Preparation for a self-driving tour in the western United States on the 15th: route, visa, car rental, luggage, consumption

This is my first time to go to the United States. Although I prepared a lot, I still encountered various problems, big or small.

1. Itinerary Arrangement

The schedule is as follows:

Los Angeles, San Diego, Palm Springs, Kingman, Grand Canyon, Page, Las Vegas, Death Valley, Yosemite San Francisco, Monterey, Solvang, Los Angeles

This is a honeymoon trip from 10.16 to 10.31. Because it is late autumn, some national park scenic spots will be closed due to snow. If you want to go to the national park, you must Check the official website of each national park in advance to see if it is closed. I originally wanted to go to Yellowstone Park, but after being reminded by my best friend in the United States, I found out that some attractions in Yellowstone Park may be closed, so I had to reluctantly leave. As for another scenic spot, Yosemite, we also checked it every day along the way. Route 120 was closed for a few days, which caused us to almost change our itinerary. Fortunately, the road opened again the day before we went to Yosemite

There is various road information on the page~

The other two national parks we went to, the Grand Canyon and Death Valley, are basically not closed due to winter, but it is still recommended to pay more attention to the official website information~ Because there are reference travel routes on the official website, I will talk about this when I guide the specific attractions~

When I first came to the United States, everyone definitely wanted to go to a few more places. At the beginning, our plan was to go to the east side of the United States first and then take the bus. Flying to the Western United States, but this is actually quite troublesome, and the flight process also takes a lot of time, so I gave up this plan. Fortunately, I can play in the Western United States for a long time. I’ll leave the Eastern United States next time~ (It’s a pity that I can’t see you there. My best friend~

2. Visa procedures

Now that the route has been decided, let’s start preparing for the visa~ Because the visa takes a long time, you must apply in advance and leave a good amount of time. !

The first thing is of course the passport. If you have a passport, please pay attention to the validity period above. If it is going to expire within six months, it is best to apply for a new one. Applying for a passport is very simple. Go to the local place to issue a passport. Just enter the country and it usually takes 15-20 days to get it done~

Next, I applied for the visa through Everbright Credit Card Agent. I provided various information according to their requirements and made an appointment to go to Guangzhou for a visa interview~ (If you want to apply by yourself, you can also check the guide online, because it will save you trouble.

The materials you need to bring for the interview are:

1. Original passport (old passport is also required, It is probably because you need to check the countries you have visited when applying;

2. One visa photo (must be consistent with the electronic version of the photo uploaded to the system, signed in pencil on the back, and affixed with transparent tape

p>

In the middle of the passport; (I brought this, but I didn’t use it~

3.DS-160 confirmation page (must be printed in color;

4. Appointment confirmation Letter (print it out and check whether the information is correct before printing;

5. You can bring some materials such as marriage certificate, graduation certificate, work certificate, etc. I brought them all, but the visa officer didn’t even look at them. Take a look, haha~

My appointment was for 9:30 in the morning. I arrived more than half an hour early. If I am late for fifteen minutes, the appointment will be cancelled, so be careful not to be late.

When I arrived at the entrance of the embassy, ??I found many aunts with countless bags hanging on them. It turned out that you could only bring visa materials into the embassy, ??and you could not bring anything else. The embassy required that all documents must be placed in In a document bag, it is recommended to buy a document bag in advance to put all the materials. Other mobile phone wallets and other things cannot be brought in. The aunts at the door will enthusiastically help you manage the bag. Of course, the cost is a 20 yuan management fee per bag. , I hesitated for a moment. After all, my mobile phone and wallet were all in the bag. At this time, the aunt immediately took out a copy of her ID card for you to take with you. Just give it back to her when you pick up the bag. Thinking about it, we don’t have anything else. Choice, the embassy does not provide lockers, so I chose to trust the aunt. When it was over, I went back to the original place to find the aunt to get my bag. I found that the aunt had a lot more bags. It seems that the business is indeed booming~ If you live nearby, you can also You can just leave it at the hotel~

Then you will queue up to enter the embassy. After passing the security check, you must take off your belt, so it is recommended that boys wear casual pants, otherwise it will be awkward to hold up the pants.

