Philly to LA

[2 Women heading West]

I'm helping a friend move to LA. We're driving her SUV from Philly on the 14th of August, hoping to get there by the 19th (she's in the film industry and starts a job the following Mon.) Unfortunately, no dawdling and stopping at fun stuff along the way, damn.

Anyway, any advice would be greatly appreciated about routes to take (cheap places to stay?) and what's feasible each day without going insane.

Thanks much,
2 Women

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

I think you should be able to pull this off without too much problems. I generally think 500 miles per day is a nice comfortable number to go with and not have to worry about that pesky insanity. Your trip on your timeframe seems right in that ballpark.

As far as a route, personally, I would be take I-70 all the way to I-15 and south to LA. But if you'd rather get some Route-66 type charms, you could turn off at St. Louis onto I-44 and I-40 for the trip to CA. There shouldn't be a big difference in time, so its just a matter of what you'd rather see.

As far as cheap sleeping, Mom and Pop hotels are generally the way to go. But some of the lower end chains, like Motel 6 tend to be in a simlar price range. You might get some more tips by reading The art of the cheap road trip.

Enjoy the ride!

[Mass Tim]

Welcome to the RoadTrip America forum!

If you want to get there in a reasonable time frame while still getting some scenery, I-70 is the way to go, though I-44 to I-40 is a nice ride as well.

You're going to have to do about 500 miles a day, which is about 10 hours a day (we've determined that the average speed on a long highway trip, taking in rest stops, construction, etc. is about 53mph).

I'll have to defer the cheap lodging questions to our other members from that area.

Hope she has time to recover over that weekend before starting a new job!

[amytravels]

and as the owner of the jeep which will be making the trek cross country (hopefully without any car trouble)...i was wondering if anyone might know of the best route from philly to la through arizona...i have a friend there i need to visit as part of our trip back...and within the parameters of the five days...

what a great site - thanks for listening/commenting, etc. :)

[PNW Judy]

This will take you through AZ. Just hope your friend doesn't live too far off the highway as this would add more hours that would make this trip even more daunting.

Personally, with 10-hour days of driving, I don't see how you'll have time to visit anybody. I hope they can meet you right on I-40 someplace for a quick bite-to-eat. That's about all you'll probably have time for.