Road Trip To Us West Coast

Which is better for an East Coast to West Coast road trip: I-40 or I-70?

Both have positives and negatives, it really depends what you want to see / do - are you looking for the fastest route or most interesting?I-40: Cuts across parts of the Appalachian Mountains, The Ozarks, Southern Rockies and some desert while also cutting through the great plains. It literally goes NEARLY coast to coast from wilmington, nc to California. I-70: Cuts across parts of the Appalachians, but misses the Ozarks. Quite a bit of time in the great plains. It starts in Baltimore but ends in South central Utah. However, the western part of the road (in Colorado and Utah) has absolutely amazing scenery.Thoughts... If you want to see things, maybe think about starting on I-40, then when you reach Oklahoma go north to I-70 and take it west through Colorado and Utah, then take I-15 southwest to California. I-90 also goes from Boston to Seattle, but you can take I-80 once you reach chicago to continue west to San Francisco and I-10 goes from Jacksonville, FL to California.

What does a coast to coast roadtrip cost?

After I graduated from college in Boston, I took the opportunity to work in New Mexico. I drove out there from Boston in about 10 days, stopping in New Jersey to say goodbye to my family (and put my toes in the Atlantic), Maryland to see my mother, Virginia, Tennessee (1 night at the Great Smoky Mountains, another in Memphis),Oklahoma/Arkansas (Ozark and Ouachita National Forest), Fort Worth, 1 night in the Guadalupe National Park, and Las Cruces (White Sands!). I did a ton of driving, and stopped only to do some day hikes. I would never do that sort of thing again, simply because I blew past so much.After my contract in New Mexico was up (late August) I had nothing planned until my cousins wedding in Seattle at the beginning of October. So for nearly three months I wandered the Southwest and Pacific Northwest, hitting up over 50 national parks, monuments, forests, and wilderness areas. Ultimately I think I spent something like $1000-$15000 on gas and food (I took terrible records). I typically found free places to camp or crashed at friends or relatives. I think in grand total I spent $50 in lodging. From the time I left Boston to the day I say the Pacific, it took around 5 months.If you do such a trip, take your time. You can basically only spend money on gas and food west of the Mississippi crashing at National Parks or Forests (not including Texas, there is little public land there). As a rule, I’d suggest avoiding interstates. There is so much of America that one can spend their whole life wandering from small town to small town. Some of the greatest experiences were in tiny towns where the locals are friendly and life is much slower than what I was used to (I have live in the Northeast my whole life). It gives you a brand new perspective, and is worth every cent.

What route do you suggest I take going on a road trip from east to west (or reverse) coast in the USA, and I have a month to do so? Also, how big should my budget be, consider that I primarily want to see the great nature and not go camping?

This route allows you to visit all 48 lower states over about 8–9 days. It has been widely published , but reqires a lot of highway driving and you will see little.Perhaps following the old Route 66 will provide a better experience .It will take you into the towns and offbeat places that are way more interesting than sticking to the Interstates. Though it ends in Chicago there are many similar routes that will bring you to the east coast from Chicago.As the late TV personality, Charles Kuralt said “Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything.” Take his advice and stay off the Interstates where possible. Stop in those small towns along the way.As far as budget, figure $50 to $150 a night for a hotel/motel room. I know that you said no campgrounds but you can save a lot of money by bringing a tent and staying in campgrounds, where it can range from free to about $30 a night. There are many places, particularly in the west where you can pull off the road and pitch a tent for free.As for food, if you stick with chain fast food places such as McDonalds, KFC, Taco Bell, Burger King, Wendys, etc., you can probably get by on about $25 to $30 a day. If you go for their”dollar menu”, you can probably subsist on about $10 a day. But think of how much you will lose out on experienceing local cuisines. A stop at a local diner for breakfast can cost LT $10. A stop at a local sandwich shop could run you abot $3 to $10. A restaurant for dinner about $20 and up.Hope this helps.