dock67

hi there my mate and i are thinking of driveing from newyork to austin i would like to no what the story is on renting a car as our picking up point will be in new york and will be laveing it in austin? ps any good ideas for the trip WELCOME for 2 irish lads thanks

nyer

The story is it's possible but there are usually huge extra charges (sometimes hundreds of dollars) for picking up a car in one place and then dropping it off somewhere else.

Of course, car rental rates vary a huge amount anyway, but the time of the year and type of car factor in to the cost too. NYC is a very expensive place to rent a car. And in case you are under 25 , there may be even higher rates or some companies won't rent to you at all. There is also generally a charge for each driver.
It would probably be much cheaper to fly, or to rent a car for just part of the trip, ideally a round trip, like fly to New Orleans, drive to Austin, drive back to New Orleans, fly back to NY

tomfuller

As I understand it, you make the arrangements in your home country with Hertz or Avis so that you don't have a drop off fee and your insurance is paid for.
You could take a train out of New York City to Chicago and another train from Chicago to Austin. You could also fly from New York to Austin and rent a car there.
There are many interesting places between NYC and Austin. Some of them are more interesting than Austin.
How many days/weeks were you planning on spending on this trip?

nytraveler

How much time do you have?

What time of year will you be here?

Where do you want to stop in between?

Renting a car in NYC is expensive, you will pay for the extra driver (or your insurance will be void) and most compaiens won;t rent to under 25s - or charge a large premium.

If you provide more info people can make more useful recommendations.

I would NOT take the train cross country. Trains in the US are nothing like in europe. Planes are faster and cheaper and often driving is as fast (train tracks are owned by the freight companies and their trains take precedence over the very few passenger trains). So trains are very slow, often late by hours - can be many hours - and can be not very pleasant. (Granted flying is hellish - but it's only a couple of hours, not several days.)

The US is set up for travel by air or car.

nytraveler

Oh - and you'll need to practice you American. Here "lads" are small boys (as in 10 and under) if the word is used at all, It;s not common.

dock67

thanks Guys not lads? we are going 4 about 10 days the driver is 39 and he wants to drive all the way and he want to the way of phily and wv thanks

dock67

sorry it will be in MAY

nytraveler

May weather should be fine. You can go practically any way, although 10 days doesn't give you time to see much of either NYC - or along the way. And you're avoiding the worst of the summer heat in the south - although Texas can be hot at almost anytime. (And if you stop at the highway rest stops do watch out for snakes in the rest rooms.)

Yes, guys is more usual. Guys and girls. Or in a mixed group guys can apply to both men and women (Hey guys, do you wanna whatever?)

Gretchen

I think people will find it charming for you to use "lads" and "mate" and such.

Rich

If you are going to Philly, it's "Youse guys" . . .

longhorn55

I've made the drive between Washington D.C. and Austin too many times! In any event, it will take you 3 full days of non-stop freeway driving just to get from NYC to Austin. If you are making stops or driving the backroads, it will take much longer.

If you have 10 days for the road trip, then that would give you enough time for a leisurely drive with plenty of stops along the way before you get to Austin. If that 10 days includes the time you want to spend in Austin, you may want to re-think your plan. I'd want to spend at least 4 days just in/around Austin and the Hill Country.

If you should decide to fly instead of drive, look at Southwest Airlines. (They don't show up on sites such as Orbitz or Expedia so you'll need to go directly to their website.) Flights for May aren't yet available, but you can probably book a one-way flight to Austin from New York La Guardia or Newark for $140 - $180.

tomfuller

Thanks for the additional info. Consider taking a train out of NYC and renting the car in Philadelphia, Washington or even Atlanta for your trip west on the southern route. Driving out of New York can be a nightmare for someone who does not do it often.
Youse guys can can get a Philly cheesesteak "wid" within walking distance of 30th St. station in Philadelphia. Both Philadelphia and Washington DC have historic sites that are harder to see if you have a car in the cities.

dock67

thanks for all your info it was very helpfull