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USA without a car

AubreyMac
Posts: 1,723 Forumite

I would love to holiday in the USA more, but what puts me off is that a lot of places you need a car to get around.
Besides New York and San Francisco, where else is easy to get around using public transport?
I like usual tourist attractions (famous buildings/monuments, parks, museums, restaurants). I visited almost all there is to do in NY and SF.
Besides New York and San Francisco, where else is easy to get around using public transport?
I like usual tourist attractions (famous buildings/monuments, parks, museums, restaurants). I visited almost all there is to do in NY and SF.
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Comments
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I would have thought you would need to stick to the cities. I spent two weeks in Orlando last year and put 1750 miles on the car.0
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other places would be washington, chicago, seattle and boston - southern cities like houston & phoenix not so good on public transit0
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I can vouch for DC, Phillie and NY. Mega bussed between them and great public transport within the city.
I note you have already visited NY but you can also Mega bus up to Toronto if that interests.0 -
At some point in the future, I plan to travel across the US - starting in Chicago & ending in San Francisco - using Amtrak.
Washington, if you are mobile, can be got around on foot as most of the tourist sites are within a stones throw of each other0 -
Boston and Washington DC are both easy without a car - good public transport and easy to walk around.
But yes, a lot of places you would need a car - do you not drive at all or are you just not keen on the idea of driving?
Personally, I find it easier driving in the states (outside of big cities) than I do here2.22kWp Solar PV system installed Oct 2010, Fronius IG20 Inverter, south facing (-5 deg), 30 degree pitch, no shadingEverything will be alright in the end so, if it’s not yet alright, it means it’s not yet the endMFW #4 OPs: 2018 £866.89, 2019 £1322.33, 2020 £1337.07
2021 £1250.00, 2022 £1500.00, 2023 £1500, 2024 £13502025 target = £1200, YTD £9190
Quidquid Latine dictum sit altum videtur0 -
I would second Washington and Boston as places to visit that are actually easier if you don't have a car and I would add New Orleans to the mix but for no more than a week if you are on your own and for NO you need to get a hotel as close to the French Quarter as you can to take full advantage of the various tours that start from there.0
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Your biggest problem is that not having a car restricts you to cities and American cities are shockingly dull compared to American landscape and scenery!0
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Greyhound bus is good with a bit of pre planning, Grayline do sightseeing tours in or from major cities and areas, Amtrak good for long distance travel.
Have a look at www.seat61.com for rail based inspiration.
Your biggest problem compared to the UK will be the lack of coordinated state or regional public transit information sites, but heyho planning is half the fun i find.0 -
We had 4 nights in Atlanta without a car, we were based in the city centre. We took several bus tours around the area.
We have also done Washington , Boston and New York .no car needed.
steve0 -
Salt Lake City is manageable on foot. I had a very enjoyable full day there but probably would not have wanted to stay for longer -- the atmosphere of Mormon niceness is over-powering.
The railway journey from SLC to Denver through the best of the Rocky Mountains is one of my all-time travel highlights. Denver is also reasonably interesting without a car, although the best experience there is the short bus-ride to Boulder and mountain walks from there.
In the "old South", Charleston, Asheville and Savannah all have compact centres that can easily be explored on foot and are both beautiful and fascinating. Similar remarks apply to Tao and Santa Fe in New Mexico. Both of these latter communities had Youth Hostels that arranged excellent tours, so transport to national parks and other places of interest was provided. That is how I visited Los Alamos, which is fascinating and horrifying (the birth of the atomic bomb) and was not served by any public transport.0
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