Moving About
PhiladelphiaThe book does not advise travellers hoping to stay in the city during October (as I hope to do in order to attend a conference) that hotel accommodation is IMPOSSIBLE to obtain unless booking is made many weeks in advance. I tried two/three weeks in advance and was told by many hotels/B & Bs/and tourist info. that there were no rooms to be had in the city. The nearest I was offered was 12 miles away, and dependent on having a car.
Simon Parker - UK (Oct 98)
Kodiak Ferry - take the offer to queue at boarding time if you have to; we had no problem getting our Hundai Excel with canoe onboard although we were about 8th on the standby list. Get a spot on the floor on the top deck. It's very noisy but this is where the atmosphere is and you get fresh air, heaters and shelter. Just remember the ear plugs when its time to sleep and beware the horn blowing at least twice during the trip. Great spot for beluga spotting too.
Bronwyn Siviour - CAN - (Nov 98)
I just returned from traveling around the states on the US Bus and it was a really great experience. I travelled from Niagara Falls to LA in 4 weeks on a bus ticket that cost approx US $260. This is great for travelling in a van that only takes 14 pax, and the timetable allows for loads of stops on the way which the passengers decide upon, like outlet shopping, swimming, Kodak moments etc. The bus drops and picks up at HI Hostels along the route and you can get on and off whenever you choose. The only drawback was that because the service is only a few months old they are suffering a few scheduling problems as in too many people and not enough buses, but this was in September and most of the travellers were just released from working at summer camps so its probably not the best time to travel.
The drivers are great, and the hostel staff are very helpful in finding passengers beds at short notice when they are already full. The US Bus also gives you a $30 phone card and a book with all the info you need to book your accommodation .
My best tip, offer the US Bus driver %5 to sleep in the bus at night, a great money saver, and they appreciate the security.
Sarah Avenell - AUS (Oct 98)
Just a quick update from a recent trip to Florida. The LP book only mentions in the Getting There section Orlando International Airport for the only way into Orlando, but the majority of the charter flights from which very cheap last minute seats can be purchased fly to Orlando Sanford. This is North of Orlando, a newish airport. The day we departed it had 14 UK flights only that day. We nearly went to the International Airport on the way home by mistake as the LP book says that this is the only airport. Beware, we nearly missed our flight.
Steve Brookwell - US (Oct 98)
Cars, rentals, driveaways
Auto driveaways are basically non-paying situations, not paying jobs. there are offices in most cities of some size. usually it is difficult to find a driveaway of less than 400-500 miles. a typical arrangement would be like this example: you pick up a car in tampa florida after leaving a $200 deposit, to be refunded after delivering the car to denver colorado. the car has been checked out and declared roadworthy. there is no charge for the use of the car to denver. the gas tank is full when you get the car; you should turn it in with at least 1/8-1/4 tank of gas. there is an allowance of mileage given: if the company calculates that is 1800 miles tampa to denver, they allow you maybe 2100 miles to deliver the car and 6 days to arrive. do not exceed this mileage or time restriction, or there will be charges and penalties. you are restricted to daylight driving only, but this is on the honor system. in rare circumstances of rush departure or unusual destination, there may be additional incentive, such as all or partial gas paid, but VERY RARELY do they pay you to drive the car to the destination. hope this information was helpful to you.
Rick (May 98)
The previous post is correct, but it is still a great way to get around if you are flexible enough, 1) You almost always get good cars as noone moving a crappy car would pay an agency to do it, one of mine was a Nissan Pathfinders 4WD with CD player and the works, drove it 2000 miles. 2) They do give you mileage limits but noone ever checked at the other end, (you deliver straight to the owner, not the agency). I went 500 miles over (on a 1800 mile trip) and noone blinked. Do not go over the time limit though 'cos then they'll call the police. 3) Definitely definitely definitely check the car with a fine tooth comb before you accept it otherwise you can be charged for damage, or at least loose your deposit. 4) Autodriveaway was the agency I used, I don't know if they're on the web, but they are the largest agency, and they seemed to know what they were doing and had offices in quite a few places. Head office is Chicago I think.
Pete (May 98)
The co. you need to contact is "Auto Driveaway Co." and is listed in the yellow pages. The number for the Seattle office is 206 235 0880.
