Scoobychick

iTrader: (1)

I'm currently looking into it as a bit of a last minute holiday idea for this coming June. We have 21 days off and were planning to drive down to the Alps and do Stelvio etc but what with the dollar currently being $2 to the £1 I thought now might be a good time to do the States. Well it was that and the photos of the Grand Canyon that Sonic posted a week ago and DCI mentioning Route 66 on a Harley that did it in all honestly

Anyway I've been looking around and RV hire is very cheap - we can get a 2/4 berth 'compact' (ie bloody massive compared to the UK version) motorhome for about $700 for the three weeks including 500 free miles a day.

Now in an ideal world we'd stuff the RV and hire a Mustang convertible and do it in style but the idea of not pre-booking hotels/motels bothers me a bit as I like to have everything organised. On the other hand the idea of just being free to roam also appeals

I need to hear of some other people's experiences of driving in the States

At the moment I'm 60/40 in favour of the USA as opposed to the Alps but need help in deciding especially as it's fast approaching June

Leslie

I think you would love it. Good idea to hire the camper as you say-no worries about accommodation. I have not driven there in a camper so can't give you any info' about camp sites etc but they can't be short of them because campers are so popular there.

I have driven a good bit of Route 66 but in the middle of the night so did not see that much of it, there will be some who can tell about all that though.

The Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, LA and San Diego, Yellowstone Park, and the coast road on the West Coast are well worth seeing believe me. You could have a walk on that Skyway too-have not seen that but what an experience that must be.

I personally would go for the US trip anyway, if you do I am sure you won't regret it.

Les

The Chief

Looked into doing this myself but the US is vast - honestly i went to Texas and we went for lunch at a BBQ and it looked about 10 minutes away, anyway 3 hours later we arrived at our destination.

Not sure about Route66 though - it has degenerated and is now run down and in some parts its gone.

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Personally if i was doing a trip i'd start in Boston work down through Virginia into Tennessee, then come across and maybe Dip into Texas (Austin is brilliant) then up towards Colorado.

Any room in the boot i'll be your map reader

Dave1980

i did a road trip from san francisco - yosemite national park - las vegas - grand canyon national park - lake havasu - san diego - los angeles over 2 1/2weeks.
can highly recommend it, totally different to a europe road trip which me and a few mates do most years through the alps and the south coast of france and italy.

america is a great place to travel, so much to see and the thought of doing it in a mustang convertible would be great.
there is no shortage of accommadation either so only book for major destinations like vegas etc.

fuel is dirt cheap, although apparently $2.80 a gallon is a lot to americans .

go for it, the grand canyon is worth visiting in person as well as flying from vegas. the views are amazing and do the skywalk!.

food is always great too if you love big portions like me

gtijames

this is something i want to do in the future,if you go for it i will be very interested to read about the whole trip go for it,weve just come back from florida it was great and your money just goes so far over there at the moment cant fault it.

Markus

Sal, I don't blame you for wanting to have things booked and from my knowledge of US Immigration, having proof of where you are going to be during your stay does make them rather happy. I'm not sure if just a return airline ticket and proof of car hire for the duration of the visit would satisfy them, and after a flight over there, to be told they aren't going to let you in, would be a bit of a bummer to say the least.
Perhaps I'm just jaded and cynical when it comes to US Immigration and it'd be fine

As others have said, a fair bit of the original Route 66 isn't kept up too well, and I have a feeling you cannot actually do the whole route any longer, but I could be wrong. I'm sure google earth has a KMZ file thingy that has the full route 66 on it, so that might help with planning and such like.

Driving wise, well, you're on the wrong side of the road for a start, which is important to remember as you're a wimmins Seriously though, you get used to it very quickly. The car/RV you have will no doubt be an auto, so that makes life simple too.
Speed limits can be anywhere from 55 - 70 mph, you might get away with going 5 - 10 mph over that, but I'd not risk going any higher, regardless of wether the road is straight as it stretches into the horizon and there is nothing around. Trust me, resist the temptation. I know how boring doing 55 (well, ok 60 - 65 ) on a dead straight road, with nothing but farmland surrounding you, can be. Make sure you have good music to pass the time.

Undertaking is legal in the US, so if you're on a three lane highway and you're occupying the middle lane, don't be surprised if the huge trucks pass you on either side, it can be a bit daunting the first few times it happens. It also means you really do need to check all mirrors before switching lanes and you do get morons tear-arsing up the far left lane.

Fuel pumps: When you take the nozzle off the holder, you may need to push the nozzle holder up to activate the pumps. Not sure if that is still the case these days, but it did confuse me the first time I filled up as there were no instructions telling us what to do.

Street signs: First time in Florida this one got me. When you come to an intersection, there was a street name facing us (hanging on a wire across the center of the intersection). We presumed this told us the street we were on, but it's not, it's was the name of the street we were crossing. The name of the street you are on would be facing the people on the other street, so a bit of head turning to work out the street you were on took place
Also note that some highway exit signs appear out of nowhere. I've missed a few exits because the first indication of the exit is on the overhead sign just before you need to take the exit!

