Road trip through the US

[Nycle]

I'm going to spend my yearly month in the US in about a week, and this time instead of hanging around the Chicago/Indianapolis area I wanna go to California for a week to see some relatives and to experience the apparent 'awesomeness' of the area. My first thought was to drive there with two other persons in a borrowed car, following this route with a navigational device.

But since I've never done this before, not even in densely populated Europe, I wonder what you guys think of this? Is it safe? Because apparently it's taking you through a desert in which no one actually lives? And I've heard all kinds of crazy shit happening there, going as far as alien abductions :fear:.

I could fly there too, it's about 200 euros (roughly $300) per person but spending $900 for only a week seems like a total waste, but then again I really want to have seen California for once in my life instead of the boring corn belt all the time.

So what should I do? If you guys have any input, experience or tips on this I'd be happy to hear from you.

[Cops]

how much is that going to cost for fuel?

I'd just fly to be honest, you don't want to be sitting on a bus for 15 hours plus. Gas is going to rape your wallet but so is a plane, it's a tough deicison either way.

[PH]

no, don't fly. you do not want to miss new mexico. seriously. i've lived in the northeast and northwest parts of the state, and i've driven to various other parts. it's one of the most beautiful places i've ever seen. you probably won't like albuquerque too much, but the rest of the state is absolutely gorgeous.

[DankNuggets]

by clicking the "avoid highways" button above your directions, i think the trip becomes 100% more interesting. It also add another day of driving, who know's how many miles, not to mention getting lost. But hey, there's got to be truth to that "road less traveled by" philosophy, right?



That's a hell of a drive, i hope california is worth it. i noticed it says total time 1 day, 6hrs. is that non stop driving? you might turn your weeklong californina stay into a 4 day stay, with 3 days of driving :fear:

[Aquatiq]

take route 66 :fear:

[Dameon Angell]

Ahh, you're driving to my house.

[Exalt]

I'm going to spend my yearly month in the US in about a week, and this time instead of hanging around the Chicago/Indianapolis area I wanna go to California for a week to see some relatives and to experience the apparent 'awesomeness' of the area. My first thought was to drive there with two other persons in a borrowed car, following this route with a navigational device.

But since I've never done this before, not even in densely populated Europe, I wonder what you guys think of this? Is it safe? Because apparently it's taking you through a desert in which no one actually lives? And I've heard all kinds of crazy shit happening there, going as far as alien abductions :fear:.

I could fly there too, it's about 200 euros (roughly $300) per person but spending $900 for only a week seems like a total waste, but then again I really want to have seen California for once in my life instead of the boring corn belt all the time.

So what should I do? If you guys have any input, experience or tips on this I'd be happy to hear from you.

ok so in march i did a roatrip from chicago down to east texas, through entire state of texas, new mexico, arizona, utah, colorado, and back to chicago

this sounds somewhat like what i did, except i do not like the route your taking, its terrible, you do NOT want to drive through the panhandle of texas or go through oklahoma, its just... boring

if you really want a great trip (and yes its safe) then go down through missouri and arkansas into texas, and take eastern texas down through san antonio and go west into el paso, from there you would want to go through new mexico and arizona into southern california

the road trip is by far better than flying, you see SO much more and its a great experience, but you need to go with a friend, and will have to stop in various hotels, which shouldnt be a big deal

yes driving is very safe, and actually quite fun, bring lots of cds and things like that, and lots of money for food and energy drinks and smokes/dip etc if you do it


i think driving is the way to go, but try not to go the route you are, its not good scenery until you hit new mexico that way... go down into texas then the scenery starts getting good, and is worth the trip

probably my favorite drive ive ever had was from san antonio west into el paso, some of the best scenery ive ever seen, and southeast utah and grand canyon area in arizona was pretty damn cool too

[Fit of Rage]

Drive it. Gas isn't expensive enough to make it cheaper to fly (yet). It'll be a couple days driving each way but totally worth it. If it's the three of you in a car, you could take turns every 3 or 4 hours and drive 12 hours a day and get there in 2.5 days.

For once in his godforsaken life, ph is correct. New Mexico rocks, but then again so does most of California.

[Displaced]

Definately drive it, I'm thinking about doing this with a stopover in Paris IF I have a holiday.

should be interesting.

[Mantra-Slider]

I see you are going through malmö disp

[Nycle]

how much is that going to cost for fuel?

I'd just fly to be honest, you don't want to be sitting on a bus for 15 hours plus. Gas is going to rape your wallet but so is a plane, it's a tough deicison either way.

After doing some quick calcs, going by car I'm estimating will cost us about $500 for a return trip, and that's a generous estimate. Converting that to euros since I'm using a euro-denominated credit card will result in about €320, which eases the pain a bit given the current exchange rate right now and the fact that oil is priced in dollars. So with rising commodity prices in the back of my mind, now might just be the best time to do this trip, before the dollar strengthens again and making this less affordable. You got a point there though with sitting in a car for that long, but looking at what I can save... it's money I might as well invest in my college fund for next year.

Thanks for all the suggestions about picking a route with a more interesting scenery, but frankly all I care about is getting there ASAP and as cheap as possible (thus creating the car vs. plane dilemma). I only have one month of time and I need to go to Missouri and Northwestern New York (state) as well, but they're all a lot closer to my home base.

[Money]

about a 3-4 day drive to cali..or.....3-4 hour flight..u decide.

[Emaho]

I see you are going through malmö disp

And Gothenburg!

[gran guerrero]

if you want to get there fast, then just take plane (it won't help with costs, but definitely the time issue), but if you decide to drive, listen to exalt on this one and do not drive through Oklahoma, or Kansas for that matter. fucking farm fields nonstop, nearly drove me crazy.

All of California is a trip in itself, it really is a diverse state.

Also when driving, be sure to bring the necessary entertainment to keep you not bored. Once you do that, add more to that necessary amount. Trust me when I say life on the road can dry up fast (unless your into watching scenery, then your set)

[Cops]

After doing some quick calcs, going by car I'm estimating will cost us about $500 for a return trip, and that's a generous estimate. Converting that to euros since I'm using a euro-denominated credit card will result in about €320, which eases the pain a bit given the current exchange rate right now and the fact that oil is priced in dollars. So with rising commodity prices in the back of my mind, now might just be the best time to do this trip, before the dollar strengthens again and making this less affordable. You got a point there though with sitting in a car for that long, but looking at what I can save... it's money I might as well invest in my college fund for next year.

Thanks for all the suggestions about picking a route with a more interesting scenery, but frankly all I care about is getting there ASAP and as cheap as possible (thus creating the car vs. plane dilemma). I only have one month of time and I need to go to Missouri and Northwestern New York (state) as well, but they're all a lot closer to my home base.

If you've got a crap load to do then maybe spending 3 days driving isn't the best solution for you, however from what people are saying the drive is pretty beautiful.

check kayak.com for plane prices, it compares air fares. You might also want to try air tran or any other charter company. I just got back from Montreal on the weekend, it was a 5-6 hour train ride from Toronto. I find the train to be a comfortable way of traveling while still enjoying the scenery. I think the amtrak has some interesting routes.

have you considered this?
http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/Conten...827&ssid=10980



You're still looking at over a day of travel, if you think anything more than 20 hours is too much time for you to travel there then you should just fly.