I was thinking about doing a big trip one day along the East coast and see all the main states and sights. Which states have the best transport systems?
Apart from the obvious air travel, is it possible to get trains or overnight buses inbetween states to potentially save money?
I do have a drivers licence and driving is also an option.
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Depends entirely on where you want to go, but I’ve traveled the east coast extensively by train and bus. Gonna need more details on an itinerary for advice.
Driving would obviously give you the most freedom, but there are [trains](https://www.amtrak.com/routes.html) and [buses](https://www.greyhound.com/bus-routes) to get from place to place. Depending on how long your trip is, where you want to go, and what your budget is, renting a car might still be the best option.
The Northeast is the only region where using trains and public transport, to the exclusion of a personal automobile makes sense. Individual cities have good options for this, but it isn’t at the state level.
Greyhound or Megabus or similar options exist to get between cities, but that doesn’t always solve the problem once you arrive.
You could easily do Philly, NYC, and DC without a car. For most people that would be a heck of a trip.
However, one of the best things about the US is the wilderness and rural areas. For those you’ll need a car, if thats something you find interesting.
Amtrak has service between a lot of the major cities. It can get a bit pricy in the Northeast though.
>Indianapolis
>
>Chicago
>
>Cleveland
Greyhound/Flixbus is probably your best answer to get to these cities.
But I’d be careful at Indianapolis’ greyhound station. It is terrible. In fact do your research on all Greyhound stations because there’s probably some that you don’t want to be at at 1am.
Most metropolitan areas have some kind of PT, but if you want to get the most of your time you should rent a vehicle.
How much time do you have? Boston to Miami is 24 hours of driving, not counting stopping to sleep, eat, pee, etc.
>Boston, New York (City), New Jersey, Philadelphia, Washington DC
This is called the Northeast Corridor, and these are the only ones I would consider doing without a car. But doing all of them would be at least a month-long trip, there’s a lot to see in each one. It’s also 400 miles/560 kilometers end-to-end.
If you insist upon a multi-city tour, I’d spend no less than 4 full days in each of the cities you pick off this list. What you’re interested in (history, entertainment, museums) will affect which ones you’d want to include. But personally, I’d say stick to one or two cities for your first trip unless you’re spending a LOT of time here.
>Canada
You’re probably thinking of Toronto, unless you speak French, but Montreal is more out of the way. Overall including Canada is a bit of a stretch.
>Indianapolis, Cleveland
Lived in Cleveland for 4 years. There’s really not much to see in these places unless you’re interested in the Indy 500 or Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame (which I’ve only heard disappointing reviews of). I wouldn’t consider them.
>Chicago
Great city, but very far from the NE Corridor. I would pick one or the other. If you really *really* want to visit Indy/CLE for some reason, then a Chicago trip could accommodate a stop in those places. But I’d definitely get a car if you leave Chicago.
>Miami
It’s 925 mi/1465 km between this and the next closest city on your list. Don’t consider it at all unless Florida is your only destination.
Lots of folks take trains for state to state travel on the east coast.
I would say its much easier to get around the East Coast by rail and bus then it is with West Coast
In the NE the Acela trains are your best bet. IMO I would drive so you can get off the beaten path and explore. A tour of US train stations really isn’t very interesting