Police: If you get pulled over, do NOT get out of the car. Turn off the ignition, put both your hands on the wheel and wait until the donut eater waddles over to the car. Do whatever he says. If you need to get documentation out of the glovebox or center console are with a lid, tell him what you're doing. He may think you're going for a concealed weapon, and will obviously be a little worried and may ask you politely to exit the car and lay on the ground (Outta the car and on the ground NOW! )

Breakdowns: If you breakdown on a busy highway, I'd move over to the shoulder as far as possible, and sit in the car and wait for a breakdown truck or the police to show up if you don't know what the problem is. If it's a flat tyre then please make sure you are fully off the road. If it's on the left hand side of the car, I'd be very wary of changing it.
We've had cases here on the 401 where people have pulled onto the shoulder, and have been changing the tire and some moron has driven into them.

What else. Umm, let's see. Some intersections let you turn right on red lights, those that don't will have it signposted. If you get to a stop sign you must come to a complete stop (usually I stop completely, count to three, then go). If a cop catches you not stopping, it's a moving violation and usually a $40 fine. Oh, the horn (no, not getting the horn, but using it, I mean the horn on the car ), if you sit at a green light for more than 5 seconds you'll be honked at. If you're going to slow you will be honked at. Basically they use the horn a lot more over here than in the UK. Hand signals seem to really faze and upset them though, and it's not always advisable to give someone the finger, they might be packing heat and decide to give you a lead salad for lunch.

Sonic'

Sal

We flew to San Fran, stayed for 2 nights, got there the evening, next day spent it on Alcatraz, the next day set off in the morning over the Golden Gate bridge and off towards Yosemite/Lake Tahoe

However the road to Yosemite is closed for the winter months, so we carried on straight to Lake Tahoe, stayed there the night, went up on the Ski Slopes, then set off for Death Valley

Stayed in a motel in Death Valley for the evening, then set off driving through the remainder of Death Valley heading into Vegas were we spent the last few days of our holiday

We did a little over a 1000 miles and IIRC cost us about 35 quid in petrol

Hotels/Motels other than the San Fran and Vegas Hotels we just parked up outside what looked good and asked for rooms, and negotiated decent discounts too

Mifo

iTrader: (10)

I did a bit of a drive holiday for 4 weeks in western US a few years back.
we went all over from L.a to san francisco, vegas, death valley,grand canyon etc.

We only had one hotel booked and that was just for 2 days in L.A whilst we got over the flight.

The good thing about america is they have good quality hotels at reasonable prices literally on every main road. They are never full booked either as there is so many of them.

With the pound so strong to the dollar it would be a good time to go.
It was a brilliant experiance thats why I went twice!!!
oh yea , I met cilla black on rodeo drive as well, out of all the stars in the world we had to make do with a scouser !!! haha .

Definatly recommend it!!

Sonic'

Forgot to say, we went to the Canyon from Vegas and did it in one day, it was a long drive but well worth it, nothing can really prepare you or describe, or show you the experience you get when you walk through the trees from the visitor car park at the Canyon and suddenly it is all there in all its glory

Watching the Sunset fall on the Canyon was also pretty spectacular, whilst it slowly turned red

Freak

CA 1 from san fran to LA....Awesome road

Done it a couple of times. Then hop over to vegas and hoover dam.
Can then drive to grand canyon if you want.
Book an open jaw flight, say, into SFO, then back from PHX (phoenix) or LAX,


Dont bother prebooking except for in major cities- motels in abundance and if you pay more then $50 for a motel you have been ripped off...

Scoobychick

iTrader: (1)

Thanks everyone, there's some great info here CA1 is definitely on the list to do and I'm now thinking that flying into SFO is a good option.

One thing that bothers me is driving a motorhome around cities and towns but I guess it wouldn't be the same as trying to negotiate one around the Yorkshire Dales?

Are motels really that cheap and easy to find? Hiring a car is my preferred option but I can't find anyone that does a 'Stang and anyway I guess it might be very expensive What else is a good car option? I know nothing about US cars other than that they're big and don't go round corners

Sonic'

Mustang isnt that expensive, my Sis hired one a few months ago

We didnt pay more than about 20 dollars for the motels, and we had free phone too so Dominos on tap

Freak

yep motels all over the place.

Hertz do stangs- including a shelby gth drop top - thats where i rent mine from whenever I am in LA.
Regular coupe mustanges are v cheap to hire- almost the equivalent of a mondeo over there remember....and gas is cheap too remember!

Scoobychick

iTrader: (1)

How much are you talking? I can't find a Stang for under £1200 for the 21 days, am I doing something wrong?

Freak

Normally works out to around £30 a day for me for a regular mustang coupe....
I have a booking in LA for a day in a weeks time and thats what is has cost me again so no change.

You are using hertz.com not .co.uk right?

Last time I hired for a longer period (jan 4th- 12th) it was £224 all in- and that was hiring in SFO and dropping back at LAX...

I have my american express platinum to cover the CDP cover and insurance, but it doesnt make THAT much difference..

Unless you are choosing a shelby in which case that would explain the high price...they definitely arent cheap!