After entering, you will be fingerprinted first, and then the interview. We are on honeymoon, so the visa officer does not ask many questions. He first looks at the passport and asks why we are going abroad, when we will get married, and what our jobs are. I saw my husband’s passport and went to Europe a year ago and asked why he didn’t take me with him (good question, although it was actually because we hadn’t talked about it at the time, haha), and then he passed without reading any supporting materials. But a lady in front asked She was asked for a long time about going to the United States to have a baby, but she honestly said she wanted to have a baby. The interviewer asked her how pregnant she was and why she was going alone without her husband. She explained that her husband was very busy, and then provided proof of a million-dollar deposit (a wealthy person). Ah, because she felt that the medical conditions in the United States were good, the interviewer finally let her pass, so she didn’t need to be nervous. The interview process was relaxed and she wouldn’t ask any difficult questions, and the interviewers could all speak Chinese.

We chose to mail it to CITIC Bank and then pick it up. After about a week or two, we will receive a notification and just bring our ID card to CITIC to get the visa!

Don’t forget to register for EVUS after applying for the visa. , otherwise what awaits you is being refused entry after flying to the United States. ~Attached is the URL for applying for EVUS: /application

It is all in Chinese and can be filled out in just ten minutes~

3. Rent a car

As a country on wheels, the United States loves speed and passion. It can be said that if you don’t drive, you can’t play with the same car unless you join a group.

There are many car rental companies. You can refer to the ratings of each company. Please note that some companies do not provide Chinese services. The page operation is very convenient. You can select the car location, car model, etc., and then compare the car rentals with different dates one by one. Car rental fees vary greatly in different locations, and there is also a lot of difference between designated vehicles and unspecified vehicles of the same model. (If you don’t specify, you will probably get other cars of the same grade. When choosing a car, do a little comparison and choose one. A more cost-effective car. I don’t know if it was because of the off-season when we went there, but it was relatively less expensive. Because we were traveling for a long time and often traveled on the road, we chose the JEEP Liberty, which cost about 300 to 400 yuan a day. Ordinary cars can also be used without leaving the highway, but it turns out that there are still advantages to choosing an SUV. Firstly, there is a lot of space and you can put a lot of luggage (you will know how much you need when you buy it). Secondly, some small SUVs in national parks The scenic spot may have to be off the highway, but SUVs still have their place~ I found that there are a lot of people driving Mustangs on the road, which is very popular and the rent is much cheaper than in China. It is about the same as the Free Light or even cheaper (the price always changes, so refer to the real-time price on the website Oh, but the space is small and the fuel consumption of the large chassis is low, so it is more suitable for locals~

The car rental company we chose is yesway, which is run by Chinese, the price is relatively high, and there are various insurances on the same car rental page There are many packages, and there is an option called flash rental. If you are visiting the United States for the first time, I recommend this option. We used flash rental for fifteen days and it was very convenient. After payment, you will receive an email. If you add customer service WeChat, we will also handle it for you. International driving license.

Our English is average, so having a Chinese-speaking service makes us feel more at ease. The direct airport pick-up is very convenient. The guy who picked us up from the airport chatted with us all the way, which was quite interesting. If you have any questions every day, feel free to ask via WeChat, although sometimes the replies are a bit slow. The only drawback is that it’s expensive, haha. Depending on the car model, the cheapest insurance package adds dozens to hundreds a day. If it’s not the off-season, it’s probably more. , so you should choose based on your personal affordability~ If your English proficiency is sufficient, you can choose other car rental companies~

4. Driving on a self-driving tour

After driving for fifteen days, I feel sorry for the Americans Driving is really crazy. In China, the distance between cars is only about 30 or 40 speeds. In the United States, it is about 70, 80 or even 100. Sometimes my heart beats faster when I change lanes (although I am not driving, haha, originally it means two people interact. After driving, I found that the speed of American cars was so amazing that my husband would never let me touch the car again. I was itching to secretly start the car while he was going to the toilet in the scenic spot, but he still kicked me out of the car.

Be careful. Here are a few points:

1. American cars display miles, and one mile is equal to 1.6 kilometers. You must control your speed especially when turning;

2. There will be speed limit signs on the road. , even if you are speeding, you must keep it within 10;

3. There are often stop signs at intersections, so you must stop for three seconds!!! Otherwise you will get a ticket;

4. If there is a sign saying "noturnonred" when turning right, you cannot turn right when the light is red;

5. When crossing a zebra crossing or an intersection, you must let pedestrians go first. Let the vehicle going straight go first;

6. When we encounter two yellow lines on the road, there are dotted lines inside the two yellow lines. Cars in both directions can enter the inside of the two yellow lines and then turn. This is a turning area. It was not clear at first that we did not dare to cross the line but we had to go around for several kilometers...

