First drive Cross Country USA
 

Hi Fodors,

We leave in June for our first cross country drive. Start in San Francisco and b lining it straight to NYNY. Unfortunately we only have 1 week to make the trip. Do you think just hoppin on 80 East is the best quick route to take? I know more time would be ideal, but wonder if realistic to do it in one week. Any advice is appreciated. Thx.

I would take I-80 to Salt Lake City, then take I-15 south to Provo, UT; then pick up I-70 across the Rockies. More scenic, and by staying on I-70, you bypass the Chicagoland area (though you can also time to go around it on I-80 in the middle of the night or something).

Stay on I-70 all the way to the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Follow the PATP to Carlisle, PA, then I-81 to I-78 to NYC.

Or you can take US50 out of Sacramento through Nevada and then pick up I-70 that way. No need to go through Salt Lake.

Sorry, first paragraph. From Provo, UT, you'll pick up US6 going southeast to pick up I-70.

Sorry. Or you can take I-80 east past Reno to Fernley, NV, before taking US50A to get onto US50.

Yes, it is possible, we drove from Concord Ca to Millville NJ, took I80 to Davenport Ia , then jumped over toI70 We left on Sunday and arrived Millville Thursday.
Our longest day was Sunday Concord to Evanston, Wyo.Day 2 North Platte Neb day 3 Davenport Ia day 4 Cambridge Oh
Day 5 Millville NJ (2900 Miles) It was a hurried trip but we enjoyed it. Also helps to have a GPS unit,enjoy your trip.

Yes, if you focus your efforts on making miles, you can do the trip in three days. Get an early start each day, stop only for gas and fast food, and drive, drive, drive.

I'm a little bit on the get 'r done side, and made the trip from San Francisco to the Hudson Valley in two and a half days, by myself. It wasn't tourism, but I did get the trip done quickly.

On the other hand, some friends of mine took part in a caravan and took four days to go from New York to Denver. Lots of stops for sit down meals, etc.

Freetrip.com shows the trip as 2895 miles, 42 hours. If you check their site you can find hotels listed throughout the trip.

You should have no trouble doing it in a week of less - esp if you have more than one driver and spell each other. We find on road trips we do better (concentration wise and avoiding back stiffness) never driving more than two hours, then taking a 5 or 10 minute break somewhere.

Obviously you can do it in far less if you want to torture yourselves - but in a week you can do it easily without any pain. And stopping for "sit down" meals.

Try this route. Looks like everyone is on the lower road. http://www.ihoz.com/I90.html

Wow.. you guys have all provided great feedback and advice. I am much more excited about our options now. It sounds like even with 7 days to make it happen we can actually enjoy a night or two in a motel and a 1 hour stop or two along the way..during the day. Thanks again, and please send any other great ideas or don't miss stops along the way! Cheers!

7 days - that's almost leisurely! (just kidding, but when I was in college, we did do LA to Ithaca, NY twice in 3-1/2 days each).

"We"?

I did Rhode Island to Seattle in 3.5 days <b>by myself</b>!

<i>I did Rhode Island to Seattle in 3.5 days by myself!</i>

But did you sleep on top of all your worldly possessions at a roadside rest in a VW Beetle?????

No, I stayed at decent motels along the way.

It's quick driving by oneself. Rest/fuel/food stops are less frequent and quicker.

jwalker, we did it from Florida to Portland Oregon in 5 days.....with a dog....with a <i>race car driver in another life </i> behind the wheel.

We had our trip mapped out for us by our car maker... sort of like a AAA map. Using that, we were able to figure out where we would stop each night.
This also helped avoid possible highway repair traffic &amp; detours..

We called hotels ahead of time for reservations, but you can mostly wing it with that..we had a large dog with us so we needed dog friendly lodging.

Every time we stopped to eat or get gas, we got out of the car and walked a bit..and at the hotels we tried to do some good walks...just so we didn't turn into jellyfish from sitting in a car for 5 days then going to bed.

Take lots of music and if you have a satellite radio, that is good too. Be sure your cell phone works wherever you are.
Be sure to take food, water, snacks..

Get up early and get on the highway before Rush Hour wherever you are...we stopped around 5 each night..

We loved it..I had a great time, it was all part of an adventure for us and we didn't hit any snags..Be sure to look out the window at what you are passing..take photos..it is such an amazing and beautiful country and I am so glad we did it and got to see places that I probably will never see again.

Yes..Kansas is really that flat.
Yes, the mountains in Tennessee are that beautiful and the truck drivers are that nice!
Shari's became our friends..we were able to stop and get Decent food along the way..

I hope you get to see the fields of Wind Turbines that we saw...and keep an eye out for buffalo and yes, antelope :)

Wishing you a wonderful trip!

Thanks much! By the way now that you have all convinced me that 7 days is plenty of time, do you recommend instead of shooting straight across 80 East.. that I maybe take the southern or northern route? Arrrhhh so many choices .. yet only 7 days to get to NYNY!

I'd take I 80 til East of SLC, then take US 40 to I 70.
Best combination of Scenery, Food, and roadside attractions.