Why Travel?
The USA is continental in scale. Not to experience this is to miss an essential ingredient of the country (almost like Americans visiting Europe and seeing nothing of its historical traditions). But, being so vast, the distances can eat up much of your precious time, whether you are a visitor or a resident. Hence the attraction of flying.
Do not try to see too much, especially in your first trip. Vary your schedule so that though some days may involve 400 miles of freeway, others will involve taking detours to visit historical sights (Civil War battlefields or colonial settlements are excellent, and usually inexpensive). Driving the country roads can be very interesting and a great change of pace. Driving from Atlanta to Washington DC? Try US 15 across Virginia, or even the Blue Ridge Parkway, both of which run parallel to major freeways.
Don’t expect to visit four national parks in four days. Even if you can manage the driving you will probably get scenic overload (as in ‘Oh no! Not more mountains’ felt towards the end of six weeks’ crisscrossing of the Rocky Mountains). Would you want to ‘do’ Snowdonia in one day, the Lake District the next, and then the Highlands before Edinburgh en route for London-Heathrow?
A useful video is now available:
- New York and the Poconos from Travel Television of Hindhead, Surrey. Tel: (01428) 607213. Besides being a guide to a specific tourist area it provides advice on all aspects of being a traveller in the USA.
Travelling By Car
For anything but a coach tour a car really is essential for everyone visiting the USA and with petrol ranging from only $1.62 in Georgia to $2.20 in Chicago cars are cheap to run. Even a one-resort holiday can be greatly improved by a few days visiting nearby sights, theme parks, or just experiencing the open road.
The USA is larger, and the distances between cities greater, so the time needed to explore is that much greater than in the UK. Costs per mile are still low compared to Europe, but the distances so great the overall costs can still be quite a surprise. There are positive aspects though:
- Local car hire is very reasonably priced.
- Petrol is cheap by European standards (about 35p per litre).
- Motoring means wide roads and lots of places to park.
- For most of the freeway network driving is actually relaxing due to the legal 65/70 mph speed limits. (Around cities, though, freeways are like bad sections of the M1.)
So a holiday based, for instance, near central Florida’s Disneyworld can be both wide-ranging (Florida Keys to the south, Fort Augustine in the northeast, and Panama City to the northwest) and very reasonably priced, especially if car hire is booked as part of the flight and accommodation package, or just pre-booked from the UK. Such special rates usually involve collecting and returning the car from the same airport, and may require you to stay within the one state (which may be larger than the UK!).
- A useful overview is provided in Driving in the USA from Columbus Press, 28 Charles Square, London Nl 6HT. Tel: (020) 7417 0700.
- A video is also available: Driving in the USA from Travel Television Ltd, of Hindhead, Surrey. Tel: (01428) 607213. £12.45 including postage and packing.
- For general information contact:
The ‘Triple A’ publish a useful Handicapped Driver’s Mobility Guide.
Car Hire (Us = Rental)
A few numbers to try in the UK before booking:
- Alamo: 0800 272200
- Avis: (020) 8848 8733 (www.avis.co.uk)
- Budget: 0800 181181 (www.budget.com)
- Thrifty: (01494) 442110 (www.thrifty.com)
- Hertz: (020) 8679 1799 (www.hertz.co.uk)
- Dollar 0800 252897 (www.dollarcar.com)
- Holiday Autos (www.holidayautos.co.uk)
One of the best sources for rental information is Breezenet’s Guide to Airport Rental Cars (at www.bnm.com ) where for each US city best deals are listed, with online booking instructions, including a useful introduction to the jargon and acronyms. The best Web site is Expedia ( www.expedia.co.uk ).