Transport in the US

[robbeal]

This isn't a question to anyone specific, just need a bit of advice/help/something like that from any US members.

 

I'm planning to come over from the UK with a friend next summer, and the intention is to journey down the east coast, hitting parks on the way. The one thing that is weighing on my mind a bit is how i'll go about getting around. Car hire is expensive, especially with leaving it in a different state to the one we pick it up in. I've contemplated buying something cheap, but that's possibly not the easiest task, and can't rely on finding something, and then there's insurance to contend with.

 

Does anyone have any helpful, kind advice?

[CoasterFanatic]

Not really wure about next year, but for the last two, RideWorld has done a trip that includes transportation.

 

Another way: start making some friends in the US. There are many people who plan elaborate trip up and down the east coast.

[FlyingScooter]

here's the thing: if you purchased a car, getting insured would be no problem. Getting it registered would, especially on the East Coast. To get it registered, you'd have to show residency in that state. I don't know of any bus tours for parks, but it's worth a look.

another alternative is hiring a driver, which i can't imagine would be cheap.

[robbeal]

I'm not too keen on doing a pre-organised trip to be honest, i'd rather have a bit more freedom on what I do. If I don't feel like going to a park one day, just rest and chill out instead, that sort of thing.

 

I'd love to be able to do the driving myself too. I'd love to be able to drive around a foreign country, seeing the sights. It's just the logistics of it all.

[Meteornotes]

Registering the car is going to be all but impossible since you don't live here. Plus, if you buy a car and it breaks down, you're stuck with the repairs, but if you have a rental from a decent company, they'll get you a new car and you're on your way. You're really going to have to rent a car, as the public transportation system really is not going to help you get around to parks. It's expensive, yes, but for the ability to go wherever you want and make your own schedule, renting a car is going to be thw way to go.

 

dt

[downunder]

Greyhound buses seem to go everywhere but they are pretty skanky and slower than driving. There is a deal available to foreigners called an Ameripass which gives you unlimited travel for a set period of time which was good value. I used one last year to visit 4 parks in 4 days. I purchased an Ameripass from a travel agent at home and then redeemed my voucher once I started using it. They even had Six Flags New England as a stop.

 

Using this method you really need to do your research like how to get to parks from the greyhound station, the Greyhound stop closest to the park (eg Harrisburg for Hersheypark, then a local bus from the Greyhound station), and where to stay if you are going to stay at a town where a park is.

 

The other alternative is Amtrak trains but they seemed a lot slower than Greyhound based on my research.

[SharkTums]

Can you organize your trip so that you can pick up and return a rental car to the same place? This way it will only be about $20/day with all taxes and fees and you can go when and where you want!

 

Elissa "seriously, don't do public transportation in this country" Alvey

[robbeal]

That is an option, but it'd mean a re-plan in trip terms. The original plan was to drive full-length of the country over a month, from Massachusetts to Florida (or the other way, hadn't decided). I guess if the southern half of the trip was left out, then a loop around Mass, Ohio, Pennsylvania, NJ & Connecticut could work.

 

Having said that, my research last night brought up prices for the trip from Avis, and they quoted $1800 for a month, which actually isn't as bad as I was expecting. I was expecting more in the region of £3000.

[Token Yankee Guy]

^ Where have you thought of what airport to fly in? I dunno if Bradley International has begun trans-atlantic service...but theres always Logan International in Boston...But trying to get in/out of Boston due to the Big Dig is really a b*tch. Either way, SFNE from Bradley is 20 minutes, and from Logan is about 2hrs. If you do plan on hitting SFNE, let me know and I'll meet ya there if you want.

[robbeal]

SFNE is the first place to hit currently, unless anything changes before then. Logan Intl was the plan, flown to there before, but if there's probs getting out of Boston at the moment, then maybe Bradley could be looked at. To be honest, I was planning to get the transatlantic flight booked as a return from one place, probably Philly, and then get internal transfers to and from there. Makes the cost of the transatlantic leg cheaper.

 

So, is public transport (trains, buses etc) really that bad in the US? I'm not too fussed if it takes a bit longer. I'm not entirely sure whether it'd work out cheaper in the long run either.

[Token Yankee Guy]

^ Public transportation is pretty bad here. The best way is to rent a car because as Elissa said, would be cheaper. I've been on Greyhound from Bangor, Maine to Hartford, CT a few times to go home for breaks and it took me I think 9hrs compared to 6hrs where i would just drive. Reasons, the bus had to makes stops along the way, plus I had a transfer in Boston, MA at South Street Station (I believe) and there i had to wait an hour or so. Plus, traffic in and out of Boston during rush hour becomes total grid-lock. Thats why they started the big dig project, which is moving I-93 from above ground below ground, and extending I-90 from where it originally ended at I-93 to I-90 to help airport traffic get onto the Mass-Pike.

