Which coast-to-coast route would you follow?
 

Hello, I'm a European planning a coast-to-coast travel by car. I've got a friend who made it some years ago. He rent a car in NY and finished the trip in SF, after going to the Deep South, New Orleans, Texas and California. I have decided to do something like that with my girl-friend -we both drive-, but appart of it, the only thing that will be the same will be the starting point in NY, and end in California. The rest is still to be made, so I'd thank any recommendation. <BR>(By the way, I suppose there won't be any problem to drive if we buy a good map, but appart of it which recommendation would you make me, regarded to hotels/motels, food, security...).

that is a very LONG trip by car. hope you have LOTS of time, like at least a month. <BR> <BR>I would first chose where I wanted to stop along the way and then decide on my roads. The fastest way of course would be on interstate's but you won't see very much if you do it all this way. My favorite car trips are on the back roads---of course I don't like car trips very much. <BR> <BR>some cities, starting from New York might be Washington D.C., then maybe down the coast through Charleston and Savannah. Then cut across to New Orleans. <BR> <BR>Just a way to start. I hope you do understand what a large area you are talking about. I have meet many Europeans who don't understand how large the U.S. is.

My friend told me he made some 4,000-4,500 miles. Is it even longer?

easily 4,000 - 4,500 MILES (10 kilometers = 6.2 miles) but it depends on where you want to go (and when) I wouldn't recommend driving the northern route if you are visiting in the winter. <BR> <BR>Rent a car with cruise control -- it is a BIG country. <BR> <BR>If you are flying into NY City, do not get a car there. Visit the city, then take the train to Washington DC. After your visit there is finished, then rent a car. <BR>

As my friend says, you COULD drive from Paris to Moscow, but why WOULD you? That's the rough equivalent of your proposed cross country U.S. trip, so be warned. <BR> <BR>That said, if it were me, I would try to see as many national parks as I could during the trip. Buy a pass (available at any NP) that will get you into all NPs for a year. They are the real jewels of this country. I can't advise you about the eastern portion of the U.S., but from Denver west to California there are many NPs and many scenic roads.

Françoise, what time of year will you be visiting? You may want to use different routes depending on the weather in the various parts of the country. For example, in the summer the southern states, such as Louisiana or Texas, will be very hot and possibly humid, while the northern states may be cooler (but not necessarily). In the early spring or autumn, the northern states may be cold, or the Rocky Mountains may be snowy. <BR> <BR>If you stay on the Interstate highways (for example, Interstate 90 to Seattle or Interstate 80 to San Francisco), a trip from coast to coast requires around a week, driving at a comfortable pace. Side trips, or routes which involve north- or south travel obviously add more days. <BR> <BR>My personal recommendation if time is not a big problem would be to start in New York, head south through Washington DC and on to Charleston, then north and east through Tennessee and Kentucky up to Chicago. From Chicago I’d head west on Interstate 90 through South Dakota and Montana (stop at Yellowstone Park) to Seattle, then down the Pacific Coast to San Francisco and Los Angeles. Even with this long route (around 5,000 miles, or 8,500 km) you would still miss very important parts of the USA, such as the Grand Canyon, the Colorado Rockies, or Texas. On the other hand, you would experience Chicago, which I think is very important, the South Dakota badlands and the Montana “big sky,” and the beautiful Pacific Northwest and the California Redwoods and coast. <BR> <BR>Other people will disagree with my recommendations. Happy planning! <BR>

As noted, it is VERY important to know what time of year you are planning this trip. If between October and April, a northern route is not recommended, as many of the best sights will be closed or BARELY open due to weather. <BR> <BR>If in July or August, a southern route will take you through some unbearable heat, taking a lot of interest of those cities. <BR> <BR>So before we can give you any meaningful advice, we MUST know what time of the year you are planning this. <BR> <BR>It would also help immensely if you gave us some idea of what you hope to experience during this trip. For instance, Yellowstone has unimaginable scenic wonder, but it's NOT a place for cool nightclubs! Unless we know WHAT you're interested in, we'll have a lot of trouble telling you where to find it!

To "xxx": <BR>your geography is WAAAYYYY off. <BR>The distance francoise is talking about driving is the equivalent of driving from Paris to Beijing, China (just over 5000 miles). <BR>Paris to Moscow is barely 1500 miles. <BR>Don't confuse the issue further.

You have infinite possibilites but if I could give you just one piece of advise it would be to stay off the interstates as much as possible. Allow time to explore and wander and discover along the way. Plan for major points of interest, but also allow time stop and have lunch in a small farming town in Iowa, drive 20 miles down a dirt road in the Nebraskan panhandle to take a hike through Toadstool Park, or seek out a Friday night high school football anywhere in America. Enjoy!

