unable to 'plan' my trips, and mostly head for the horizon.

So allow me to give you a few tips.

Do not be tempted to rely solely on the GPS. They can be deadly! Go to the AAA and get a good set of maps, of the whole country, of each State you think you may traverse and of the major urban centres through which your possible route may pass. I say 'possible' because you may change your mind along the way, and divert from your plan. If you have your UK automobile club membership with you (or know the number), this will all be free to you. (or call home and get the number. lol)

I would not pin the route down in detail. Why not just see how you go. You have enough time. You will very likely find that you will do more than 350 miles on many days. On others, you might want to take it a little easier. But make sure that you have the flexibility to check out anything the locals will point out to you.

I love travelling on my own. People are much more likely to chat with you. And it is always a good idea to sit at breakfast, lunch or dinner, at a table where there is another lone traveller. No telling what interesting characters you might meet.

The other thing you may like to checkout. I have heard on more than one ocassion, that it is cheaper to rent from Newark than it is from New York. You might like to check it out.

It is true that the western half of US 50 goes through spectacular country, but don't discount some of the scenic parts it passes through on the eastern half, and especially Small Town America.

And lastly, but by no means least. Do you think you can take a few notes (and photos) along the way, and let us know how you got on? You can post this in the Field Report either as you go, or when you get home. We will be very interested in reading it, as I am sure future cross country trippers will too.

Have a safe trip.

Lifey

Why not just buy a whole go-phone for 20 bucks?

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Why not just buy a whole go-phone for 20 bucks?

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If I can do that I will. I actually only ordered one sim card for the ipad - which I really wanted to be able use over 3g and they sent me 2 sims in separate packages - I think by mistake. I did a lot of googling and came to the conclusion that if you walk into an AT&T shop with a non US (unlocked) Ipad you might have problems convincing them that they can sell you a go-phone (micro) sim. The advice was to buy online, the only issue being that you had to use a visa gift card to top-up since a UK credit card won't work.

Can I just walk into an AT&T shop (there seems to be one close to where I am staying the first week) and get one? I was not certain if it needed a US credit card US address etc.

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If you have your UK automobile club membership with you (or know the number), this will all be free to you.

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Very interesting - yes I am a member of the AA - and was going to bring my card to get discounts on rooms. Free maps sounds great.

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And lastly, but by no means least. Do you think you can take a few notes (and photos)

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I will certainly do this. I was going mad thinking about what the right thing to do was - and this forum was a real help in me getting my head clear.

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... and was going to bring my card to get discounts on rooms.

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You will find that some do, but it is always worth asking... especially where discount for AAA members is advertised. Explain that you belong to an organisation which has a reciprical arrangement with AAA.

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... and this forum was a real help in me getting my head clear.

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Good to start with a clear head. Relax, and enjoy your trip. You will have a lot of stories to take home, and will get an even clearer picture of where you'd like to bring the family.

On the other hand, you will probably see so much, that you won't be able to decide. LOL The US is like that!

Lifey

You shouldn't need any sort of address information for a GO phone.

In fact, you don't even really need to go to AT&T. Walmart and several other big box/electronics stores sell GO phones, as well as several other brands of prepaid wireless service. Such places will also usually sell "minutes" to recharge your phone if you are running low.

Walmart is probably the easiest and cheapest for buying a go-phone, and you can buy cards to add minutes almost anywhere - I've seen them in most convenience stores in gas stations along the highway. You can pay with anything the store accepts - they even take cash!

Well the count down has started. I fly out on Saturday morning.

What can possibly go wrong ?!?

I am going to try and post a report as I go. But I can't test the technology till I am on the road.

Not sure yet how I will post - blog - website - facebook - but I will put some link to what I post in the Field Reports forum.

We look forward to your report, but would appreciate it if you can provide a written summary in your field report and not just an outside link, thanks. You can also upload pictures to your 'Photo share' page and put them in the thread, we like photo's ! ;-) Any friends or family you want to share your travels with, just send them a link to your RTA report.

Have a great trip !

OK understand where you are coming from. When I am back I will post a summary to the field trip section. It will be much easier to do on my desktop pc.

For anyone who is minded to follow my progress in real time you are welcome to visit www.markchristian.com/blog

PS I am here and survived the 40 or so mile drive from JFK to Palisades where my training course is.