Am I nuts? Considering driving from central NJ to DL summer 2016...newbies to DL

[bumbershoot]

I'll be going to DL for first time next month. Indy to Chicago then Chicago direct to LA -all on the Amtrak (4hr, 5hr layover, 43 hrs) I have a bedroom reserved. Almost planned to get off near Grand Canyon to hike for a day, but opted not to this trip. I've never taken the Amtrak so far, nor overnight so I'll have to report back later!
Good luck-it will be an adventure!! You're not crazy for considering it.

Just remember that with Amtrak, every stop has the strong potential to make you later. Pack your patience and be prepared to be very late that first day.


Op it sounds like fun but it does take a good while if you aren't just going to make it a 12 hours a day in the car slog. And remember that you have to go BACK. So plan excellent stops on the way back.

 

[TrySomethingNew]

Just remember that with Amtrak, every stop has the strong potential to make you later. Pack your patience and be prepared to be very late that first day.


Op it sounds like fun but it does take a good while if you aren't just going to make it a 12 hours a day in the car slog. And remember that you have to go BACK. So plan excellent stops on the way back.

I think airlines are getting to be where every stop (layover) has the potential to make you later, too, but there are longer distances between stops on a plane. Amtrak has guaranteed connections, in this case my Chicago stop, and it has been on time or early into LAX, when I've checked the history (late into LAX once that I've seen). I'm hoping for a good trip without impactful delays!

To the OP, I love driving- just looking at a map you can see you have almost too many choices! Recently I saw a map floating around the Internet of how to do a car trip around all 48 continental states without backtracking and maximizing notable stops. It might be an idea generator for you. In addition, I recently found forums on Trip Advisor. They have "places" and "themes" categories. Might be useful to you, as well.

 

[longboard55]

for that distance flying would be much cheaper

 

[bumbershoot]

I think airlines are getting to be where every stop (layover) has the potential to make you later, too, but there are longer distances between stops on a plane. Amtrak has guaranteed connections, in this case my Chicago stop, and it has been on time or early into LAX, when I've checked the history (late into LAX once that I've seen). I'm hoping for a good trip without impactful delays!

I hope the same for you!

I just remember learning from long-time train people (interestingly, both flight attendants) that the Coast Starlight had never once, in their experience, gotten from Seattle to Union Station in time to meet the Surfliner, so they just expect the bus ride to get down to San Diego. (side note: check what a guaranteed connection means...does it mean you get on the next day if the first train is late? does it mean a bus? does it mean money back (what "guarantee" usually means)? etc) And I had friends going from San Francisco to Seattle and they were, literally, 24 hours late. Impacted the husband's job, the wife's plans, everything. (they were broke and could not change gears)

Neither of those is Chicago to LAX. But Amtrak just doesn't have a great reputation. Our last train trip got into SEA from Vancouver BC early, but I'm not letting that experience color my views of all the times we were an hour or more late.


That said, with the sleepers, at least on the Starlight, the food is really good! IMO.

 

[Khokhonutt]

I've driven almost as far as you're talking about 3 times over the past year, from the Charlotte, NC area to Las Vegas twice (one way last year, round trip in the spring) and last week I drove from the Charlotte area to Tucson, AZ. Both my kids moved west, so I made one way trips driving with them out west, then flew back, then my wife, dogs and I did a week in Vegas, driving out and back, in the spring.

If you ask me, driving across the country is well worth it. There's no way to actually see how much the country varies any other way. I guess train might be similar, but you can't stop by a Route 66 diner for an awesome meal in a train. It is true that some of the scenery is less than spectacular in some areas (lots of corn and other fields, depending on your route). For my money, though, New Mexico, Arizona & Nevada have some of the most interesting and beautiful scenery you'll ever see.

That said, here are my thoughts from my recent trips.

- From here to AZ/NV for us is 3 hardcore long days of driving. For you, I'd figure on at least 4 days on each end of the trip.
- You do make good time out west. My favorite welcome signs are the ones that say 75 mph in TX, NM & AZ. Coming back east I did a lot of eye rolling as the speeds drop back down to 65 and 70.
- Seriously consider renting a car. We rented from Hertz, when we drove to/from Vegas. They truly have unlimited mileage per week and over the course of our trip we did over 4,500 miles. It's nice to plop down in someone else's vehicle and put all those miles on and not have to worry about oil changes and the wear you're putting on your own vehicle. For us, the $300 we spent for the rental and fuel for a full size vehicle was less than half what flights would have cost.
- The biggest downside for me, on those trips, is driving by all the cool places knowing I had an end destination I had to make. For example, I've now driven by or near the grand canyon 4 times without having time to stop. I'll be making a trip there soon.
- I do have to say we were pretty darn beat after our drive home from Vegas. I'd imagine a drive home after a week at Disney would be similar. Our time was tight though and we were doing some very long days. If you have the time to take easier days, you might be better off.

