Miami to Boston - A swiss guy needs help!

[laurenz140]

Dear all

I'm a swiss student and 22 years old. I'm planning to travel to america to improve my english skills, to have fun with americans, to see the country and to feel the american way of life!
I'm planning to travel this summer from Miami to Boston at the coast in approx. 30 days. I have experience with traveling in Europe but i have never traveled alone in the states.

How to travel: How should I travel? Renting a car? Buying a car? By bus? By train? I know that renting a car if you are under 25 is quite expensive. But what about buying a car down south? Is it possible to get a ride for $ 1000 and sell it in the north? Another big issue is the car insurance. Do you know a company which is focused for short-time insurance? My uncle lives in NH so i have an us-address. Do you have an idea how much the insurance would cost?

How to stay overnight: I wanna stay the night as cheap as possible. I thought i could coutchsurf. It is cheap, interesting and you get in contact with locals. Do you have experience with coutchsurfing in the US? Also possible would be camping, youth hostels or sleeping in my car (if i have one!)

length of time: I think 30 days should be enough to travel without having a rush? Or am I totally wrong with this assumption?

Thanks a lot in advance for your answers. I hope i will be able to create a realistic budget for this trip with your help.

Cheers Laurenz

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

The simple truth is that American laws (actually each states' individual laws) make it impossible for a foreign national who is here for only a short time to legally purchase and drive their own car. Your uncle's address in New Hampshire will do you little good in Miami unless you have proof that YOU live there and intend to license and register the car there, neither of which are true. But even if that were not the case, the costs of such an endeavor: buying retail - selling wholesale, registering, licensing, and insuring (typically for 6 months minimum) would make it prohibitively expensive. And both of those obstacles, legal and financial, ignore the fact that you simply cannot expect a car that is sold for $1000 to hold up to the rigors of a thousand mile journey. That leaves your only viable options the train or busses. These transportation options also limit your lodging options to in-town motels and possibly couch surfing, but camping would be pretty much out of the question. Sorry to be the bearer of such bad news, but those are simply the facts of life for young foreign travelers in the U.S.

AZBuck

[laurenz140]

No worries! Thank you for your bad news. Better i know the facts now than later in miami.

However, I decided to travel by greyhound bus. The connection at the east coast is quiet good and i can buy a special pass for 30 days for less then 500 $, so much cheaper than a car. And if I really need a car to see a really special place i'll rent a ride for a few days what is also affordable. I still prefer couchsurfing and sleeping in youth hostels.

I've planned to travel the following route:

Miami - Jacksonville - Washington DC - New York - Boston

Could you recommend any other places close to the sea? The don't have to huge at all but it would be nice if these place aren't to boring (so that it is possible to go out, having a bit party ;)) Especially i'm looking for a place between Jacksonville and Washington. I'm also open-minded for other suggestions. (please consider the station locator at http://www.greyhound.com/HOME/en/Location/States.aspx)

Thanks a lot!!

Laurenz

[scosm]

I would consider the following additional towns on your route north as good places with some nightlife - Savannah, Atlanta (Georgia)...Charleston (South Carolina)...Asheville (North Carolina)...Charlottesvile (Virginia)...Baltimore (Maryland)...Philadelphia (Pennsylvania). I stayed at a hostel in Brunswick, Georgia when I was around your age. It was one of the most unique place I've ever stayed with beds in a geodesic dome and tree houses - it is called Hostel in the Forest. I would recommend it, but I doubt it is near the greyhound station in town.

[glc]

You can add Myrtle Beach SC to that list.