gorillabay

Hello, I am new to the site. I am a 41-year-old single male from California wanting to go from my home state to Virginia and back (southerly the way there, northerly the way back).

I plan to leave in the beginning of April and be gone about 2 months, staying with family 25-33% of the time in at least 7 different points along the way.

I anticipate driving 5-6 hours per day, and for the most part avoid major interstates. I'd like to see minor league baseball games, small towns, museums, national parks, and so on.

I am hoping for a budget of about $120 a day. My trip is about 8500 miles as is though that doesn't include spontaneous detours.

The mode of travel is undecided. I own a '07 Honda Civic Hybrid, which is very reliable but may be too small for the job. Other considerations include buying a cheap (3K or under) used van from a private seller (e.g., craigslist); leasing a new Honda CR-V or similar (at the approx. cost of $800 for the 2 months; I'd have to stay under 12K miles); renting or buying a car similar to the CR-V; or taking a combination of Amtrak and Greyhound and renting cars at various points.

I am not a camper but am okay with sleeping in a car provided a shower is not difficult to get; I am open to sleeping in the car at truck stops and camping grounds. I am also becoming familiar with couchsurfing and am open to cheap motels, hostels, etc.

This is a longtime dream of mine that more or less began with reading Blue Highways and other road trip books. It will involve putting aside work which I should be able to pick back up on my return, though I am hoping to then transition to a new career. I will be writing a lot on this trip and taking photographs and will make a book out of the experience.

Any tips, advice, etc. is very welcome. The mode of travel is the biggest question mark right now. Keeping to the budget is important.

MidwestHiker

You will find out that 2 months sounds like a long time, but once you start to list out everything you want to see, 2 months won't be nearly enough time for it all. My general rule of thumb is: spend the most time at the locations that are most difficult to get to since those are the locations you are least likely to visit again. I wouldn't spend much time in any of the states that border California at the expense of states further away.

I would vote for the $800 leased vehicle as that sounds like it's the most reliable vehicle you would get and that price is far cheaper than a rental. No idea how you can get a 2 month lease but it sounds like you have that part figured out. Buying a used van for under 3K is a horrible idea - at that price point you would be looking at something old with high mileage and I would not trust it to go across the country and back. Amtrak/Greyhound plus renting a car at various points would undoubtedly cost more than $800 over 2 months, and you would be at the mercy of their schedule and routes.

I would not want to sleep in a car except as a last resort. You would be better off buying a tent and sleeping pad - there is no way to get comfortable in a car, and quite frankly you will be spending enough time in it just driving without also sleeping in it.

April in the southern U.S. is beautiful. Coming back across the northerly route in May will be fine, but you can still run into snow in some locations (Yellowstone, Rocky Mountains).

tomfuller

I have driven a Honda Civic cross country before and it would be fine for a single person. Depending on where the family is, you could also use a USA Railpass. The 45 day railpass is $899 (18 segments).
You could also start out with the car and park it at an Amtrak station and go from there with a railpass.
In areas where you don't have family to stay with, see if you can find a HI Hostel.
I would not consider riding more than 150 miles on Greyhound.
My style is to ride Amtrak and then rent a car and drive a loop and then ride onward on Amtrak.
Where in California will you be starting from?

nytraveler

IMHO you should really stick to a car for the maximum flexibility and comfort (cross country buses often use dreadful routes and drop you off i the middle of the night).

As for which car - need to know more:

If your own car is in decent shape and have it gone over thoroughly by a mechanic before taking it for this length trek

I would not buy a decrepit camper and hope it would make the trip rather than die in the middle of it

And wold definitely stay in budget motels - or hostels - rather than try to sleep n your car - which is illegal in many places.

Gretchen

Your car should be fine IMO with the added suggestion of getting it all checked out before leaving.
Your driving time (and I know you would do/figure this out on your own) may be longer in the west and right on in the east--and tailored to your day's itinerary.
Again, from long time trip planning, I am a get-a-paper-map-and-stick-pins-in-it to plan a long trip. Easy to see--easy to adjust.
I think this sounds like a great trip and kudos to you for wanting to do it.
And I agree with the observation that the time will fly by/it seems like a long time.

janisj

Your own car should be fine -- MUCH better than a junker van/camper you could buy for that price.

Have it checked over and replace any belts/hoses that are near their life expectancy even if they seem OK to the mechanic.

Don't plan on sleeping in your car almost anywhere . . . 30, 40 years ago sure -- But not only is it illegal most places, it wouldn't be safe.

SusanM

If you take your own car (thus saving $$ on other modes of transpo), look into buying a few car accessories that will make your trip more comfortable. The first one that comes to mind is a cooler that plugs into the car so you don't need to deal with ice.

gail

Sounds like fun. Add me to the list of saying drive your own car. You have 6 months to plan this. I am guessing if you tell everyone you know and the friends/relatives on the way, you can find an assortment of friends of friends to add to your collection of free sleeps.

