Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with car and travel

On The Road To Feeling Weird

mmmbacon — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 09:27:26 -0800

Why do I feel so weird when I return home from a long car trip and how can I prevent these feelings? Every time I take a long car trip, I feel very out of sorts when I get home. I always feel tired, restless, emotionally drained and generally icky. This never happens when I arrive at my destination, no matter how long the trip there is. Also, I feel just the same whether or not I am doing the driving.

How do we fit all this stuff in a Hyundai?

RobotVoodooPower — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 23:17:34 -0800

What's the best way to carry cargo on extended road trip with a mid-size SUV? We are going for an extended road trip (>6 months) and are taking all essential possessions needed to work, live, and play on the road. We will need to take clothes, camping gear, personal stuff, computers, portable bikes -- about 70 cubic feet of stuff, we estimate. We also need the cargo secured when we can't take it all indoors (hotels, for instance).

Our ride is a 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe with two passengers. The initial idea was to just pull a small cargo trailer, but is there any other combination of roof racks / trunk racks that would maximize our rolling storage capacity?

Who can hire me a car to drive from the UK to the Netherlands?

gonzo_ID — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 03:10:17 -0800

I need to hire a car to drive from Bristol, UK and to drop off in Haarlem Netherlands. Avis says no, europecar says no, hertz are difficult to get hold of. Suggestions? Recommendations?

Help me help my boss not get lost.

chiababe — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:50:48 -0800

My boss wants me to research GPS units for him to use since he'll be traveling a lot more in the near future. Any recommendations? I really don't know what I should be looking for in a good GPS unit. He wants to spend less than $200. It also needs to be fairly simple to use and update. He's an awesome boss, but not so good with tricky technology. Most of his travel will be within North and South Carolina. We're looking to purchase this within the week, so I won't be able to wait for new models that might be around the corner. I've read a few of the previous questions on this, but I'm wondering if there's anything new and exciting I should be looking at.

Zipcar Update?

The Whelk — Thu, 28 May 2009 13:35:30 -0800

Daytrip Dreamin': I've read the previous question about Zipcars in NYC, but it's about a year old and I have some specific questions. I am considering joining, but have heard that the availability is not terrific. What's it like for a daytrips out of the city? Any big problems? Does it make sense if you're only planning to use it 2 or three times a year?

Plan my roadtrip.

lockestockbarrel — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:40:17 -0800

PlanMyRoadtrip Filter: Driving from St. Louis, MO to Brownsville, TX in 3 days. What should we do along the way? My wife and I are driving from St. Louis, MO to Brownsville, TX, leaving on Monday, March 9th. The only constraint is that we have to arrive in Brownsville three days later. However we divide up the distance between the three days is fine.

Because we have three days to take the trip, we'd like to do some sightseeing along the way. As we've never driven through this area of the US, we'd like to see places, do things, and eat things that are representative of the region. We'll likely be through this area again, so it's not a farewell tour or anything like that. We're in our mid-20s and adventurous -- we'd like to see sights, eat local food, take photographs, walk around places, etc., but we'll have a car full of stuff so take that into account.

The default GoogleMaps route takes us through OK (a seemingly boring route) but we hit Dallas and Austin. I was thinking we could drive directly south through Memphis to New Orleans, then cut west along the gulf through Houston. It's less important for us to see Austin on this trip as we'll probably visit there later; it's less likely we'll visit New Orleans from Brownsville.

As far as the driving, we just have to arrive three days after we depart. So we could drive one day to New Orleans, stay one day, then drive the rest the second day. Or we could drive to Memphis, then drive to New Orleans, then drive the rest. Or we could drive to New Orleans, drive to Houston, then drive the rest. Or we could drive to Dallas, stay the next day, then drive the rest. You get the idea. Driving 11 or 12 hours in a day is not a big deal for us.

So:
1. How should we design our route?
2. We have to sleep twice on the trip. Where?
3. Where should we eat?
4. What should we go see/do/experience?