Bottom line, if you're family is cool with the drive from Jersey to Florida, I wouldn't shy away from the drive. It would be a great thing for your kids (and you) to see the sights. At least that's my 2 cents.

 

[Satchmo128]

Sounds nuts to me, but I am also not a fan of road trips at all.

 

[mom2rtk]

I've driven almost as far as you're talking about 3 times over the past year, from the Charlotte, NC area to Las Vegas twice (one way last year, round trip in the spring) and last week I drove from the Charlotte area to Tucson, AZ. Both my kids moved west, so I made one way trips driving with them out west, then flew back, then my wife, dogs and I did a week in Vegas, driving out and back, in the spring.

If you ask me, driving across the country is well worth it. There's no way to actually see how much the country varies any other way. I guess train might be similar, but you can't stop by a Route 66 diner for an awesome meal in a train. It is true that some of the scenery is less than spectacular in some areas (lots of corn and other fields, depending on your route). For my money, though, New Mexico, Arizona & Nevada have some of the most interesting and beautiful scenery you'll ever see.

That said, here are my thoughts from my recent trips.

- From here to AZ/NV for us is 3 hardcore long days of driving. For you, I'd figure on at least 4 days on each end of the trip.
- You do make good time out west. My favorite welcome signs are the ones that say 75 mph in TX, NM & AZ. Coming back east I did a lot of eye rolling as the speeds drop back down to 65 and 70.
- Seriously consider renting a car. We rented from Hertz, when we drove to/from Vegas. They truly have unlimited mileage per week and over the course of our trip we did over 4,500 miles. It's nice to plop down in someone else's vehicle and put all those miles on and not have to worry about oil changes and the wear you're putting on your own vehicle. For us, the $300 we spent for the rental and fuel for a full size vehicle was less than half what flights would have cost.
- The biggest downside for me, on those trips, is driving by all the cool places knowing I had an end destination I had to make. For example, I've now driven by or near the grand canyon 4 times without having time to stop. I'll be making a trip there soon.
- I do have to say we were pretty darn beat after our drive home from Vegas. I'd imagine a drive home after a week at Disney would be similar. Our time was tight though and we were doing some very long days. If you have the time to take easier days, you might be better off.

Bottom line, if you're family is cool with the drive from Jersey to Florida, I wouldn't shy away from the drive. It would be a great thing for your kids (and you) to see the sights. At least that's my 2 cents.

If you do go back to the southwest with the plan of taking more time seeing the area, do yourself a favor and add southern Utah to your itinerary. Grand Canyon is nice, but we actually like the scenery in southern Utah even more. Bryce, Zion, Canyonlands, Arches and Capitol Reef are all quite impressive in different ways from the Grand Canyon.

 

[Khokhonutt]

If you do go back to the southwest with the plan of taking more time seeing the area, do yourself a favor and add southern Utah to your itinerary. Grand Canyon is nice, but we actually like the scenery in southern Utah even more. Bryce, Zion, Canyonlands, Arches and Capitol Reef are all quite impressive in different ways from the Grand Canyon.

Yeah, those are all on the list. The more we look at that area, the more we realize it likely won't happen in one trip. With an eastern state mentality, it's easy to think you can just "do" one state in one vacation, no problem. Then you get out there and see how big and spread out things are and how many cool things there are to see, I suspect we'll be doing multiple trips out there. Heck, we've actually discussed moving out there for a few years, just to hit all the west coast stuff we've not seen. Who knows what we'll do, but it's fun to dream and plan.

 

[mom2rtk]

Yeah, those are all on the list. The more we look at that area, the more we realize it likely won't happen in one trip. With an eastern state mentality, it's easy to think you can just "do" one state in one vacation, no problem. Then you get out there and see how big and spread out things are and how many cool things there are to see, I suspect we'll be doing multiple trips out there. Heck, we've actually discussed moving out there for a few years, just to hit all the west coast stuff we've not seen. Who knows what we'll do, but it's fun to dream and plan.

