sezm

wondering what people considered a reasonable amount of miles/ time to travel each day- we're travelling across us in june/july

Richard1507

Are you travelling with children?

You should also describe the purpose of your trip and your itinerary (what you want to see, do, etc.).

My parents travel a lot and usually drive about 4-5 hours a day then it's rest and visit the area they are in.

Richard

mamajo

We've taken a couple of cross country road trips the past two years and the daily driving depends on: is there anything or anywhere we want to stop and see that we haven't seen before; the roads we'll be traveling over..mostly Interstates are the most direct and easiest, or taking some side trips on secondary roads which would take you through towns and more traffic or possibly some more mountainous roads.

But on the average we have (and we are in our early 70's) we travel about 600 miles a day. We have usually made our guaranteed reservations ahead of time, so we don't have to look for motels. We stop every couple of hours to change drivers or to just stretch our legs, and of course to eat.

So it all depends on whether you have things to see along the way, or just want to get from here to there in a timely manner. More information would help. But please do enjoy your trip to the States.

bookhall

A lot depends on your age/inclination. When I was 19, in the USAF, I used to work a full day, then get in my '52 Chevy, and drive home on a long weekend--800 miles (pre Interstate.) The car had a hand-throttle--no cruise.

Nowadays, I'd probably make it a two-day trip. And start fresh in the morning.

Gretchen

As others have said, it depends on your purpose. I drive from NC to Denver and my aim is to get there and usually drive 2 800 mile days. I sometimes get some antiquing into those days also. The other thing to remember is the time change--you sort of "gain" driving time going west. And in the western states where the interstates have high speed limits and very few towns the travelling is fast. I love books on tape for this kind of travel.

J_Correa

On vacation, I generally like to drive no more than 4 hours a day, unless I am travelling across Nevada or someplace and just want to get across. More than 4 hours of driving in any single day makes it hard to stop and see things along the way.

placeu2

Like the others, it depends. If I am trying to reach a destination, then 5-600 miles is a good goal distance. I figure that if you can average 50-55mph or so over the day (10-12 hours) you have done well. That includes all stopping, stretching, eating, etc. In order to reach that average, there is significant 75-80mph driving.

sezm

thx 4 your replies- we are on holidays, so will want to see some stuff, but places where we want to see a lot of stuff, we are staying 2 nights anyway...just don't want too many days of solid driving?

sezm

oh yeah no kids, just husband & I- i'm in mid-20's, he's in mid-40's- we're in australia, but he grew up in new york, but hasn't seen much of country.

travellyn

We'll drive 500-600 miles (up to12 hours) a day on long trips to see family. If you have a long time for this trip, and the goal is a road trip through the USA (as opposed to getting to a certain city in 36 hours), it's not worth spending more than about 3 hours a day in the car. On some routes, like on interstates through flat rural areas, that's 200 miles. If you're driving in the mountains or through cities, it may be just over 100 miles.

If you plan to do a lot of hiking and exploring, especially in the southwest, it often works best to spend till around noon at one place, then drive for a few hours, arriving at the next destination in late afternoon, so you can check in, take a nap, then do some activities when it's a little cooler outside.

Have a good time!