California Road Trip

Soldato
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Wokingham
My friend and I have decided that we want to go on a road trip from the top of California to the bottom. Is it possible to plan something like this to be able to go in 1 months time? How long would it take to get from one end to the other while taking in some sights and having a relaxing drive?
He has just passed his ATPL and we (or rather he) plan to do a bit of flying out there too.
Does anyone have any tips for planning a trip like this? Cheers :)
 
Man of Honour
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I'm doing something similar in September. I'm flying to Toronto where I'm hiring a Dodge Magnum for a fortnight. I'm just going to drive around SE Canada and NE USA, hopefully taking in places like New York, Boston, Toronto, Philadelphia, Montreal. Ottawa etc...

If you're going to hire a car, make sure you read the small print very carefully. A lot of hire companies have restrictions on mileage and ridiculous insurance excesses should you prang it. It took me about a month to find a decent hire car package as I'll only be 21 when I do the trip and I wanted a big car with decent insurance cover.

Don't restrict yourself with time. Leave yourself plenty so you don't have to rush around. Most important of all, make sure you have a blast :cool:
 
Soldato
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As was said....don't limit your time.....you will have a ball.

And if you can, visit Arizona too.... Phoenix is amazing.... and has changed my whole view of America. The people were great...the temps were up round 117 (47degrees) at the start of June (the hotter the better for me) - it was that hot, I stepped out of my hire car onto the tarmac, and the glue on the insoles of my trainers melted & I had to take them out.....I'm surprised more people don't travel there. Even my air-con was struggling.

If you can handle it - the temps get up around 123f (51degrees to us) sometimes in June - absolutely crazy heat - but I love it ;)
 
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Soldato
Joined
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Scuzi said:
I'm doing something similar in September. I'm flying to Toronto where I'm hiring a Dodge Magnum for a fortnight. I'm just going to drive around SE Canada and NE USA, hopefully taking in places like New York, Boston, Toronto, Philadelphia, Montreal. Ottawa etc...

If you're going to hire a car, make sure you read the small print very carefully. A lot of hire companies have restrictions on mileage and ridiculous insurance excesses should you prang it. It took me about a month to find a decent hire car package as I'll only be 21 when I do the trip and I wanted a big car with decent insurance cover.

Don't restrict yourself with time. Leave yourself plenty so you don't have to rush around. Most important of all, make sure you have a blast :cool:
what insurance company is this as i'm interested in doing a similar road trip myself?

B@Th*nG
 
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I drove from New York to Los Angeles and then up to San Francisco a few years ago. Best 2 weeks ever!! Grand Canyon and Las Vegas are a must!! Oooh and the hoover dam.

I did the Auto Drive Away thing where you get the car for free and just pay for petrol :D

LA is a run down hole of a place in my opinion though. Hated it there!!
 
Man of Honour
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B@Th*nG said:
what insurance company is this as i'm interested in doing a similar road trip myself?

B@Th*nG

The car hire company is called Thirfty (http://www.thrifty.com/) but I booked it through http://www.atlaschoice.com/ as there was about £150 cheaper to do so.
I went for the Thrifty Gold Plus package with the damage excess waiver. It seems to be the most comprehensive cover I can get at my age on a car the size of the Magnum.
 
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Soldato
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14 Mar 2004
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I did a road trip all around the USA (quite literally - started in NY, loop around the country, end in NY) with my mates a few years ago (before I actually moved over here) and it was a piece of cake in terms of the planning. We went for about 3 months and only planned it all in 1 month :)

Most of the time we did the Holiday Inn Express tour. We joined their "select club" type thing. They take your details (including credit card) and you just get an account number - so it takes like two seconds to book anywhere. Then you get a huge directory with all the Holiday Inn's inside - there's one off pretty much every interstate exit so you cannot possibly go wrong :) It's quick, easy and cheap.

For car hire we used National. Some of the others charge a bomb if you're dropping the car off in a different place to where you hired it from. National had no charge for that at all. Might all be different now of course.

Basically, the US is the land of convenience. You can pretty much just land and go. You will not struggle to find a place to sleep or eat I can promise you :)
 
Associate
Joined
8 Jul 2006
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Hiya

Two years ago me and my family went from:

San Fransisco
To
L.A
To
Grand Canyon
To
Las Vegas

Pretty much going from top to bottom of california, we did this over 2 weeks, mainly spending a few nights in each part, infact, the last day we went from Las Vegas to San Fransisco in one day, I think we did about 1000 miles :D
 
Soldato
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Frack off, nosey
NokkonWud said:
If you are going near California, do yourself a favour, drive straight to Vegas and stay there.

Nevada then :)

Larnica said:
infact, the last day we went from Las Vegas to San Fransisco in one day, I think we did about 1000 miles :D

It's about a 8-10 hour drive and it's about 600 miles... i guess you took the scenic route :p

If you're travelling to LA, it's best to head to Vegas from there or vice versa - only 6 hours or so then and you can stop in Santa Barbara on the way. :)
 
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