Buy a car. Acquiring a reliable car is key for touring the United States. You cannot see the best of the country without one. If you don't have one of your own, renting is a possibility but can be costly, especially if you plan to spend the time that you should on the road. This is where travel companions come in handy.
Join sites like Couchsurfing and Lonely Planet to find potential travel mates. You can make group or forum posts about the number and type of people you're looking for. This is also where you can mention whether or not you have a car or are looking for a companion with one.
Decide with your companions how long your trip can last. If you plan to see the bulk of the country, eight weeks is probably minimum. If you've already seen the best of certain areas and want to focus on what you haven't seen, you can get by on fewer weeks depending on how long you want to spend in each place. The length of your trip also depends on your financial situation.
Buy a guidebook and a road atlas. There are many U.S. guidebooks, though Insight Guides United States on the Road is a particularly good one. This outlines many different routes depending on what parts of America you wish to see with detailed descriptions of the must-see places and on-the-way stops.
While these books often tell you wish roads to take, buying a U.S.A. road atlas is key to finding the correct ones. Taking back roads is usually suggested to really see the United States. Most views from the interstate offer little in the way of sightseeing, and a standard GPS will not allow you to see the big picture as well as an atlas.
Draw out your trip -- literally. After perusing your guidebook and atlas for many hours, decide exactly where you want to go and use an online resource like Google maps to plan your trip point to point. On Google maps you can save your maps and update them later. This will allow you to see exactly how many miles and hours each part of your trip will take.
Print out a blank calendar for the month or months you will be traveling (these can easily be found online). On each day, pencil in what you plan to do, where you plan to be and what hours or days you plan to be driving (based on the Google information you already acquired). Only at this point will you truly realize how much time a cross-country U.S.A. road trip requires. If you only have six weeks, you may have to cut something you originally wanted to see out. It is also better to plan shorter trips than to make a lot of 12-hour drives. You will enjoy it more and feel less fatigued.
Hint: if Google says point A to point B will take nine hours, it may take less or it may take more (especially if there is an accident or, as is frequent during the summer in the northwest, road construction). Do not make your plans so inflexible that they can't change when something unexpected happens.
Camping is a fun and low-budget way for travelers to sleep on a road trip. If you plan to visit many national parks, purchasing a national park annual pass is a great deal. For $80 you and up to three car companions can enter any national park free for a year. (This can be purchased online or at the first park you visit).
Once inside the park, the cost of camping is usually between $10 and $25 depending on the site's utilities. Be aware that while many sites have toilets and running water, only a few have showers. The ones that do usually charge a minimal fee for shower use. Outside of the national parks, there are usually independent campgrounds that often cost the same or less per night but offer free showers.
If you plan to camp, you may need a roof carrier for your car to store your tent, sleeping bags and any other camping equipment you might bring along. Stores like R.E.I. usually carry waterproof canvas roof carriers that cost significantly less than the hard-surface competitors.
Staying in hotels is an expensive option, but if you are not on a budget, it is certainly the easiest. National parks usually have nice lodges with attached restaurants. Cities offer everything from the Travel Lodge to the Hilton. In the Midwest and Northwest you will often find what old movies portray as the classic American motel -- complete with neon lighted signs. Don't expect them to be four-star, but they aren't usually as bad as they look either.
Staying with local people is a less-known way to spend a vacation, but a cheap and rewarding option. Couchsurfing.org is an online network of travel enthusiasts that not only facilitates meet-ups with locals, but also can offer a free spare bed or couch in a local's home. It is relatively safe through a host/traveler review system and is free. The best part is talking with your hosts, getting to know the area from a nontourist point of view and sharing cultural differences. But if you aren't big on strangers or sharing close quarters, this isn't the option for you.
Sleeping in the car is the final accommodation option. This can be very uncomfortable in a typical car, but if you are traveling in a motor home, this is obviously the way to go. Many campsites offer hookups for motor homes that provide running water. The downside to traveling in a motor home is the size, which will limit certain places you can drive, as well as the gas guzzling of such large vehicles.
Drive like you have nowhere to be. This may sound counter-intuitive since you do have somewhere to be, but once you are in parts of the country that you have never seen before, you will want to take the time to appreciate the wonders around you. Plan extra time to pull off the road and take photos, have a picnic, and enjoy beautiful days. If you are the passenger, look out the window at all there is to see instead of sleeping.
Make the trip seem quicker by listening to books on CD or playing road games. If you don't know your companions very well, this is the time to swap stories and become better acquainted. Taste in music often varies, so if you do want to listen to music, you should all bring your own portable player and headphones just in case. You may want to let the driver choose what he wants to listen to and play that aloud while he's driving. If you don't like it, put on your headphones.
Watch your wallets when it comes to food and drink. Eating out for every meal adds up -- instead, purchase necessities at the grocery store. Granola bars, peanut butter, bread and fruit are all filling items that do not need refrigeration. It is also wise to bring a cooler and purchase a few things that can be kept cold for a day or two in order to mix it up with meats and cheeses. Choose to eat out for special occasions.
Cover your seats with fitted sheets that you purchase at a store like Goodwill or Salvation Army which can be thrown away after the journey. While they may not look pretty, they will protect your seats from crumbs and spills which are inevitable on a road trip.
Step out of your comfort zone. Do things you might not normally do (within reason). Climbing a mountain might not be your favorite thing, but the view from the top is probably unmissable. Camping in a national park could seem scary, but take the time to appreciate unadulterated nature and a sky full of stars without light pollution. (Bears don't normally attack humans anyway).
Traversing the United States will not always be easy or fun, but the overall experience will give you a new appreciation for the country and memories you will always cherish.