7. Parking spaces are sometimes difficult to find in big cities in the United States. There are microphones on the roadside. If there is a meter, you can park directly and then pay. If there is no sign, it will usually say whether you can park. If the roadside is marked with yellow lines or painted in red, parking is prohibited. The fines in the United States are very heavy, so be cautious.

The price of the meter is different in different regions. Pay attention to the time when you come back, otherwise you will be fined~

If it says sundayexcepted, it means that the meter can be parked all day on Sunday~many places Parking is free on Sundays~

8. Regarding refueling, the United States has self-service refueling. Many gas stations cannot swipe foreign credit cards. Be sure to prepare change and go to the supermarket at the gas station to pay first. , then refuel, and then go back to get change. The price of oil varies greatly in different regions. You must fill up with enough oil before driving for a long distance. Sometimes you can't find a gas station for a long time on the road. Well, we will write about our hardships in the travel notes later. The experience of running out of gas;

9. There are no street lights on American roads at night, and there are no cars on the road. It feels like being shrouded in darkness and struggling to use the car lights to pull out a small piece of light. It is quite scary and dangerous. So try to avoid burning the midnight oil;

10. It is best to use Google Maps in the United States. You can download offline maps in advance. If there is often no signal on the highway, it is best to download the map in advance and plan the route (if you need to make a detour on the way) To visit scenic spots on the road, just add stop points on the route. This function is very easy to use, so that it can still be unimpeded even when offline. We specially bought a GPS as a backup for various unexpected situations that may occur in intercity transportation. In fact It proves that it is indeed necessary. At first, the position of the mobile phone holder was stuck in the air conditioning outlet. Maybe because it was too cold, the mobile phone kept shutting down automatically. I relied on the GPS to prevent me from getting lost.

11. There are many forks in American highways, and Google Maps didn’t prompt them in a timely manner. In addition, I was not used to American road conditions and often missed intersections and took detours in the first few days. In fact, every highway exit will be marked with numbers. When driving, it is best for the co-pilot to always look at the map to remind the driver of various situations and road conditions.

(Yes, I am just showing off that I, as an excellent co-pilot, have made great contributions

5. Must-carry luggage

1. Clothes

Be sure to check before departure Let’s check the weather conditions for each day’s itinerary. You can check it on many websites. If you can’t find some scenic spots, you can check the weather in nearby cities.

Although I only went to the United States for fifteen days, the route was too long and the temperature difference was huge. The heat in Death Valley is more than 30 degrees (it is said that it can reach 39 degrees Celsius in summer, and it snows in the Grand Canyon and Yosemite during the coldest time. Prepare a set of clothes for all seasons (you can have an extra set of summer clothes, and it is best to bring slippers) A pair. American hotels do not provide slippers. A thick coat is enough. Firstly, the luggage is very heavy. Secondly, when shopping in the United States, you can actually buy it temporarily. Leave some space for shopping~

I have seen someone recommend a portable electric iron online, but when you go to the United States, you don’t have to think about it at all. Every hotel, including AIRBNB, usually has an electric iron, so you can iron your clothes every day if needed.

But washing machines are not necessarily available. Some hotels provide paid laundry rooms, and some high-end hotel rooms will provide them~

2. Medications

The common ones are Po Chai Pills, You can bring any mosquito bite ointment. Don’t bring too much as you may be investigated. Just the amount you need during your trip is enough. I originally brought melatonin because I was worried about jet lag, but it didn’t seem to be of any use. Please bring it according to the situation. Yes. Because there is a big temperature difference and you may catch a cold, you can also bring some medicine to prevent colds.

3. Cosmetics and skin care products

It seems that liquids exceeding 50ml may be detained by the security check. It is recommended to buy that. Divide the toner and makeup remover into small bottles. When you are in Death Valley National Park, you will be very dry in the sun. Be sure to bring sunscreen, and it is also recommended to bring a few masks.

4. Toiletries

Hotels in the United States will provide shower gel and shampoo. If you are more demanding, you can bring your own. You should bring a bath towel, preferably a thinner one, because hotels are difficult to find except for wardrobes. When you find a place to dry clothes, towels are often not available for drying. American hotels generally do not provide hair combs, so be sure to bring one.

