US travel help

[caneswell]

Hello

Right, im planning a road trip for this summer accross the grand old USA and need some help.

How much roughly would a flight from Seattle or Vancouver to Savannah be? How much more would it be if we just turned up on the day and wanted one?

Also any recommendations of cool stuff to see along route?

I'm thinking savannah -> new orleans -> grand canyon/vegas -> san fran -> vancouver

Thanks

[saadie]

Holidays, Vacations, Road Trips, And Travel (http://www.jabbasworld.net/viewforum.php?f=159&sid=ba88b6a63c2dc2c67121b2d543e77912)

[Vansquish]

Hope you realize how much driving that is going to be. You're talking days of driving between some of those cities. Savannah to New Orleans is probably a 1-day trip, but it'll be at least two on the way to the Grand Canyon or Vegas from there, and an additional 1 or 2 to SF plus 1 or 2 more to Vancouver. It's a pretty aggressive schedule, hope you're up to it :-)

[Apac102]

Im pretty unfamiliar with the westside but if you are around las vegas you should try to see the hoover dam. And ya vanquish wasn't kidding. You have quite a trip ahead of you; Im jealous :wink:

[caneswell]

Hope you realize how much driving that is going to be. You're talking days of driving between some of those cities. Savannah to New Orleans is probably a 1-day trip, but it'll be at least two on the way to the Grand Canyon or Vegas from there, and an additional 1 or 2 to SF plus 1 or 2 more to Vancouver. It's a pretty aggressive schedule, hope you're up to it :-)

Yeah i'm planning on spending 5 weeks doing it. Its suposedly 65hours driving acording to some online route planner. But thats an optimistic 60mph average.

So whats the deal with internal flights are they very expenive if you just turn up and want to go?

[T-Bird]

Hope you realize how much driving that is going to be. You're talking days of driving between some of those cities. Savannah to New Orleans is probably a 1-day trip, but it'll be at least two on the way to the Grand Canyon or Vegas from there, and an additional 1 or 2 to SF plus 1 or 2 more to Vancouver. It's a pretty aggressive schedule, hope you're up to it :-)

That's if you wan't to take your time and see the sites :wink:
Seriously though why would you start in Savanna, Georgia? The best road trip has got to be route 66 from Chicago to L.A. then drive the best drive you'll ever have along the coast all the way upto Washington.

EDIT: if you want to check prices try www.orbitz.com or www.cheaptickets.com

[caneswell]

My mate is working in savannah at the moment so we were going to start with him as he is coming with us. I have done some of route 66 before as a child. And been to Chicago before. Its not finalised yet though, so may all change tomorrow!

[blah]

Come to california, ride up PCH go to Santa Barbara See the ocean, come inland see the canyons.

[ZfrkS62]

if you're going to N.O. you can shoot I-10 west all the way to California if you wanted :D Took me about 3 days to clear AZ, NM and TX on I-49 with a trailer behind me doing no less than 75MPH. I-10 i think would be much more scenic though :wink: Especially over the Basin Bridge between here and Baton Rouge. it's kinda weird to see so many trees growing out of the water the way they do :|

[RC45]

It takes 18 hours to cross Texas... :)

Enjoy.

You need to make the time to travle and enjoy all the spots along you trip to Cali.

Hitting the superslab at 75mph gets the trip over with quickly, but is really no way to experience the country.

[TransAm]

I second what Zfrk says about taking the I-10 over the basin, around New Orleans to Lafayette its basically a huge area of swampland and it's like nothing I'd experienced before in Europe. I was in awe.

In fact here is a pic of the I-10 going over the basin...

http://img125.echo.cx/img125/9878/dscf00332ae.th.jpg (http://img125.echo.cx/my.php?image=dscf00332ae.jpg)

A drive across Texas is quite a distance, maybe 850-900 miles, but gets interesting scenery after the first 4 hours, the scenery goes from grasslands to plains to rocky scrubby plains to desert over the journey across the state. My glass is always half full when it comes to road trips!

Search out 'scenic drives' along your interstate journey and divert off the I-roads. Most of the numbered state highways are dual carriageway a lot of the way and along your journey you will be in the middle of nowhere outside of the major metroplexes in TX and NM and AZ so hardly any traffic.

Out on I20 east of El Paso is Carlsbad Caverns if you search JW you'll find some pics I posted of carlsbad a few months ago.

[nthfinity]

well, since it's severely out of the way, why dont you make a trip upto South Dekota to see Mt. Rushmore, the badlands, and Crazy horse... then head westward to Yellowstone park, and the rockies... then again, im more of an out-doors type :mrgreen:

[ZfrkS62]

If you take the I-10 route, make sure you get a shot of the Whiskey Bay sign :D and find a drivethru daqiuri stand (it's not an open container until you put the straw in :mrgreen: ) I promise you, those don't exist anywhere else :mrgreen:

[sameerrao]

I'm thinking savannah -> new orleans -> grand canyon/vegas -> san fran -> vancouver
Thanks

Wow there are million possibilities.

