travelling around america and canada

naz101

oooo, thanks for that. As you can probably tell Ive not really been abroad much. I dont htink I can wait another 7 months!!!:dance:

ferf1223

most transatlantic carriers now restrict you to one checked bag free of charge - one additional for an additional cost, and more than that at an extra special additional cost. Within the US, I think Southwest may be one of the only ones that still allows 2 checked bags (50lbs each) for free.

So you may need to limit yourself to one bag unless you're happy to pay the extra charges to have another...local laudromats are easy enough to find in most cities if your hotel(s) do not have them.

And if you find yourself with too much to bring back on your way home, US postal rates are pretty reasonable especially if you avoid air-mail rates (and can wait up to 6 weeks for your package to arrive home).

As for not being bothered about Vegas, that's obviously a personal choice...but if you'll be passing nearby anyway it might be worth checking out. So many people are pleasantly surprised.

Mich81

Take a look at www.trekamerica.co.uk - in particular the Southern Sun trip might interest you, its a 3 week cross country trek.

naz101

OMG!! i think im going to go into overdrive!!!
Im going to start of in minneapolis (thats where my placement is) do you think it would be better to go to orlando first or go to new york?

sorry to be such apain but like i said there is still 7 months to go but im sooo excited

ferf1223

check flight prices. You may find it's less expensive to travel from point A to point B to point C than from point A to point C to point B. But Orlando and NY are both cities with plenty of flights almost everywhere in the US many times each day.

neilbond007

I think you need to spend about 48 hours solidly looking at flights / schedules / prices / hotels etc. Doing a DIY trip is, in my experience, definitely the way to go but takes a lot of legwork to get it at the right price, and the right itinerary.

I wish you luck!

naz101

thats what im thinking. Its just been confirmed this week that I am going but want to start organising everything now!!

Thanks loads for all of your replies. The only flights i know I will take it the british midlands to minneapolis and the way it works out i will pay £120 more for a business class return. That is sooo cool.

now its a case of working out what I can do in the remaining time as I also have 3 weekends in minneapolis that I can maybe do stuff with

gedebage

US is a long way to go to see theme parks

lynzpower

naz101 wrote: »

thats what im thinking. Its just been confirmed this week that I am going but want to start organising everything now!!

Thanks loads for all of your replies. The only flights i know I will take it the british midlands to minneapolis and the way it works out i will pay £120 more for a business class return. That is sooo cool.

now its a case of working out what I can do in the remaining time as I also have 3 weekends in minneapolis that I can maybe do stuff with

Really, I would take some time to get a couple of good books out of the library without booking anything at all. Lonely planet, USA on a shoestring and rough guides etc.

If you want to get a flavour in Orlando you have to say each park is a full day. We did sea world & aquatica on the same day thats because I really wasnt overkeen on the concept of seaworld, sowe only went for the rides and wasnt interested in seeing the animals shows etc.

We spent half day at Magic kingdom and definately not enough

Canyon id say could be done on a weekend- if you culd extend a weekend in the middle of your placement, then that would be good to do it in say 4 days.

America isnt going anywhere there is no rush. We are guilty of always squeezing too much in and you run a real risk of not being able to manage it abnd possibly missing fligts/losing hotel bookings etc while you are trying.

naz101

i totally agree with that. Thats why I need to sit down and plan this completely and hope everything works out and I dont forget something when I am there that I have planned:j