These are the states I’ve visited while on holiday.
Illinois
Rhode Island
Alabama
Michigan
Connecticut
Indiana
Maine
New York
I’ve decided that this year I’d like to take another holiday in the land of the free but I’m undecided as to which state/s I should visit.
I will be hiring a car and intend stopping and staying at motels/hotels or whatever I come across for a few nights and then moving on to the next port of call.
I’ll be going in Late August and more than likely will stay for 4 weeks just mooching around, eating, drinking and generally enjoying myself.
I don’t want to go back to states I’ve already been to altho’ I’m particularly fond of Rhode Island, it’s a lovely place, quiet and the food is fantastic.
Hmm, it appears you’ve never been to the West Coast. Washington and Oregon are lovely in August. Northern California is nice too. Southern Cali? Well, it’s brown…
Yes, another observing the western deficeit. Those coastal states are nice. Also though consider the “Four Corners”, Colorado Plateau region. Extraordinary scenery via National and State Parks as well as long, beautiful drives awaits. You’ll never regret it.
Texas! Don’t believe things you hear about Texas until you’ve been here! And I’ll buy you a pint in an authentic faux-English pub if you come to Houston.
Washington is not humid like the south. There are loads of places to see and stopover in Washington and Oregon and Northern California. Travel is easy via the coast highway or I-5, although I-5 is not as scenic. At any rate, travel is easy and maps are easy to understand. Scenic drives are clearly marked and posted on highways as well.
We have beautiful state and national parks in Washington. I’m not as familiar with Oregon’s parks.
If you liked RI, maybe do the rest of New England. Maine, Rockport/Gloucester, Boston, Plymouth, the Cape and Islands, Mystic, maybe even Lawn Guy Land.
Yes, it’s fucking blazing. I was about to say it’s quite nice out right now, but then I re-read the OP and realized you were thinking about August. August in Texas is really hot.
Yes it is, but I tend to think of that as a bonus, really; there’s a lot of diversity here, and while Texas is big, it’s all connected by excellent highways.
Northern California. You’ve got the mountains and the ocean, urban (San Francisco) and rural (wine country), culture, dining, shopping, hiking, exploring and just about anything you might like to do. The weather is identical to what it’s like in the UK that time of year, and you could stay quite easily for half that time without needing a car at all.
The West is mostly not as humid as the South and East. A lot of it is desert, or nearly so. But if you go in August, it will be really hot. You could go to Utah and see Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park, but I hope you like it hot. I live in Northern California, and the coastal bits are lovely along with Oregon and Washington. I live in the central valley area, and I love it, there’s tons to do and see, but it’s really better in spring–in summer it’s quite hot. By August we like to sit indoors or go swimming, and even the creek isn’t nuch fun anymore because by then it’s gone down a lot and is getting icky.
You could land in San Fransico and spend a few weeks driving up and down the coast. Wow, that would be scenic and fun! Hwy 1 is not the safest highway you will ever drive on, but it’s sure gorgeous.
And while Texas is pretty much a giant death trap, you can get stranded nearly anywhere. Even in the crowded northeast, there are pretty long stretches of highway between towns. Carry a cell phone and you shouldn’t have a problem.
I recommend this as well. I’ve gone to this area in the fall (end of September) so the weather isn’t as blistering hot. The mountain vistas are GORGEOUS and you can get an incredible diversity of scenery. One one driving day we went from desert plains to scruffy mountains to scenery that you’d swear belonged in Pennsylvania.
Fianceephone and I did a troad trip through the southwest this past it’s not that empty and remote. It might be awhile before you see another car pass by, but it’s not like the roads are empty for hours or days at a time.
There are many inexpensive flights from the UK, non-stop, to Las Vegas. It is a great starting point - the glitter, glam and shopping and shows, not to mention food and sheer size of the place.
Then rent a car and head to:
California or go south and hit Grand Canyon and explore parts of Arizona, or go north to the beautiful areas of Utah, or just hang out in Las Vegas a few days and then get another non-stop flight to Hawaii (about 6 hours).
Many people use Las Vegas as a starting and ending point of US vacations - and if you come mid-week in off-peak times, you can get great rooms here for decent prices. Perhaps another UK Doper, glee, will find this thread and post his comments - he came here for the first time last year and I believe he is headed this way again this year as well!
Any car you rent from one of the big companies (Enterprise, Avis, Hertz, Dollar, Budget, or one of those) is going to use fairly new cars (when the cars get older, they sell them) and do a good job at maintaining them. It’s very unlikely that the car will break down in the middle of nowhere for any reason other than running out of gas, and there’s an easy and obvious way to prevent that.
Took a second to get that one.)