Planning a 3 week trip (with an RV) on the east coast

[Eric123]

Hi all,

My name is Eric and I'm from the Netherlands (Europe) and me and 5 of my friends are planning to spend a 3 weeks vacation in the USA from on and about 21st of May till 9th of June. 4 of us have been in the USA several times so in terms of flights, passports and other official documents we know. That's not what this topic is about. Its about the trip itself and I'm looking at how realistic it is and if I can obtain advice on here.

So our plan is to go from Washington to New Orleans and on to Miami. So we land in Washington (from Amsterdam) and spend around 3 days in Washington. There we want to see the Lincoln memorial, visit the Smithsonian and so on... So no RV required in those days. After we leave Washington we plan to pick up the RV we want to rent.

So first question: What type of RV would you recommend for 6 adults (we are all 25 to 28 years old). Since we are Dutch we are on average taller than the average American. Maybe important to take into account? We all have a normal Dutch drivers license which as far as I know is sufficient in the USA for a RV.


So to continue with the trip; after Washington we want to go to Norfolk Virginia, we want to see, briefly, the museum battleship which is in harbor there. After that we plan to travel over chapil hill/boon (university of north Carolina) and on to Ashville. Some of my friends know people there so that's why. We also plan to see the Smokey mountains national park. After this we want to travel on to Charleston and Savannah (south Carolina and Georgia). We would like to see Charleston for its history and nice scenery of course. So here we'd like to enter the city. As for Savannah, that will mainly be a relaxing stop, beach and such.

After this we want to drive on to New Orleans. We really have no real plans yet for in between though we really don't want to go to Atlanta.

After New Orleans we want to go yo Florida, via tallahasee to Miami. We also want to visit the everglades national park. At Miami we want to return the RV and take a flight home to Amsterdam.

So my other main questions:
- how realistic is this trip with an RV for us?

- if its okay, what kind of RV would you suggest?

- any suggestions for our route? Any don't or do's?

- can you suggest campinggrounds we should plan in our route? And why those and should we reserve and so on?


Any other thing related to RV, costs, campinggrounds, preparations are welcome!!!

Thanks in advance,

Eric

[Eric123]

Matt_Colie wrote:
Eric,

You do not say if you are people willing to share a bed. There are few coaches that can sleep 6 in individual beds, but they do exist.

BW was very right about the Smithsonians. It is about a dozen major museums and then another handful more. Three days is a minimum to even find the majors. Public transportation is very good and parking is problematic and expensive in DC.

Relatives and friends that have come from Europe to tour the US and been surprised by the distances. Please use a mapping program to chart your plan before you commit to anything. It is very easy to be deceived by distances and driving time.

The excursion you have outlined is about 4000Km (2500mi) and 45+ driving hours. You also my not be able to return the coach other than where it was leased. Be sure to check on that.

Also check that the leasee will accept your current license. This varies by state.

Don't abandon the plan, just be sure you can make it all work without killing yourselves.

Matt

Hi Matt!
Thanks, and indeed I do not plan on killing myself 😉 But yes, I merely post here so that I can become prepared as best as possible. I know that for example with Cruise America it is possible to pick up an RV (for 6 people) outside Washington and drop off at Miami.

As far as the sleeping goes, we also know that and it's not the first time we are traveling towards somewhere together. We're not afraid to share a twoperson-bed, tent, camper, motel room and so on.

Some of the friends I'm going with already been on the east coast (also on the west coast for that matter) and they traveled from North Carolina to New Orleans and back in two weeks. So yes we need to plan. But traveling by RV most likely takes up more time than by a car. So yes we must plan well.

[RavensFan24]

Check out www.rvshare.com. You may be able to get a nice big Class A for you and your friends. RVShare is a peer to peer RV rental site, so you may save some money over a commercial company. I once rented a Class A from ElMonte RV and drive it from Virginia to the tip of Maine and back with 12 people. Not everyone slept in the RV, but we made it work with the space we had. the adventure will outweigh the need for comfort. Enjoy!

[fitznj]

Seeing as you are taking a relatively short vacation and are going to be driving high mileages, I would stay away from renting an RV. Look into renting a minivan from regular rental agencies (Enterprise/Hertz...) and stay at hotels. You can find hotels everywhere, especially at interstate exits. Hotels are plentiful and cheaper than those in Europe (think $120/night for a decent hotel - Hampton Inn, HI Express....).

