Around the country road trip. How many stops?

[Jaqulyn Moon]

I am about to set off on a two month road trip around the country. Leaving Dallas out to LA, then up the California coast to.San Francisco/Portland/Seattle/Vancouver, across part of Canada then New England and down the east coast.

Not a family vacation, just a college/bucket list trip. Im struggling back and forth if it would be better to have fewer destinations/cities that I stop at and spend more time in them or if seeing more places but less thoroughly.

Any opinions or rights are greatly welcomed.

Note: Hostels and camping are lodging preferences.

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

These are the questions we all face and ultimately one that only each individual can answer for themselves. You have a nice amount of time and only you know how long that 'Bucket list' is. If you are not pre-booking everything in advance, why not just wait and see how it unfoilds when you are on the road. As long as you have enough time and money left to make it home, there will be no need to worry. If you stay in a place longer than expected it will probably balance out with other places that might not live up to your expectations where you could move on quicker. There will be many other opportunities to hit the road and visit places that remain on the list at the end.

Have a good look around the forums and road trip planning pages above and you will find lot's of ideas and planning tools.

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA forum!

Your question really gets at the very essence of what makes roadtrips great: There is no right answer to your question!

The balance between seeing more places or deeply exploring fewer places is completely up to your own tastes. The roadtrip is one of the few forms of travel where you get to decide and go at your own pace, not at a pace determined by someone else's itinerary.

I can tell you that in my college days I typically did fast paced trips, and as I've gotten a bit older, I like slightly more relaxed trips, and I kind of regret how much I missed as I raced through some places (although they are still great trips with great memories). Having said that, I still generally take a pace that would be faster than a lot of other people would find enjoyable.

But you've got to find the balance that works best for you. I'd start with your best guess, but keep things flexible enough that you can make adjustments as you learn what will be ideal for you.

[Lifemagician]

Note: Hostels and camping are lodging preferences.

For hostels, check out this site. You may also like to look into Couchsurfing... a great way to see and learn about a place in a short time.

(Typed while lodging with a couchsurfing couple.)

Lifey