Travel

Hitting The Road in The USA

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This article offers five of the best road trips to take in the US this summer.  The first step to any road trip adventure, however, is to choose your vehicle.

On the one hand, driving a fancy convertible with the wind in your hair is the summer dream, but there’s a lot more character to be derived from driving an older classic, or even hitting the road with a motorbike, in which case you’ll need to visit Bikers’ Basics to check out essential safety gear.

Now, if you are thinking about going on a motorbike tour, one good option to think about is having your motorbike shipped to the starting point in advance, and then getting a flight to the start point.  The reason for this, is that we all have limited time, and you don’t want to waste your vacation driving down boring freeways just to get to the start point of your adventure.

Whether you’re opting for a two or four wheeled adventure, here’s five of the best options for taking a road trip in the USA.

CALIFORNIA STATE ROUTE 1

The best time to take this drive is in summer as your trip will be soaked in sun with optimal daylight hours.  The route takes you along the Pacific coast.  The route starts just not of San Diego and leads through Los Angeles (known for gridlock traffic jams) where you’ll drive through Long Beach, Malibu, Santa Barbara (known for it’s great wines) Santa Cruz and Big Sur (known for its surfing) and San Francisco.  This route is a 745 mile journey that predominantly hugs the exceptional coastline.

FLORIDA KEYS

The US 1 from Miami to Key West is an ocean focused 150 mile drive that takes in a variety of the keys (little islands) sandwiched between the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean.  The most amazing section of this drive is the Seven Mile Bridge.

US ROUTE 20

If you want to travel coast to coast then Route 20 is known for being the longest road in America covering a distance of 3,365 miles from Newport (Oregon) to Boston (Massachusetts).

The route is fast and easy to drive; you should be able to cover it in two to three weeks – but the best way would be to take a little longer, so you can experience the Real America along the way, rather than just sit on the tarmac.

ROUTE 66

Perhaps the most famous “road trip” in the world, Route 66 will soon celebrate its 100th birthday, as one of the first numbered roads in the US.  Ending in California this trip from Chicago to Santa Monica covers 2,451 miles mostly through what could be the set of an old western movie.

MONUMENT VALLEY

Starting out of Route 17 in Phoenix you can visit Flagstaff, the Grand Canyon, and cowboy landscapes on the Arizona/Utah border.  Then, progress to Route 191 to enter Winslow using Route 66.  The top tip for this trip is to take a Jeep Safari along Diamond Creek Road, as this way you get to drive along the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

 

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