Solo Road Trip Toronto to Utah

[rvital87]

Hi everyone

I am planning on taking a 2-3 week road trip at the end of August. I dont have anyone willing or able to come with me so this will be a solo trip which is okay with me because I think it will be somethng that I will enjoy either way. I'm planning on travelling from Toronto to southern Utah/northern Arizona because I've always wanted to go to the southwestern desert states. I then want to take a southern route to Atlanta and then up I-75 back home.

So far I've figured I will need 2-3 weeks for the journey and around $3000 for food, lodging and gas. I'm wondering if this is this a reasonable timeline and budget? For this trip I'm not really interested in doing any sightseeing in any major cities so I won't mind if most of my trip is spent on the road. I will defintely want to take in the natural beauty in Utah/Arizona and do some hiking there.

I don't want to be confined to the interstates and I want to be able to experience 'small-town' rural America. So if anyone has some off the beaten path route suggestions, i would love to hear them.

Also I want to know if anyone has done this type of solo road trip and if it is easy to meet new people?

Thanks

[glc]

Welcome!

Your timeline is pretty tight unless you take the full 3 weeks. It's a 4 day drive on Interstates without sightseeing from Toronto to the Grand Canyon, 3.5 days to Atlanta, then 2 days back to TO. That's 9.5 days minimum of just driving, so double that for 19 days - that's essentially 3 weeks.

$3000 would be $150 a day - that should be doable unless your car is a gas hog and if you stick to camping and/or budget motels/hotels, and eat 1 restaurant meal a day and keep the rest of your food in a cooler. Hotels with free breakfasts are a plus.

[Lifemagician]

Also I want to know if anyone has done this type of solo road trip and if it is easy to meet new people?

So far I have almost 100000 miles under my belt, north of the Mexican border, and up to the Arctic Ocean.... as a solo traveller. I far prefer doing my own thing, and pleasing myself. Here are some of the ways I meet folk along the way. After all, travel is much more about the folk you meet, than (almost) anything else.

For that reason I like staying in hostels (they are no longer called youth hostels) where I have other travellers with whom to share experiences... while cooking and eating a meal and in the common areas. They will tell you where they have just been, what the road is like, what they saw, etc., and may even have you going out looking for things you had never heard of. (Most hostels have private rooms, often with en suite.)

Campgrounds are another great opportunity to meet other travellers. If you do not want to tent it, many have cabins, some of which are self contained and quite luxurious. Usually cost about the same as a hotel room, but a much greater opportunity to meet the 'next door neighbour'.

And then there is when you go into a place to sit down for a meal or a cuppa, don't go choose an empty table or stall, just peruse the place, and look for someone who is alone. By simply asking 'Would you mind if I joined you?', you will soon find out if you are welcome. And if you are not, well, you are no worse off. Not everyone wants company, but those who do, are often among the most interesting folk you will meet.

And finally at rest areas along the way. Rather than just rush in and out, check out the travel information. Others who do, will often share with you where they have been, what they have seen, etc.

There are so many ways to meet interesting folk on the road, but to meet them, you have to be one.

Lifey

[DonnaR57]

There's an author of fiction books, Sue Henry, who is a solo traveler between the Lower 48 and Alaska. One of her series is about a solo RV'er who gets herself in the middle of mysteries. In an interview one time, Ms. Henry said that the stories are definitely fiction, but the background information for each geographical area, and some of the experiences in traveling, are not. If you are a reader, check out her books. The Maizie stories are the lone-traveler novels.

If you can swing the full 3 weeks, you're better off. Otherwise, that many miles in 2 weeks will have you spending most of it on the road, seeing only what you can besides the little white lines down the center of the road.


Donna