3 month roadtrip..where do i start??? - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

gillx · 03-16-2010, 01:40 AM

Hey folks, hows it going? just wondering if anyone out there has any info that will help me. At the minute me and my boyfriend are travelling around SE Asia and will end up in the US...we fly into LA and out of NY...how we get from coast to coast i have no idea but we have 2 months to do it!
Weve been looking at amtrak, greyhound and am now thinking it would be more fun to buy/hire a car but have no idea where to start..it looks so complicated! finding a car, finding someone that will insure me ( ill be 25 but from the UK) as i need a resident address aparently. What is the average cost of fuel at the minute? how much can i buy a 2nd hand car for? i think i might be underestimating the actual size of the states aswell! we have a pretty tight budget but with a car we'll get to see things that we couldnt get to if were stuck on a bus or train!
Anyway, let me know if any of you out there have been lucky enough to do this or have used greyhound (heard its pretty dodgy) or amtrak.
Thanks, gill

**travelpunk** · 03-16-2010, 12:47 PM

A lot will depend on where you want to go and what you want to see. The USA is huge. Imagine driving across Spain. Spain is about the size of Texas. Now you have 47 states to go (Alaska and Hawaii won't be feasible on this trip by car).

What is your budget? There could be some good car deals out there, but do either of you have mechanic skills? It could be costly if something goes wrong. If it takes a few days to fix, you're also out hotel fees wherever you're stuck out.

There are also a number of cheap airlines, if you decide to go that route, but as you mentioned, you won't see as much as you would in a car.

Do you have a credit card? Your credit card may insure you for free If you rent a car and pay with that credit card. I used to do that all the time with my old Capital One credit card.

If you have a limited budget, you should check out Craigslist.org. It is the number one free advertising site in the US (check out the cars for sale too).

Specifically, select your city, then click "rideshare" on the top left of each city you have selected. Many people will offer free rides if you pitch in for gas. My brother gave a lady a ride from Los Angeles to Las Vegas (to her destination doorstep), then back to Los Angeles for about $50 (her half of the gas, round trip).

Here is the LA rideshare on Craigslist.

Also, create a free account on craigslist and post a free message and see who emails you back (like this message). Here's an example of someone offering a ride from LA to Oakland (San Francisco is 20 minutes across the bay).

You can post messages for each city you want to leave and go to, to get a feel for what things might cost here.

Most of the people just want help with gas, but you can negotiate any price you want.

edited to add: To avoid people scamming you, you probably don't want to publicly post that you are from out of town. Just post "We need a ride from LA to Chicago on..."

The GBP goes a long way in the US too

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**agriadam** · 03-16-2010, 02:21 PM

Renting a car I feel would be far better than trying to buy one, Due to the fact that a cheap car is going to be just that, a cheap car.

I can speak from experience that Greyhound is overpriced slow and not a fun trip. Once you make it to the Midwest and East Coast I would recommend using Mega Bus, they travel directly between many cities with no smaller stops. Example a trip from Chicago, Illinois to Indianapolis, Indiana Takes about 4 hours by car, about 8 hours by grey hound and about 4.5 hours by mega bus. also you can get tickets for as low as 99 cents.
I can speak from experience that this is a great way to travel I have used it many times.

Good Luck and Safe Travels.

**travelpunk** · 03-16-2010, 04:56 PM

Are there toilets on the Mega Bus?

**simply_angelic** · 03-18-2010, 06:55 AM

^^ yes

Quote:

Originally Posted by agriadam

Renting a car I feel would be far better than trying to buy one, Due to the fact that a cheap car is going to be just that, a cheap car.

I can speak from experience that Greyhound is overpriced slow and not a fun trip. Once you make it to the Midwest and East Coast I would recommend using Mega Bus, they travel directly between many cities with no smaller stops. Example a trip from Chicago, Illinois to Indianapolis, Indiana Takes about 4 hours by car, about 8 hours by grey hound and about 4.5 hours by mega bus. also you can get tickets for as low as 99 cents.
I can speak from experience that this is a great way to travel I have used it many times.

Good Luck and Safe Travels.

I agree with agriadam. Use the buses to get to those far away places you need to go then rent a car in specific locations where you feel you might need one. It'll likely work out to be your best bet.

**agriadam** · 03-19-2010, 01:20 PM

As SA said their are toilets on the Megabus. Also, as I have only ever taken the Chicago to Indy trip I can only vouch for it, you stop one time half way so you can stretch your legs and get a snack at the gas station, I would assume all the trips are similar.

gillx · 05-03-2010, 05:56 AM

Cheers everyone, thats been loads of help! The rideshare thing is a brilliant idea...ill definately have a wee look at that closer to the time.

I didnt even know there was a megabus in the US, thanks for that Agriadam...i use it all the time in the UK, we even have a megatrain back home, never used it but im guessing its a lot cheaper than usual.
SA...good idea about just renting when we really need to...we'll probably just use the rideshare thing/megabus/greyhound then when theres a really good drive or we go to a national park or something ill rent.

Does anyone know of a really cheap rental company...iv been trawling through some on the internet but they all seem pretty expensive...might just be the going rate though.
Thanks again everyone, much apreciated
gill and dex