You'll need 2 rooms for 5 people and you get free breakfast.

The minivan will give you better choices to visit places (think of driving a RV through the streets of Charleston versus a Minivan), parking will be easier, fuel economy will be better.... and you don't have the stress of driving to a restaurant or having to cook in the RV.

If you were doing a 2 month trip across the US, then I would choose the RV but you're only here for less than 3 weeks.

Gerry

[ljr]

That's a pretty ambitious itinerary. I've noticed that folks from other parts of the world where things are closer together sometimes don't quite appreciate the distances that can be involved in US travel. You may not get the most out of some of those stops because of travel time.

Just my opinion.







A friend from the Cook Islands once made plans to take a bus round trip from Central PA to LA.

[Matt_Colie]

Eric,

You do not say if you are people willing to share a bed. There are few coaches that can sleep 6 in individual beds, but they do exist.

BW was very right about the Smithsonians. It is about a dozen major museums and then another handful more. Three days is a minimum to even find the majors. Public transportation is very good and parking is problematic and expensive in DC.

Relatives and friends that have come from Europe to tour the US and been surprised by the distances. Please use a mapping program to chart your plan before you commit to anything. It is very easy to be deceived by distances and driving time.

The excursion you have outlined is about 4000Km (2500mi) and 45+ driving hours. You also my not be able to return the coach other than where it was leased. Be sure to check on that.

Also check that the leasee will accept your current license. This varies by state.

Don't abandon the plan, just be sure you can make it all work without killing yourselves.

Matt

[rwbradley]

We love visiting the US and travel there frequently. Just a few ideas for you to consider:
1) the Smithsonian is huge, it is many different free museums, you could easily spend a week there just visiting museums if you have the time.
2) If you are at Norfolk, Virginia Beach is one of the nicest beach towns around, not too rowdy and more civilized than places like Myrtle Beach or Daytona Beach.
3) Asheville is a really nice town to shop and eat, spend some time downtown. Also the drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway is amazing, try to fit it in, even if it only for 10-20km.
4) there is a really nice drive from New Orleans to Florida via Mobile Alabama along the coast. I do not recall the name, but I remember that it does involve a ferry trip near Mobile.

Also for picking places to stay for the night, we really like KOA for urban stops, they usually have lots of things to do at the campground like swimming pool and often have shuttles into the city they are nearby (like the one in New Orleans). National Parks and State parks are quite nice and very natural, they offer more privacy and usually have something natural to see in the park (a waterfall, mountain, cave...).
Enjoy

[Eric123]

paulcardoza wrote:
Here's a good place to begin your research:
***Link Removed***

Be ready to pay significant money for a 3 week RV rental, and probably a hefty premium for dropping it off in a different location (one way rental). A rental for 6 adults makes it even more expensive, because you'll need a larger RV. you're looking at over $4,000 + fuel even to drop it off where you pick it up!

The size of the unit will likely make it difficult to get in and out of any cities and force you to rent a car, take public transportation, or taxis to get around.

It sounds alike a terrific adventure, as long as the cost doesn't become an issue.

As far as I know the one way rental thing costs 500 dollar. We are with 6 adults so all 6 pay, making it not that expensive as it looks. At least to us. Plus the fact that most prices in the U.S. are significantly lower than in north-western Europe. For example gasoline is quite cheap compared to what we pay over here (due to heavy taxing).

I looked at cruise America. What I don't quote understand is that if I rent via their website or via for example cheap-rv-rentals.com I come to a very different price yet both will be the same model and both from cruise America.

[paulcardoza]

Here's a good place to begin your research:
http://www.cruiseamerica.com/rent/one-way-rv-rentals/

Be ready to pay significant money for a 3 week RV rental, and probably a hefty premium for dropping it off in a different location (one way rental). A rental for 6 adults makes it even more expensive, because you'll need a larger RV. you're looking at over $4,000 + fuel even to drop it off where you pick it up!

The size of the unit will likely make it difficult to get in and out of any cities and force you to rent a car, take public transportation, or taxis to get around.

It sounds alike a terrific adventure, as long as the cost doesn't become an issue.