We've been out there 5 times and I'm sure we'll go back again. Of course, we live in the middle of the country so while the drive is long, it's not quite as long as yours.

 

[Tntfras]

I've driven almost as far as you're talking about 3 times over the past year, from the Charlotte, NC area to Las Vegas twice (one way last year, round trip in the spring) and last week I drove from the Charlotte area to Tucson, AZ. Both my kids moved west, so I made one way trips driving with them out west, then flew back, then my wife, dogs and I did a week in Vegas, driving out and back, in the spring.

If you ask me, driving across the country is well worth it. There's no way to actually see how much the country varies any other way. I guess train might be similar, but you can't stop by a Route 66 diner for an awesome meal in a train. It is true that some of the scenery is less than spectacular in some areas (lots of corn and other fields, depending on your route). For my money, though, New Mexico, Arizona & Nevada have some of the most interesting and beautiful scenery you'll ever see.

That said, here are my thoughts from my recent trips.

- From here to AZ/NV for us is 3 hardcore long days of driving. For you, I'd figure on at least 4 days on each end of the trip.
- You do make good time out west. My favorite welcome signs are the ones that say 75 mph in TX, NM & AZ. Coming back east I did a lot of eye rolling as the speeds drop back down to 65 and 70.
- Seriously consider renting a car. We rented from Hertz, when we drove to/from Vegas. They truly have unlimited mileage per week and over the course of our trip we did over 4,500 miles. It's nice to plop down in someone else's vehicle and put all those miles on and not have to worry about oil changes and the wear you're putting on your own vehicle. For us, the $300 we spent for the rental and fuel for a full size vehicle was less than half what flights would have cost.
- The biggest downside for me, on those trips, is driving by all the cool places knowing I had an end destination I had to make. For example, I've now driven by or near the grand canyon 4 times without having time to stop. I'll be making a trip there soon.
- I do have to say we were pretty darn beat after our drive home from Vegas. I'd imagine a drive home after a week at Disney would be similar. Our time was tight though and we were doing some very long days. If you have the time to take easier days, you might be better off.

Bottom line, if you're family is cool with the drive from Jersey to Florida, I wouldn't shy away from the drive. It would be a great thing for your kids (and you) to see the sights. At least that's my 2 cents.

Thanks for sharing your experience! If we do this trip we will definitely be renting a car.

 

[Khokhonutt]

Thanks for sharing your experience! If we do this trip we will definitely be renting a car.

Cool. Glad to help. Like I said, make sure you check the fine print on your "unlimited mileage". I found some of the contracts actually capped that unlimited at 3000 miles per week. For us, Hertz didn't and had no problem with the mileage we put on.

 

[Sagginit]

I would say its nuts under certain circumstances. I just did 11 full days in California on a road trip of sorts, and we flew there. There was so much to see with even that amount of time we would go back (it was actually my husband's second trip). We spent four days in DL/DCA and felt it was just right. That being said to drive that much distance you will need to have a strategy that involves either a lot of time (several weeks) or mostly driving through the country without a lot of stops. That would make me terribly sad to drive 6 hours, get out for 30 minutes after arriving in a place I've never been, and rush to get back into the car for another long stretch. Also the expense will most likely be more than flying and renting a car to drive around while there as you have a few weeks worth of gas, hotels, food, and a rental car (or wear on your car).

I think consider splitting it up by maybe flying somewhere in the West and then driving from there. I have flown in Phoenix before drove up through AZ (Sedona, Williams, Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam) and then into Las Vegas which was a wonderful trip. Our CA roadtrip we just took was also a lot of fun as we had 1.5-2 days in a few cities. I have been from NJ to Canada (Ottowa and Montreal trips) in one stretch and even down to the tip of Virginia almost West Virginia in a day. I find that it is ok to be in a car for 8-9 hours in a day if you have a few days break, but if I had to do that every day for a few days I would have a really sore bum, back, and legs so I ultimately would not enjoy the countryside after awhile.

Then again driving across the US is kinda a bucket list thing, so I would research it out to see if you can fit it in time wise and if everyone is truly on bored before you rule it out.

 

[Purrkins]

Just to go to DL? Nuts. But if you want to see America, it'll probably be one of the greatest trips of your life.