In Georgia
- drive up north for Smokey Mountains
- Stone Mountain Park
- Historical stuff from the past in Savannah (old civil war homes)
http://www.georgia.org/tourism/all_of_georgia/see_and_do.asp

Two basic choices now - go south and west or go north

Alt A: South route
Florida
- See Tampa, Miami, Keys

Louisiana
- New Orleans - great food, music, crazy people
- Old plantation homes near Baton Rouge like this http://www.evergreenplantation.com/tour/timages/photo5a.jpg

Arkansas
- Ozark mountains - camping, canoeing, etc.
- nothing much else

Drive West to Colorado
- Colorado Springs
- Fabulous Rocky Mountains
http://www.coloradoadventure.net/index.cfm

Utah
- Red Rocks, Canyons, stone arches
- Zion NAtional Park
- Bryce Canyon National Park
- Moab, Salt Lake
http://www.utah.com/destinations/

Arizona
- Las Vegas
- Valley of Fire
- Hoover Dam

Arizona
- Grand Canyon
- Sedona

California
- San Diego
- LA
- Drive up Highway 1 (see Hearst Castle, Carmel, Big Sur, Monterey)
- San Francisco
- Yosemite
- Mt. Shasta

Oregon
- Crater Lake
- Cascade Lakes
- Hells Canyon

Washington
- Mt. St Helens
- Mt. Rainier National Park
- Seattle

On to Vancouver

If you still have energy you can go to Montana and then to Yellowstone

Alt B
Go from Georgia to

Tennessee
- Nashville - music capital of the US

Washington DC
- tons of sights here: Capitol, WAshington, White House....

New York City
- You know whats here of course

Boston, Cape Cod
- USS Constitution, Boston Trail
- Harvard

Maine
- Beautiful drives

New hampshire
- Kancamagus highway
- White Mountain
- Beautiful lakes

Vermont
- Bennington County Vermont - covered bridges

New York State
- Niagara Falls

Chicago
- Sears Tower, John Hancock building
- tons of stuff here

Head West to South Dakota
- mt. rushmore

Wyoming, Montana
- Badlands
- Yellowstone

Map of US for reference
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/united_states/united_states_pol02.jpg

[T-Bird]

Umm you would have him drive 4 days up to Maine and then back down towards Chicago and then onto Vancouver BC? that's like 2 weeks if you allow sightseeing. Flatout it takes me a good 12 hours to get to New York from Chicago. and Vegas and Hoover damn aren't in Arizona :wink: Your plans are good but would take a while to do it's 3 days non stop straight across from Lake Tahoe to Chicago only aloting sleep and food/gas. Later this year I plan on taking 2 weeks off and driving the southern route through Vegas to check out the Sema show in Vegas and the Shleby plant, then to Sacramento to see my Uncle (the one who gace me the Pathfinder) then going up the northern route back home. let's just hope it all works out. I might have to fly to the SEMA show instead.

Well anywho... I'm guessing if you were to stop only for sleep it would take a week just to go from Savannah up to Maine then West to California then North to Vancouver B.C. the soutern route would be like 16 days non-stop if you went the exact order you listed...

[sameerrao]

^^ He's got 5 weeks to do it all! :D Besides its just a guideline - he doesnt have to see everything. I would do such a trip though myself if I had the time. I am crazy like that.

In fact over the last long weekend I went from Bay Area, California to Grand Canyon then to Sedona then to Hoover Dam and Vegas and back to Cali - 2033 miles in 3.5 days

:)

[T-Bird]

ohwell the only road trips I've done were around 3000+ miles in 3 days to pick up my truck from California and 2 times to NYC with friends for the hell of it in an F350 crew cab each one day there and back. Oh and once to Cape Cod in my T-bird with a girl to meet up with some others there (they flew).

[sameerrao]

And you did it in a great car non the less.... :wink:

I am the same way as you Sameerrao...a friend of mine and I drove about 900 km`s (both ways) to buy a burger....I knew a place where I said they had the best burgers, and he didnt belive they where better than his fav place so we just drove there so he could taste it for himself.....they where great and he agreed..... :lol: it was a nice trip.... :D

oh this one where in an Audi too..... :wink:

900Km for a burger ... well you were just looking for an excuse for a road trip weren't you! :)

US is an awesome country to drive around in ...

Errm! Unfortunately, my last trip was in a rental Hyundai Sonata. My S4 is sitting idle in Houston. The trip would certainly have been better in the Audi :)

Actually about 3 years back, I did a 2 1/2 week 5,000 mile trip with my parents in my Audi which went like something like this: Texas --> Indiana--> Illinois --> Ohio --> New York --> Massachussets --> Maine --> New Hampshire --> New Jersey --> Washington D.C. --> Alabama --> Texas.

Also drove from San Mateo (near SF) to Houston in the S4: ~2000 miles.

[ZfrkS62]

Arizona
- Las Vegas
- Valley of Fire
- Hoover Dam


hmmmm...Arizona assimilated Nevada? :mrgreen:


Washington
- Mt. St Helens
- Mt. Rainier National Park
- Seattle


In Seattle, there a couple of places that are a must:
1) Pike Place Market down on the water front (home of the flying fish :D )
2) Seattle Center where the Space Needle, EMP (Experience Music Project), and Pacific Science Center (shut up, i know it sounds geeky but they do have some cool shit there. If nothing else you can catch an IMAX movie)

Lunch..hell, there are an assload of resturants around the city (hopefully you can time it so you hit during the Bite of Seattle which is a huge food festival :D

3) if you have time take a trip down I-5 South (i can't remember if there is a way into Bellevue from I-5) and wrap around to 405 North until you get to Bellevue. Once there track down Park Place Ltd :twisted: :drool:

[sameerrao]

Arizona
- Las Vegas
- Valley of Fire
- Hoover Dam


hmmmm...Arizona assimilated Nevada? :mrgreen:

My Bad! Nevada/Arizona
:D