A trip across the United States is a dream for many, which a friend and I happened to have enjoyed this past summer. It was an amazing journey traveling from the center of Florida to the tip-top of Washington state (Seattle).
Neither he nor I had ever traveled such a great distance.
The trip was one to remember for a lifetime, but it didn’t always sit right. There were times when I wish I had done things differently based on the way we drove, places we stayed, and spots we visited.
I’d like to share some of what I’d do differently for any of you that plan on making a massive trip across the United States.
Transit
The transit is where you’ll spend most of your time so it makes sense that you’re comfortable.
A high-mpg car will get you around from place to place but, personally, I wouldn’t recommend the travel because it’s so cramped. You can mitigate the claustrophobic elements by using your tablet or PC hooked to a converter and tethering. But when you’re on the road for most of the day it gets heavy.
If I had a second choice I would have gotten an RV. One that was equipped with a proper bed, patio area, and RV solar panels for entertainment so we could have set up in the wild. This would have doubled the experience by having access to the national parks and camping grounds versus the middle-of-nowhere motels that could be a bit “seedy”.
The solar panels would have also been fantastic for keeping work steady during the travel!
Lodging
The lodging was a different story.
Thanks to AirBnB, HostelWorld, and Kayak it was rather easy these days to find something to crash in when the time had come to end our long transit. The reviews were most important since they gave us a glimpse as to what we should expect.
9 times out of 10 we landed in a good spot because of apps and websites. It also saved us hundreds of dollars when booking through the site versus showing up out of the blue. A phone and access to these sites are indispensable in terms of find lodging on the road and in our destinations – it’s far easier than you’d think!
The added benefit was the fact that we were placed in areas which were closer to what was happening in the area, so the locals were sure to give us great suggestions as to what to experience.
Visits
The visits are those destinations that really matter to you.
There are plenty of tourist destinations, but the best typically is those that are a little off the beaten path. Those places which you’d find deep within the suggestions on travel forums and social media.
Apps come to the rescue.
Apps can create a new experience with your visits from discovering the history of the location to finding the nightlife that’s really popping. You get off the grid because the destinations are crowdsourced. They aren’t a compiled list of destinations based on some arbitrary rankings.
Conclusion
The piece of advice I’d have with those making a road trip across the States is to take it slow, because there’s simply so much to see and do. We were in a bit of a rush, but you may be in a different situation.
This isn’t like it was in the past. You can:
· Make your transit without having to worry about being ditched in the middle of nowhere
· Quickly find lodging, even if you’re in the middle of the trip
· Adjust your route to see amazing sights with the help of an app
The United States is larger than you can ever imagine. I had a blast. I hope you do the same.
Q: What’s a major item, stop over, or travel tip you’d have with others that are taking on a major journey across the States? Leave a comment below!