Two Coast Road-trip

[GingusOrelus]

Hi guys!

Myself and 4 friends, all from the UK, are planning a road trip after graduation in August/September 2011. We plan on starting in Miami and then travelling up the East Coast via New York then to Chicago. We will then fly to Seattle and then drive down route 101 to San-Fransico and Los Angeles. Then heading over to spend a week in Las Vegas. We are planning on about 3/4 weeks for each coast so we can visit places along the way.

We have been looking around at vehicle hire and are un-sure whether to hire an SUV and camp/motel or hire an RV. Our budget will probably be around £3000 each, giving us £15k total ($23k ish).

Is this possible on our budget? We have been looking at fuel prices/food etc and think we may be a bit stretched.

Thanks in advance!

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

I think you have both the time and the monetary resources to make this trip quite enjoyable, and so I'd caution you against false economies in trying to make it. By my very round-figure estimates, you should have enough cash to allow you to stay in mid-class motels each night, taking two rooms so that you can change up who is with whom on occasion. You can also afford to rent a good sized van (more comfortable than an SUV) including two rather hefty one-way drop-off fees for the two portions of your trip. You might even be able to swing two intermediate or mid-sized sedans rather than a single van to further accommodate desires by different members of your go roup to see different things at different times and further allow you to mix and match your various personalities over two months.

Now the one provision: I assume since this is an "after graduation" trip, that you are all around 21. There could be a substantial surcharge for 'underage' drivers (younger than 25) that would blow your budget. This is a per driver, per day extra fee that adds up quickly. For example if all 5 of you wanted to drive, the charge would be around $7500 for your 2 month trip. We have had reports from people who have managed to get this fee waived by booking their rental through a UK or European agency and I urge you to try that and make sure that they are aware of your ages, and that you have afirm contract and will not get surprised when you arrive to pick up your vehicle(s).

AZBuck

[GingusOrelus]

Thanks for your very quick reply, it has helped ease our worries!

Another question.....one of my friends has family living in Toronto and we are planning on visiting them for a few days. Can you see any problems with taking a rented car across the border?

At the moment we can't think of anymore questions (I'm sure we will before now and then!) but any tips/advice would be appreciated.

Thanks again.

[Midwest Michael]

If going into Canada is a priority, then you'll need to make sure that cross-border traffic is allowed in your rental contract. Its not usually a standard thing, unless you happen to be renting at a location right near the border. Its really hard to say if it will be a big issue, so the best thing you can do is ask what their policy is and/or what extra they might charge to allow that extra travel.

Whatever you do, don't consider driving across the border if it is not expressly allowed in your rental contract. Doing so will invalidate your rental agreement, meaning that you are driving a stolen car and because of GPS tracking, you will be caught.