Hi all,
Me and a friend are heading out to North America for 2 and half months next year. We have a rough route and plan to do most travel via greyhound (the most cost effective) I realize we will have to hire a car on the west coast to see the most of it and plan one internal flight from Chicago to Seattle. I would love advice, help or just info.
On one visit to America a few decades ago I did over 12,000 miles and still missed out a lot of the country. It's a BIG country and travelling by Greyhound soon becomes boring as you spend hours and hours on featureless freeways and toll roads.
Flying is cheap in America if booked online including using various companies which auction flights to the best bidder.
Once you arrive at an airport you can use local transport or pick up a car, see everything in a radius of say fifty or a hundred miles and then fly somewhere else. You'll be surprised how quick 2.5 months will go.
One major problem is that you are arriving in winter and America does have bad winters. My aunt lives in Buffalo and said one year they looked out of their bedroom windows and the snow was just below their first floor window sill. It's rarely that bad but it can be a nightmare to get around in below zero temperatures with roads covered in snow and ice. In your place I would go there about mid-April at the earliest.
As to Chicago, one year when I was enjoying the sun in LA, they had temperatures of -42.C and a wind chill factor of -100.C (I kid you not) and people were getting frostbite after just five minutes outside. Again, rarely that bad but you never know.
Hi.
Thank you for the reply. Well I know it is not the most ideal time of year to go but due to work commitments we have to leave in February.
It will be an adventure and we are both fully prepeard for the diverse weather conditions and snow and ice is something we get a lot of in the north of England.
With regard to greyhound it is all about price. We will suffer it as long as we can in order to have the money to do some of the things we want. We plan at least one internal flight and car hire but nothing can beat the 2 month freedom pass on greyhound for $750. We want this to be a road trip so flying into a place having a look around then Flying somewhere else doesn't appeal.
Is there anything that we shouldn't miss?
Again thank you. Tarl.
Check National Park Service website for Yosemite - many areas/waterfalls will be closed
Drop Atlantic City, NJ
Add Williamsburg, VA near Richmond
Add Portland, Mt. Hood (snow) and Cannon Beach, OR
Drop Buffalo, NY
Extreme cold in Niagara Falls, NY and Chicago, IL
Replace Los Angeles, CA with San Diego, CA
Feb is coldest month of all in the States - bring your ice skates and snow shoes! Expect a great deal of rain everywhere except in the Soutwest, and snow in the Great Lakes and Northeast (bring your booties)
One month of Greyhound @ 750. - EXTREME TORTURE, proceed at your own risk
I suggest PEPPER SPRAY if you use Greyhound - bus stations in the USA are in the very worst neighborhoods!!!!!
Areas you've missed include New Orleans, Santa Fe, NM, the entire states of Colorado (spectacular even in winter) and Maine (think lobster)
[ 12-Dec-2011, at 12:28 by Daawgon ]
There are better busses in the US than the Greyhound. I agree with the other poster that the Greyhound is often going to drop you in seedy areas.
Google search for:
Peter Pan Bus
MegaBus
There are a couple more but I cant think of them right now....maybe someone else will chime in.
http://blog.budgettravel.com/budgettravel/2011/12/megabus_continues_to_grow_bene.html
Check out this article.
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