Miami to California in November

[Fee]

Some friends and I are hoping to travel from Miami to California from mid October to November. We are curious as to a few things and everything is changeable..basically we want to do a fairly cheap and cheerful trip!!!

Our initial plan is Miami -> Memphis/New Orleans -> Louisanna -> Dallas -> Albuquerque -> Grand Canyon -> Las Vegas -> California

1. What is a realistic timeframe in which to do this trip
2. What is a realistic budget
3. A cheap but good rental company
4. Car or RV (we don't see ourselves handling camping for more than a week!)
5. Any suggestions on highlights along the way

Cheers!!!

[Mass Tim]

Welcome to the RoadTrip America Forum!

Here is a breakdown of your route via the fastest roads; these times take into consideration the possibility of construction and traffic, but not necessarily rest stops:

Miami - Memphis - 17-18 hours
Memphis - New Orleans - 7 hours
New Orleans - Dallas - 8.5 - 9 hours
Dallas to Albuquerque - about 12 hours
Albuquerque to Grand Canyon - 7 hours
Grand Canyon to Las Vegas - 5 hours
Las Vegas to California - where in California are you headed?

Generally, by the direct route, it takes five days to travel coast to coast in the USA. This trip would be an absolute minimum of 14 days and I would strongly suggest three weeks, especially dependent on where in California you are headed. With just two weeks, you'll do mostly driving and not be able to get out and experience many places for long.

You and your friends will also want to check out our Roadtrip Compatibility Quiz to make sure you all have the same expectations of your trip.

Will you all be sharing duties and responsibilities equally? Is there a person in the group that has any special needs? Have you done any long trips before in the past? What is your budget? There are many things to consider. You'll find some more information on our Planning Pages.

[Fee]

Thanks for that,

We plpan on taking 4 weeks for the entire trip, so we should have plenty of time to see the sights. Our quote for the RV is €3565 (with Moturis INC), does that seem reasonable?
Can you suggest any points of interest we should visit en route?