Thanks to everybody for their answers! <BR>Although maybe we won't have as much time as we'd like to -maximum, but very maximum, 5 weeks-, at least I can choose when to take holidays, and reading the answers, it looks September/October could be a good time, and perhaps, April/May, too (although if I do this last, maybe it would be better, to do the other way SF-NY, instead of NY-SF, is it? <BR> <BR>Some people asked me about what I was interested on... well, first of all, at least when travelling through Europe, we've visited cities, Rome, Paris, London, Amsterdam, Berlin... and so on, although not always through direct ways, but choosing the most scenic ones, and, why not, making stops at beautiful places like the Rhine Valley, Alpine zones or things like that. <BR> <BR>Thanks to everybody who has written or will do!

Hello Francoise. I have driven a large part of the "northern route" (Washington DC-Detroit-Chicago-Minneapolis-South Dakota-Montana-Wyoming-Utah-Colorado and back) and have also driven a significant portion of the "southern route" (New York-Washington DC-Charleston SC-Atlanta-New Orleans-Austin-San Antonio-El Paso-New Mexico.) While both have much to recommend them, I personally prefer the "southern" route and would recommend that. The route I would take is New York-Washington DC (by train, then rent a car)-Charleston SC-New Orleans-San Antonio-New Mexico-Arizona (Grand Canyon)-Utah-Nevada (Lake Tahoe)-Yosemite National Park-San Francisco. You don't mention how much time you have. I would allow at LEAST one month for this itinerary but preferably 6 weeks or more. The hardest drive is west from Austin & San Antonio -- El Paso is a good 12 hours away and it is a long flat straight road through a lot of arid, desolate country (but pretty in its own way). Do not miss the Grand Canyon, whatever you do.

Just noticed you said you have 5 weeks. The above itinerary is definitely doable in 5 weeks. You could do it either in spring (April-May) or fall (September-October) -- those are ideal times, since it is not the major family travel time like in the summer months so the roads and sights should not be as crowded as they would be in July or August. I personally would start in the east and end in the west, because you start with the big cities when you are fresh and then the drive just gets prettier and prettier as you go west (in my opinion, the major highlights -- particularly Grand Canyon & San Francisco -- should be saved for the end!).

What time of year will you be traveling? Some routes are better in winter because they avoid winter storms and treacherous driving. Others are better for summer because they avoid excessively hot areas.

Two "modest proposals": <BR> <BR>1) You can make a round trip in five weeks! My family did, several years ago, taking 10 days to drive from Maryland to San Diego. We saw lots of sights along the way, but we drove mostly on interstates, getting off from time to time to see things. We took more than three weeks coming home because we were visiting grandparents as well as a few national parks. However, I wouldn't really recommend a round trip for a first time visitor. <BR> <BR>2) Skip the east coast and fly into L.A. or San Francisco and then make a big circular tour seeing western cities and gorgeous national parks. I'd hate to have to choose between Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon. Consider seeing the North Rim of the Canyon and then some of the beautiful parks in southern Utah, then going into Colorado. Be sure to see one of the parks where you drive up and over the mountain instead of around the base: Rocky Mountain National Park NW of Denver or Glacier, <BR>in northern Montana. See the Jackson Hole area of Wyoming as well as Yellowstone (just north of Jackson). From Montana cross Idaho over to Washington and see Seattle before visiting the Olympic Peninsula. Drive down the coast of Washington and Oregon. <BR> <BR>You can get a taste of small town life in towns between or outside of the the parks, and a taste of American cities if you see Las Vegas, San Francisco and Seattle. But I think the national parks are the best America has to offer. IMHO.

I've done similar trips in 5 and 6 weeks without stops in the cities (I live in New York) but I would choose a route starting with a few days in New York and then driving west toward Chicago (you can do this all on an interstate or combine it with some beautiful country roads in Ohio, Indiana or Illinois). I would then drive through Michigan's Upper Peninsula along Lake Superior and then head west on highway 2 (small highway, small towns) through North Dakota and Montana into Glacier National Park. From there I would head down to Wyoming into Yellowstone along the Beartooth Pass and then into Grand Teton National Park and from there head south toward the Grand Canyon in Arizona and if you can to Utah-- especially Bryce and Arches national parks. You could then drive to LA through Las Vegas and if you had time head up the Pacific Coast Highway to San Francisco. Ideally you would have 2 months for this trip but if you ignore all the cities except in NY and California you could probably hit lots of the National Parks in 5 weeks. <BR>As for accomodations-- unlike in Europe there are lots of relatively inexpensive and pretty safe motels along the major highways and even along the small roads. Take a cooler with you and stock up on picnic food unless you want to rely on fast food. Keep plenty of water in the car. The only place you could need reservations are in the cities, the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone. A Rand McNally Map should be good (a book atlas)