Cross-Country Road Trip

Old Mar 6th, 2014, 05:22 AM
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Cross-Country Road Trip

Hello,
My friends and are getting close to graduation, and have begun plotting out our graduation present to ourselves - a roadtrip. We're hoping to see every province/territory in Canada (is it possible to access all territories?) and the Lower 48 United States. We have 6 months, June 2-Dec2. If anyone has any advice or tips, routes, destinations...anything...we'd love to hear back from you.
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Old Mar 6th, 2014, 06:25 AM
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Are you driving? walking? public transport? Air?

You kids need to define better... now go to your rooms...
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Old Mar 6th, 2014, 06:31 AM
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Sorry, we're driving the entire stretch. I thought that by calling our trip a "roadtrip" that would've given it away. We would prefer not to fly at all, but will obviously walk and use public transit while we're within our destinations.
We'd like to see as many national parks as possible, as well as visiting interesting cities or locations in Canada.
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Old Mar 7th, 2014, 10:24 AM
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Despite the virtues of Google maps, you should begin by purchasing a good road atlas of Canada. It will help you see just how awkward a country stretching across five and a half time zones can be. What land transportation there is to the northern territories tends to run from the south to the north with little or no connection east-west between them. While railroads historically pulled the country together along the US border, it was the arrival of the airplane that made northern destinations accessible year round. It's certainly worth going, however you get there, but you will quickly discover there is no such thing as a cheap airfare to the north. A few passenger trains still run and the roads improve as commerce grows, but your dream, if carried out in a motor vehicle sturdy enough to stand it, really will be an adventure.
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Old Mar 7th, 2014, 11:18 PM
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this question is way to vague for us to be of much help. as mentioned, get a map. i think you need to narrow down your destinations or you'll spend your whole time in the car. considerations...are you hotelling it the whole way or camping some. where do you need to be depending upon the weather. for example, some major passes are closed in yosemite in the winter. are you wanting to hike in the canadian rockies or ski? water activities...need to be in canada in july & august or the southern states in the later months. do more research.
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Old Mar 8th, 2014, 04:13 AM
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This is an ambitious plan. Where are you starting from? Since you are intending to visit a lot of national parks that suggests you intend to camp. Doesn't make much sense otherwise as the parks are large and can't really be appreciated and enjoyed fully if you are not staying in them. As ltt suggests, the weather will be a consideration and the camping season in Canada is at most June to end of September if you are hardy, and lucky with weather. If you were to start somewhere on the east coast of Canada I would recommend a minimum of 4 weeks to get across the country visiting the national parks. That would not include Newfoundland or any of the more northern parks.

Rather than try to plan such a long trip all at once I suggest you start by looking at where you most want to go, then plan that piece in detail, costs, driving times, sites you want to see, etc. Then, because road trips always take longer and cost more than you expect, add 25% to driving time and budget, and eliminate some of your planned activities. Once you have done that for a portion of your trip you will have a better understanding of the magnitude of your plan and can begin to whittle it down to something realistic.

At the risk of putting a damper on your dreams, I suggest that early in your planning you develop a contingency plan. What if your vehicle breaks down, one of you gets ill or there is an emergency back home? How are you going to handle conflicts? What if someone decides to/has to leave the trip early? Can the rest of you afford to continue? Have you travelled together before? If not, a week away together might reveal a lot about your travel styles and preferences that will be a significant indicator of what could make or break a long trip.
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Old Mar 9th, 2014, 03:42 AM
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Just saw your other thread on this trip. It seems you've done more planning than I gave you credit for. But your question is so broad ranging it is hard to think how to respond. More specific questions would provide more useful answers.
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