3 months coast to coast

Hello,
First of all great forum and lovely to see all the people helping.
Me and my wife are planing a 3 month trip from east to west. We read lots of information including an old post here of a similar trip but it is from 2009 so I believe things has changed :) this is why I would love and advice on most of the things were,when,what not? So far we are thinking to rent a car somewhere in Chicago or Detroit basically were is cheaper to do so or take a train through nearby cities to New Jersey and rent a car there (but we will be with large language so probably not) we know we want to visit most of the iconic places in America. Definitely Chicago - Boston - New York - Miami - New Orleans - National parks and California. We were thinking spend 2 months traveling to California and then explore it.
So what would you suggest? Scenic routes, what not to miss, were not to go, when is best time to go as we are flexible but were thinking around April next year.
Thanks!

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

I am really confused by the little information you've told us. Where are you from? Do you live near Chicago or Detroit and that's why you're thinking of starting there?

Having a car in places like Boston and New York can be an expensive hassle, so there could be advantages of taking a train for that part of your trip, but again, I'm so confused by some of your statements that I'm not sure really what you are even considering.

Similarly, there isn't a generic list of "most of the iconic places in America," and there are hundreds of National Parks, and while many of them are in the west, there are lots of them in the east too.

I will say that for time to go, if you are thinking 2-3 months, then April isn't a bad choice, especially if you are starting in the Northeast. It could still be cool/rainy when you start, and there may be a few mountain areas in the west that are still snowbound in late May/early June, but otherwise, very generally it's a pretty good time for comfortable weather, and you'd be wrapping up your trip before the peak travel season gets underway in mid-june.

Beyond that, I think we need to have a better idea of what you actually hope to do, and some more specific questions - answering "where to go" when you're planning to travel across the entire country is kind of impossible because there are millions upon millions of options - before we can do much to give you more.

Hi,
Thanks for you reply I figured that I need to have more information before writing but since we are quite in early stage of planing I thought it would be good to gather general suggestions and tips that could help plant the trip better. We are from Europe so will be flying in to any airport that would suite our plan best but we definitely want to end our trip in California. We would like to experience nature and food on our trip :D but also see some interesting cities. Initially we are looking at this map http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/6839764 but this one has same point return so it needs some changes as we want to go just one way. As gor the parks as you mentioned there are a lot of them so if you have some suggestions about which ones are definitely worth to visit considering the time have would be great. So far we only thought about yellowstone and crand canyon. I know that car could be expensive in the city but there is always an option to leave it outside and travel by public transport to the center. I think it is more convenient than going around with the bags :) but I could be wrong. I know it not much but maybe it will get you an idea of what we are gunning for :)

A few general thoughts:

First, by all means look at lots of articles, books, etc to get ideas for places to go and things to do, but completely ignore the idea of the article you linked to that there is some magical, computerized, way to plan the perfect roadtrip. The beauty of a roadtrip is that it is not a mechanical process where you have to follow a perfectly laid out plan - quite the opposite really. A Roadtrip is the opportunity to see what you want to see, go where you want to go, when you want to go there.

And realistically, all the article is really talking about is a professor who used math to optimize the shortest distance between a list of points. There's nothing wrong with that at all - but there are many times on "the perfect roadtrip" that the shortest distance would not at all be the best route.

As far as the specifics for your trip, If you are coming from Europe, I really don't see why you'd fly to Chicago or Detroit and then backtrack to the east coast - especially if you don't want to do this as a loop. Having said that, doing a loop very well could be much cheaper and really not cause much extra driving. You've already said you want to do things in both the north (Yellowstone) and south (Grand Canyon) so doing a loop could be just as easy as zig-zagging north and south to get to all the places you want to see.

I could certainly see using public transit as being an easier option, especially in the northeast, but if that's the route you're going, it wouldn't make much sense to me to pay for a rental car, and pay to park it, while you're not using it. Instead, it would make a lot more sense just to fly into the Northeast, use transit to get around the Boston/NYC/DC corridor, and then pick up the rental car and head off on the road from there.

Hi, and welcome to RTA!

First thing you need to do, to plan a road trip, is to get hold of a road atlas or some detailed US maps. Since your trip isn't until April, you could order an atlas from the RTA store, if you can't get one locally. That would give you a good start.

