MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
So, Mrs Pinetree, our 2yr old son and I are moving from the UK to Vancouver Island early next year, however we've just hit a snag with the immigration lawyer (their fault) meaning that work permits etc are likely to be pushed back about a month, until the end of February. As we're in the process of selling our house (hoping to complete by the end of this month) and my wife and I are due to be finishing up at our current jobs in the next week or two, this leaves us with some time to kill.
The original plan was to do a bit of a trip through England visiting friends and family for about a fortnight at the beginning of December before heading up to my mum's in Scotland for Xmas and staying there for a month or so before heading over to BC in January.
However the thought of an extra month, living in close quarters with my folks on west of Scotland in the dead of winter is thoroughly depressing and claustrophobic, so we're looking at other options.
One of my buddies suggested the pie-in-the-sky idea of flying over to California, picking up a fairly cheap camper van (which we are planning to do once we get to BC anyway) and meandering northwards for 3-4 weeks, which at first seemed a ridiculous idea. However as I'm sitting here facing the prospect of being jobless and homeless for 3 months, with a toddler to entertain, I keep thinking "why not"?
So, has anyone done anything similar? How easy is it just to fly to the US and buy a car?
RV Sites seem to be pretty prevalent over there so there's no shortage of places to stay, assuming they're open in the winter, and there seems to be so much to do over there that we could definitely keep ourselves entertained for a few weeks.
Alternatively, if this is an utterly stupid idea, anybody got any other ideas of where/how to pass a month in the middle of winter? Somewhere sunny would be nice, hence the California idea, but I'm more than open to suggestion!
Pinetree
I have, but not in that direction and not in a bought vehicle. That's not going to stop me saying that it sounds like a great idea!
You might be able to find a hire firm with one way options if they have a number of sites dotted around the place. You could just buy a mini-van and stop off in cheap motels and use camping gear for the odd overnight?
Good luck!
Me and the Mrs did a little CA roadtrip in October 2006. We had a hotel & car booked in LA, after that, nothing other than a vague plan of head to San Francisco and get back to LA in 2 weeks. We just stayed whenever we liked the look of somewhere, motels are cheap and easy to find. We basically drove north up the PCH stopping at places along the way, up to San Francisco where we stayed a few days. Then carried on to Napa for some vino, over to Yosemite for a day or 2 then straight back to LA.
I could have spent months there, loved it. In fact, I really should go back (with a bike!).
I don't know about buying a car, but hiring was easy/cheap enough. Do it 🙂
Cycled from Vancouver to Mexico, great fun followed the coast loads to see and do inland as well.
It will be cold in Oregon and Washington and snow inland in California at altitude.
www.richardlldavies.wordpress.com
Can't help with the camper thing but me and the GF spent a few weeks in the summer this year meandering through a few states including California so I say YES do it.
We went the rental minivan and cheap motels route SFO up through Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming ticking off a few biking and tourist bucket-list locations before turning around and heading south towards Utah and elsewhere continuing the trip.
A friend got a job in NYC and had the option to move a friend's car from Reno, they loved it.
I would look at one way car rentals as well, motels are cheap nd the weathrr could be variable. I wouldn't personally want the hassle of selling a car or van on a time frame in Seattle or trying to import a car to Canada.
Also note that it snows in the mountains and is freezing in the deserts, so don't expect to be hiking in Yosemite! But there are tons of good places to see and visit if you pack appropriately. If money is no issue there are lots of options to ski. Otherwise just pootle up the coast. I would definitely take the opportunity. LAX is dirt cheap to fly into at the moment.
As you're going to be living in Canada, the west coast will be relatively accessable once your over there and settled.
Why not do a Euro roadtrip whilst you have the chance?
I have not but it's a opportunity to grab, you are unlikley to have this opportunity again!. Don't worry about details just make sure you have a week's worth of a accomodation sorted for when you arrive and work the rest out as you go. I am sure you can pick up a cheap camper or van when over there.
Sounds awesome! Not sure on the details but I think you might struggle buying a vehicle without an American licence. My Dad and American Step mum who's lived in the UK for 20 years have bought a house in America to spend winters there but they had to hire a car at great expense for 4 months as apparently couldn't buy one because her American driving licence had lapsed.
Always wanted to do it! Not sure how winter would be in an RV though!!
I've done several road trips in California (and lived in San Diego for a while). The short answer is that what you're suggesting would be easy to organise. Personally, I'd start further south to get some decent weather. No end of great places to go.
I’d head south for better weather too.
Years ago my wife and I did the car and cheap motel route.
Flew into SFO down the coast to LA and then inland to Las Vegas.
From there we went via Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks to Moab where I rented a Pro flex and I did part of the Slickrock trail ( being alone, Scottish and unused to the heat I opted to bail when I got a bit hot).
Then onto Arches before heading to Yosemite and back to SFO.
BLOODY BRILLIANT holiday. I long to repeat it and get in Monument Valley and Grand Canyon as well.
Do it!
Been many times. I’d start in San Diego, drive up to Grand Canyon via the London Bridge, head back via Death Valley to Monterey and SF, then up the Pacific coast. There will be no shortcuts over Tioga pass at this time of year. But you have a month. Distances are huge, but driving is easy
One way car rental possibly followed by train.
Me and the Mrs spent 3 months campervaning around the U.S and Canada, we explored all possible options including buying a van once we landed but in the end took the safe option of hiring a van. We went with a company called Escape campervans which were by far the best priced we could find. They have plenty of depo’s throughout the U.S including the west coast such as L.A, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver.... so you could pick a van up in L.A and drop it off at Vancouver at the end of the trip! The vans are cool aswell.... if you can look past the lairy paint jobs!! Not the cheapest way to do it but definitely worth looking in to.
We did San Francisco to Vancouver and back when our daughter was 10 months old in a hired RV. Scenery was amazing and the RV worked great with the little one, but did become a pain at times, like reverse parking in Seattle or Grantham Streey, Vancouver 5pm Friday. Basically outside cities, it was great.
Rather than buy, with all that hassle, why not one way hire from e.g. San Diego to Seattle or further north, then just fly the last leg to ‘home’? Probably cheaper.
Its possible not all camping ground will be open in 'winter' but there's always somewhere to park up for the night.
If you are intending the go straight from the states to Canada without coming back to the UK then I would strongly urge you to check that with your lawyers, from experience Canadian immigration do not deal well with the unexpected even if you have all the correct documentation. Similar with leaving US...………………...
otherwise I'm sure you will have a great trip.
We have been investigating RVs. Decided against for the last trip. Park fees aren't much cheaper than a cheap motel and you can't just park up anywhere. They are also slow and thirsty making the road bit of the road trip less good. Of the ones we looked at the 5th wheel vans towed by a pickup where the nicest inside. Also you have a pickup to drive around once the van is parked. I'd still consider it but rental car and motel i think would or for a longer stay buy a tent and stay in some national parks as well (although maybe not in Jan)
That said, in your situation I'd do a bit more UK and Europe. Spend a bit more time with friends and family and visit a few places I'd been meaning to get too.
We did SF to LA in a motor home in October, was excellent. Hired the van, state campgrounds were very good and generally cheaper and nicer than privately run ones. However, it was fairly cool north of SF even in October, so weather may be a factor.
We got all the way up to Bend from SFO this year. Great drive but missed the desert stuff.
North Lake Tahoe was great too but will be in snow by now I'd imagine.