How long should a USA road trip be?

This depends on how much time you have and how much you want to see along the way. The shortest amount of time to drive from the West Coast to the East Coast (or vice versa) is between four and six days. This kind of road trip requires eight to 10 hours of driving each day — leaving you little time to make pit stops.



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Is a road trip cheaper than flying? That depends. I would say kind of the easiest rule of thumb is the more people that are going on the trip, the more that you can usually save (by driving), said Kaleigh Kirkpatrick, founder of the travel agency The Shameless Tourist, an affiliate of Avenue Two Travel.

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If you're short on time and traveling between two regions, consider booking a flight. Flying is typically more expensive than traveling by bus, car or train, but the US has an extensive domestic air system.

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You may drive a car in the United States for one year using an International Driver's Permit (IDP) and a driver's license from your home country. Getting an IDP is the simplest way to be licensed to drive in the United States. You must get your IDP in your home country before arriving in the United States.

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Take the bus – If driving is entirely out of the question, you can find bus tickets for as little as $1 USD from Megabus. Greyhound and Flixbus also have cheap rides all around the US. Rides under five hours are usually around $20 USD if you book early, and overnight rides usually cost $50-100.

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Driving vs. Flying By the Numbers The overall fatality risk is 0.23% — you would need to fly every day for more than 10,000 years to be in a fatal plane crash. On the other hand, the chances of dying in a car collision are about 1 in 101, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

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