meredithd

My friend and I are planning a road trip out west. It will be 30-31 days. Vancouver and surrounding area, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana are all on our lists. BUT we understand we will have cut some states. We want to see a lot but we don't want to be driving all day, everyday. Any suggestions for routes to hit as much of the most important stuff as possible? We'd love an eclectic mix of things.
We will both have $5,000 TOPS each (including approx $500 for flights)
We plan on camping, staying in hostels, and possibly couch surfing (with family in SoCal)
Also what would be the best form(s) of transportation?

In conclusion, we don't know where to start. HELP!

ElendilPickle

What time of year do you want to travel, and what, to you, is the most important stuff? National parks, cities, other scenery?

If you can give us a little more information, we can give you better suggestions.

Lee Ann

happytrailstoyou

There us a big disconnect between your desire to not drive too much and an itinerary that would require 8,000-10,000 miles of driving.

In any event, is there anything specific you hope to see at any of these destinations?

HTtY

tomfuller

In addition to Lee Ann's questions, I like to know where you want to start. You can start in Los Angeles or Seattle or Portland. Check into a 15 or 30 day USA Rail Pass from Amtrak.
Amtrak runs 2 trains and 2 buses between Seattle and Vancouver daily.
Vancouver has 2 HI Hostels. Seattle has one within walking distance of the newly remodeled train station. Portland has two. The one on Glisan St. you can walk to from the train station. My favorite HI Hostel is the one in Sacramento which is a Victorian Mansion. San Francisco has 3 I believe.
My plan would include rides on the Coast Starlight, Empire Builder and the California Zephyr. At the end of each train trip, you would rent a car and make a loop.
I like seeing scenery from the ground instead of flying over it.

nytraveler

Much of what you want to see really needs a car to see efficiently (esp many of the national parks). However, renting a car if you are less than 25 is extra expensive (and often difficult) and if you rent and drop off in different states you will often have to pay a significant drop off fee.

I would check out where there is good/decent public transit ( SF, San Diego) and include those places you can see without renting a car.

Also, do the research to decide what YOUR must sees are - which may be different from ours. Then figure out what type of transit makes sense.

Also agree with that budget you will need to look at hostels - wehr possible (NOT large national parks).

jamie99

Well use of the term "roadtrip" normally implies you will be driving a car. You will pay an underage driver fee, sometimes Hertz has specials where they waive the fee so check there.
I'd do the West Coast from Seattle to San Diego, with stops also in Yosemite and Grand Canyon (there is a hostel, Yosemite Bug, near Yosemite). But you will have to book now especially for Yosemite, as August is a popular time and places book up to a year in advance. Neither of those are places you can just "rock on up".

WhereAreWe

The car rental is going to be the trickiest part.

Are you flying to the West Coast from the U.S. or another country? Many people seem to find the one-way drop-off fee is waived or reduced if they are coming from another country and book through a foreign website or travel agent. They might be able to help with the under-25 issue as well.

You'll also have to research the idea of taking a rental car from the U.S. into Canada, or vice versa. It may be easier (and ultimately cheaper) if you research some other option for getting from Vancouver to Seattle (or vice versa).

I believe that one-way drop-off fees are not allowed in California - if that is true, you can use it to your advantage. If half of your trip is in or around California, make one car reservation for that portion and a separate one for the rest of your trip. You'd likely have to use a bus or train to get between car rental locations, but it may be worth it to save a significant amount of money.

Beyond that, I would agree with the others that are asking what types of things interest you and what you want to see. You cast a pretty wide net and some things need to be narrowed down before giving some more concrete recommendations.

<Neither of those are places you can just "rock on up".>

Actually, every national park has some campground spaces that are non-reservable and available for people who just show up. The key is to show up in the morning to get a site right after someone else checks out.

