Transport in the United States

U.S of A, hey? Across travel blogs, the U.S. sits high as being one of the most desired countries to travel to. Landmarks like New York, the Grand Canyon, Vegas, Yosemite, San Francisco, Nashville, Zion Canyon and Chicago are but a glimpse of what the U.S. offers her visitors. For the high expectations placed upon the U.S., there is one plight for backpackers, which is the cost and nationwide inefficiency of public transport. Be it trains, planes, busses or rental cars, no option is designed to help sustain a prolonged journey for the average traveller.

Transport Services

Taxi

If you find yourself in a taxi, regardles of the city, you are expected to give a tip between ten and fifteen percent. Feel free to wave down a taxi. If you call to have one pick you up, be prepared to pay a little extra. While planning a trip, I've sometimes compared prices using TaxiFareFinder, and I've found it to be generally accurate.

Car Rental

Long haul transport in the U.S. is often tough on the solo traveller. The best advice I can give is to road trip with friends or a group. Rent a car and drive along some (or all) of Route 66! I can't emphasise how remarkable some of the scenic American highways are, especially in Utah and Colorado. I was in a group of six people who drove from Knoxville, TN, all the way to the Grand Canyon, through Colorado and Utah, and came back via New Mexico and the southern states. Travel costs were manageable when divided between the six of us! It's a shame that there isn't a nationwide low-budget campervan rental company like Australia's Jucy or Wicked, which exists only on the west coast of the U.S via Jucy in California.

Trains & Coach Services

As you can see by researching Greyhound or Amtrak, prices for long distance coach and train travel can be more time consuming, and more expensive, than flying. This is especially in the Mid-West and South. I definitely recommend flying long distances, and to make use of trains and coaches to vist neighbouring areas. Although more relevent to the coastlines, and for statewide travel, there are some regional bus companies like Megabus who commonly offer $1 tickets for their routes.

Departing the AmTrak station in Merced, to catch the YARTS bus into Yosemite.

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Flying

If you decide to fly across country, as solo travellers often do, make sure you compare flight prices on sites like Kayak.com and Google Flights. A huge benefit of flying long distances, instead of driving, is that you don't have to pay a rental car 'drop off fee'. While I'm travelling solo in the U.S., I often fly to get across country. Tickets from Kansas City to Orange County can be as cheap as $90. For somebody under 25, flying is remarkably cheaper than renting.

Airlines

After becoming familiar with several airlines in the U.S., I would definitely recommend Delta. I've never had problems with Southwest or Frontier, so I would fly with them if Delta doesn't meet the schedule. The only airline I have to warn you about is American Airlines. Over the past two years that I've been travelling in the U.S, I've had nothing but comically shit dealings with the company. It was nothing petty. I don't complain often, but American Airlines would repetitively cancel my flights. I've calculated that the airline has caused me to miss a connecting flight 8 out of 10 times - aint nobody got time for that!!

Airports

A useful tip for flying long distance is to check the landing airport by region. Google Flights is an excellent system to utilise this method. The interactive map on the search engine shows clearly which airport costs what amount to fly into, in comparrison to your 'currently selected' airport. You might be able to wangle a better deal by changing the airport you land into.

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To summarise, I believe that the most efficient way to travel long distances across the United States is to rent a car with some buddies, and split the fixed costs. The 'under 25' car rental fee is a kick in the teeth for people under that age, but you'll still end up paying more if you did it via coach or train. To travel short distances, like along coastlines, you may be able to snag a better deal by checking out coach companies like Megabus.

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