America Trip

micmac75

Going to America this Summer probably for 3-4 weeks. Thinking of maybe doing a week in New York and then just winging it! Wherever the wind takes us. the thing is we know nothing about the US (reason we are going). Any hints tips must see/ avoid etc.

stratford_2

Hi there. I’ve previously had a couple of 3 week trips in the states – you’ll have a great time.

The first one was a few years ago and took in NYC, Boston, Washington (all of which are reasonably close to each other) and Buffalo / Niagra Falls which was a bit further away. NYC is great fun, Boston is more relaxed and Washington has fantastic museums (including the Holocaust Museum, NASA Space & Air museum and others from the Smithsonian Institute) – the Adams Morgan district is a funky area to stay.

We used a greyhound bus pass, (Ameripass), which enabled us to get around quite easily – one thing worth pointing out is that the greyhound bus terminals are often in the worse parts of a city.

Last year's trip (as part of a much bigger trip) was to the other side of the states to where you’re planning to go - San Francisco, Hollywood, Las Vegas, New Orleans and Miami (all great cities as well) and we did this using a number of internal flights.

If you’re not sure exactly where you want to go it might be worth investing in one of the guides to the USA – e.g. Rough Guide or lonely planet. Reading a few chapters could give you some ideas, and lead you to places you never thought about going to before.

loonygooner

micmac75

Agree totally with stratford in respect of the West Coast, a lot depends on whether you have children. We do and spent 3 weeks with a hire car doing a San Diego, Palm Springs, Las Vegas and Los Angelas route.

The last LA stopover was for 10 days and did the Disney, all Parks thing, we also went along Venice Beach skating and spent great days shopping, whereas San Diego was great clean (wish we had spent more than the 3 days), and Las Vegas was wild although we had problems trying to avoid the 125 degree heat, we even renewed our wedding vows although Elvis wasn't invited.

Parks, Zoos, Shopping, Glamour,Sun, cheap, what more can you ask for!!

A totally brill holiday and something I amd my family will do again over the next few years, next year though it is back to Florida, can't go wrong the the good ole USA.

micmac75

No kids, what do you reckon to a week or so in New York then fly to LA etc. i've heard West is better than East. What about car rental??

alison74

I suppose it's what you fancy.............. but do take into account that although NYC is FABULOUS, it is also very tiring as it is such a go go go city.

Another option is to fly to Vegas which is a great base for all the national parks around it (such as Grand canyon, Death Valley etc) and is only a 4 hour drive from LA, so you could still do the coast drive up to San Fran or something.

The place is so huge and fantastic, it's hard to specify where to spend the time !

Baz-Bee

Just remember how big the US is. Try not to pack too much in else you will just end up travelling all the time. I would say a week is too long in NYC. You can do most of the touristy things easy in 3 or 4 days. You can use public transport and do not need a car.


You then need to decide where you want to go next. the flights to the west coast are as long as the transatlantic flight. Unless you want to do the theme parks I would say Los Angeles is not one of the states best cities. Venice Beach, Santa Barbara and a look around Hollywood, Hollywood Boulevard and Rodeo Drive are OK but otherwise, IMO, it is a hole!!! San Fancisco is a million times better. Las Vegas is a matter of taste but, IMO, a must for anyone. Seattle is great as is San Diego. If you like the outdoors then the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Death Valley and many other similar are more than worth a visit. One of my favourites is Glacier National park in Montana. And Yellowstone is out on its own.

Going down South there is New Orleans, Atlanta, San Antonio, Dallas, Houston (not usually any problems!!) as well as the normal Florida bits, but The Keys are a must driving down to Key West from Miami and the quiter Gulf Coast resorts.

There are lots more place but really it is a matter of personal preference as to what you like to do. All I can repeat is do not try and do too much. I would suggest have say 5 days in NYC then fly to San Francisco, hire a car and take in Las Vegas, The Grand Canyon, perhaps San Diego (with a quick trip to Tijuanna in Mexico via the trolley) up to Los Angeles and back to San Francisco. Even that is a lot for 15 or 16 days so you may want to skip San Diego?

Just look at some good guide books and plan carefully what you want to do and see and give yourself enough time.

N9eav

Similar tip to the others, remember the country is huge. The main attractions like Niagra falls, Grand Canyon, Empire state, Disney etc etc, are all 1000's miles from each other. You could waste a lot of time travelling. Perhaps just pick one area, say east coast and do everything from Florida to Maine. Then next time perhaps the west....? After spending 27 hours on a Greyhound bus from Chicago to Orlando, You realise how big the place is or how slow the buses are?
Personally Niagra is a must.

josey1964

Did 5 weeks traveling round USA last summer for my 40th.
If you do Niagra, make sure you do the Canadian side - much better. You can get some very cheap coach trips there from NY. Internal flights are so easy, but remember its not just the flight time to take into consideration, dont forget to add on the time difference, so a 2 hour flight can take 4 hours + in actual time.
Another thing about booking internal flights, we found problems with one company not being able to take a non US credit card on line, so rang and they took in no problem over the phone. Spent 5 days in Washington and still needed more time. If you get chance to do just one other city my top tip would be Chicago - Fantastic.
Also look out for the new Segway tours in Washington and Chicago, may be other places since I went, 1st class sightseeing with a twist, and something to tell your friends - book on line before you go. https://www.citysegwaytours.com

Have a great trip.