G'day, Aussie needs some help planning a trip please

[PeterPeterPumpkinEater]

G'day!

Me and a pal or two are in the early stages of planning a huge trip at the end of '08 through '09 for a year.

We're going to be working in Canada for a few months hopefully then end up near Niagara Falls and head into the US.
From there we want to head down the country to Florida.
From there we will end up heading accross the country to California.
Eventually we will head down to Mexico etc.

but i just have a few questions about the US section of our journey and your thoughts on the best and cheapest way to do this?

we dont really have any plans on which states to visit but just want to spend a few months exploring your country.

I guess the best way for us to do it would be to buy a car? and camp as much as we can to keep the costs down?

basically id just like some of your thoughts and suggestions?
Thanks very much, looking forward to hearing them and some of your stories :)

[Mass Tim]

Welcome to the RoadTrip America Forum!

Buying a car when visiting the US is a topic that comes up quite frequently on these forums. Here is a recent thread on the subject that deals with sorting out the legalities. A search of the forum will likely net you more information in this regard, too.

A few months is quite enough time to explore most of the country, and depending on what your interests are, we can help to narrow down what we be worth your while to see here.

On our planning page, specifically The Art of the Cheap Roadtrip, you will find some good information on how to keep costs down during your trip.

[PNW Judy]

Be aware that if you buy a car, that you will have to purchase additional insurance to drive the car into Mexico. There are usually lots of insurance agencies by border crossings to get this from.

If you rent a car, they probably won't let you go into Mexico at all.

[Midwest Michael]

Buying a car will likely be your best option - in fact if you want to drive into Mexico and/or places farther south, it is basically your only option. Since you will be living in Canada for a while before you leave for your trip, it will probably be relatively easy for you to purchase a car using that address in Canada.

The one problem you could have is what you'll do with the Car when you are done with your trip. I don't know if you are planning to return to Canada, but it might be your only real choice. In some places it is simply not legal to sell a car purchased in another country (some Central America countries make note of your car on your passport, so you can't leave without the car you came with) and even if it is legal, it can be virtually impossible in other places because of the taxes and duties involved with "importing" a car. I believe this is even the case when trying to sell a Canadian car in the US.

[RoadTrippers A & R]

Never drive at night in Mexico, buy your Mexican insurance from a reputable agent and always buy more and for a longer time than you think you might need.
Absolutely don't get into an accident in Mexico.

In the U.S., are their place you prefer?

Like perhaps beaches, historical areas, or amusement parks?

Ya might consider what ya like then plan from there.

[PeterPeterPumpkinEater]

thanks for your speedy replies :)

I guess purchasing the car will be a problem if we dont have an address, and if we were to buy it while in Canada we werent planning on driving back to canada so wouldnt be able to sell it.
In Canada we will probably spend most our time around Vancouver then catch a train across to Toronto, has anybody done this ?

We're interested in visiting good places to hike and camp aswell as visiting places like Long Island NY, Florida and California where alot of the music we like comes from. In bigger cities we will be looking for cheap motels but are looking at camping the majority of the time as it will work out cheaper.
I dont think we will be looking for amusement parks as theyre probably too expensive and i'd rather learn something at a historical area haha,

Thanks for your suggestions so far, much appreciated

[Mass Tim]

I'd rather learn something at a historical area

A good place to start your search is at the National Park Services page and the National Forest Service page. While these are by no means all of the historic sites in the country, they are a good start.

For even more history, many cities are awash in it - Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, DC to name a few.