Thanks, MeFi!

Permanent Road Trip

Astro Zombie — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 13:40:01 -0800

Advice on taking a permanent road trip. Or, I should say, a semi-permanent road trip, with occasional stops back home to regroup. Looking for suggestions on the following:

Car: Want a car that gets good mileage and is rugged enough to handle driving long distances in a variety of weather conditions and goeographical environments.

Communication: I'd like to be connected to the Web as much as possible while on the road (in the U.S., anyway); how do I do this? What other sorts of communication devices should I have on hand.

Packing: What must I have in the car, not just in terms of clothes and toiletries, but for self-protection and emergencies.

Feel free to toss in any other suggestions you might have.

Cheap travel from Delaware to NYC?

viewofdelft — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:23:54 -0800

What are the cheapest ways to get from Newark, Delaware, to New York City? I'm a research assistant at the University of Delaware and as part of a long and wonkish I-95 corridor project, we've decided to produce a map or informational pamphlet letting students know the cheapest ways to get from here (Newark, Delaware) to New York City.

A few things to keep in mind:
1. Any mode of transportation is fair game (air, rail, highway, seaports, etc.), as is any type of vehicle (plane, train, automobile, bus, shoes, etc.).
2. Be creative, but within reasonable limits of safety (i.e., no airmailing oneself).
3. It's alright if many of the suggested travel methods begin in Philadelphia (and maybe even Baltimore) if these departure points are more familiar to you.
4. Cost is the most important factor, although I don't want to discourage that outlandish teleportation idea you've been waiting to uncork.

After we've completed the map or pamphlet, I'll contact each of the contributors about mailing them a finished product. Thank you.

help my wife and cats get home

crazylegs — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:33:47 -0800

Looking for one way car rental, ride share, or other transport east from Toronto. On October 26 my wife is flying into Pearson Airport with our two cats. She needs to get from there to Prince Edward County, about three hours east of Toronto. I've been researching car rental agencies and most of them don't seem to allow return of the car to Belleville or Kingston, which would mean her having to drive the car all the way back to Toronto and then take a bus back to P.E.C.
I'm looking for any or all of the following information:
1 - A car rental company that will rent a car at Pearson and allow it to be returned in Belleville (ideally, or else Kingston).
2 - A ride share opportunity where I might find someone driving east on that day who would be able to give her a lift.
3 - Any other means of transport that would allow a relatively tired woman and two fairly stressed out cats to get from point A to point B (note: the terms 'tired', 'woman', 'stressed', and 'cats' rule out hitchhiking, and probably a bus).
If by some intervention of Providence, you, yourself, the person reading this, are a Torontonian who has just been thinking "saaaay, I'm up for a trip to Prince Edward County around about October 26... if only I had some cats to entertain me on my journey...", then by all means get in touch!
Thanks!

Litterbox issue when traveling by car with cat

kathleenl — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:43:11 -0800

I am getting ready to move 1000 miles with my cat. I have a crate for him, and a litter box to travel with. But I'm concerned about when he might have to use it during the trip because I would like to keep him in the crate (as recommended by just about everyone I've talked to.) Is it ok to have him in the crate for 8 hours and give him occasional food and water and then let him use his litterbox when we arrive at our destination each night? Around the house he often goes that long without using his litterbox...but I'm just not sure if that will be ok. I don't really want to get a larger crate that I can put a litterbox in b/c I don't think he'd like laying next to a litterbox for 8 hours a day.

Some have suggested putting a harness on him and having him go outside, but he's an entirely indoor cat, and I honestly don't know that he'd know once outside (and probably freaked out) to do his business.

I'm also wary of taking him out of the crate in the car because it can be challenging to get him back in.

Any advice is much appreciated!

What would happen if I used a portable air conditioner in my car?

