Best way to travel to USA
ACG
Posts: 23,677
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I want to go to America this year and visit LA, Vegas, New york and possibly florida.
As none of them are really all that close im wondering whether its cheaper to jump on a flight to one of them (lets say LA) visit all of the other places and jump on a flight back from new york or florida or whether I should do all of my visiting and then fly back to LA to then fly back to the UK... if that makes sense?
Has anyone done this before?
I dont mind driving some of it but im not sure 2-3 weeks would be enough.
As none of them are really all that close im wondering whether its cheaper to jump on a flight to one of them (lets say LA) visit all of the other places and jump on a flight back from new york or florida or whether I should do all of my visiting and then fly back to LA to then fly back to the UK... if that makes sense?
Has anyone done this before?
I dont mind driving some of it but im not sure 2-3 weeks would be enough.
I am a Mortgage Adviser
You should note that this site doesn't check my status as a mortgage adviser, so you need to take my word for it. This signature is here as I follow MSE's Mortgage Adviser Code of Conduct. Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as financial advice.0
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You shouldn't need to go back to your first arrival city to get a good deal on the return, "open jaw" tickets are available at similar cost on many transatlantic airlines. Depending which airline you choose, you may have to go/return via one of their gateways, especially if it's a US carrier, though most of them serve NYC directly (at least from London, not sure from Manchester).
You can drive from LA to Vegas (takes 3.5-5 hours depending on traffic and how you view speed limits), but you might get a flight thrown in as a stopover with some fares. The rest of the distances are long if you have only 2-3 weeks in total, though of course you would go through some interesting places on the way.
BA has a sale on at the moment and they have a lot of codeshares with AA and US Airways now for the internal flights. Virgin likewise with Delta. Check them out, or post your itinerary and likely dates of travel, to get more advice.0 -
The only reason to fly back from the airport you flew in to would be cost, and from experience it's never much more expensive to fly in to and out of different airports.
On various trips we've flown in to, and out of; New York & Boston / Las Vegas & Miami / San Fran & Los Angeles. It's really easy to do.
So you could fly into New York, quick flight down to LA, drive to Vegas, flight to Miami, then home. Sounds like a great trip!0 -
Open-jaw flight ticket options can sometimes be called "multi-city" or some similar wording.
One-way drop-off fees on car rentals can be hefty. If you book the car rental through an agent outside of the USA then you should be able to avoid a one-way rental drop-off fee for rentals within the California/Nevada/Arizona triangle (for example Las Vegas to Los Angeles or vice-versa).
Would driving this loop appeal to you? Los Angeles > Pacific Coast Highway > San Francisco > Yosemite > Death Valley > Las Vegas > Los Angeles. It's got a great variety of different types of cities and different types of scenery."Such an enormous country, you realize when you cross it" - Jack Kerouac0 -
Thanks for the replies.
Most of myprevious holidays have been to ibiza with the lads or somewhere around the med with my girlfriend so were pretty easy to arrange. This has a bit more to it and is already beginning to look complicated.
The whole trip is pretty open. Those are the places between us we want to visit. I actually like seeing different places so would be happy jump on a train or drive bits of it. My girlfirend is less patient and wants to be somewhere rather than on the way to somewhere.
I wouldnt mind seeing san franciso, I would also love to see new orleans and nip over to Canada but realistically we are there for 2 weeks, possibly 3 depending on how much it all costs so I cant see it all happening. I imagine if we are running around all of those places then towards the end we are probably going to want to end up somewhere like miami/florida just to relax for a few days.
Time wise, somewhere between April-September, no kids so can do it literally whenever.
Is it better to do something like this through an agent rather than try and do it all myself? To be honest, im actually happy enough to jump on a plane over there and see where we end up but that could end up costing a fortune.I am a Mortgage AdviserYou should note that this site doesn't check my status as a mortgage adviser, so you need to take my word for it. This signature is here as I follow MSE's Mortgage Adviser Code of Conduct. Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as financial advice.0 -
I can heartily recommend the loop John suggests above. Car hire is cheap, fuel is cheap, motels are cheap and the scenery and cities are impressive too. Except for LA.
You could probably do 10-12 days driving and then fly to New York for 3-4 days. Personally I'd stick to one coast per trip - three weeks doing John's route (fit in the Grand Canyon and Sedona too) would be relaxing and wonderful. Each flight takes a day off you. Flights will probably be cheaper outside the summer months.0 -
I would agree with sticking to one coast for the trip - the "quick flight" from NYC to LA is nearly six hours!0
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fit in the Grand Canyon and Sedona too
Given extra time that loop could be extended in a few other ways, for example Lake Tahoe (on the California/Nevada border in the Sierra Nevada Mountains), Zion and Bryce Canyon National parks (in southwestern Utah), and/or San Diego (on the coast south of Los Angeles).would be happy jump on a trainI wouldn't mind seeing San Francisco, I would also love to see New Orleans and nip over to CanadaIs it better to do something like this through an agent rather than try and do it all myself?"Such an enormous country, you realize when you cross it" - Jack Kerouac0 -
Thanks for the replies.
Most of myprevious holidays have been to ibiza with the lads or somewhere around the med with my girlfriend so were pretty easy to arrange. This has a bit more to it and is already beginning to look complicated.
The whole trip is pretty open. Those are the places between us we want to visit. I actually like seeing different places so would be happy jump on a train or drive bits of it. My girlfirend is less patient and wants to be somewhere rather than on the way to somewhere.
I wouldnt mind seeing san franciso, I would also love to see new orleans and nip over to Canada but realistically we are there for 2 weeks, possibly 3 depending on how much it all costs so I cant see it all happening. I imagine if we are running around all of those places then towards the end we are probably going to want to end up somewhere like miami/florida just to relax for a few days.
Time wise, somewhere between April-September, no kids so can do it literally whenever.
Is it better to do something like this through an agent rather than try and do it all myself? To be honest, im actually happy enough to jump on a plane over there and see where we end up but that could end up costing a fortune.
Plan it all yourself, travel and driving in the US are easy particularly the west coast and unless you're going at peak times you probably only need to book accomodation at the national parks and possibly in the cities. On our US trips we rarely book more than the first night (sometimes not even that) and at national parks which can book up very early.0 -
Stick to one area. The South West is your best bet. In and out of LA or SanFran, (but don't spend long in LA). Loads and loads to do/see around there. 2-3 weeks just for that won't be enough.
NY is a trip of it's own, but shorter flights from here.0 -
Stick to one area. The South West is your best bet. In and out of LA or SanFran, (but don't spend long in LA). Loads and loads to do/see around there. 2-3 weeks just for that won't be enough.
NY is a trip of it's own, but shorter flights from here.
Totally agree-You're trying to fit too much inI wouldnt mind seeing san franciso, I would also love to see new orleans and nip over to Canada
SouthWest USA thread has lots of tips and itineraries.
I once did a LHR-NYC (stopover 3 days NYC marathon) then NYC-LAX\Canyon Lands\LAS-LHR trip in 10 days so it is feasible.
Not long enough for the second part-so I went back again, and again, and again...
When to go?
Early June avoids UK and USA hols, also decent weather in US, or late September.
DIY-it's easy0
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