5. Daily necessities

First of all, be sure to bring an adapter. !Otherwise, you won’t be able to charge your mobile phone. It’s best to buy a car charging cable. You may need to charge it when you drive for a long time.

It is recommended to bring several waterproof bags and pack your luggage into categories, especially toiletries. If you accidentally spill your cosmetics or something, your whole bag will be in trouble.

It is recommended to bring a small portable kettle. You have heard a lot of urban legends about kettles, and many hotels in the United States do not have them. Equipped with a kettle, this mini foldable one does not take up a lot of space.

6. Food

Please note that food must be declared upon entry, if it is fresh fruit or the like. Those who are not allowed to enter the country must finish their meal before getting off the plane. The couple sitting in front of us cleverly gave the olives to us in the back seat. Although we were very grateful, the raw olives were really sour. To avoid trouble, it is recommended not to bring food. If you do, you will need a declaration form from the stewardess on the plane. There is also a self-service declaration machine when you get off the plane. Remember to operate it ~ We are flying Xiamen Airlines, and there are Xiamen Airlines employees at the airport to guide you. If you don’t understand, you can ask.

6. Prepare change and pay tips

Be sure to bring money with you when going to the United States. It is recommended to bring about 1,000 US dollars. The reasons are:

1. Most of the United States The gas station does not accept foreign credit cards. You must bring change to pay in advance. After filling up, you have to change the money. The refueling fee for fifteen days will be about 500 US dollars;

2. When shopping or eating, there are There will be extra discounts for cash payments in certain places;

3. If unfortunately you encounter a robbery, just give some money. At least you are safe. Don’t try to resist. Many robbers carry guns;

As for how to tip, I feel ashamed to say it. I researched online for a long time but didn’t get a very specific reply, so I asked my best friend for advice. I found out that in the United States, restaurants where a waiter brings the table to you generally require a tip. A tip is required. When checking out, give your credit card to the waiter, and the restaurant will pre-swipe it, then you sign and fill in the tip amount or a percentage, and then the restaurant will automatically deduct the corresponding fee from your credit card. Usually 10-15 noon and 15-30 pm.

7. Accommodation

This trip lasted 15 days and I stayed in many cities. The accommodation options include airbnb, motel, lodge, inn, and hotel. It turns out that I can’t tell the difference between so many words. Generally speaking, except for Airbnb, there are various hotels of different grades:

Motel is a motel. As the name suggests, it is a hotel suitable for drivers to stay. Although I used to think that The environment of the motel is very poor. In fact, there are motels with a relatively better environment. The more convenient thing is that the parking location is right at the door.

Lodges mostly refer to scenic hotels, which are often expensive.

Inns are a bit like express hotels, usually located on the side of the highway, and many are chain hotels. The lodges and Inns I have stayed in both have two floors and do not have elevators. They usually arrange to stay on the second floor. The first floor may be more expensive or reserved for people with walking disabilities.

The hotel is relatively high-end and has an elevator.

Considering that the United States is not that safe at night, it is recommended to choose a better hotel and read more reviews. In each of my travel notes, I will also introduce the hotels I booked. Hotels near national park attractions must be booked at least one month in advance, otherwise it is easy to be unable to book. Hotel prices in the scenic area are cheaper than outside the scenic area, and of course they are booked earlier.

It would be better to stay in Aribnb in a big city. There are many choices and cheap prices. Most importantly, you can experience the accommodation environment of local people. We booked Airbnbs run by Chinese people, and we could chat with the hosts cordially in Chinese~

Most of the accommodations we booked on Booking.com and Mafengwo were also available on Moubo, but it didn’t feel that reliable. Spectrum ~ If it is not a super popular place, such as a transit point during the trip, you can book accommodation a few days in advance. Note that even if you book a room that can be canceled, you must confirm it 24 hours in advance, otherwise you will still be deducted. If If you really have to change your decision at short notice, remember to cancel the order. Although the money will not be refunded, at least you will not have to pay taxes.

By the way, here’s a little suggestion. If you drive between small towns in the United States, you can usually cross a small town in a few dozen minutes. So if you choose a town next to a scenic spot or for transit accommodation, you can choose a relatively small town. Not so popular (that is, a small town that is not so prosperous but is actually within an hour's drive away~ can be much cheaper, and the gas cost is also much cheaper!

