3 English Boys Trying To Do A Roadtrip

[wta21]

Myself and 2 other mates from University have just booked flights into New York on the 6th September and out of San Francisco on the 3rd October. Our plan is to pick up a car (not sure whether to rent or buy) and then proceed to drive across the US having as many adventures and good times as possible.
We have a provisional route of,
new york
philadelphia
pittsburgh
cleveland
chicago
st louis
kansas city
wichita
oklahoma city
amarillo
albuquerque
flagstaff
grand canyon
death valley
las vegas
mojave desert
santa barbara
santa cruz
san francisco

Do any of you guys reckon this is doable, and is there any advice you can offer such as places to stay/visit, advice aboutpicking up a car, money, that sort of thing. Any help would be appreciated.
Tom

[Utahtea]

I think doing this trip with about a months time is do-able. Do you like cities or is this just the route you are taking?

If you like beautiful, natural, scenic locations, then from the Grand Canyon I would go north to Page, AZ to see Lake Powell and then a little farther north to see Bryce Canyon National Park and Zion National Park on your way to Death Valley.

Utahtea

[PNW Judy]

Welcome to the forum.

It sounds like the first issue you need to clear up is the car rental. The first thing you should do is check out the International Page on this website that has lots of good information on the logistics of car rentals for foreign drivers, etc.

Another great page on this website is the Routes & Itineraries page. Lots of info to read through and get ideas from there.

You will definitely have enough time to see this all in 1 month's time. It sounds like a great trip. I have no advice on the car rental but I do know that there are restrictions for long-term rentals, especially when you're dropping off at a different place you're picking up. Car rentals also sometimes limit miles you can drive without paying extra fees. So you really need to do your research on that. I believe the car rental will end up being your biggest expense.

Fuel costs will also be a major expense. Prices here are averaging around $2.50 per gallon. Of course, this is a lot less than you pay in Europe but the miles you'll be driving will be great so the overall costs will be quite a bit.

You ask about money. I assume you mean budget? Well, this varies a lot. Are you planning on camping and are most of your activities going to be outdoor things like hiking? Or are you planning on hotels and doing lots of clubbing?

Lodging can be $15-30 per night if camping. Or $35-200 per night if staying in hotels. There are some inexpensive chain motels that you might want to check out (Motel 6, Super 8, Days Inn, Econolodge, Budget Inn are just a few of these). Food costs can be negligible if you buy a cooler and fill it with food from the supermarket (the deli sections are good places to do this at). Or can be extremely expensive if each meal is eaten in a restaurant. Of course, fast food places like McDonalds, Burger King, Subway, etc. will be a bit cheaper than most sit-down restaurants.

As an example, I usually get fruit, veggies, crackers, cheese, and other easy-to-prepare things like this and eat out of my cooler. I also load up on pop (I'm a Diet Coke addict) and water. What I eat/drink usually costs me about $5-7 per day this way. Every other day, I might eat at a restaurant. Sometimes I splurge on something expensive, sometimes not. Depends on my budget for that particular trip.

Coolers can be purchased at places like Wal-Mart for $10-20. If you decide to try camping,, sleeping bags usually run about $10-12, tents $20-40, pillows are cheap. Waffle-style sleeping pads usually run about $10-12. If you want a bit more padding, you can get a self-inflating sleeping pad for a bit more ($40-60). Anyway, the point is that this gear can be purchased very cheaply and will pay for itself in only a few nights if you decide to camp at least part of the time.

I hope this helps a bit. Feel free to come back with more questions. I'm sure folks would love to help you with specifics about some of the places you're going.

[lhuff]

The reason I ask is because most car rental places will not rent to someone under 25. I noticed that you mentioned being in University. That might clear up the rental vs buy problem.

Other than that the trip looks wonderful. I definitely think that you can do all of that in a month. It looks like you have lots of cities on old Route 66 on your list - there's lots of information on this website and others about attractions along Route 66 and where you can still drive Route 66 as opposed to I-40, etc.