From New York City to Vancouver

Hi, My husband and I will be visiting the US in July/August. Itinerary is not finalised yet but we thought we might land in New York and drive south. Then we would like to travel across the country maybe via Texas or Kentucky..I don%26#39;t know yet. We would like to eventually drive up to Vancouver taking in Yosemite.

Lots to organise but I thought I would start by deciding where to stay when we arrive in New York. Budget is pretty serious but we want somewhere nice and clean so we can maybe take in a football or baseball game and do some shopping and site seeing. Would it be best to accommodate out of New York and get transport in or just stay in the city.

In advance I really appreciate any help you can offer.

From New York City to Vancouver

I know Aussies think nothing of driving miles and miles but the trip you describe, especially in July/August sounds more like a grueling race than a vacation. Go to

maps.google.com

and start to get a sense of distances and time to drive. Even if you have 2 months to do this, you really need to think about flying between some of these destinations. I would suggest you concentrate your trip in the north and fly out of NYC west to somewhere like Denver and drive from there.

There is no football in the summer but plenty of baseball. I don%26#39;t know what you mean by ';where to stay'; in New York; whether you%26#39;re talking about a location or a hotel. If you want to see the sights of NYC, staying in Manhattan will be most convenient. You can use the subway to get to either baseball stadium. The upper west side is a popular area with some good budget hotel options (depending on how ';serious'; the budget is ;). The

milburnhotel.com

is one good option.

OntheAve-ny.com

is nicer and sometimes affordable.

From New York City to Vancouver

I have driven across country several times and I really love it. July and August will see alot more traffic than June or September but I don%26#39;t think it will be that bad if you have enough time.

I wouldn%26#39;t necessarily dip all the way down to Texas, particularly if you are heading to Vancouver.

An interesting route may be to go up through the Hudson Valley, across the Erie Canal region (I-90 via Syracuse / Rochester). Stop at Niagara Falls.

From Niagara Falls west through Ontario you%26#39;ll cross into Michigan at either Detroit or Port Huron Michigan. You might an enjoy a drive up to Northern Michigan, very pretty. Beautiful resorts up there, Mackinaw Island (Mackinac or something). Drive across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, hit Duluth Minnesota. As you get into the Dakotas you%26#39;ll want to drop down a little south so you can hit Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons.

You%26#39;ll want to spend some time around Jackson Hole Wyoming, Yellowstone, Big Sky Montana. The Western states are beautiful. Glacier International Peace Park is fabulous as is the entire drive west from there across the Cascade Ranges into coastal Washington State and then I-5 to Vancouver.

If people start to get bored with my writing about all the different possible routes, there may be a way you can send me a private message through here, I don%26#39;t know how to do it myself but I occasionally receive messages and I%26#39;m always happy to reply.

Driving across country sounds fantastic, I wish I still had the time. Corporate America doesn%26#39;t believe in two month long vacations. : )

I%26#39;ve driven across the country a couple times. The northern route makes more sense in July-August. I guess you are used to hot in Western Australia, but why seek it out? You did not mention how much time you intend to spend driving across county. A month would not be too much time to go where you are planning to go. You will find accomodations tight around the big national parks in high summer. Otherwise, lodging and food are pretty cheap once you get outside of the big cities. As far as NY City is concerned, spend a little extra money to stay in town. The city never sleeps, but the commuter trains are pretty far apart late at night.

Thanks very much everyone...that gives us a few ideas. Is it really hard to get decent accommodation at a reasonable price at that time of year...we don%26#39;t have to have anything fantastic just basic and clean. We are trying to budget for about $100 per night - is that in the ball park. Do you think we will be able to do this in about 2 - 3 weeks?

$100 per night is not in the ballpark in New York City or even in the closer suburbs. You might want to check on B%26amp;Bs in the city, but even there $100 a night is not happening. Outside of the big cities and the biggest attractions, $100 a night is no problem at all.

G%26#39;day Minnie

The east to west via the northern route moreffmiles suggests is probably best. Depending on your interests there%26#39;s not much in the midwest. But it is very different from Oz so do consider all options. If you do see Yellowstone or even Glacier I think you could skip Yosemite. But remember ALL of the national parks will be very crowded in July/August so you may not get the accommodation you want. If driving remember there%26#39;s a fairly big one-way drop off charge and most car rental agencies won%26#39;t let you hire in the US and drop off in Canada. I%26#39;ve also found that some Canadian car agencies have excess kms rates. Look into to round trips from central cities and fly between those. So use NYC as a start/finish and see that part of the US including say Boston or DC and Virginia. Fly to Denver and do the Rockies, Yellowstone, Glacier and return. Go to Las Vegas (you must) and do a lap that includes the Grand Canyon, Bryce, Zion and the Canyon Lands NP. From San Francisco you could do Sequoia and Yosemite and the Monterrey Coast. Or from SF drive north to Vancouver. From LA you could drive to Vegas on to Death Valley to Mammoth Lakes over the Sierras to Yosemite then on to SF. Oregon is beautiful country- see Crater Lake. Trying to see the States in one go is a huge task.

You can do well under a $100 at most any hotel off the highway (Motel 6, Comfort Inn, Super 8). They are not anything great, but the chains are usually clean enough. In NYC you will not find anything even close to $100 a night unless you are sharing a bathroom. Even then, budget closer to $200. If you want your own bathroom, $300.

All in US $$$$

Honestly, you need to get your US geography down, Kentuxcky is really not anywhere near Texas. Get familiar with a US and Canada map.