I’m an exchange student in Virginia until May and was thinking with a couple friends to travel after.
We all definitely want to visit California and to get there we thought it may be fun to do a road trip. It would take 8 days and the stops would be
Virginia to Nashville, New Orleans, Austin, Albuquerque, Phoenix then to Cali. I’d fly out of the US straight from Cali so I wouldn’t need to go back
I want to go to places I’d never get the chance to visit again but I want to know if we’re over estimating the time in the car and if the cities itself are actually worth visiting for a day or two
35 comments
After driving so many hours in a car, you’re not going to want to do anything besides eat, sleep, and shower once you actually make it to your next destination. Wouldn’t recommend it if you’re actually planning to make that trip in 8 days.
I’ve done New Orleans>Los Angeles and back, Austin to NOLA roundtrip, and a bunch of other long cross country roadtrips.
If you want to see the cities you all are visiting, pad that drive to 10-12 days instead.
That’s a lot to see in 8 days, does that count returning to Virginia by car? Or are you flying back? If you’re driving back, you’re basically going to be driving for 8 days straight. If you’re flying back, it’ll still be a compressed trip.
Agree with others, you’re going to want a longer trip. There is so much to see in most of the cities (and I assume you’d be coming to Los Angeles) and more to see in between them all as well. You’ll want more time so you’re not just driving and sleeping and too exhausted and hurried to do much else.
It’s worth it if you can extend the trip.
I’ve driven across the country 3 times and 8 days will feel so rushed. America is HUGE. You’ll mostly be driving and won’t have much time for anything fun with 8 days.
I would aim for 14 days if you could.
Looks like you are from the UK? Just to put it in perspective, driving from Virginia to California is about the same distance as driving from [London to the Ural Mountains](https://thetruesize.com/#?borders=1~!MTY2MTE2Nzg.MTE1Mzg0MzI*MzA3MDQ4MDI(MTQ5ODk5NTk~!CONTIGUOUS_US*ODIyMDU1Mg.MjA2NDE4NjQ(MTc1)Mg). That’s a lot to do in 8 days in my opinion.
> It would take 8 days
You’re going to be averaging probably 7 hours of driving a day for the full 8 days with that route which is going to be pretty miserable.
Doable, but you will not enjoy it as you will be stuck in car for 8 hours and this will not give you enough time to explore. The drive from
VA to Nashville is fine due crossing mountains. However, between Nashville and western Texas, you will be stuck for 100s of miles on flat land. Drive from Albuquerque to San Diego/Los Angeles in nice. Nevertheless, you will miss on a lot of sightseeing. New Orleans, Austin/San Antonio, national parks… all will take day or two to see in one place. Take 2 weeks to enjoy it.
Santa Fe is worth it much more than Albuquerque
It’s exhausting, you’ll ache from all that driving.
If it were me, I’d drive to Nashville, hang out for a few days then fly to Albuquerque then drive to California and stay there until it was time to leave
The Appalachians and southwest will be really cool to drive through, but the middle will be boring unless you like wide, flat country.
The cities themselves will be worth visiting, though IDK about Phoenix. It’s a perfectly fine city, but not really a “visiting” city. It’s probably better to visit the Grand Canyon and stay in Flagstaff if you want to do the trip.
You’ll want to extend the trip, as others have said. Check how long you’ll have to drive each day. You’ll want to spend at least a day in each city you visit, otherwise you’re not really visiting them and are really just passing through.
Austin to arizona alone is a massive trip. It doesn’t seem like it’ll be that big because it’s not that “long” but it takes forever.
seriously you’re about to find out what people mean when they say the us is massive.
leave Austin, see hills, see windmills, plants become less, see yellow rocks, see red rocks.
Unless your goal is just tick the “I’ve technically been to this place” box, you are *vastly* underestimating the distance you’re traveling. I’d want at least 5 or 6 days just to drive from coast to coast with my only objective being driving from coast to coast quickly and comfortably.
8 days would leave you, at most, 72 hours to see 5 cities. Let alone whatever you want to do in California as well.
I’ve been to New Orleans and Nashville and honestly 72 hours isn’t enough to enjoy either of those places *individually*.
Or, to put it another way, you’re getting about 14 hours per city. Not counting sleep. And since I take it you’re not used to trips of this size, I guarantee you that you’re going to sleep like the dead after spending 8 or 9 hours on the road each day.
I was an otr driver for several years, drove all that many times. That’s a big underestimate of time IMO. It’s 40 hrs driving , (2649 miles), just from state line to state line on I-40, the most direct route route. To go with the most direct route between cities you listed is 3,143 miles. From Richmond to Los Angeles that’s 392 miles a day for 8 days. I would recommend 21 days and take time to visit some really neat spots along the way, like the blues history trip from Nashville to NOLA.
https://www.visittheusa.com/trip/blues-highway
This trip is worth it, depends on what you want out of it. You’ll get to see some gorgeous country if you make a few course alterations from the most direct routes between those listed locations.