If OP wants to stay in a hostel or other lodging, definitely a reservation would be smart. But for tent camping, it's not an absolute requirement. If they know their itinerary they can go ahead and reserve a campsite, but if they want some flexibility they are still OK to just walk up and find a camping site as long as they get there early enough in the day.

tomfuller

You can get to Yosemite by using the Amtrak San Joaquin train to Merced and then taking the YARTS bus east to either the BUG Hostel or to Yosemite Falls if you are lucky enough to score a room. There is a YARTS bus stop at the foot of the BUG hostel driveway (near Midpines).
There is a small restaurant at the BUG hostel and you can also bring your own food to cook in the kitchen/dining room cabin.
My Amtrak+rental cars trip would go something like this:
Land at Portland (PDX), take the light rail downtown, take the Empire Builder to Whitefish Montana. Rent a car for 7-8 days in Whitefish and go to see Glacier NP and maybe a day or 2 in Yellowstone with a side trip into Idaho. Return the car to Whitefish and take the westbound Empire Builder to Seattle (train splits in Spokane). From Seattle take 2 days for your side trip to Vancouver (lovely city). Come back to Seattle and then take the Coast Starlight to Sacramento. Decide if you want to see San Francisco or go to Merced to see Yosemite. Once you come back to Merced, you can take the San Joaquin south as far as Bakersfield with a bus from there to Los Angeles or Las Vegas. This would be the time to visit your SOCAL relatives.
With the USA Rail Pass and enough time, you could also take the California Zephyr east from Sacramento to either Salt Lake City or maybe Denver.

StuDudley

Here are some ideas of things to do & see in the San Francisco Bay Area:

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...mendations.cfm

Stu Dudley

nytraveler

Be aware that Amtrak - outside of the NE corridor from Boston to DC provides sparse service that is very unreliable. Often there is one train a day - and as mentioned there is often a bus after the train. Very often these trains are late - often by hours - since the tracks are owned by the freight companies, and their trains take precedence over passenger trains.

So - look into it very carefully before trying to make any trips in the western area by train.

WhereAreWe

I just looked up Amtrak on-time performance. Turns out the San Joaquin and Coast Starlight have on-time stats that are comparable to the Acela Express in the Northeast. All three are above 70% on-time, with the Coast Starlight actually out-performing Acela.

The other routes mentioned have abysmal on-time stats.

San Joaquin has 6 trains a day to Merced which should be sufficient. Coast Starlight has just one which makes it a little tougher to schedule around.

rjasnumberonefan

Sounds like some bff's with 30 days, $10,000, a dream, and the benefit of youth looking to create some memories. If I were in her shoes this would be my trip...(very loose interpretation)

Fly from wherever to Seattle. Get to Vancouver best way possible (train?) cause you can't take rental cars to Canada. Enjoy Seattle, then rent from a Hertz HLE. They will pick you up and saves almost $1000. (Airport rental 30 days underage=$2500 whereas an HLE is $1650.)

Head through Oregon. See some waterfalls and drive 101 down and see the Redwoods.

Wonder down to Reno a bit then hit up beautiful Lake Tahoe. Take scenic route to Yosemite. Head back towards San Francisco then drive the coast to LA and spend a day or 2. (Remember we're 22)

Hit up Vegas, pools, fun. Go enjoy Grand canyon, rafting the Colorado, landscape photography throughout Utah's parks (Zion, Bryce Moab) with a peaceful drive on some of the most beautiful roads. (12 & 24)

Denver or Salt lake? on the way to Teton and Yellowstone.

Afterwards I would have to spend the night at Chico Hot Springs and enjoy the soak, music and fun. Head on up to Glacier and then back to Seattle to turn in my car. approx 5000 miles.

10,000 budget
-1,000 plane fare
-1 650 car rental
-1,000 gas
-1,500 food $25 a day each
-3,000 room $100 a day is generous (tent,KOA cabins,hostels doable)
-$80 National Park Pass
______
$1770 to spare

I travel like this and always allow extra. You can get a cabin or Motel6 for under $50. Pack a cooler and divide that food bill in half. 30mpg at $4 will only be $666, but you may get lost. A few bucks in Reno and Vegas and some other entertainment, but really, research what is cheap or free fun.

Soon they won't be able to drop responsibilities and run off for 30 days. Enjoy the here and now.

