The USA is on most people’s travel bucket lists if they haven’t already been. It’s such a diverse country with all sorts of iconic landmarks and destinations to visit from New York to the Grand Canyon. You’ll find incredible modern cities, beautiful natural landscapes, quaint traditional towns and everything else in between. 

Taking a road trip across the country is one of the best ways to get a cross section of what this diverse place has to offer. Even though you can still have an amazing trip if you stay in one city or state, you’ll get more out of your American getaway if you take the time to sample as many different areas as possible and learn about all of the different cultures that make up the United States. 

However, the USA is a big place and driving from one side to the other is no easy feat. If you want to avoid any disasters along the way, you need to make sure that you are prepared. This checklist will help you get everything in order so when you do set off on your road trip, you are ready for anything that the USA can throw at you. 

Get Your Paperwork In Order

First things first, you need to sort all of the legal stuff. Make sure you get your paperwork in order a few months in advance in case there are mistakes and you need to make some amendments. 

If you are travelling from the UK, you are fine as long as your passport is in date. You don’t need to worry about having 6 months left on it as you do in some countries. However, if it’s not far off expiring, it’s always good practice to get it renewed anyway. Once you have a valid passport, you need to sort out your visas. The good news is, you don’t need to go through a lengthy visa application if you are a UK resident because we have a close relationship with the US and we are on their visa waiver scheme.

However, you do need to put an application in to the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). It’s much quicker than applying for a visa and you can do it all through their website before you set off. Some people leave it until they get to the airport but this is just a lot of extra hassle, especially when you already have to deal with the stress of navigating customs and immigration in the US. You may as well sort it beforehand so you can get through the airport quickly. 

Now that you’ve got the paperwork to get into the country, you’ll need a driving license and insurance. The US accepts driving licenses from a lot of different countries, including the UK, so you just need to make sure that your normal license is valid and you are allowed to drive abroad on it. You can buy your insurance through the company that you rent the car from. 

Choose The Right Vehicle

When you are picking your vehicle, you need to consider where you are going. The highways in the US are well maintained and shouldn’t give you too much trouble, but once you get off the beaten track, you might come up against some difficult terrain. If you’re driving through places like California, you’ll be fine in any car, but if you decide to pass through Colorado, the mountain roads require something a bit more heavy duty. 

When you are planning your trip, research the areas that you are visiting and see if you can find out what state the roads are likely to be in. The last thing you want is to get halfway through your road trip only to find out that your car won’t make it the rest of the way. 

Deciding On A Route

There are so many great road trip routes across the USA, so you need to decide which places you want to see most and pick a route that hits those destinations. 

If you want a classic American experience, why not try historic route 66 from Chicago to California. It doesn’t take you from coast to coast, but it’s a great route to finish off a trip from the West to the East Coast of the USA. You’ll find plenty of dusty old truck stops and American diner’s to stop off at along the way. It also takes you right by the Grand Canyon, which should definitely be on your USA road trip bucket list. Cities along the route include Chicago, St. Louis, Amarillo, Santa Fe, and Santa Monica. 

The Loneliest Road is a great coast to coast route that takes you through a dozen states and four state capitals and Washington DC. It’s not just about the great cities though, you’ll also pass through some of the most amazing natural landscapes in the country. You will drive through the Appalachia and Rocky mountains as well as Sierra Nevada and the Great Plains. The deserts or Utah and Nevada will give you a completely different experience of the country. If you want a route that shows a little bit of everything and ticks off some of the must-see destinations in the US, the Loneliest Road is a brilliant route. 

The Oregon Trail is one of the longest routes with the most stops, but it takes you through some amazing destinations like Yellowstone National Park, Mount Rushmore, and Niagara Falls. There are plenty of opportunities for taking detours and discovering hidden gems along the way, which is the best thing about road trips. If you have plenty of time to dedicate to your road trip, this is the best option, but it’s not the kind of route that you want to rush because you’ll miss a lot. 

Taking a road trip through the USA is the best way to fully experience it. Although a week in New York or California is still going to be fun, nothing compares to a cross country USA road trip.