There are 59 national parks in the USA, and most of them are in the West. But there are quite a few in the eastern area. There are 119 national monuments, and they are spread out across the US. All of them will be on a good national map in an atlas, and listed on the individual state maps in the atlas. So will some of the larger, or more meaningful, museums and theme parks as well.

Once you get that map/atlas, you can start to flag some of the spots that you'd like to see. Go with an east coast city that has reasonable airfares. If it's NYC, don't rent your vehicle until you are done seeing the city, as a car is a liability there (as well as in Boston and Washington DC). If you rent once you're done in the first city, you can arrange to stay outside of the other cities in a place with access to public transportation, and use that to get into the city.

Bear in mind that renting a vehicle in one city and dropping it off in another will likely cost you a hefty fee, called the One-Way Drop Fee. Sometimes, if you arrange your rental via an overseas consolidator, they can get those fees waived. Otherwise, with 3 months, you have an ideal amount of time to actually make a huge loop in the US and drop your vehicle back in the original city of rental.

Iconic places -- Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Zion, Arches, Rocky Mountain, Yosemite, Everglades, are all well known national parks and considered by some as things you should see in your lifetime. Consult the National Park Service website which will contain links to each of these, and about 50+ others.

Other planning things: To make your trip more enjoyable, plan to drive 500 miles per day or less. Plan to spend at least one day in each national park (Yellowstone needs at least 3 days, as it's huge). Get reservations for hotels in/near the parks as soon as you get your dates, particularly for any of the above parks as they are the ones that reserve quickly. Same if you plan to spend time at any of the US theme parks, particularly DisneyWorld (FL), Disneyland (CA), Cedar Point (OH), Universal Studios (FL or CA) which is where Harry Potter Worlds are each located, or Six Flags Over Mid-America (St Louis, MO). This is especially true of the theme parks on the weekends any time of the year!


Donna

Thank you so much guys for your replies. Bith are very informative and inspiring. Definitely helps us to get a better view of how to plan things and not stick to calculated routes. We just bought a big flat map of USA just to pin locations that we would like to visit. Its better too see the overall picture on the plane map but we will by the road atlas as well 100%. Thank you for your input and teachings :D we will write again once we have a better view of out trip!

Hello,

It has been a while and we had some plan changing events in our life but we are ready to get back to the trip. It would be great if you could give us some pointer on what roads to take and maybe what other places to visit or not to visit. We are mostly looking for a scenic route with lots of nature and food ;] We are still planing to go in end of April and spend 3 months travelling through USA. I think we are still keen to rent a car, but maybe as suggested before we would rent it not for all the route. Also not sure if we should visit any theme parks as it seems we will run out of time quickly if we do ;]
So far we planed this route: Chicago – Detroit – Buffalo - Niagara Falls – Portland – Boston – New York – Philadelphia – Washington - Blackwater Falls State Park - Fayetteville – Mount Cammerer - Weaverville – Atlanta - Wormsloe Historic Site - Orlando – Miami – New Orleans – San Antonio - The Narrows - Wichita Mountains – El Paso – White Sands National Monument -
Colorado Springs - Maroon Bells - Badlands National Park - Theodore Roosevelt National Park - Yellowstone National Park – Salt Lake City - Antelope Canyon - Zion National Park – Las Vegas - Joshua Tree National Park – San Diego – Los Angeles – San Francisco – Portland – Seattle – Vancouver
Also is there anything worth visiting in Kansas, Missouri and other mid USA places?

Thank you for your help.

Darius

You've picked out some beautiful spots, that's for sure! Bear in mind that at least one of those, Antelope Canyon, you'll need to take a guided hike. So plan for that when you're laying out your trip day-to-day.

As far as places worth visiting in Kansas and Missouri, here are some of my favorites:

* Cosmosphere, Hutchison, KS - a Smithsonian-supported space museum - within this one lies Apollo 13's splashdown capsule, all put back together after they took it apart to find out what's wrong.

* Dwight D Eisenhower Presidential Library and final resting place, Abilene KS. Nearby is a Russell Stover chocolate factory tour.

* Independence, MO -- home of the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library, the Truman home, the National Frontier Trails Museum.