Keep the inside of the car organized and clean on the trip. Make a point of throwing out trash daily. While the trip should be great fun, getting back into a car littered with granola bar wrappers and plastic water bottles is depressing. When we have taken long road trips, we pack a separate duffle with foul weather clothing - boots, etc - and keep it separate from other clothing.

gorillabay

Hello, everyone. Thank you for your kind replies and good suggestions. Additional research is going to help me fine-tune everything. I like my Honda for the most part. I have decided that getting in and out of it a lot is a little hard on the back. (I started delivering pizzas a couple years ago and this is when I really started to notice that). It has a low carriage. But is it reliable? Yes. I've only done routine maintenance since I purchased it 5 years ago. It had 44K miles on it then and now it has 127K.

If I can get the right combination of cheap (but not dangerous or filthy) motels, stays with family, and couchsurfing and similar services, that would be preferable to camping for me. I understand camping is cheap; it is possible I could learn it and get the hang of it, but I wouldn't want to rely heavily on that.

Here is the basic route as of now:

1. Oakland, CA across Nevada to Salt Lake City, UT
2. Salt Lake City - Taos, NM
3. Taos across Texas to Natchez, MS
4. Natchez to Selma, AL
5. Selma to northwest South Carolina
6. Northwest SC - Alexandria, VA
7. Alexandria - Louisville, KY
8. Louisville - Indiana
9. Indiana - Madison, WI
10. Madison - Mt. Rushmore
11. Mt. Rushmore - Int'l Peace Garden
12. Int'l Peace Garden - West Yellowstone, MT
13. West Yellowstone - Salt Lake City, UT
14. Salt Lake City across Nevada to Oakland


The replies pertaining to weather will be taken under consideration and this route is definitely not set in stone. There are family stops in UT, NM, VA, IN, WI, and MT. I am hoping that, as Gail says, others will pop out of the woodwork once the trip is publicized.

I can push the trip back some; but the idea was to skip the summer due to heat and tourism season.

Thanks again for all your help and any follow-up posts to this one would be amazing.

One final note - I am perplexed about couchsurfing. I posted on there for help and no one has replied, and I noticed that most people who posted did not receive a reply either. Also when looking up cities, there are lots of hosts but it seems a lot of hosts haven't been on the site in months or years. So I'm just wondering about the viability of it, and how prevalent it is outside of the big cities (I plan to avoid big cities).

Gretchen

I think your start is a little out of the way to go to SLC, even for family. BUT you do live in CA so can get to Yosemite or other sights there on your own that I would have suggested.
I would suggest you add the southeast Carolina coast to your itinerary and head up the coast to VA.

In Alabama, don't miss the Southern Poverty Law Center and its Maya Lin memorial to the civil rights movement. It is powerful and beautiful.

One way of packing we utilized on a 6 week family car trip that helped with luggage size. We packed in soft side duffle bags and had a "laundry" duffle bag. The thinking is--as clothes get dirty, the main bag "shrinks" and the laundry bag grows but not much more room is taken up in the car.

Ackislander

Dividing up the stuff in the car is the key to a happy trip.

You need a bag that goes inside with you at night with toiletries, book, charger, snack, clean clothes. Whatever you need overnight, but it has to fit in one bag. The rest stays in the car. Sort it all out at your first rest stop every day.

You need a small cooler and a snack box that you can open with one hand. It should sit on the front seat. Clean up at every stop, per Gail.

GPS is fine for getting to a particular address or finding the next gas station, but they are terrible for looking at the big picture. From SLC to Taos, for example, your GPS may show Mesa Verde, but it isn't likely to let you know about Hovenweep, which is amazing. The old Santa Clara Pueblo is different from Taos Pueblo, but it is not to be missed and near enough to Bandelier National Monument.

You need a real road atlas per Gretchen, and you should stop and pick up even more detailed state maps and "attraction maps" at welcome centers. These are also a good place to pick up coupon books with deals for inexpensive hotels.

You can find inexpensive suitcases and duffels at Goodwill and other charity stores.

Join AAA. That's your father's AAA. I have owned lots of older cars, and AAA pays for itself in one service call.

gail

And even cheap chain hotels give AAA discounts. Sometimes paying $5-10 more per night gets you a hotel with breakfast buffet. Real food for breakfast can be expensive, and they usually let you fill a thermos with coffee for the trip before you leave. Ends up saving money.

Gretchen

GREAT idea about AAA. We are never without it!!
Hopefully he will have internet access because another way to save on hotels is booking.com or hotels.com.

janisj

I get the impression that airbnb has pretty much taken the wind out of the sails of couchsurfing. Not that a lot of people still don't do it, but MANY of the hosts have started charging through airbnb.

emalloy

In most of the welcome centers there are magazines with discount coupons for hotels/motels for walk ins. That will give you an idea of where there are plenty of options, costs in an area, and what else is included with your stay. We look for "free hot breakfast" and laundry on site type perks.

Gretchen

Also look at hostels.

ellenem

Becoming a member of SERVAS may work for you. From their website, "Servas is a worldwide cooperative cultural exchange network of travelers and hosts working together to foster peace, goodwill and mutual respect."

Hosts and travelers are prescreened so it is pretty safe. If you are accepted, you have get a list of free hosted places to stay across the country. But you must be ready to interact politely and respectfully with your hosts, since the whole idea is cultural exchange.

https://usservas.org/