Road Trip
 

Hi.
We are two girls from Norway, 26 and 22 years who are renting a car and are driving from San Fransisco to New York next summer. We have four weeks and are wondering witch cities and places to visit. We are going to Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas and Washington DC to visit friends, but have no idea on where else.

Kristine

After LA, San Diego and Las Vegas, you should go to the Grand Canyon. It's not far from Las Vegas. Then I suggest you go Northeast, going through Utah and then see the Rockies in Colorado. There are also a lot of old mining towns and a couple of scenic railroads in Colorado if you're interested.

After that you will cross the plains, and really not much there. Many routes you can take. If you stay north, you can stop in Chicago for a few days. If in the middle, St. Louis or Memphis.

Or you can go south, stop in New Orleans and then go to Orlando and Miami. I think those places should interest you. And on your way along the coast to the North, swing by Savannah, Gerogia and Charleston, South Carolina.

After DC, if you have time left, you can go pass NYC to go to Boston and New England before back to NY for your flight home.

You have about a weeks worth of driving in your itinerary just to get from A to B. If your goal is to save money, keep in mind that you will have to pay a drop off fee for not returning your car to where you picked it up. Also, if our current gas situation continues, you will be paying for gas at the highest prices America has ever seen. Regular in Tampa, FL is now $1.75/gallon. To save yourself time and maybe even money, you should look into some low-price carriers to fly from Las Vegas to New York -- unless of course the allure of the drive is what you're after.

Money is not an issue so the gas-bill is not a problem. As huge Thelma & Louise fan we have to drive, and are thinking on driving to Savannah (Georgia) and the fly to Washington. What route should we take?

If you are big Thelma and Louise fans then you will want to go thought Utah after you leave Las Vegas.

Zion National Park, Bryce National Park, Scenic Hwy 12 to Torrey, Utah. Capitol Reef National Park and then head over to Moab, Utah and go to Dead Horse State Park and at the over look you will see the road where Thelma and Louise flew off the cliff. If you rent a 4 x 4 vehicle in town you can drive the Shafer trail and BE on the road they used to drive off the cliff! Before you leave Moab, make sure you get to ARches National Park. From Moab, Ut head over to Colorado. Take Hwy's 50 and 550 to Durango for some really beautiful mountain scenery. Then head down to Interstate 40 to travel east.

Utahtea

being from norway they will be shocked by how cheep our gas is. When i was in europe i talked to several people who were surpried by how cheep america was compared to where they live (ireland). You should consider making a stop at either mexico or cananda

Being from Norway, they will also be shocked at how hot Washington DC and our southern states are! Ladies, if you do decide to drive cross-country to Georgia, choose your route carefully and preferably a northern route, and allow plenty of time.

One last thing: Many US car rental companies will not rent to 22-year-olds, so check this, too.

I love a road trip-- much better than flying! From Los Angeles drive to San Diego and then to Las Vegas (it will be incredibly HOT)-- You then have a lot of choices. As Thelma and Louise fans you definitely need to travel through northern Arizona and Utah (beautiful scenery, national parks-- The Grand Canyon, Arches national park, bryce national park, zion national park-- this is a landscape that you cannot find in Europe). I would then escape some of the heat and drive to Washington DC from the north--drive up through Colorado (the rockies) and Wyoming-- a great mixture of mountains and plains and drive east through the north-- allow about three or four days to get back to New York without major stops. You can stop in Chicago, around the Great Lakes, in the Adirondacks of upstate New York if you want lots of contrasts on your trip.

Even if money is not an issue, I'd still suggest thinking of flying between the eastern and western United States. Maybe two weeks of driving in the east coast and then two weeks of driving in the west. You will have no problem doing tons and tons of driving even if you skip going through the middle.

I'd suggest coastal highways in California, even extending northwards if you have enough time. That is gorgeous scenery. (Then again, being from Norway you are very familiar with that!)

Here's a website with some interesting options.

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/

Sounds like fun. There is a famous road that runs from LA to Chicago called Route 66. It's no longer one road (different highways, interstates, and streets compose it now), but during the 1950s, it was the THE road to take a road trip on. It features a little of everything that America has to offer -- from big cities (Chicago) to smaller southwestern cities (Albuquerque) to famous landmarks (Gateway Arch in St. Louis). It is famous for its unique roadside cafes, motels, and attractions. You will truly learn what America is by driving this road. Here is a website:

http://www.national66.com/

But if you can't stop by all the cities, stop by Oklahoma City. It also gives you a little bit of everything that America has to offer. You can learn about cowboys at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. You can enjoy Asian cuisine at the city's Little Saigon district.

You can enjoy baseball at a nicely-designed ballpark in Bricktown. Bricktown is the entertainment district that has many kinds of restaurants, from pizza to cajun/creole, to mexican, to sushi, fine dining (American), to steakhouses. In addition, you can find music of all kinds in Bricktown -- jazz, blues, country, rock, and salsa. On top of those, there are several clubs/lounges as well.

In Oklahoma City, you'll also find museums of art and science, the National Memorial, and one even dedicated to capitalism! It also has one of the best zoos in the country.

Many people say that Oklahoma is the best single state to find out what America is like. The people are friendly and helpful. Check it out!

http://www.visitokc.com/

It will be terribily hot and humid, but there's so much to see in the South between LA and NYC! If I were you I'd start in SF, move on to Vegas then to LA, San Diego, then hit the Grand Canyon, San Antonio and Laredo, New Orleans, and then Savannah since you seem interested, but before you get on a plane, don't forget Florida! The Everglades, Miami... so much fun stuff. I'm actually going from San Diego to Delaware this summer and I'm going the Southern route (although on a budget and with far fewer stops in far less time). I've looked into all the places we might have stopped a lot lately, so those are just some of my suggestions. Also, gas in San Diego and Los Angeles is at about $2.25/gallon - higher in San Francisco. You might think about taking the train (Amtrak) for the longer hauls of your West coast travels. Have fun, good luck, and beware of looking too much like travelers while on the road - there are a lot of creeps out there. Oh, and about the 22 year old and car rentals - sometimes you can buy extra insurance from the rental place but if you can't the 26 year old will be the only one insured to drive.