* St Louis MO -- Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center #1 (actually across the river in Hartford, IL), the Gateway Arch. (Unfortunately, the Museum of Westward Expansion is closed for renovations until further notice. Some of the artifacts can be seen in the Old Courthouse across the street.) Grant's Farm.

* Mansfield, MO, where Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote all the "Little House..." books. Such wonderful history on that property!

* Marceline, MO, which was Walt Disney's self-proclaimed hometown. (He was actually born in Chicago, I believe.) You can see where all the Disneylands got their Main Street USA design from this little town.

* Lake of the Ozarks and Truman Lake, MO. These are resort areas. You can rent a boat if you like, take a boat tour, tour Bagnell Dam. Go a little further south to Ha Ha Tonka State Park, or see some of the Caverns in the area.

Other mid-USA places: Illinois is quite full of history, particularly since our 16th president Abraham Lincoln considered that his home state (though he was born in Kentucky). There are also lots of native American mounds all over the state. Closest to St Louis would be Cahokia Mounds near Collinsville, MO. A hoot, if you're into that kind of thing, is the World's Largest Catsup Bottle outside of Collinsiville.

Those are just highlights -- I'm sure I left out a lot of things!


Donna

Your question really is too broad as there are thousands of route and attraction options to chose from, but as you begin to fill in the blanks and you have specific questions about an area we can be of more help. As for your car rental, it will get really expensive if you drop multiple cars in different locations from where you picked them up from as you will get charged one way fees. What Michael suggested in an earlier post was to fly into the east coast and check out NY etc before renting a car for the rest of your trip. I'm pretty sure the flights into NY would be cheaper to. I also agree that a loop trip could work really well and you have plenty of time to do it in. By the time you have gone north to south in the east and south to north in the east it wouldn't add significant time or miles going NY>Miami>LA >Seattle>Chicago>NY and work out the two different routes out an back to include the other places.

Southwest Dave

Thank you for your reply. I was thinking how long would you say our planed route would take, not including longer stays in some cities. We calculated around 11000miles/17800km and it adds up to around 123miles/198km per day. We don't want to rush it and we were thinking that we will have no time to make a loop trip. I know some places will be just driving for a long time but as I don't imagine that and never drove in USA it would be great to hear your opinion ;]
As for the specific areas you are right the question is to broad I guess I anted to ask more or less if the route we chose is good or are there any suggestion to amend it and make it better for now.
We chose Chicago because flights are cheaper and car rent seem to be cheaper than in NY or NJ so we are leaning towards renting a car for the whole time and just leave it outside bigger cities and explore them by public transport to avoid parking fees and traffic.
Thank you.

DonnaR57

Ou yes thank you the Smithsonian definitely goes to our list, can't believe I forgot about it. As for the museums I guess we are not very keen on spending too much time in them apart from some of them, guess exploring the city or hiking through a beautiful scenery is more of our thing. But those are definitely interesting suggestions that we will look in to.
Thank you so much

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We calculated around 11000miles/17800km and it adds up to around 123miles/198km per day. We don't want to rush it and we were thinking that we will have no time to make a loop trip. I know some places will be just driving for a long time but as I don't imagine that and never drove in USA it would be great to hear your opinion ;]

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To do a basic loop around the country to include heading north to Colorado and then Vegas on the way out and cutting down to Yellowstone and Badlands on the way back and hitting most of those places you mention would be about 10,000 miles, add 20% for detours and you still only have 1000 miles extra ground to cover, or 10 miles per day extra.

A thousand miles a week is quite a relaxed pace when travelling in the States. Sure it's slower going in City's and certain areas, but by the time you break it down it's comfortable, for example, some days perhaps travelling 450 miles in one day and then only having to travel 165 miles in total over the next 4 days to hit your average target. Another example is if you were to go direct from Colorado into Southern Utah. From Moab to Las Vegas is just a little over 500 miles, but you have 5 great National parks you could explore on the way, Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce canyon and Zion and I think you will take far more away with you if you spend time exploring these amazing wonders of the world and not be so focused on the City's. Of course it's your trip and what's important to you is the most important, but if we put a few pointers out there, it lets you look at it from a different perspective.

