Road trip with teens

[Herbie56]

USA or Canada? Not too humid. Which bit? Is late August/early September a good time? Two teens 18 and 15. One nature loving one city loving. Is motorhome a good idea/economical?

Any suggestions most welcome.

My two experiences might not be the most helpful as either not recent or not with teens, but thought I'd share -

As a child we did a lot of motorhome holidays on the West Coast - a lot of fun and so much to do, and you can split between city and nature. I can't say for economical, I imagine it's quite expensive now. There will be loads of sample itineraries online, but core memories for me were (I don't think we did these all in the same trip...!)

• Yellowstone National Park
• Grand Canyon
• Wyoming - we stayed on a ranch, did pony trekking etc.
• Disneyland
• Las Vegas
• Joshua Tree

katie_ellison on instagram did a USA roadtrip in Jan, worth looking at their trip

We have also been to Canada to visit family - if your'e doing a driving trip in Canada it can be A LOT of driving depending where you are going. East Coast is great lobster and seaside towns, but we really loved Vancouver - lots to do in the city they you could either rent a van/car and head to Vancouver island (Tofino was a highlight for us) or a cruise in Alaska (haven't done this, but considered it, incredibly scenery.)

If you're in Vancouver, you can then go over the border into USA to Seattle or Portland which are both cool cities with a great food scene.

Not super detailed, but hopefully some ideas to get you started!

Canadian Rockies.. scenery is breathtaking 😊

Thanks very much, I will get researching. Sounds like you had some wonderful family holidays Boymum! 😊

Anywhere on the west coast of Canada or the US will be perfect weather in August/September. I live in Vancouver and we don't ever have that swampy humidity like they do on the east coast.

Motorhomes are incredibly expensive, and petrol is more expensive on the west coast of Canada and the US compared to other parts of the countries. A road trip staying in hotels would be a better bet, especially since it would be a hassle to find somewhere to park the motorhome in cities.

The issue with motor homes is that you have to drive them everywhere, even to the supermarket, and there are some places you might want to get to that you wouldn’t want to take a large RV.

We tend to move around a lot, but try to mix one night stays with 2-4 night stays to allow proper exploration. Finding 1 or 2 bedroom apartments is easier than you’d imagine using a mix of VRBO and searching for suites on the booking sites.

Where, at that time of year? Northern/Western and/or mountainous areas, I’d say. It will be less hot and out of the hurricane areas. The Oregon coast is breathtakingly beautiful.

If you start from Los Angeles, you can drive along the Pacific Coast Highway and enjoy the scenic coastal views. Then, you can head to famous natural attractions like the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and Yosemite, which are perfect for kids who love nature. Cities like San Francisco and Las Vegas, on the other hand, will satisfy teens who enjoy city life. If you plan to stay in one area for a longer period and visit multiple cities or natural attractions, renting a motorhome could be a cost-effective option. It helps save money on hotel stays and restaurant meals. However, if it’s a short trip and you’ll mostly be staying in cities, it might be more suitable to rent a regular car and book accommodations.

A few years back we did a 3 week road trip along the West Coast. We started just after their Labour Day holiday in early September. Flew into Portland, OR, did the River Gorge and Mount Hood there, then up to Washington State (Mount St Helens) for a day and then we headed down along the Oregon Coast, starting off in Astoria where the Goonies were filmed. Down to SF via the Redwoods then into Yosemite, then up towards Lake Tahoe, finishing in Reno. We had a few days in NYC (inbound) and Washington DC (outbound) as well.

The Oregon Coast is probably one of the most stunning places in the world and there is soooo much to do.