Toto_tot — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 08:23:51 -0800

Is this possible? Or just dumb? What would happen if we used one of those new, small, portable air-conditioners in a car on a temporary basis? We are from Canada heading through the Nevada desert in a small car and I am seriously wondering if it is possible to use one of those new portable air conditioners to keep us cool. We could run it off of the cigarette lighter and strap it into the back seat.
I have looked into those boat and trailer types that run a fan over ice and they get terrible reviews.
I don't have any experience with AC - we don't have it in our home either. (When it gets hot in the summer we suffer/cope and sleep in the basement)- so I don't know how it works. They seem to have to vent outside for some reason... I can see that...

What do you think?

Any word if the IRS will rate the 2008 mileage rate because of the rapid increase in gas prices?

GuyZero — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 17:59:38 -0800

Any word if the IRS will rate the 2008 mileage rate because of the rapid increase in gas prices? The IRS set the 2008 mileage rate for business car travel way back in November of last year at 50.5 cents per mile. That's still more than the price of gas, but not as much as it was back then. Has anyone heard if the IRS will raise this value? (Note: I'm not going to claim it per se, but my company ties their mileage reimbursement rate to the IRS rate)

An American in Germany - keep me mobile!

FlyByDay — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:47:42 -0800

Help an American traveling in Germany get around for a month this summer - car or train? For a friend: I will be in Germany from June 5 through July 2. While I'm there I might rent a car or travel by train. However, I know nothing about doing either of those things as an American -- apparently there are different rules for buying tickets and renting cars when you are not German, nor an EU citizen.

If I could get an all-I-can-ride train pass (e.g. Eurailpass) for say $500 for the month I'll be there, then we're done -- I'd do that. I'm afraid it might be a lot more, though, in which case I'll need more research to figure out how to best get around.

For reference, I'm flying into Frankfurt and will get picked up at the airport... but after that, I'm interested in visiting Munich, Stuttgart, Saarbruecken, and very possibly Hannover and a few towns near Hannover.

Thanks so much!

Best way to get to a store from an airport

stratastar — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 10:27:53 -0800

[Little Rock Transportation Filter]: I have a 3+ hour layover in Little Rock, Arkansas and during that time, I need to get to a store that is near the intersections of route 630 and 430. What is my best option? I will be there this Friday during the afternoon. I have the option to

a.) take a taxi (20 miles round trip= ~$45?)
b.) rent a car (they quoted me online as $24.98, but I'm under 25 so there will be a litany of charges on top of that)
c.) taking some sort of public transportation provided near the airport?

Punctuality is a key, because I don't want to miss my flight, but is there anyone familiar with the area that could suggest an economic course of action?

What is the best way to live-blog a cross-country road trip??

tarthur — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 19:40:01 -0800

What is the best method & location for live-blogging a cross country trip using a MacBook, DSLR camera, DV camera, t-mobile EDGE and intermittent wifi? I'm about to drive/move back to Southern California from Central Florida with my boyfriend and we want to document the trip with photos/video 'live' as we progress across the United States. Our travels will bring us up through New Jersey, Chicago, Denver with a stop at the Grand Canyon.

I have a t-mobile phone capable of EDGE (slow but useable) data transfer for the Mac and plan on stopping at wifi equipped locations to upload video/photos. A GPS type hookup would be sweet but I'm not familiar with doing that with a Mac.

It would be nice to have some type of map showing progress (GPS preferred but manually updated OK), the ability to post photos, gas prices, mood and other utterly useless information.

Has anyone had any experience with this type of blogging? I'm trying to determine if it would be best to use my limited skills to build some type of moveable type/wordpress with google + flickr or use something like Vox.

Thanks!

Help me live out of my car!

mulkey — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 13:15:33 -0800

I'm about to live out of my car for about two months. What tips or tricks should I know before doing this? I'm going to spend the summer doing research and I'll be travel around and living out of my car. I have places to stay so I won't be sleeping IN the car, but my stuff will largely be stored in the trunk, and I'll be moving around pretty frequently (2/3 times a week or more). Essentially, I'm going to be a road warrior on wheels.