Thanks for the information. We are niw trying to figure out how many days we want to spend in certain parks and cities. But after what you said we are considering doing the loop as if its enough time then it would also save us money :)
Is there a good place to check fuel prices in USA?
Also we tryed reading about if you can sleep in your ir in USA but the information seems inconsistent and incomplete could you me whatever it is legal or not, maybe there are places we you can do it?
Thank you!

You can search for fuel costs using gasbuddy and find an average. When you have an idea of the vehicle you will use and an average mpg figure, you can use the info to get a fuel cost using the RTA calculator.

It is not legal to pull up anywhere and sleep in your vehicle although there are certain areas that can be used with permission such as truck stops, some Walmart's and rest areas and at dispersed camping sites, but if you are using a car as transport it really comes down to comfort and safety. You won't get a good nights sleep and that can lead to fatigue. You could buy some basic camping gear (including a cooler and gas stove) so you could prepare food and use campgrounds to save money, but sleeping in a car is not advisable.

I understand and we are not planing to do it unless unexpected circumstances. So if we would have a bigger car that coult fit a mattress in the back our only option would be just staying at campgrounds?
Thank you for the links they will help us out a lot.

Not all campgrounds will welcome people sleeping in a car. Many do not even allow tents. They focus only on the fully self contained RV, and do not have an amenities block for their guests. Dave has mentioned just about every place you could sleep in your car, but if you have to go out and buy a mattress and rent a larger car to accommodate it, as well as going out of your way to find a place to park it, you could end up spending more than a cheap hotel/motel. Remembewr the extra you would pay for the car rental will be for the whole trip, where as you may only sleep in the car a half dozen nights.

You may be better off looking out for the accommodation discount coupon booklets at rest areas, some truck stops, welcome/visitor centres, or online.

Lifey

I doubt you would get into any "unexpected circumstances" in the first place, so the extra cost of a bigger car and the extra fuel it would use over 3 months, would be a false economy for an occasional night 'here and there' that may save a few dollars. Even with a mattress you will struggle for room with all your luggage in the back. A campground would make the most sense if you were to use this strategy. In some areas surrounded by nature you can often find good value cabins to spend a night or more which we prefer to 'same old Hotel room' scenarios.

Edit. basically what was said above while I was still typing.

Great information guys and suggestions. I also thought that its a bit over the top to get a bigger car and mattress. As we are not 100% were we would b a the given time we would only be able to rent a place at certain points but for other we will be able to book something only 1-2 before actually getting there, but judging from what you said it shouldn't be a problem.
There is so much tings and information to go through to thank you so much for helping us out!

You're welcome. As you move forward with your planning and new questions come to mind, don't hesitate to ask.

Dave.

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As we are not 100% were we would b a the given time we would only be able to rent a place at certain points but for other we will be able to book something only 1-2 before actually getting there, but judging from what you said it shouldn't be a problem.

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The booklets with the discount coupons are only for walk-ins. No prior booking, but it pays to turn up early. If you turn up at 9pm you may find all the coupon rooms have gone.

In areas of high tourist traffic, such as the national parks, and at times of State or National holidays, it pays to always book, but otherwise, often you can still find a room at a reasonable rate without booking.

Memorial Day (the last Monday in May) and around the Fourth of July are times when I would have my bookings in place well beforehand. So make sure you plan to know where you will be at those times.

Slowly you will learn all the possibilities open to you. It really is not all that complex.

Lifey

Hello again,
So we have been doing some research and have some questions we have trouble finding answers to.
1.As I understand toll roads require different pass in different state, but maybe there is a way around it? as rental companies seem to charge a fee for a transponder.
2.Another one connected with car rental is insurance, I read that it is best to get the maximum coverage one, but rental companies prices again are very high maybe you know some companies that a re selling good/trustworthy insurance?
3.Also in Europe if you don't take insurance from rental company they are blocking a much higher security deposit on your card, is this the case in USA as well?

Thank you.

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Originally Posted by Lifemagician

The booklets with the discount coupons are only for walk-ins. No prior booking, but it pays to turn up early. If you turn up at 9pm you may find all the coupon rooms have gone.

In areas of high tourist traffic, such as the national parks, and at times of State or National holidays, it pays to always book, but otherwise, often you can still find a room at a reasonable rate without booking.

