NYC to LA via Chicago, Vegas & SF

[Midwest Michael]

And did you really only spend $500 on the petrol for a 5000mile trip? That's amazing! I figured it might be almost double that. I guess the prices also vary from state to state.

I would probably budget twice that for the average trip. Prices do vary some from state to state, but the bigger thing often is your cars gas mileage and the time of year. It would take a car getting at least 30 mpg and gas prices around $3 a gallon to see that low of a price.

That is not impossible by any means, but the average car isn't going to get that many mpg, and in the spring and summer prices tend to typically be up around the $4 mark.

[Subman]

Charlie H: thank you for the credit card link - I will be checking out (my own card is not the best). And thanks for all your amazing suggestions!

Midwest Michael: sorry I didn't know about where to post/not to post. And thanks for your invaluable advise!

My Rand McNally just arrived in the post - a great looking book - so I'll be studying that closely, and hopefully won't bother you guys with all my pointless questions all the time.

Thanks.

Subman

[Southwest Dave]

hopefully won't bother you guys with all my pointless questions all the time.

No questions are pointless if you need/ want to know the answers. You can ask as many questions as need be and we will do our best to answer them, that's what the road trip forums are all about.

Enjoy the planning and keep asking questions as and when.

Dave.

[Charlie H]

Charlie H: thank you for the credit card link - I will be checking out (my own card is not the best). And thanks for all your amazing suggestions!


Subman

You're more than welcome. Here's another comment on the Halifax card from another member of the other Forum: "That's the one my wife took with her too as a fallback to the pre-paid card we had. No problems at all or any scary rates."

[Lifemagician]

... if you get a good exchange rate on those cards?

My concern would be losing the card. Obviously, if you lose a roll of cash, then it's gone forever, but what happens with these prepaid cards? Losing a credit card wouldn't be so bad because you can cancel it, but would the cash you have on the dollar card be lost or does it have the same protection as a credit card (since it has the Mastercard symbol on it)?

It was only after I had read the booklet, and spent some time with the lady at Travelex, that I understood what these cards are all about... how they work. Friends and folk whom I had met along the way on a previous trip, were using them, and recommended same.

The point is, cash cards do not give you an exchange rate. You get your US dollars at whatever rate you can get them, and then load them onto the card. You can keep adding to them at will. It is the most convenient way to transport cash across the pond. [With the Canadian credit card, you still have to pay the fees at your bank, to settle your account.]

Ask the provider, though I believe they have the same security if lost, than any other card. I certainly would not accept one which did not have a cover if lost or stolen. It pays to check out all your local suppliers of Cash Cards, their conditions, security, etc. I would be surprised if your bank does not have this product. Locally, I can get almost a dozen different ones. Have not used them in the past, but will definitely use one on my trip in 2014.

Lifey

[Charlie H]

Point Of Clarification: The Halifax credit card mentioned above is not a Canadian card but rather a UK card issued by a bank in Leeds.

[Subman]

Thanks to all your great advice and some lengthy consultations with Mr McNally, we are currently looking at a route/schedule that would go something like this:

Day 1-2: Fly in & New York
Day 2-3: Drive to Chicago, via US-224 as suggested by AZBuck
Day 4: Chicago
Day 5-6: Chicago to Cheyenne, Wyoming, via I-80.
Day 7: Cheyenne to Denver & Denver
Day 8-10: Denver to Flagstaff via US-191 (including UT-128/Arches, Moki Dugway (thank you Dave!), Monument Valley, Grand Canyon)
Day 11: Around Flagstaff
Day 12: Flagstaff to Vegas, via Route 66 Seligman to Kingnam
Day 13: Vegas
Day 14: Vegas to LA via Death Valley
Day 15: LA
Day 16-17: LA to SF via Pacific Coast Highway
Day 18-19: SF & Fly out

Since we will have 21-22 days in total, this plan would have some scope for delays and/or adding stuff somewhere. But are some of the driving bits here too ambitious? On pure 'driving days', we'll be happy to do 8-10 hours between places.

The trip would also end in SF instead of LA, as that city interests us more than LA. This would leave out Yosemite NP, but I'm not sure if we would have time for that. And it would mean doing the PC Highway on the 'wrong' side of the road - I've seen elsewhere on the forum people recommending driving it the other way round. Would this diminish the experience and make it more difficult to stop at the scenic viewpoints?

I was also wondering, if driving in the larger cities is problematic? (I personally never drive in London for example, as I find it scary and chaotic). We would be driving in Chicago, Denver and LA - Chicago in particular I've heard can be difficult to drive in. Instead of staying in a hotel right in the center, would it be better to stay in a motel somewhere on the outskirts and use public transport to get to the central areas?

Thank you for all your previous kind responses! Planning the trip is fun and, to be fair, that plan might still change many many times..

Subman

[DonnaR57]

Chicago -- yeah, yuck. One of my least favorite cities to drive in! If you get a place in the central city, you can walk or ride city transportation to get to whatever museum you want to go to. Our plans for a future trip involve staying with family in the southern suburbs and riding Metra into the city to do the Museum of Natural History and Navy Pier. Tinley Park, Richton Park, and Matteson are good spots to find lodging and close enough to Metra Stations at Tinley Park and Richton Park (I believe).

Denver isn't too bad -- we don't mind driving through there, but like any other city, we try to avoid between 6 am and 9 am, and 3 pm to 6 pm. Our rule of thumb: if planning to stay in a city, stay on the further side to avoid the need to drive through and become part of Rush Hour traffic the next morning.

LA? Frankly that scared the bejeebers out of me for years. Now I have become accustomed to it. The best time to "just pass through", though, is still 1 am to 4 am.


Donna

[glc]

Parking in downtown Chicago is quite expensive - even if you stay in a hotel you can't park free. Figure at least $25 a day.

[Southwest Dave]

The trip would also end in SF instead of LA, as that city interests us more than LA. This would leave out Yosemite NP, but I'm not sure if we would have time for that.

I'm not sure I understand the logic here. Yosemite is a wonderful place if you can make the time and if SF interests you more than LA then why not simply spend your time in SF and have a relaxing drive down the coast, drop the rental car off and fly out of LA, or skip LA altogether ?

Your actual drives look fine and manageable although, as an example, you could spend a week between Denver and the Grand canyon and not see anywhere near all there is to see. Have you considered visiting Rocky mountain NP, staying in Estes Park and visiting the Bear lake area would be an option, whether you stayed there instead of Cheyenne or spent time there rather than in Denver. If Denver appeals to you then that's great, but I know which I would prefer. ;-) I'd also think that you will be arriving late to Flagstaff after visiting Arches and driving the Moki Dugway and would need to visit the Grand canyon for a full day on day 11 instead of "Around Flagstaff".