I've heard lots of really helpful tips and tricks for road warriors who fly a lot. Things like storing your travel toiletries in clear plastic bags so you can see what you have and so when something explodes you can clean it up easily. Taking certain things on board so that you can live if your luggage doesn't come through etc. But I'm wondering if there are any car specific suggestions. Because obviously I can carry more and I'll be traveling for longer.

Have any mefi's done this sort of thing? Car camping? Extended (several week long) road trips? Crazy researchers trying to get interviews all over the place?

How do I organize things? What do I need to be concerned about (theft/locking myself out of the car)? How did you balance the fact that you were carrying stuff for a long time but you don't want to bring EVERYTHING? Is there a good way to carry clothes in the trunk of a car (ie is a suitcase better than a box/duffel bag)? Laundry on the road? Any thoughts on buying groceries? Would a cooler be a useful or just bulky thing to have?

Any thoughts or advice would be useful! Thank you!

Car seats in the city

pomegranate — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 11:31:13 -0800

Car seats in cabs/cars for hire in NYC? We're going to NYC with our two-week old. (Long story, we know it's not recommended to travel so early, we gotta go.) The only time we will be in a car will be from the airport to the city. Do we need to bring a car seat, and if so, do we need to tell the car service about it ahead of time? Do car services have them available so we don't have to drag one with us?

Getting around in Iceland

Marquis — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 03:28:11 -0800

Can you recommend a car rental firm in Iceland? (Or have you travelled around Iceland using public transit? In February? How'd it work out for you?) Planning a five-night stay in Iceland at the beginning of February. (Only £80 return from London, including taxes!!!) Obviously the country is very, very expensive. We're trying to figure out the best way to get around on a budget. Places like Avis and Hertz want £200-£300 for 4 days of rental, which is prohibitively expensive. We'd be happy to use the Icelandic coach/bus system, but I've heard anxiety-inducing tales about how few of their coaches run in winter. Is it feasible to get around outside Reykjavik in February with anything other than a car? And if we are to rent a car, any particular recommendations of rental firms?

(I've read about the need for a 4X4 to travel inland from the ring road, but to be honest I think we'll be able to stick to the outer ring and be fine.)

Come to think of it, if anyone has recommendations for sights outside of Reykjavik and the Golden Circle tour, they're welcome. (I've heard good things about Vik.)

best vehicle GPS for older folks?

gluechunk — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 12:45:36 -0800

Please help recommend a vehicle GPS unit suitable for old geezers (my parents). I used to help sell gps units online, so I'm not clueless about them, but I'm looking for more input.

* mounting options for a deep dashboard (or a good vent mount)
* decent/loud volume
* text-to-speech
* bluetooth functions not needed
* real-time traffic data not needed
* canadian maps not really needed (since canada is, of course, irrelevant)
* other bells/whistles (mp3 player, etc.) not needed
* easy enough to be used by Old People.

I'm leaning towards the nuvi 350 (the 360 benefit is just bluetooth I think) although the nuvi 660 is nice (bigger screen, fm transmitter, but costly).

Travelling in Mexico by car.

leftfooter — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 11:56:33 -0800

I'm planning a trip to mexico by car. I want to find out some basic travel details such as mileage between cities, length of journey, etc.. I know I can find this in your typical Rand mcNally map, but is their an Online service such as Mapquest that does the same thing? Mapquest has no service for mexico apart from some maps of cities, but nothing to help me with planning a trip between cities. Also, any hints as far as insurance, travel tips etc., are appreciated.

Tips for first-time roadtrippers

Zosia Blue — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 16:24:21 -0800

My SO and I are driving from Minneapolis, MN to Southern Virginia to visit my folks the first few weeks of August. We've never been on a road trip before. What should we know? What should we bring? Specifics inside. We haven't mapped out the course, so I'm not looking for interesting attractions just yet. We plan to take two or three days each way. Specifically, I'm looking for a) software, programs, maps, etc., that are helpful in planning a route and staying on course; b) what to bring along (change for tolls, being an example), and any other tips/tricks/wish-you-had-knowns for the drive. We'll most likely be seeking out motels along the way as opposed to camping, though we're not adverse to camping. (At least, he isn't.) We have about a week and a half to two weeks to do this in.