8. Food

As for food, I honestly haven’t eaten much. The best places to eat are in Los Angeles and San Diego. After that, it’s basically fast food like hamburgers. When I went to San Francisco, I had a hot pot meal. It was very expensive and my meat hurt. After that, I downgraded to eating instant noodles every day. In short, it’s a trip without delicious food. Haha~ We tried several kinds of American instant noodles. No matter what the brand, the beef-flavored ones are delicious. I’d rather not try other flavors.

Speaking of burgers, the most famous one in the west is inandout. We also went there to eat it twice. After one bite, I really didn’t understand why it was the most famous. The taste was okay but not amazing. The fries It's not the same as other places, and I'm not addicted to it. I found out later that it's because it's cheap, so I have to queue for a long time every time I go ~ I heard there is a hidden menu, which is French fries with different salad dressings. Nothing too special either. The car rental guy recommended 5gate, but unfortunately we didn’t try it. I've eaten at Burger King a few times. The portions are huge and the taste is pretty good, but you must eat the beef burger. The chicken burger is very unpalatable. When eating burgers, you can consider homemade burgers from specialty restaurants, which have a different and exquisite taste~

I also ate Pizza Hut in the United States, and I personally felt that it tasted much worse than in China.

By the way, you must take your time when ordering food in the United States. The portions are huge! Basically, a set meal for two people is enough.

If there is a Wal-Mart, you can go to buy cooked food. It is much cheaper than eating out. Last time I bought a roast chicken, it was so delicious~

9. Shopping

This time we checked into three outlets, Palm Springs, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas. In comparison, Palm Springs is definitely the best. After all, it is the largest outlet in the United States. You can’t finish it in one day. , and the shopping guide will give you a discount description, most of which are in Chinese. Compared with the other two outlets, Palm Springs has the most Chinese services and the best experience~ The one I dislike the most is Las Vegas, maybe Did you have a bad shopping day that day?

Many credit cards offer discounts and cash back for outbound purchases, so be sure to pay attention to what activities are happening on your credit card.

Before shopping, remember to go to the service center to get a discount book. Fill in the information and you can get one for free. There are many extra discounts in it. You can use it by showing it to the store.

Most of what we buy are clothes, pants and bags. Let’s take some of the brands we have bought:

Levi’s - really cheap!!! We buy them I bought four pairs of trousers for only $100. I heard that some people bought ten pairs for $100 during the summer when the discounts were bigger!

A/X-The style is great, I bought a denim jacket ( It’s the denim jacket in my desert chapter, which costs about fifty dollars~

Coach-The store is very large, and the styles are great. It is indeed much cheaper than in China, so there are many people, and the bag styles range from good-looking to ugly. Yes, the ugly discount is huge.

I won't buy it == It's still worth shopping~ I bought a set of cape coats at a discount of about 200 dollars. The original price was 800 or 900 dollars. I don't know if it contains moisture~

Michael Kors - A classic bag is about 120 dollars after discount. The one size larger I bought is even cheaper, 100 dollars, very cost-effective~

CK-Outlets may have two or three CK’s store sells MEN, WEMEN, and SPORT. I don’t know why they don’t have them all together. There are so many styles and discounts vary. In the end, I bought a sweatshirt with a special style. It cost about 40 to 50 dollars. My husband bought it. I bought a set of thick jackets. The style is very good-looking. It costs 100 dollars, which is much cheaper than in China~

DKNY-I feel that the store is not big, maybe the style is not popular enough? But I quite like this. Style, I bought a top and pants, both costing about 40 dollars~

TUMI - my husband’s favorite, although I don’t have much love for sports bags, it is indeed much cheaper than in China. More, a large backpack costs 120 yuan, while in China it costs 3,000 yuan~

Cosmetics-Outlet does not have a store of any particular brand, it is a collection of cosmetics stores, including Estee Lauder, Clinique and Bodyshop. Yes, the discount is huge, but it’s a pity that I don’t know much about it and didn’t buy more, because it is not a brand store, and the products sold are not all available, and some are not common in China. It is best to think about what to buy in advance~

Nike Adidas - Feeling It wasn’t much cheaper, so I didn’t buy it in the end~

prada-I don’t know if there was no discount when I went there or if there is no discount forever. If there is no discount, why is it in an outlet~

forever21-There is no discount on this one, and the price is not bad. You can buy one if you like, but I just shopped around and didn’t buy it~

This guide comes from Douban Ying Xiaozhu