Going to Nashville from Virginia, I’m guessing you’ll take I 81. Detour about 10 or so miles south and take the blue ridge parkway through the smoky mountains. If you have time, make the entire smoky mountain loop. It’s about 250 miles total and one of the best drives in the US.
https://mysmokymountainguide.com/blog/smoky-mountains-loop/amp/
You can do it. But, like others have said, you’re not going to actually have time to “see” or spend any quality time in the cities you visit.
From Virginia to LA is a four day, 8 to 10 hours a day driving. Not leaving you much time to see the city sights.
If you do it, make sure to visit the Grand Canyon.
As everyone says, it’s a huge distance. When you get to California, more hugeness.
You need time and money for this. If either or both are in short supply, choose the part of the trip that interests you most.
Sounds awesome to me, but like many here, I’d recommend adding a few days if you can. If for no other reason than if you see something you want to stop and check out, an interesting detour, or just want to hang in one place a bit, you’ll have the flexibility. Do it! Do it! Do it!
It will take that long just to drive cross country. That does not leave much, if any, time to enjoy each stop.
I would limit it to the area you are in, or at most go halfway cross country. A nicer trip might be **driving north along the east coast**. (Edit: that’s what I’d do.) (Edit again: Or you could drive a little ways around the South, if you prefer, and since you mention some Southern cities.)
There isn’t much point in spending the entire time driving. A day or two in each spot is more ideal.
Flying out after driving for eight days is also just going to be exhausting for you. Unless you are trying to re-create [On the Road](https://www.britannica.com/topic/On-the-Road-novel-by-Kerouac), I wouldn’t advise that 8 day cross country drive.
Seems awesome imo
Try to get a car with adaptive cruise control and lane keeping. Makes highway miles much less tiring.
that’s a lot for 8 days. If you can pad it a few days it could be good, but otherwise you might want to stick around the Southeast and then fly to Cali.
Maybe something like Virginia -> Asheville (via the Blue Ridge Parkway, if you can) -> Nashville -> Atlanta -> New Orleans -> fly to Cali?
Savannah and Charleston are also great visits, but a little out of the way of that specific itinerary.
I’ve driven to all 48 lower states in the US. I’ve loved it, but there are vast distances involved. You’d be spending long periods doing boring driving.
If I can suggest an alternative, consider driving down the East Coast to Charleston, Savannah, St Augustine all the way to Miami. You’ll have far more time to enjoy things if your trip is regional.
You’re looking at at least 45 hours in a car before you calculate in stops or traffic jams. Food/restroom/gas breaks probably add five or ten hours to that. Do you think you’ll have energy to enjoy the cities you’re stopping in under those circumstances?
I would trim it down a little.
I’ll always say this about long roadtrips: skip major cities. Devote time to things you wouldn’t do unless you were on this roadtrip.
Nashville, New Orleans, Austin, and Phoenix all have nonstop flights to the UK.
>Driving Virginia to California
>8 Days
Hard pass.
You would enjoy spending 8 days exploring Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina far more.
Honestly, you can skip Albuquerque and Phoenix. Both places are not worth your time. Nashville, NOLA, and Austin are definitely worth it.
Google Maps says an equivalent trip in Europe with the same driving time (I didn’t check distance), is Madrid to Paris to Berlin to Prague to Istanbul.
Does that seem doable (and worthwhile) in eight days?
Your trip will be just you driving, and almost no actual enjoyment of the cities you planned. That’s too far for 8 days.
I went from Minnesota to the coast and back and it was more than 3 weeks of trip, and we still hustled through portions.
Also your trip sounds bound to the interstate. Arguably the worst way to see America.
They put interstates in the flattest clearest parts to make them easy to build and travel on.
Yea, those are great places to visit but you’ll be spending a significant amount of your time traveling whether you go by car or train (yes, possible with Amtrak)
I’d recommend extending your trip (if that’s an option) cutting a few stops off your list.
Oh, and have fun!
you will spend almost the entire time driving if you do that, so I’d say no, it’s not worth it. Virginia to either Nashville or New Orleans is more than enough road trip itself for one week. Between the two I’d recommend Nashville.
Second thought, can you do the same trip but take like 3 weeks? if so, it’ll be the adventuer of your life and definitely be worth it
Have you looked at Google maps for driving times between those places? You’d spend all of your time in the car.
Austin to Albuquerque is an 11+ hour, incredibly boring drive.
I would suggest choosing either the Southeast or the Southwest and make a shorter trip. In eight days you won’t get to see much except the highway.
Yes, it is worth it. Assuming you have 2 to 3 months to do it.
If you’re thinking of doing this in 1 to 2 weeks, don’t.
Why does no one even attempt to use Google maps before they post these?