Monty (June 98)
My partner and I are considering travelling across USA and Canada by car (West to East). Whilst we have no practical experience in buying cars in the USA or driving in the USA, after much research we have decided that a car will give us the most flexibility. It will require morer money up front but we hope that this will be compensated through cheap accomodation (ie sleep in car when possible and safe) and no additional bus tickets. However there are also some things we have been told to be cautious of including insurance costs, transfer of ownership papers, hassle that cars may be in the city traffic and parking, and not to mention that automobile accidents are the biggest causes of injury and death to travellers (hope that doesnt sound too ominous). Also remember that they drive on the opposite side of the road [on the right side]. Anyway here are a couple of web pages that I found of help. If you can get a web page of the paper/classifieds of where you are starting you may be able to line up a car before you get there.
Jim & Kate's USA Traveller (Cheap!) (cheap places to sleep in your car)
Recycler.com (car sale classifieds)
FAQs for foreign car buyers
Art of Travel (interesting section on car travel risk in hitchhiking)
Anyway have a great time!! Cheers
Jerry (July 98)
Hi to all you friendly & helpful people out there! At first, thanks for all the information you gave us. In the meantime, we have found quite a few interesting pages around the net, so we now want to share that with you.
Try the Guide to Airport Rental Cars for information about renting cars, they also have a pretty good faq site. If you follow the links to <25 [under 25] you will find links sorted by Airports, and as we're flying to LAX, we had the best deal with Costless. They have no fee for <25 drivers and they also have no charge for an additional driver. Isn't that great? Their rates start at $17.95/dy resp. $119/wk. (Basic insurance is $9/dy, CDW is also $9/dy) With Costless, you can also book your car by e-mail, they answer very fast and they speak both spanish and german (CLCarRent@aol.com). If you arrive at night, they will pick you up in the morning at any hotel with no charge, as they close at 7 pm. Their toll free number is 800-770-0606.
Another company that has interesting rates is Ariana rent a car. They also have no charges for being <25 or for additional drivers. Rates are $29.99/dy resp. $159.99/wk, basic insurance $12/dy, full insurance $18/dy. They offer a 5% discount when you show them a copy of their web page. They unfortunately have no e-mail, but their fax# is 310-338-7284. Ok, hope this helps!
And remember that you always have to pay fees and state of California taxes $1.95/DAY + 8.24%. In case you have other questions, we will be on the road from June 26 (Friday !!!!) but will be available at pleskina@metronet.de. Keep on rockin'
Sandra & Andreas (June 98)
Roadtripping in California
My partner and I are planning to travel around California in August. We wanna start our trip going from San Francisco to Lake Tahoe but travelling trough Eureka, Lassen Volcanic Park and maybe Lava Beds. It's worth the 'detour'?? It seems to us that nobody is going to the North of California, why??
Joan (April 98)
One thing you need to realize, especially if you are European, is that YOU WILL NEED TO DRIVE. You might be able to find some package tour to Yosemite, and deal with all the crowds, but otherwise YOU WILL NEED TO DRIVE. CAR CAR CAR-- this should be your mantra. Northern California is very popular in the summertime and the places you have mentioned are all very far apart with no public transportation between the places. Rent a car, get a good map and look at it with American eyes (things are very far apart here) and drive to as many as you can, making reservations at campsites well in advance. It will be quite hot, temperature-wise. Traveling to Tahoe via Eureka is insane, unless you have a LOT of time. Please look at a map and measure the distances properly. Keep in mind the curvy roads and high volumes of traffic.
Mikey (April 98)
What's worthwhile and what distances are long or too long depends on you, of course. Yosemite's absolutely gorgeous, though you absolutely need to reserve hotel rooms or campground spots in advance. Tuolumne Meadows, in the eastern part of the park, is about 8,000' plus (vs. about 4,500' in Yosemite Valley), and there is better hiking, for day hikes and longer, there. Mt. Dana (13,000') is a relatively easy walk-up (rangers lead hikes there). If you want some uncrowded mountain scenery, you could continue on eastward over Tioga Pass, at the edge of the park (maybe just drive through the park), on over to the eastern side of the Sierra. High desert surrounded by 12,000'+ plus peaks of the Sierra Nevada on one side and equally high desert peaks (really uncrowded) on the other. Lots of hikes there, and fewer people. There are lots of guide books for the whole region (classic is Starr's Guide to the High Sierra). Yosemite is worth seeing, but unless you can reserve in advance you may consider saying outside of Yosemite Valley (e.g. El Portal or Big Oak Flat just west of the park, or the Wawona area in the southern part of the park). If you hate crowds, you could spend the day in the Valley and then continue on eastward to Tuolumne Meadows and on to Hwy. 395 (could loop back to SF via Lake Tahoe or via Sonora Pass, which is lovely and less crowded than Yosemite).