RVvagabond

Camping is the best avenue.
Camping in a national forest or on Bureau of Land Management land is free - any quiet. Good Sam and Woodalls (Google) sell where to camp books. buying Good Sam membership saves 10%. Go to a camping store and review each book. Normally, I prefer Woodalls.
Another camping organization is: Passport America. They have 50% off, but those campgrounds are usually more remote from a park. We use them often.

Personally, at your age I'd ride motorcycles. Cheap and 'be free'. Another option is to buy a good used car, e.g. Toyota Corolla, and then sell it when done. Ditto with a small van where you can sleep in it. Also a small camp stove inside to cook tiny meals.

For fun, I 'ran the numbers'. The area of all those states is 1,098,671 square miles!

Anyway, ElendilPickle has the precise suggestion: What are your interests and when? ..."We want to see a lot" -- vague.

When I was 23, my choice was surfing at Huntington Beach, Ca. - nothing else. 30 days there would be perfect.

Vaga

Ackislander

I like rja's approach and suggestions, though I think Denver is too far east. Your real problem will be renting a car, and her/his suggestion offers a way which I do not understand fully (HLE?) around the problem.

August is pretty hot, dangerously hot in the desert unless you are used to it.

It is also not to some people's taste. We toured the Four Corners and Canyonlands with friends. The women hated the desolate scenery!

For moist of this trip, you can make it up as you go along except for lodging in and near the national parks, as above.

Camping requires a lot of preparation and gear. If you have the gear and experience, there are lovely places to camp. If you have to buy the gear, it isn't economic.

WhereAreWe

<Camping requires a lot of preparation and gear. If you have the gear and experience, there are lovely places to camp. If you have to buy the gear, it isn't economic.>

Not really.

Get a tent, sleeping pad or air mattress and a decent sleeping bag. Those are the bare essentials for car camping and it doesn't need to be expensive or super complicated. Camping in most national parks is around $20-25 per night compared to lodging at $100 or more. In less than a week they would save enough to make up for the cost of basic gear.

mlgb

When you are young camping is the best way to go. Cheap tent and sleeping bags, in summer they don't even need to be good ones. In August you will have a hard time finding space in the national parks without reservations, so you may want to try to do that.

Supplement with a few Motel 6 nights along the way, use the last minute discount sites such as Priceline/Hotwire to check prices. Also weekends will be cheaper in cities and more expensive/harder to book in the country.

I would limit the time in the heart of the desert but there are high elevation parts that will be okay..Bryce, North Rim, etc. Maybe skip the South Rim which is just too crowded year round.

kureiff

rja, I like your itinerary. I'm not 22, but I'd like to do it.

rjasnumberonefan

Ackislander, the HLE is Hertz's Local Edition. Basically off airport rental saving you half those crazy airport fees. They have a free pick-up service within 15 minutes. Not allowed to pickup in airport though. If you can walk across the street or catch a cab a couple blocks it is soooo worth the savings. Those figures I used were from the HLE across from Seattle airport for the month of August with an underage driver.

meredithd

My friend is actually from Italy (we met when she was a foreign exchange student) and I am from the USA. Would this be further problem if we rent cars?

We want to go to Outside Lands music festival in San Francisco on August 9th.

I am interested in videography/photography so I'd like to hit up some national parks, we're not too interested in doing too much shopping, more interested in nature but want to see a few cities... hiking (someplace with waterfalls/hot springs), adventurous things (cliff diving, anything fast, you name it) hitting up some beaches and surfing, silly roadside attractions, and maybe a little bit of partying.

Honestly, we want a mix, our interests are broad and we're open to anything! We're also looking for some less touristy "off-beat" places as well.

RJA - we love your suggestion! If anyone else is open to creating an itinerary like this - we'd love it. We are for now trying to figure out the best route and transportation.

Ackislander

Great info here.

I often rent cars off airport but didn't know about Hertz's HLE program.

If the OP and friend could rent a minivan and leave the seats somewhere so as to sleep in the back, the camping idea might make sense. With $300-$500 worth of gear, they could dry camp on BLM land for free, they could stealth camp, or they could stay in WalMart parking lots. For a few more bucks they could stay in primitive sites in National Forests.

But to suggest paying $20-25 per night to camp in a tent with a bunch of yahoos running their generators all night