Memorial Day (the last Monday in May) and around the Fourth of July are times when I would have my bookings in place well beforehand. So make sure you plan to know where you will be at those times.

Slowly you will learn all the possibilities open to you. It really is not all that complex.

Lifey

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I couldn't find more information about those booklets, so they are just located at the reception of a place or how it works? ;] sorry if it seems like a stupid question, but never encountered such things before.
Thank you!

Most but not all toll roads do accept cash, you don't necessarily have to have a transponder. EZ-Pass is the closest to being universal - Current E-ZPass States: Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia and West Virginia. Other states have their own systems. There are some transponders that work everywhere, but they are primarily for trucking fleets.

The coupon discount books for hotels can be found at Interstate highway rest areas, usually inside the building in a rack near the door or near the tourist brochures.

Another place for the coupon discount booklets are at truck stops/travel centers. One rule of thumb is to stop at the state Information Center when you first pull into a new state. On an interstate highway, this is usually the first rest area you come to. On a US highway, it may be in a town or city someplace. Look for a pedestal or "newspaper machine" that doesn't take coins. Sometimes there will be more than one brand of coupon book guide -- take a copy of each. Most will cover more than one state, centering on a region such as "California-Nevada-Arizona", "Washington-Oregon-Idaho-Montana" etc.

Note that these are for lodging only, not covering restaurants. You can save money on restaurants through coupons, but they are usually only the chain restaurants. We've become part of the restaurant "clubs" so that we get emails with coupons from IHOP, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Texas Roadhouse, and a few others. With smartphones, if we want to use one, we just open up that app and pull up the bar code for the coupon. Rarely I'll get an "I'm sorry, we need a printout", which means we're out of luck for that one. But it's rare. We also like to eat at local places, which won't offer coupons to tourists just passing through, if at all.


Donna

Hi again,
Well it took us a while and still not 100% done but this is our route. Also we took your advice and made a loop trip ;]
Route here is in day trips (etc. Detroit - Buffalo means leaving Detroit and staying overnight in Buffalo), places in brackets are stops on the way, d = how many days we stay in that location.

3d Chicago - Detroit - Buffalo (Niagara Falls) - (Watkins Glen Park )Syracuse - Peacham - (White mountain) Portland - (Boston) Providence - 1d New York - (Philadelphia) 1d Washington - (
Blackwater Falls, Hawks Nest Park) Fayetteville - (Asheville) Athens - Savannah - Orlando - 2d Miami? (Big Cypress Preserve) - Tampa - Panama City - 3d New Orleans - 1d Houston - (The Narrows) Austin - (Pedernales Falls Park) Midland - (Carlsbad Caverns) El Paso - (White Sands) Albuquerque - Colorado Springs - (Garden of the Gods) Jackson - 3d Yellowstone - Twin Falls - (Salt Lake City) Provo - 2d Canyonlands/Arches Park - Farmington - (De Na Zin) Chinle - 2d Antelope Canyon - 3d Bryce Canyon/Zyon - Beatty - Death Valley - Joshua Tree Park - (San Diego) San Clemente - 1d Santa Monica - Sequoia National Park - (Big Sur) Mon Terey - 2d Yosemite National Park - 1d San Francisco - Fort Bragg - Gold Beach - (Cape Perpetua) 1d Portland - (Lost Lake) Washtucna - 1d Glacier National Park - Lewistown - (Theodore Roosevelt Park) Belfields - Rapid City - (Badlands Park) Mineapolis - Chicago

What are your thoughts?
I know we missed Grand Canon and we are thinking how to incorporate that in to our trip and also is it worth it?
Main questions we have is about some routes:
1.What is the best way to get to Yellowstone, maybe there is more scenic route or it doesn't matter too much and would be great to hear just some general advice how to visit this park?
2. From Page to Bryce Canyon Park is it worth taking the route through Smokey Mountain Rd and then to UT-12? Or taking US-89 is scenic as well?
3. About route CA-1 Google Maps doesn't allow me to travel through in along the whole coast is there a reason to that?
4. The biggest zig zag we have is from LA to Sequoia to Big Sur to Yosemite to San Francisco, any ideas who to see all these locations but in a better way? (attached image)
Attachment 4753

Thank you!