Thanks for any advice!

Humless DC->AC Power Inverter?

odinsdream — Tue, 15 Nov 2005 18:44:16 -0800

What DC to AC power inverter can I buy for use in a car that won't contribute hum to an audio signal from devices it powers? I've currently got a cheap one-outlet low wattage DC -> AC converter that I use to power my laptop in the car. I use a tape adapter to play music from the laptop through my car stereo.* When I have the laptop plugged in to the power, there's a considerable hum in the audio coming through the speakers. I can almost completely eliminate it by unplugging the power. Of course, this means the laptop eventually dies.

What DC->AC power box will let me keep the laptop plugged in without the hum in the audio? I'm hoping to pick it up tomorrow, perhaps at Best Buy or similar Box Store.

*using predefined playlists with the lid closed and all that jazz - let's not discuss driving distractions and all that.

Did I get a good deal, or am I hosed?

davidmsc — Mon, 24 Oct 2005 17:21:16 -0800

Do I owe $270 or $638 for an auto rental? Using Priceline today to arrange a rental vehicle for my wife's trip; 5 days total. On the "confirm your reservation" screen, it reflected a great deal of $270, which included all taxes and fees. OK, great...so I press the magical "confirm" button, and the final screen displays a total of $638! I contacted Advantage Rental Car, and they told me it was Priceline's bill, and I need to take it up with Priceline. When I called Priceline, all I get is a recorded confirmation of my reservation. So I e-mailed Priceline, and the site says that they will try to answer me via e-mail within 3 hours. Until then, I'm growing increasingly agitated: is this just a routine part of the Priceline process, and I will wind up owing only the $270? Or do I need to cancel this reservation ASAP? Thanks for any insight.

Long distance parking violation

neustile — Thu, 13 Oct 2005 18:52:34 -0800

I got a parking ticket on a rental car in Reykjavik, Iceland recently (meter expired.) I'm back in the US now. The ticket is all in Icelandic (but there is a web address) and I don't see any obvious location for a credit card # or really anything to make heads or tails of it. How do I pay it? I'll gladly pay it but I don't know how. I assume that if I don't, they will contact the rental car agency who will probably destroy me with some sort of fee via the credit card I used to pay for it (in ISK too, even worse!) Is that true? What are travelers supposed to do in this situation?

travel tips for New Hampshire and Maine?

Dr. Wu — Thu, 25 Aug 2005 19:59:11 -0800

In my quest to visit all 50 states, I'm finally going to New Hampshire and Maine this fall. Please help me decide where to go and what to do. I'll be coming from and returning to Westchester County, NY - just north of NYC. First stage of the trip is to drive (of necessity, on major highways) to Plymouth, NH, where I'll attend a conference from Oct 6 through Oct 8. Starting on the morning of Sunday, Oct 8, I'd like to take a week, maybe ten days, to explore interesting things in NH and Maine. I will have a car at all times, and don't mind driving long distances.

Some things that qualify to me as interesting: nice places to hike and/or drive, good restaurants, unusual small towns, odd/kitschy local attractions, good pie (I would imagine there is a great deal of good pie to be had in these states), nice places to see colorful leaves (they should be changed/changing around that time, yes?), museums, bookstores, Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppes.

Basically, I'd like to take in as much local color as I can, and see the "real" NH and Maine. Oddball sights and events are especially welcome.

Bonus points if you can recommend interesting and/or cheap places to stay: hotels, B&Bs, hostels are all OK. (I am not interested in camping.)
Oh, and any useful websites regarding traveling in these states are most welcome.

Thank you!

(These will be states #48 and 49, by the way. Only Alaska remains!)