International climber traveling the SW US

Hey all,

I have a friend visiting the W/SW US in March and I'm trying to help him find some reliable transportation options. He will be here from Germany for just under a month.

He is finding that renting a vehicle is proving to be very expensive (he is also only 25).
He's worried that buying a car and trying to sell it before he leaves would be very difficult with not much time.

Any suggestions for low-commitment and economic travel?

Thanks in advance,
Tane

Greyhound

Nicholas King 1 wrote:Greyhound

Depends where he's going. Personal transportation - either your own or relying on strangers - is absolutely necessary in a lot of areas.
And because of the stops, what would be an 8 hr drive in a car becomes a 20 hr epic on Greyhound.

I agree with Marc. I can't imagine that Greyhound makes a stop at the Superbowl Campground, but I could be wrong.

Tane Owens wrote:I agree with Marc. I can't imagine that Greyhound makes a stop at the Superbowl Campground, but I could be wrong.

But it can get you close to Moab. I've hitch hiked in Moab before to the creek. Took me 5 minutes to get a ride.

Nicholas King 1 wrote: But it can get you close to Moab. I've hitch hiked in Moab before to the creek. Took me 5 minutes to get a ride.

And then once at the Creek - you become totally dependent on others to get to a number of crags, replenish food and water, etc.

I suspect the OP and friend, like a lot of European first time visitors, don't grasp both the much larger distances involved and the near total lack of public transportation in the US. Recall that the OP didn't say where in the West/Southwest their friend was intending to travel, and it's only for a month. Doing it via sparse public transport and hitching will chew up a lot of climbing time.

To the OP: pull out the credit card, close your eyes at the charges, and rent a car.

Has anyone heard of buying a car and selling it before leaving the country? Any success with that?

There has to be some Euro vehicle exchange program out there somewhere, right?