Florida to California. The best route??

[Gio]

Can this be done. We will have three or four of us on this trip. Only two of us will be on the rental policy to drive though.
We were thinking about three days each way, and four days in Califonia. We would be leaving from Tampa and going to Los Angeles.

Some people say this drive takes five days each way. Now that doesnt leave us any fun time. We can simply allocate more time if need be. What would some people here recommend for this trip as far as time goes?

Thanks for any help here.

[Mark Sedenquist]

Can this be done. We will have three or four of us on this trip. Only two of us will be on the rental policy to drive though.

Welcome to the Great American RoadTrip Forum! By the shortest possible distance it is 2,525 miles. If you were to drive a minimum of 15 hours every day, you can cover this distance in three days. Generally we recommend that drivers not exceed 8-10 hours a day and a five-day pace is more more saner. But it can be done in three. RTA Rule of thumb: If you drive at least 75 mph on the highways/Interstate freeways over an eight hour+ travel day you will have achieved an average speed of 55 mph east of the Mississippi and 57 mph west of the Mississippi River. This lower speed allows time for fuel and rest breaks, traffic slowdowns, etc.

The biggest problem with driving 2500 miles in three days, is that you will need a full day of sleep at each end of it to recover. If you don't take that time to rest, you will be a dangerous driver. So, take the five days or don't try to drive as far!

Mark

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

Tampa to LA is 2500 miles, so you'd have to be driving more than 800 miles a day to make this trip in 3 days. From my experience, you can pull off an 800 mile drive one day, maybe 2, but that third day would be pure hell. Trying to pull the same feat going back home would be even worse - and you'd need a vacation once you finished your trip.

500 Miles a day is a good, but still fairly long, distance to travel in one day, so I'd agree that 5 days would be the recommended minimum time for this journey. I'd probably say driving out in 4 days and going back home in 5 would be reasonable, however.

If you can take a few more days for this trip, do it. You'll end up having a much better time.

[AZBuck]

I'm with Michael on this one. In the same sense that "If you have to ask, you can't afford it.", since you had to ask how many days it would take, you really need five each way to pull this off. Also, very important, read the fine print on the rental contract. Many will have in large print - Unlimited Miles - and it's not until you get down to the agate type that you find out that that only applies so long as the vehicle doesn't leave the state of Florida. Check this very carefully, and yes, they will know where you've been!

AZBuck

[Gio]

Hi everyone and thanks for the replies. Im renting through Avis and they allow the car out of state with unlimited miles. I was up front and told them where we would be going.

I will make this trip longer. 14 days would be perfect I think. That leaves 5 days time each way and we still get our 4 days in California that way.

Thanks for all the advice. We are bringing and good DigiCam and a Powerbook. So there will be LOTS of pics to upload once we are back! :)

So in your opinions is 14 days a better bet? Or longer? We have 3 weeks total if it comes to it. Thanks again.

[Midwest Michael]

14 days is a whole lot more reasonable than 10, but I don't see why you are trying to do this in such a hurry. But if you've got 3 weeks, you might as well use it.

500 miles a day is quite reasonable, but at the same time it doesn't allow that much time for sight-seeing. Why don't you take some of those extra days and see some of the many things along the way?

If your only goal is to get out to LA as quickly as possible, then considering the cost of your car rental and gas, you might find that flying is actually a cheaper and better option for what you are looking for.

[Gio]

Whats the best route to take? I dont mind long open road, I actually prefer it.

I have 14 days, and figure on 5 days each way for travel time. We have 4 people going so we can drive many miles in a day if need be.

Im getting different advice on routes to take and Mapquest has many way to get there of course. I would just like to hear from those who have actually done it.

Thanks for any help.

[Mark Sedenquist]

Whats the best route to take? I dont mind long open road, I actually prefer it.

I never know what constitutes the "best route" -- The fastest one would be I-10 straight across. I have done it several times over the years, -- but in order to give tips about the "best one" What would be the best one for you?

Mark

[Mass Tim]

Well, one thing we need to know is - what are your interests? There are many options available to you. Help us help you!

[Gio]

Well we are really just four friends wanting to hit the open road. We want to get to California, see L.A. and all the sights etc. On the way back we would like to see Las Vegas. Other than that we have no set plans. Sounds crazy I know. We have all wanted to take a road trip but in the last 2 weeks we have just set out to do it. Financial things fell into place, and we all have the time available, so its now or never! LOL!

Thanks for any help. Im open to any suggestions of things to see along the way too.