America is an amazing country; nowhere else can you find such a wide variety of climates, food, cultures, and landscapes. America has something for everyone, whether you’re looking for an adventure holiday, a long beach getaway, or a touch of history. However, it is a shame that most people only choose to visit one big city when the travel to or through the United States. Instead, why not try to see as much of the country as possible. Road trips are an important staple of many great American stories, so why not take part in this exciting tradition. You’ll have more stories to tell than if you just stayed in one location. Let’s explore America!
By train
Few people know that you can travel around the whole country by rail as America’s railway system is hidden. You can start on the East coast at either Boston, New York, Philadelphia, or Washington D.C, then hop on a long-distance Amtrak all the way to California. A 3,000 mile coast-to-coast train ride takes 3 nights, without stopovers, but while it’s nice to see the states through the train window, you should definitely take any opportunity to stop and explore.
There are five different routes to choose from, but the most scenic is is the California Zephyr from Chicago to San Francisco, which you can take in connection with the Lake Shore Limited from New York or Boston to Chicago, or the Capitol Limited from Washington DC to Chicago. The California Zephyr is one of world’s greatest train journeys, and in around 48 hours you will cross the farmlands of Nebraska, scale the Rockies beyond Denver while you eat egg & bacon for breakfast in the diner, snake through rocky river valleys in Colorado and pass through the Sierra Nevada mountains to reach Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay area. Amtrak offers USA Rail Passes for 15-day, 30-day or 45-day trips. If you’re savvy about using public transport in each stop on your tour, they’re an affordable way to see the country.
By coach
Hiring an RV might seem like a good idea – you think you might save money on motels and hotels around the country – but the RV itself is expensive, the gas costs are considerably more expensive than a smaller car, and it costs a lot of money to park it in cities.
If you have your heart set on a big group trip around America with the family, consider going by coach instead. There are many coach tours available in the country that cover several different states. Over the course of 15 days, you could see New York, Boston, Washington D.C., Niagara Falls, and Eastern Canada. Be adventurous and book the Great American Crossing tour, and you will experience New York, Philadelphia, Gettysburg, Detroit, Mount Rushmore, and many more cities over the course of 21 days.
However, if you’d prefer a bit more freedom with your coach tours, you could also hire a coach yourself and travel to your own hand picked destinations. You can get good deals on http://gogocharters.com/ and see over 200 locations in the United States. Plan your own route, how long you’ll stay in each place, and book a coach as and when you’ll need one.
If you’re limited by your budget, you could always travel by bus. One of the most economical methods of transport is undoubtedly the Greyhound bus, which takes you to 3700 locations throughout the US. The buses operate 24 hours a day, so you could travel on a sleeper bus if you don’t want to waste any waking hours on travel.
By road
Nothing beats a good road trip, especially when you also have a variety of ways to travel by road. Sometimes the cost of renting a car will cost less than driving your own across America, especially if you choose a rental car that’s more fuel-efficient than the one you own. You’ll end up saving over the course of a long trip and you’re not on the hook for the maintenance that follows a long-haul journey. However, if the idea of renting doesn’t appeal to you, there is another option.
People need to ship their cars across the country and some agencies will let average folks like you do the driving. They’ll give you a car and a designated route — usually between two major cities — and you’ll drive the car from Point A to Point B. This way, you could travel from Miami to Pittsburgh on someone else’s gas mileage.
