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Hi, I'm looking to 'doing' North America. Hopefully a lot of it, like east cost, west cost, middle of it and bits of Canda that are just over the boarder.
I was just wondering what way everyone thought was the best way to go about it, rental car, joining a tour (like trekamerica) or other ways I probably haven't thought of.
All hints/tips/suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Ronnie
Hi Ronnie
I am currently trekking around America for 3 months and it is through my job.
It all depends on how you want to do it really. If you want to see the country then the best option is on the ground and probably by train but the Amtrak service is limited and time consuming but is a great way to watch America go by in between destinations. Right now I am traveling around by car but all you get to see really is concrete motorway, other cars and lots and lots of signs for McDonalds, Jack in the box and all other types of fast food outlets, unless of course, you take back roads visitng the small towns, but this will take a long time to get in between places as America is so vast. Fuel and hire aren't the cheapest option either and you could always take the greyhound as it is cheaper, but this is uncomfertable. The other option is by air. This is fast, not always too expensive, but you don't get to see the world go by... only the clouds.
My honest opinion is to use a car as the public transport in most cities is pretty minimal and most people go everywhere by car. Other then that using bus and train are a cool and cheaper, but more time consuming way to see the States.
Matt
Hi Ronnie,
Have a great trip - America is a wonderful place full of wonderful people. A mate of mine did a two week trip in an RV from San Fran to Housten via Vegas, Grand Canyon etc, sadi it was wonderful. I've only managed to sneak up and down the east coast and I used Greyhound. Ooops. Bad mistake. Greyhound from Washington to Miami is a mighty long way, especailly when you have a large family travelling on the bus with you, kids screaming running every where and then the aircon broke down... made a promise never to use long haul busses again, obviously broke this rule when I got short of cash in Australia and had two days from Cairns to Sydney, but that is another story. Check out St Louis as you trek across, a frontier town way back when with an interesting history and a now a massive metal arch overlooking the Missisipi.
You're gonna love it.
Gareth Sear
i think its gotta be rental car - th eonly issue is that multi-state and one-way journeys add a little to the cost.
i would highly recomend;
Jackson Hole, Wyoming Yellowstone and the Tetones (both near Jackson) Cedar City, Utah - for Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park. They have a good theatre festival (but late August i think) The less-visited north rim of the Grand Canyon (not too far from Cedar City) The drive across Death Valley - awesome as they say over there The drive through Yosemite New York, New York hotel in Las Vegas
IS it possible to do North America in one trip? I've only managed to Amtrak the East Coast and visit LA on my way to Hawaii! It's so expensive to do justice to the country that unless you work over there and have the freedom to travel for longer than a weekend, it's better to do sections. We're going to Amtrak next May/June, but only have two weeks due to work and finance commitments. It's going to be a hell of a planner trying to do justice to the places we end up - Niagra and the Grand Canyon are on the To Do list.