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3. About route CA-1 Google Maps doesn't allow me to travel through in along the whole coast is there a reason to that?

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That's because it's not completely open yet after mudslides knocked out bridges and portions of the road. Keep an eye on CA Dept of Transportion Highway Information Site. It's usually pretty spot-on with current information when it comes to CA-1/PCH.


Donna

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Originally Posted by DariusK

What are your thoughts?

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There are a number of cases where you are really flying through places, and are going to struggle to see much at the pace you're setting, and could very well end up exhausted. For example, it would appear that you're planning to get from Portland to Washington, while seeing Boston, NY, and Philly, over the course of 4 days? Not impossible, but it also doesn't sound very rewarding. Sometimes visiting fewer places, but actually getting to enjoy them, is a far better option.

But even more importantly, the advantage of doing a loop trip is that you can avoid a lot of the zig-zagging north and south - and yet you've still got a plan that very much has you bouncing north and south, rather needlessly. The most notable example is how you're going from El Paso to Jackson over the course of 3 days, and then turning around and heading back south - going back to New Mexico!

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1.What is the best way to get to Yellowstone, maybe there is more scenic route or it doesn't matter too much and would be great to hear just some general advice how to visit this park?

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I would completely change where Yellowstone falls in your trip. It would make a lot more sense to me to visit it between Glacier and the Dakotas. Most of Yellowstone itself is layed out in a figure-8, so seeing the park itself is pretty simple. I would leave time to explore neighboring Grand Teton NP too. As far as getting to Yellowstone, going via the Beartooth Highway is a very scenic way to get in/out of the park, and would make perfect sense as a way to leave the park on the way towards the Dakotas.

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I know we missed Grand Canon and we are thinking how to incorporate that in to our trip and also is it worth it?

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The Grand Canyon is one of the great natural wonders of the world, so yeah, I'd say it's worth it. I would certainly put it at a higher priority than a lot of the other things that you are going quite a bit out of your way to see.

It would make sense to include it somewhere around Antelope Canyon - which you can only see via Guided Tour, so you don't really need 2 days there. You could visit the North Rim in between Antelope and Zion, but I could also very easily see you rework the Utah section of your trip, and finish up at the South Rim before heading onto California.

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4. The biggest zig zag we have is from LA to Sequoia to Big Sur to Yosemite to San Francisco, any ideas who to see all these locations but in a better way?

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I would go from Death Valley to Yosemite then down through Sequoia (and maybe Joshua Tree, or trim that stop out) on your way to San Diego, then head back up the coast. That will allow you to go over Tioga Pass and explore the high country of Yosemite.

As Donna mentioned, Google won't allow you to map CA-1 because of road closures, and there is a good chance that it won't route you over Tioga Pass right now either, as that is currently closed for winter. Just another reminder why you can't solely rely on electronic mapping programs in your planning.

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Originally Posted by Midwest Michael

For example, it would appear that you're planning to get from Portland to Washington, while seeing Boston, NY, and Philly, over the course of 4 days?

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We were already discussing this as well. I think you are right and we should make time to see some places more and skip others. As for New York we have been there before couple of times so we would be just there to visit friends, we are not super interested in Philly so that leaves Boston.

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Originally Posted by Midwest Michael

But even more importantly, the advantage of doing a loop trip is that you can avoid a lot of the zig-zagging north and south - and yet you've still got a plan that very much has you bouncing north and south, rather needlessly. The most notable example is how you're going from El Paso to Jackson over the course of 3 days, and then turning around and heading back south - going back to New Mexico!

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I see your point will have to rethink this part of the trip. Thank you! We were just thinking how to avoid peak seasons in the park so that drove us to visit it earlier rather than later.

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Originally Posted by Midwest Michael

Just another reminder why you can't solely rely on electronic mapping programs in your planning.

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On that note. I was looking for the best USA road atlas maybe you have suggestion which one to get?

Thank you again all of you your help it is invaluable to us.

- - - Updated - - -

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Originally Posted by DonnaR57

That's because it's not completely open yet after mudslides knocked out bridges and portions of the road. Keep an eye on CA Dept of Transportion Highway Information Site. It's usually pretty spot-on with current information when it comes to CA-1/PCH.


