Travelling around America,

Hi, i am planning to take a year out and travel most of the states in america, as i love it there! But im not sure who to get in touch with, or what website that may help me achieve this. I was thinking about a motor home and doing it my own way, is that a good idea? or would it be better to get in touch with a company and go with them?

Help! :D

Only you can decide whether or not doing it yourself is right for you; much depends on your budget, your preferred travel pace, and simply whether you would feel comfortable traveling on your own.

Aside from motor-homing it on your own, there are several options for getting around - car hires, air, train, and bus among others...you might have a look at Green Tortoise Adventure Travel, they organize budget traveler trips (sometimes in a customized "sleeper" bus) all over the US and might have some trips of interest for you.

I would do it on my own. The most amazing trip for me was down the west coast. Driving down the coast from Washington state to San Diego, California you can see the extreme changes in landscape, oceans, and climate. There are some amazing cities on the way: Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, and San Diego. You might look into using Triple A (www.aaa.com). My parents planned a cross country trip and AAA mapped it out and set hotel reservations and everything. You could also arrange your trip around seeing all the national parks (Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon etc) - that would give you an actual agenda and set a course for you.

I like the idea of going down the west coast (start in Seattle and end up in San Diego), and then head inland and go to the national parks of the west--like the Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, Monument Valley, Bryce Canyon, Arches, Dinosaur National Park, Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, and Glacier National Park, and ending up back at Seattle at the end of your trip.

Enjoy

I too would do the RV thing, it will combine the rental car and hotel in one. Only drawback would be when you spend time in the east around the major cities. But most if not all have RV parks in the burbs and you can always base yourself there and use public trans or rent a small car for touring the cities.

Seeing everything in the States is a very difficult thing but a year would give you that opportunity. I would start in the North East (New England) and work your way down to maybe Washington DC, then go west. This is just my opinion and I hope I don't offend but the entire mid part of the country may well be passed over at a high rate of speed with few stops in favor of the more scenic sections such as The Badlands in South Dakota, Rocky Mountains, Grand Canyon etc. I agree that driving the west coast from north to south is the way to go. The drive on the coastal highway from SF to LA is one you simply have to experience and going south means you will be on the ocean side of the road.

[ Edit: Edited on 13-Jun-2009, at 10:35 by DaveinMD ]

America is a nice place to travel and to settle down too......isint'd....