Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 Enjoy your trip... October 20, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
My wife and I found this a very useful book for our 6-week road trip around the US in 2007. Initially we found it useful in the planning stage - the book suggests itineraries for 11 road trips, with small maps and descriptions of all towns/cities on the route, together with accommodation, places to eat and roadside attractions. When you are faced with the whole of the US to visit, we found it helpful to have these suggestions as a starting point. You don't have to follow them - we ended up stitching together parts of three different routes from the book and doing some of our own things as well. (We also used the Rough Guide and found that a large-scale road atlas was a must as well.)
When we travelled along the suggested routes we used the book throughout the day to locate places of interest and places to eat/stay. The book pointed us towards some really good diners to eat in (like Doug's Fish Fry in Skaneateles), some of which we would no doubt have stumbled on ourselves in some of the smaller places we passed through but others we possibly would have missed. The book does also contain a few notes on interesting places just off the routes and suggests a few diversions; it also has some general notes on states and areas and some odd interesting facts. Most days one of us would read out some of these interesting facts about the places we travelled through - world's largest kazoo anyone?
 This makes a road trip across the USA sound tedious.. July 19, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
..which seems a difficult thing to do. What is good about it, is that it describes each town/city and provides a couple of ideas for places to stay/eat which is useful. What it doesn't provide is a good read. I think because it's written by an American, it's not quite right for a British audience - as it doesn't provide the outsider's point of view which I was looking for. I'm not interested in knowing where the best baseball games are in each state nor anything that smacks of patriotism, I want to know when is the best time to travel to each place, what I need to look out for, what are good things to take, car hire information, where will give me a real glimpse of America, the FEEL of the places. The other issue, is that it reads from West to East, not vice versa, so for most Brits, it's not easy to back-track your route.
 OK but too specific July 28, 2004
33 out of 37 found this review helpful
This book is likely an excellent guide for those who have a vague wish to take a road trip around the states but no clear idea of where to go, but if you have any plans or ideas of your own this probably isn't for you - it is more a book of factual anecdotes chronicaling a series of pre-set routes taken by the author than a guidebook, although the information on a specific place may be useful should you arrive there on your route. I would instead recommend the latest Rough Guide to the USA edition.
The Travellers Return August 13, 2002
15 out of 15 found this review helpful
I had long yearned to undertake a USA road trip, but where do you start? And how do you ensure you experience the curiosities that you can find if you venture that little bit from the beaten track? Armed with Jamie in hand we used the "Road Trip USA" as our guide and motored along the US-80 trip. We veered off and saw New Oleans but STILL read through the info from another road trip to give us an idea of what was worth diverting from the straight and narrow to see. A really invaluable resource which gives you more than the average guide book to entertain you along the way. Enjoy the read. Enjoy the preparations that you will have to make, and then savour the journey.
 The easy drivers guide to small town America June 5, 2001
32 out of 33 found this review helpful
Jenson's view is that the Interstate is not for real travellers. The book covers a series of coast to coast and border to border trips through small town America in a detail which can be annoying and yet is thoroughly enjoyable. His style is easy, compulsive and, based on our previous experience of some of the places he describes, very honest.Full of throw away descriptions of "blink or you'll miss them" towns, facts and figures, the best places to eat, drink and sleep, and survival guides to the major metropolis en route the book is much more than the stereotypical guide. It offers an insight into an America which is not obtained from the more formal Fodor and Rough Guide style of guidebook. It is that lack of formality which makes the book such a delight. Its unlikely that anybody will be able to complete any of the routes and visit all the suggested sites in the standard two week annual holiday, but, by judicial selection and patching bit together, its possible to see some of the country described. It is difficult to find good travel guides to the lesser known areas of America; Road Trip USA was an unexpected pleasure!
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