Boston to Seattle

Hi,

I am planning a coast to coast trip starting from london flying to boston then to new york, washington DC, Orlando, Dallas, Pheonix, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Fransciso, Seattle, then back home. I know im missing alot but lack of funds make this trip some what budgetted. I plan on using greyhouond coaches to get about although uncomatable i dont mind coach travel and will see alot more than if i was on a plane. I will be traverling on my own and though im only going to be 21 i think this will be ok. I%26#39;m just wanting some peoples opinions on what i should try and see, will the coach really be that BAD! and safty tips.

Thank you

Boston to Seattle

The only suggestion I would make would be to substitute the train (Amtrak) for portions if you can. It will run you roughly the same time and cost and be much more comfy. You can easily connect from Boston to NYC to DC via the train. You can relax in the seats much more than on a bus.

Parts of it would be fine on a bus, say the LA to Vegas part. It%26#39;s only two or three hours%26#39; drive between the two.

Don%26#39;t know how tight the budget is but crunch some numbers and see. The bus isn%26#39;t that bad, but the train would be another bump up in service and fellow passengers.

In terms of safety tips, they would be the usual - guard your belongings, be wary of people approaching you for money or with a sob story, etc.

Also, accommodations especially along the east coast will be expensive, unless you%26#39;re out of the city center. You can find many more inexpensive motels and places as you head west.

Definitely see as many of the museums you can while you%26#39;re in DC. The admission is free to most if not all of them.The have a clean and safe metro system, so getting in and out of the downtown area is convenient (I%26#39;m told).

Good Luck!

Boston to Seattle

For the bus portions of your trip try www.greyhound.com

There are discounts for students (student ID required) and what be especially helpful to you are seven day advance purchase tickets. I know that there are $18 special fares from Boston to New York City for $18 during the week (one way). On the Website, check out Travel Deals / Fare Specials. The 7 day advance fares will save you considerable money if you can plan your trip in advance for certain cities. The 7 day advance fares are non-refundable, I believe, but may be exchangable. You can only purchase these fares when in the U.S.A. as you will need a a U. S. issued credit card and address or cash. You can purchase in person at the Greyhound Bus Station, or by telephone or on the Internet but if you only are eligible to use the cash option, then once you have planned out your trip itinerary with the dates of travel walk over to the Greyhound Terminal in Boston and buy your tickets. Check out the Wegsite before you depart for Boston and try to plan your itinerary as far in the furutre that you can do so.

AMTRAK trains also have some discounts. Their Website is www.amtrak.com

I don%26#39;t think there%26#39;s any real problem with using Greyhound, as long as you don%26#39;t mind that it%26#39;s slow and not terribly comfortable.

To be honest, especially along the East Coast, say from Washington DC to Orlando, or from Orlando to Dallas, the bus will be travelling along the Interstates. I have to tell you that most of I95 along the way to Florida is not pretty. You won%26#39;t be seeing too much at all, and it is a LONG drive. Same for I40, except for Eastern Tennessee, maybe.

Also, while there may be a few people here who disagree with me, unless you have a specific reason you want to visit Dallas and Phoenix, I%26#39;d probably skip those entirely. There isn%26#39;t much ';there'; there, and really nothing that I%26#39;d consider interesting for a tourist. You%26#39;d be better off going right to Las Vegas, and maybe staying some extra time there, and taking some day trips out into the Grand Canyon, or into Zion National Park. Those are absolutely NOT to miss.

You might want to consider booking some segments of the trip on Southwest airlines http://www.southwest.com, or JetBlue airlines. Both of these offer really inexpensive fares (as low as $75 one way from NYC to Orlando). Taking the bus from Boston to NYC is fine. They run every hour, and it%26#39;s cheap (about $20 each way). I think if you spent less time travelling to your destinations, and left yourself more time AT each destination, you%26#39;d be happier and have time to see more interesting things.