Steve (May 98)
Check out: www.amtrak.com North American Rail Pass on Amtrak (USA) & VIA (CAN) combined. Unlimited stops good for 30 days of travel.
Elmodog (July 98)
Buying a car
Traveling in your own vehicle is surely the best way to appreciate the great North American wilderness and if there are a few of you, it can work out cheaper than public transport, not that you can put a price on the freedom it gives you. Our car was bought from a dealer for around a $1000. Buying the car is the easy bit...it's getting it on the road legally that's hard. The rules vary state to state. We initially tried to buy in California but found the bureaucracy was frightening. In Las Vegas we found two things: 1) There were lots of dealers selling cheap cars and 2) the old cars were in generally good condition (no rain.. no rust..) To register the car you need two things. A smog certificate to prove the car has acceptable exhaust emission levels and 2) insurance. The smog certificate was easy, supplied by the dealer. The insurance was difficult. Not many agents were interested in insuring a foreigner who they couldn't check up on. The ones that were wanted to charge a fortune. The solution was to get a Nevada driving license. Off I went to the Department of Vehicles (kindly shown the way by the car dealer) to inquire. No problem they said. I gave my passport as an ID reference. They asked what I was doing, I said " just hanging around Nevada for a while" (as advised by the dealer). They asked for an address - I gave the address of the friendly dealer, and that was the paperwork complete. Next for the test! The written test was the easiest test I have ever taken in my life and the actual driving test was a breeze. Once I had a license, insurance was easy (and a quarter of the cost), we hit the road. So go out, buy a car, drive around the States, camp and enjoy some of the best outdoors the world has to offer. Keep to the speed limit and watch out for the moose!
Simon Wheeler (Feb 98)
Scams and Warnings
Kanai Peninsula: Don't walk on the silt of Horseshoe Bay when there is low tide. Its dangerous because the silt acts as quicksand!
Jens Sitarek - GER - (Nov 98)
In re: being female, you shouldn't have safety problems if you follow your common sense. I traveled cross-country by train when I was 17 and had no worse experience than a drunk gentleman or two making advances to me. IMHO, though, you will be safer and more comfortable on Amtrack (rail) than on Greyhound.Amtrack is much more civilized for not much more expense. People are generally friendly on the trains - there are lounge cars - and you can bring your own food (and liquor, if you're discreet) on board with you. Amtrack also offers passenger amenities (showers at the stations, etc.) Further, when you consider the price of hotels (US$30-60 per night) it may be less expensive to get an Amtrack sleeping compartment for stages of your trip. I believe there's a pass available which allows unlimited travel with 3 or 5 stops at cities of your choice.Amtrak's disadvantages include odd schedules and often-remote stops. Even in the smallest towns, though, there's usually a hotel or two near the train stations. This is not always the case with Greyhound, which usually has stations in the downtown areas...and not very nice parts of town. As a single female traveling alone, I've found Greyhound stations to be rather nervous-making.I would recommend the Southern route. You can see oceans, mountains, plains, and desert...as opposed to mountains and snow in the north. The people in the South are generally pretty friendly, also. A girlfriend and I did the South by car a few years ago, and we didn't have any problems whatsoever. It's also easier to pack for the Southern winter (it's COLD in the North and in Canada, and unless you're very, very well outfitted you won't have much outdoor fun) and food / lodging outside of the tourist hot-spots are generally a little less expensive in the South than the North. Feel free to email durmil@earthlink.net if you'd like more info. Best wishes!
GangWarily (July 98)
For more news, views and the odd bit of gibberish, drop in on the soc.culture.usa and rec.travel.usa-canada newsgroups.
For detailed up-to-date travel information check out Lonely Planet's Destination USA.
USA
