Advice Needed for road trip for 5 18 year old UK citizens.

[Ted Reeves]

Hi,
Me and my pals are planning a road trip through the USA from April to June. We plan to start in Miami after 2 weeks in Cuba, head up to New York and then across to San Fran and LA. However, we desperately need advice as to whether this is even possible. We are all 18 years of age so I understand that renting a car would be impossible. We therefore plan to buy a second hand car or van, although we are unsure if it is possible to get car insurance as 18 year old and as a non US citizen. Would really appreciate any advice or links to websites that can offer us this.
Thanks.

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

I don't have much good news for you. It is extremely difficult for someone your age to do a roadtrip in the US.

It is very difficult to find a rental car company that will rent to someone in your age, but purchasing a car as a non-resident is even more difficult. It's nearly impossible for most non-resident tourists to purchase a car, and then get it licensed and insured, but with your age, getting insurance would be and even bigger problem than it already is (and would be extremely expensive if you can even find someone to sell it to you.)

If you search around, you may be able to find someone who will rent you a car, although probably not for a one-way cross country trip. You might be able to find a company that will allow you to rent, and return in the same location. Even there, it will require quite an effort to find a company that will rent to anyone at age 18, and there could be geographic restrictions that prevent you from driving it across the country.

I will also note that getting from Cuba to the US won't be easy either. Due to the embargo, you won't find any scheduled service on the major airlines, you'll have to look into a charter service.