West Coast of America trip - recommendations?

djleekee

As the price of flights to New York is fairly reasonable at the moment I wondered whether it was worth building a proper holiday around taking advantage of the great price.

Currently on netflights they are doing a return from Heathrow to New York with Virgin Atlantic for £299 all in.

Rather than spend the 2 weeks in New York is there anywhere near that I could visit or build into a bigger trip?

Ive looked at the Amtrak website and they do a monthly AmTrak ticket to allow you to travel anywhere throughout USA for £240 and was thinking of maybe venturing to Philadelphia, Washington etc.

Rather than do this off my own back are there any websites out there that already offer such a trip?

I am aware of TrekAmerica but the prices there seem to be in excess of £1,500 of what I want to do!

Any advice of recommendations is welcome.

Thanks for reading. PS Just realised its probably The EAST Coast I meant to put in the thread title!

Hippychick

I definitely would recommend Washington DC and Virginia, Virginia beach is fab for just relaxing, and Norfolk naval base is nearby if you fancied a different and interesting tour.

Charlottesville is actually a really nice city and Shenandoah national park has fab views etc.

If you wanted to go further north then I would also highly recommend Boston and New England.

Mich81

djleekee wrote: »

I am aware of TrekAmerica but the prices there seem to be in excess of £1,500 of what I want to do!

Which trips were you looking at cos i'm booked on one thats only £850 for 2 weeks, starting New York & ending in Miami - there's quite a few similarly priced

djleekee

Mich81 wrote: »

Which trips were you looking at cos i'm booked on one thats only £850 for 2 weeks, starting New York & ending in Miami - there's quite a few similarly priced

Yeah thats the one i was looking at and as you say it wasnt as much as i stated at all.

I cant decide whether a fully organised trip with Trek America is the way to go?
Its great you got a guide but it seemed that nearly every night was camping in a tent - i think id rather hotel it! (lol)

Any link to the one you have booked?

WolfSong2000

Go it alone! I've traveled on my own around the USA since I was 18 quite a few times now, and absolutely loved it...I've flown, used Amtrak and Greyhound, and they're all excellent ways to trave and meet people.

Americans are really friendly and hospitable and are very interested in Brits, so as long as you're relatively outgoing, you'll have no problems meeting people. I've made a lot of friends in the USA this way, and have stayed with them as well - one couple even bought me dinner a few hours after we met. Wasn't expecting it, but it was very sweet of them all the same.

As for where to go, depends on what you want to do and see! Personally I love the Southern States, and did a trip a few years back from Atlanta, Georgia to San Diego via Washington DC, Chicago, New Mexico and Los Angeles...took about 5 days, but was an awesome trip...great way to see the country. Only thing I will say is book a sleeper carriage! I astupidly didn't (trying to save money) and my poor back has never recovered. lol.

djleekee

That sounds amazing m8!

I just never know where to start to begin organsing such a trip.

I reckon my budget could stretch to £1,500 for maybe a 2 week trek of USA but can't work out where to start, visit and end!

I enjoy doing ANYTHING, i enjoy the great outdoors, i enjoy nightclubs, just discovering the local cultures and anything and everything that goes with it!
My last two holidays have been to Las Vegas and Hong Kong so have been pretty manic so something a little more reserved would suffice!

Mich81

djleekee wrote: »

Yeah thats the one i was looking at and as you say it wasnt as much as i stated at all.

I cant decide whether a fully organised trip with Trek America is the way to go?
Its great you got a guide but it seemed that nearly every night was camping in a tent - i think id rather hotel it! (lol)

Any link to the one you have booked?

I've booked this one http://www.trekamerica.co.uk/tours/an.html

There are 2 hotel nights in the middle of the trek in New Orleans.

I've done a trek before though, and the camping really isn't that bad - the campsites are nothing like they are over here, they have nice shower rooms, internet access & some even have pools.

They do have treks that are mainly lodging, but they're more expensive! The camping ones really keep costs down as you cook your own food most nights too, save money for doing more activities!

Dee123_2

How about Niagara Falls? No further away than Boston or Washington from NYC, just a different direction (NW).

marky_p

djleekee wrote: »

That sounds amazing m8!

I just never know where to start to begin organsing such a trip.

I reckon my budget could stretch to £1,500 for maybe a 2 week trek of USA but can't work out where to start, visit and end!

I enjoy doing ANYTHING, i enjoy the great outdoors, i enjoy nightclubs, just discovering the local cultures and anything and everything that goes with it!
My last two holidays have been to Las Vegas and Hong Kong so have been pretty manic so something a little more reserved would suffice!

£1500 is a crazy amount for 2 weeks

I spent 3 months travelling around the USA (and Canada), visited about 30 different cities on the East and West Coasts, the South and through Utah/Colorado/Illinois as well as Toronto, Whistler and Vancouver, and also took in the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Bryce Canyon and Niagara Falls. Total cost: £3,500

If I was you I'd take in Boston and Washington D.C. as well as New York. Both are within a few hours of NY and can be reached by either Amtrak or by bus. Boston, NY and Washington are linked by Amtrak's only high-speed rail service, the Acela and tickets should only cost you around $45 each way. If you'd prefer to go by coach you should be able to find tickets for no more than $20 through Greyhound/Megabus/Chinatown buses.

Both Washington and Boston were amongst my favourite cities that I visited - Washington has a whole host of museums that you can visit for free as well as an awesome zoo (also free) and the Capitol Bulding, Lincoln Memorial etc. Boston is just beautiful, steeped in history, lovely parks etc.

With just a couple of weeks you don't want to be doing too much travelling so this is what I'd recommend. I personally thought Niagara Falls was an absolute dump, and if you ask me it'd be a waste of your time to go up there.

nw_man

I agree that £1500 is a lot to spend for 2 weeks in the states.

We are doing 2 weeks, in 2 weeks time :rotfl:, Washington DC / Biloxi / New Orleans, 6 flights, 3 hotels, cost £800 plus spends.

Not factoring in my gambling losses in the Biloxi casinos of course

djleekee

nw_man wrote: »

I agree that £1500 is a lot to spend for 2 weeks in the states.

We are doing 2 weeks, in 2 weeks time :rotfl:, Washington DC / Biloxi / New Orleans, 6 flights, 3 hotels, cost £800 plus spends.

Not factoring in my gambling losses in the Biloxi casinos of course

Man that sounds pretty wicked AND CHEAP!
Did you organise it all yourself and if so which websites have you booked it all via! Im intrigued now!

Lee