 

If you need any more info for the New England area, give me a shout and I'll help you the best I can.

 

[Edit] oh yeah, Bradley is a small airport so it isn't hard to get lost in, plus it has easy access to I-91 with the Airport Expressway, and you got hotels within 3 minutes of the airport.

[Kroger8]

Hey, I think you will be better off renting a car...

My dad and I flew out San Francisco and rented a car and drove up the coast to Seattle and left our car there. It cost around $300 for a Ford Escape... But it all depends, you can get an economy car at a rental car place for a lot cheaper.

[Rockman89]

I would say try to loop the trip and rent a car. I took a 3 week trip a couple summers ago that was a loop from Chicago but it passed NYC. You could just do something like that and you'll hit the major parks (minus Florida).

[moinab]

Just a head's up - many US car rental companies, such as Avis, have age restrictions (usually 25).

[robbeal]

Yeah, I noticed that, but it's not that you can't hire under 25, just that you have to pay a small surcharge, which wasn't much I don't think. I must check Europcar actually, as i'm hiring from them in Germany this summer, and there's no issue with age.

 

Cheers for the advice guys. Got a few things to consider now.

[selfyselfy]

Rob,

 

Ive planned a trip from the UK to the USA this summer and originally the plan was to do a flydrive and drive from boston - washington hitting all the main parks on the way as well as going a bit further south to PKD and BGW.

 

We were going to drop the car off in DC and then take a cheap flight with someone like Airtran to Orlando and then fly back to the UK from there.

 

The cheapest way to do this (for 2 people) I found was to use Virgin Holidays Flydrive because it allowed me to fly in and out of where I wanted and the rental price itself (for a month) was very small.

 

What pushed the cost up considerably was the insurance costs and the extra fees for being an under 25 driver (Im 21 as well and if the person your going with is too almost all the american rental companies will charge you upwards of $20 per day for the privilege).

 

Virgin do a Platinum package for £21 a day on small cars which seems quite expensive but as it is the only package I could find that includes underage drivers its really quite good.

 

I also think they do some free one way drop offs between Boston & DC (Or some companies do).

 

The drawbacks are if you want to have any time without the car they charge you £30 per person to travel indepently and another £30pp to fly out of a different city (Not that bad really)

 

All in all I worked out that on a tight budget we could do a 28 day trip for about £2000 per person all in which I didnt think was too bad but maybe you could do better.

 

In the end my girlfriend convinced me that hitting 10+ parks and not seeing hardly any cities wasnt really that fair so we compromised and now weve ditched the car and are flying between DC, Orlando, Chicago, SF & NYC.

 

This way I get to go too all the parks that have Public Transport links (Joy!!) and we get to see some cities. (We also get to whore a Six Flags pass!)

 

Anyway that was the longest reply ive ever written on any forum ever.

 

Hope this helps (You probably knew half of it already)

 

James "I dont work for Virgin, Honestly!!" Self

[downunder]

Sounds like there is demand for an Inaugaral Theme Park Review East Coast Tour, it would save everyone a fortune on rental cars or public transport. There is so many good parks in that North East region around Ohio, New York, Penn, MA and DC.

[jumbach]

Elissa "seriously, don't do public transportation in this country" Alvey

 

I'm up to 58 or 59 transit systems myself . . . (Including a few close to you, but not the one in your town. But if we go down there for the BBQ in June, you can bet I'll hope aboard at least one route . . .)

 

Five new systems this year already! (StaRT, Turlock BLaST, KART, e-Tran (rode it on its first day of operation!!!), Napa VINE)

[stew560]

Personally, I have always been a fan of the Janesville City Busses & Transit System...

[robbeal]

Sounds like there is demand for an Inaugaral Theme Park Review East Coast Tour, it would save everyone a fortune on rental cars or public transport. There is so many good parks in that North East region around Ohio, New York, Penn, MA and DC.

 

Yeah, do that! lol

 

The Virgin fly-drive thing was something I hadn't considered actually, so I guess that's something else to look into. Cheers for that bud.

 

I've also considered doing a northern loop from/to Boston, then flying down south and doing Florida. May be a cheaper way. I may end up missing out Six Flags Over Georgia then though, which'd be a pity. But still, gotta think of the costs on this.

 

Cheers for the help everyone.

[CoasterFanatic]

Personally, I have always been a fan of the Janesville City Busses & Transit System...

 

LOL. I am not sure if everybody gets this, but I am dying over here.

[Sir Clinksalot]

^ Yes ... it's really that bad ... Sorry.

 

Good luck on your trip though. Maybe an east coast member has a car they will rent you for the month for $1000 or something. If you were doing the West Coast I would rent you one of ours for that price.