Donna

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Perfect. Thank you!

Rand McNally.

http://roadtripamerica.secureonline.store/atlases-maps/

Hello again,

First of all thank you for all the tips I hope we incorporated them correctly ;] I also got the atlas map, seems like its very comfortable to use so thanks for that as well GLC.

As for now our trip looks like that:
Starting om 18th of May in Chicago (3d) - Toledo - Cleveland - Niagara Falls - Oneta - Newbury - Portland - Boston - Stamford - Philadelphia - Washington (2d) - Parsons - Kairos Camp - Ashville - Savanna - Orlando (2d) - Miami (1d) - St Petersburg - Panama City - New Orleans (3d) - Houston - San Antonio - Frederichburg - Midlands - El Paso - Santa Fe - Colorado Springs - Grand Junction - Canyon-lands and arches (2d) - De Na Zin - Chinle - Grand Canyon - Antelope - Bryce ( 2d) - Zion (3d) - Las Vegas - Lone Pine - Yosemite (3d) - Sequoia - Joshua Tree (1d) - Pinyon Pines - San Diego - LA (3d) - Morro Bay - Big Sur (1d) - San Francisco (3d) - Fort Brag - Gold Beach - Portland (1d) - Pendelton - Yellowstone (3d) - Billings - Belfield - Rapid City - Pierre - Minneapolis (1d) - Madison - Chicago
Any thoughts?

So far we have the Nation Park pass, the atlas, gps, basic camping equipment. Are there any items that we require to have or something we should definitely take into consideration? Still not sure about those highway passes are they necessary or it is possible to pay by cash/card everywhere for them?
Also one question that is concerning me, do anyone know any insurance companies that sells full insurance for the rental car and the belongings in it, I seem to have a problem finding any?

Once again thank you.
Darius K

On *most* toll roads, there is still a cash lane. But from what we've found, they do want cold hard cash, no credit cards. There are a few toll roads that do not allow cash or cards, they want transponder or they will mail you (or your rental company) a bill. Now, offhand on your list, I don't see any areas with those kinds of toll roads. Someone else may.

In San Diego, you will find that there are areas on I-15 of "carpool lanes". If there are at least 2 people in the vehicle, you can use those free of charge. If there's only one, though, you need a transponder for FastPass. When it's just me, or just my hubby, we just stay out of those lanes as we don't have a transponder (and don't need one). These lanes are well-marked, and can get in and out of them if you need to do so.

In areas of LA, the carpool lanes are not separate (as they are on I-15 in San Diego). Instead, they use the far left lane, and sometimes the far two left lanes, "separated" by a line and ridged pavement. There are ways to get in and out of them without crossing the ridged lines. Once again, these are for 2-people or more, but not to be used at all by single travelers.

I'm sure that other cities have both types of these roads, so you may encounter them elsewhere.


Sorry I can't answer your question about the insurance.


Donna

The Mass Turnpike, Callahan/Sumner tunnels and Tobin bridge in Boston are electronic only, no cash. Same with the toll roads in Miami/Dade county and a few other places in FL. There is no universal transponder available but they all can do license plate tolling.

DonnaR57
Well as I will be traveling with my wife there is always going to be 2 of us in the car so I guess no issues with those lanes I didn't know about ;] thanks for letting me know of them. I'll do more research on them as this is new to me.
glc
Well we will be driving a rental so license plate tolling is not a best option. Could you advise were or how to get transponders? I read online but its a bit confusing for me. Thank you.

If you are going to be using electronic toll roads in multiple jurisdictions, it doesn't make sense to get multiple transponders. Discuss your options with the rental agency.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by glc

If you are going to be using electronic toll roads in multiple jurisdictions, it doesn't make sense to get multiple transponders. Discuss your options with the rental agency.

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Would you say it is easy to avoid the electronic toll roads? Or it will make a huge impact on travel time?
Thanks

Who are you renting the car from and from what location?

It is relatively easy to avoid the tolls on the way to Boston, and in Boston, especially if you are staying at a hotel outside the city, and use the train to commute for sightseeing. Does not make any difference in time travelled. At times in the past I have been stuck in bumper to bumper traffic on the toll way.

Lifey