Ideas for USA Honeymoon

dccarm

Myself and my better half are about to start planning our honeymoon for next year. We intend to go to the US for three weeks towards the end of the summer (probably after the end of the school holidays). We want to spend the first week in New York, and then possibly drive somewhere else for the rest of the holiday.

We are not big into package holidays and ideally would like a bit of sunshine and a lot of walking / sightseeing.

Any recommendations for places to go / avoid, things to do as well as money-saving hints?

Mr_Warren_2

After New York i would recommend a flight to SF, hire a car (open top of course) and drive all the way down to San Diego, stopping as much or as little as you wish en-route (a little detour via Vegas may be?). There are so many Inns and other hotels that you won't need to book ahead.
I spent a whole week in LA last year (with the open top car of course) and thought I would do this next time there. You could then book your San Diego / East coast for a specific date and back to the UK.....Interesting?

telly-addict

If you like walking you could go north of NY and go to New England (Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire and Connecticut). A little early for 'leaf peeping' (when all the trees change colour) but still beautiful. Good coastline with Cape Cod, Green mountains of Vermont, White mountains of New Hampshire. We toured New England for our honeymoon and it was lovely. Not as touristy as Florida, but still plenty to see. Loads of bed and breakfasts, which are much nicer than English ones! Not necessarily a cheap option though, the chain hotels are all represented there.

I would check out the Virgin brochures as we have found them to be excellent (we always go to the US with Virgin), and they have a good range of accommodation in New England and New York. Or just pinch some of their itineraries and adapt to your own needs. Personally some of the brochure itineraries have you in the car all day! Calculate the time you will spend in the car each day at 50 miles an hour (often the limit is 55, sometimes 65).

Upstate New York there is always Niagara Falls - honeymoon capital of the US - and tacky too!

First Monday in September will be Labor Day which marks the end of summer - big holiday time so definitely have accommodation booked for that weekend as it is busy.

Money saving hint is to avoid internal flights and stick to four wheels, especially if you both drive. Petrol is loads cheaper than here. Look into flying into New York and out of, say Boston to cut down on mileage, there might be a one-way drop off charge for the car but not always.

Have a great time! Happy planning.

allypally_2

i second telly addict..............i got married at new york city hall, we spent a couple of nights in new york then drove up through new york state to albany.........into vermont via a ferry(i kid you not) ........stayed in stowe and visited montpelier then onto new hampshire, lots of covered bridges(as in bridges of madison county) which are very romantic.............also took the car up mount washington...........all in all a beautiful part of america, plenty to see and do and driving is a pleasure. we just stopped en-route where we fancied with the help of the rough guide to new england.
i`m getting itchy feet just thinking about it...............

N9eav

There are 1000's of places to visit. But one thing to bear in mind is the weather. The summer in the USA get's very hot. In the south of the country it's humid too and can be uncomfortable. Check https://www.weather.com for averages etc. It might give yiou an idea of what area of climate you might prefer.

kirstyreanne

As already mentioned by telly addict I would thoroughly recommend taking a day trip to Niagara Falls. It costs about £200 each to fly there on a guided tour for the day & it is fantastic (booked through Keith Prowse). Me & my OH did this on boxing day last year & it brilliant! Would do it again if I could.

blindman

Some good advice here, I'll add my ideas.

Hotels
New york, use priceline to get a bargain, search this forum to find how to do this.

Travel
Forward planning gets cheap internal flights (Southwest, Jet blue etc) and trains (amtrack) and Buses (China bus Co's)

Car hire- One way drop offs are usually free in CA.

Have fun

Tommy_C_2

Go to Las Vegas and get a helicopter into the Grand Canyon.