Driving in the USA

[pinotnow]

I am starting to get anxious about the driving element of our summer trip to the USA. I have never driven there before and am the only adult/driver as it's me and my teens going.

One worry is navigation. We rely on my inbuilt Satnav at home and with roaming charges I don't think Google maps on our phones is going to be doable? Would a separate Satnav I bought here work? It's one of many worries...We're not driving a huge amount - from Philadelphia to Annapolis to York Town to Charlottesville/Shenandoah to DC, but I'm starting to dwell on it!

Any tips would be amazing!

Download the sections of maps you need, when you have WiFi. Then you won't need data to use the maps app when you're out and about.

I have a US drivers licence as well as a UK one. Remember 99% of the time you can turn right on red. Basically the only role difference I can think of off the top of my head, lol

Whether it is worth it really depends on where OP is coming from (Shanendoah?) and where her hotel is (which I probably missed), as the airport and Union Station are on different metro lines. Honestly having driven to both places you'll probably make a couple of wrong turns either way lol. Make sure you have Google maps and it will get you back. DCA is a relatively small airport and well marked.

Oh I just read your OP again- if I am understanding correctly and you are driving from Annapolis to Yorktown, be aware that rush hour traffic on I-95 south is no joke, and rush hour starts by mid-afternoon so plan accordningly. There's also alternate routes that you can take through southern MD into VA which can be nice. Have a good trip!

In an area where there are multiple highways extending in several directions both around and in and out of a city, you'll see signs for those highways. Chicago is something of a hub of various highways.

You would have seen signs for various street exits, depending on what expressway you were on - Wacker Drive, Ohio Street, Canal Street, Roosevelt Road, and others. It's not always obvious to visitors that these exits are downtown / city exits.

Chicago extends many miles west, North, and South to the city boundaries, so signs for 'Chicago' wouldn't be useful.

I just wanted to update to say I have cancelled my original car rental and now have one that lets me pick-up and drop-off from the two railway stations and also comes with GPS, the toll thing people mentioned and a full-tank and I can drop-off empty. This has all made me feel much less anxious. I think I made the original booking by looking for the cheapest but this peace of mind is worth the extra cost and I'm so grateful for the advice here, as well as the tips for when I'm actually driving. Thanks all!

Let us know how it goes. You won’t need the toll pass thing but if it gives you peace of mind then it’s all good.

Enjoy! Grottoes caves are fantastic and better than Luray if you’re planning a cave visit

@pinotnow Driving in USA right now and we’ve got a SIM card via the Airalo app and it’s got a lot of data so google maps going through car system is fine. The car navigations work too (a bit clunky we found) but this is much cheaper and better. If your uk phone/data provider is expensive, look at Airalo.