How far to travel with only 2 weeks vacation time/year

Go for it. Don't let all the nay sayers load you up with their negative ramblings about how how they like to travel.

One time many years ago I worked all day, took a final exam that night, and then proceeded to drive straight thru from Maryland to Sioux Falls non stop. That was the first leg of a 10,000 mile month-long trip around the country. And here come the flames.

Cover what distance you feel comfortable with and go see some of this country now - not years from now when a couple hundred miles a day might be your limit.

When I was 16, my parents and I did 7,000 miles in three weeks.

We left from Indiana and hit South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, up to British Columbia, and then back down through Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, etc.

We had a pop-up and I was able to drive, giving us three drivers. We had a Chevy van with both rear bench seats removed, making a nice bed on the floor (this was apparently when parents didn't care about everyone being belted in), so we were able to take turns sleeping while driving and drive through the night.

Believe it or not, we saw a lot of stuff on that trip. A lot of the driving time was across the boring parts of Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington, etc., so we managed to hit all of the major points of interest.

I know that sounds terrible to a lot of you, but it is one of the best memories I have of the time I spent travelling with my parents. We had a lot of fun on that trip (and others like it) and that experience is what made me want to expose my own son to fun family trips.

Without towing I have done 817 in 12 hours and turned around the next day to drive home, not fun but had to be done. In our popup days we towed about 500 miles but have not done that with the trailer. We plan on a 460 mile trip this year to DC this year but will stop half way and probably spend 2 nights and do the same thing on the way home. This will give us 4 days in DC and give us a chance to enjoy 3 campgrounds. In a couple years we might to Myrtle a Beach which is 900 miles one way, might make this a 2 week trip.

Our summer long vacation is 15 days this year. Since we are traveling from northern WI, it takes a little while to get where we actually want to vacation, usually west. This year we are going to Denver, Moab, Grand Canyon, and Durango. Total of 3100 miles. Our longest day is 560 miles, shortest is 325 miles. Travel days are 8. Day one and two are usually the longest. We cheat by leaving the night before the official vacation begins and get a few hours in, that makes the real day 1 shorter so we can relax a bit that afternoon, before starting long day 2. We also plan the end of long day 1 at a place with a pool so my daughter has some fun down time, this year it is at a small water park. Last day on the way home is hammer down, longer day to get home no matter what, everyone is eager to sleep in their own bed. PS, we have reservations for every night already, no need for surprises after a long day of travel.

Depends on why I'm traveling. For camping trips, I try to limit the time spent driving to 4 hours or less for a 4-day camping trip. Gives me a good range of campgrounds within that distance, and I am not exhausted from the drive.

For sightseeing trips, I have gone as long as 8 hours (not in the RV) between stops. That was a very long day, so I try to keep it closer to 6 hours max. I also have a trick for determining how long to stay in one place. I do a bit of research and identify those sites/activities that interest me. Then I count up those activities based on the expected time needed. So, if an activity will take less than 4 hours, I count it as 1/2; if it takes more than 4 hours, I count it as 1. Add those up and that's how many days I stay in that location. Works great as I have plenty of time to see what I know I'll enjoy, leeway time to relax, add in a couple things, etc.

I still do the 1500 miles to CO in two days as I'd rather spend my time in the West. It would not be tiring if I had to do another 750 as I like driving my MH that much. Once there my personal best in one day is four miles.
OP It's not for us to judge why you want\need to do that many miles in two weeks.

After much trial, error and tiring days we have settled on 200 to 250 miles max each travel day. We stay at least 2 days at each stopover (which makes it worthwhile to unhitch) to explore the area. We are usually the last to pull out in the morning and the first to arrive at a new stop. We arrive early enough to unhitch, set up, pick the host's brain for what he or she is most proud of for visitors to see in the area and then maybe tour the town. The next day we see the local sights and maybe find that best Mom & Pop restaurant ever. For us it is all about the trip and who and what we discover along the way rather than a particular destination.

rv2go wrote:
Call me young and crazy, but back in 1977, the wife, daughter and I took off in our new 1976 Midas Class C. We left Knoxville, Tn and went as far west as Long Beach, Wa. The trip was over 6200 miles in 15 days.
This is about the route we took.

Small world!! In 1977, my wife, daughter and I took a simular trip in our 1976 MiniWinnie class "C". We left Detroit and took I-75 north to the UP and the US-2 west to Montana. Turned left at Glacier International Park. South thru Yosemite and Grand Tetons then into Idaho and followed the Snake River. Dropped down to Reno and west on I-80 into the SF Bay Area. Don't remember the exact route back but we passed thru Salt Lake City, Denver, The Bad Lands and Mt. Rushmore along the way. Our trip was three weeks long. Ahh !!! To be young again. Would take three months now.

The older we are getting, the shorter the daily drive is becoming.

We figure about 200-250 miles a day. That translates between 4-6 hours of actual driving time. We have found that we can travel shorter distances and NOT be so beat out we can't enjoy the evening hours.

We have learned it is absolutely NO fun at all driving like a crazy nut escaping from hell itself for hours and then reaching our destination so exhausted we do nothing but sleep the next day. That's just stupid!

So, we have slowed WAY down. 200-250 miles a day provides enough driving time to get on down the road, but not so far it's exhausting. We will dive 3 days like this, and on the 4th we stop for at least 1 full day before going on. And unbelievable, the trips are all enjoyable. If we see something along the side of the road while traveling, or see an attraction we'd like to visit, or take an extra long lunch break at a park somewhere, we do and don't have to feel so gosh-danged rushed ending up in frustration and exhaustion.

So as we are getting older, our style of travel and camping has changed completely from when we were younger and had kids at home living with us. For us, camping begins when we start stocking up the camper. We've learned to enjoy the packing, the planning, the driving, the miss-adventures, the wrong turns, as much as the final destination. Actually, some of the best experiences we encountered while driving has been when we missed our turn or somehow got turned around and lost. Those were really the best times on the road! You meet some of the most interesting people when you are "lost".

I can do 650 a day if I'm not towing but that's too much with a trailer. I like to let tires cool down and give my truck a break besides not being beat. Being military, I've been fortunate to do cross countries as part of moves where I didn't have to back track. I've done 700 when I had to meet a timeline but for the most part prefer 350 miles max in a day with that including some site seeing stop midday. Also, prefer to not do that more than 2 days in a row before we stay at a spot for a couple days. Best case when in transit mode is a 5-6 hours driving, 2-3 hours site-seeing, set up in camp for dinner and get some rest.