Scoobychick

iTrader: (1)

It helps if one puts the right dates in For some reason it kept changing my start date. Anyway it now says £783.22 https://www.hertz.com/rentacar/reser...e=whatView.jsp

john_s

iTrader: (1)

As others have said; motels are no problem; they are even signposted approaching junctions on the Interstates.

We a few years ago, we drove from New York to Los Angeles over about 17 days. The only hotel we booked was the first couple of nights in NY (apparently it make life easier getting through customs if you have a US address to put on the immigration form). After that, all we did was drive each day until we'd had enough, then pull into a motel and see if they had a room. We never had to go looking for another to try.

The rough route we followed was NY, Washington DC, Chicago, South Dakota, Denver, Las Vegas, LA.

The only thing that I might consider doing differently if I did it again would be to make a circular tour, as over half the cost of the car hire was the one way charge.

Scoobychick

iTrader: (1)

Thanks everyone, having slept on this I'm now almost 100% convinced to do the States road trip

My latest plan is a circular trip from San Francisco having booked a couple of nights in a motel first then set off taking in as much as we can see in the 21 days. I can't decide between a 4x4 or a car which will probably be a 'Stang Now if we get the 'Stang should we hire the coupe or the convertible? I'm not a huge fan of topless motoring but I thought it might be different in a warm dry country, then again might it be too warm? Decisions decisions...

Steve, where did you stay in San Fran?

Can anyone recommend some really good road maps of the States, something akin to the Phillips Navigator in the UK?

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Didn't do a Route 66, but had a rented Mustang courtesy of work when I was there in Feb. Driving over there is fine, I was quite daunted but get a Sat Nav and that removes some of the stress. American drivers are more docile than over here, in fact it must be horrible for Americans coping with our crowded, speed camera infested, roundabout laden roads full of aggressive buggers.

The Mustang is a real car, of the old school, it rocks side to side when you blip the throttle, sounds nice and makes old school smells of hot engine and burnt rubber, mine was only a V6 but you get the point of it, auto box a bit slow but when you thrap it, it will move ok, get a V8 for the full on Stang experience though.

john_s

iTrader: (1)

We used a Rand McNally US road atlas to go from coats to coast. It shows the major roads for all the states and in more detail for some cities.

It was handy for the "oooh, there's a corner coming up in about an hour" moments.

Scoobychick

iTrader: (1)

Urf That's that decided then about the 'Stang

I just had a brief moment of panic about visas but we're ok under VWP, phew

Sonic'

Sal

IIRC it was the Comfort Inn, but cant remember the name of the road it was on, wasnt very far from the main piers

I took Sat Nav as I had Tom Tom and managed to *cough* source the US maps ended up only really using it to drive through Death Valley at night so I knew what the road ahead was like

We also had a Rand McNally Atlas too which helped for the initial route planning

Sonic'

Oh when are you thinking of going ?

Scoobychick

iTrader: (1)

Ok Rand McNally it is We're going in June

I need to get Tom Tom maps too.

Sonic'

THen the weather shall be on your side then

if you are looking at Death Valley, well in June it is incredibly hot especially midday so make sure you have plenty of water !!

Scoobychick

iTrader: (1)

The thought of Death Valley frightens me quite considerably I've just been looking at flights from Manchester and the cheapest we can get is £384 each which includes one stop, that's ludicrously low! I need to look around more but would prefer not to stop although it might give us a bit of a break and a chance to use our legs

Is there much difference between the different airlines? The choices I'm getting are US Airlines, Delta, United, American Airlines, Continental, BA, BMI, Air Canada, KLM and Air France although those last four are a little more expensive. All are economy, around £400 to £500, premium economy jumps up to £1250 each I think I can suffer a little pain for 16 hours for the difference in cost

Sonic'

Death Valley is really good, some great sites to see there, dont let the name put you off

we drove about 90 miles of it in pitch black (no light pollution at all) in the 3,000 square miles of it and only 3 hotels in there too

whilst driving in the dark we stopped and got out of the car turned the engine and lights off too, was quite eerie but good too

We have always flown Continental or BMI, but mainly Continental, I think we booked the San Fran one through Expedia for the flight to San Fran return from Vegas to Manchester, and the hire car and the Comort Inn, the Hotel in Vegas we booked direct with the Hotel, the others like I say we just turned up on the evening, if that one wasnt Expedia it would have been jetlife and it was cheap too

Ill try and dig a few pics out of Death Valley and Lake Tahoe, both well worth the visits, I just wish we had got to do Yosemite too, but the road will be open the time of year you will be going, also the other side of the Canyon is a better one and a bit less touristy, and again that road will be open the time of year you are going

Klaatu

No, but if you want a serious "road trip" do Sydney to Perth, or reverse, Australia.

Markus

As for maps, do you have a GPS/Sat Nav device? If so, what make an model is it? It should be possible to get US maps for it. For example, I've got a Garmin GPS and the City Navigator NT North America 2008 and it's rather detailed.

Sonic'

Some say my rightful place





Death Valley






Hoover Dam





Lake Mead (full of dead bodies )



Mono Lake (oldest lake in the world, dates back to prehistoric times



Needs no explanation



Lake Tahoe







Finally, the hotel we stayed in in San Fran