US Holiday

[Hard Ball Get]

I'm still trying to bring it forward a week so we can spend New Years in Vagas. New Years in Time Square would be amazing but not this time.

No where near as great as it sounds.
You literally can not move. It was a complete nightmare. It literally took us 20 minuets to walk 15 meters and that included a lot of body contact with a lot of drunk strangers.

Great to be able to say that I have been in Vegas for New Years, but I wouldn't do it again and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

 

[raskolnikov]

Love NYC so much.

Seconded. New York and New Orleans are by far the best two cities in the States.

 

[Hard Ball Get]

Seconded. New York and New Orleans are by far the best two cities in the States.

Add Boston, just something about it, particularly in Winter.

 

[SonOfScray]

Add Boston, just something about it, particularly in Winter.

Yep. In terms of fun holiday type stuff Boston wasn't a world beater by any means but I loved it there - it felt like somewhere I could live and really enjoy one day. A little bit like home in the sporting sense as well.

The train ride up from NYC was really cool as well. Just awesome.

 

[Copernicus]

We got the subway in Manhattan and it was fine. Was it any seedier heading out to other boroughs?

I remember taking the subway all the way out to Long Beach when I was up there. Interesting trip at 2 in the morning, but not necessarily seedy. Probably could have scored with some teenage skank too, but that didn't seem to be a good idea at the time...

I don't think you need to worry too much about the subway.

 

[Freakie]

Rekon I could convince the wife to let me run the LA Marathon whilst we are over there next month?

 

[Peter Sidorkiewicz]

I guess it comes down to opinion, but those tours are very rushed which is fine if you are in Europe and getting as many countries in as you can but in the States you can travel nice and easily and see a whole lot at your own pace and have a more enjoyable and rewarding experience.

Also for the price a Contiki wouldn't get you anything that you wouldn't be able to get yourself. The picking up factor is also not as great as when you are in the States the Aussie accent works wonders anyway.

I think Contiki is a pretty good option if you are travelling by yourself and are not an experienced traveller.

But generally I agree, that because it is an English country, you can see USA on your own without the rush of the Contiki tour and probably get more out of your trip.

 

[Renegade]

Contiki tours are like paying for an expensive prostitute to bang you at different U.S landmarks.
Always guaranteed to get laid while seeing the sights as you burn money.

 

[Changamagic]

I think Contiki is a pretty good option if you are travelling by yourself and are not an experienced traveller.

But generally I agree, that because it is an English country, you can see USA on your own without the rush of the Contiki tour and probably get more out of your trip.

Yeah, I am leaning more and more towards our initial idea of planning our own trip/itinerary rather than look at Contiki options...

Any suggestions as to the better ways to travel within the USA, the missus isn't a great flyer so looking to mix it up wherever we can with other forms of travel?

 

[Keys]

Yeah, I am leaning more and more towards our initial idea of planning our own trip/itinerary rather than look at Contiki options...

Any suggestions as to the better ways to travel within the USA, the missus isn't a great flyer so looking to mix it up wherever we can with other forms of travel?

Can't beat driving although that will depend on how much time you have and how far apart your preferred destinations are.

Last year I drove from LA - San Francisco - Vancouver - Sun Peaks - Japser - Lake Louise - Banff - Las Vegas - LA over about 5 weeks with the wife and 4 kids. Great way to see the country but if your time is short or you want to visit both the east and west coast and/or spend most of your time in cities then flying would probably be a better option.

 

[Hard Ball Get]

Yep. In terms of fun holiday type stuff Boston wasn't a world beater by any means but I loved it there - it felt like somewhere I could live and really enjoy one day. A little bit like home in the sporting sense as well.

The train ride up from NYC was really cool as well. Just awesome.

Did that same train ride. Was supposed to fly but it was cancelled because of a blizzard. So glad it was. Really nice train ride. If I ever went from Boston to NYC or NYC to Boston again I would 100% take the train.

 

[Aries]

How old do you need to be to hire a car in the USA? and is it a reasonable idea to drive everywhere for a month long trip? And what cities are a must do?

 

[Childish Gambino]

How did you guys book your domestic flights in the US. I've been looking at www.priceline.com for prices. Not sure whether to book through there or just use a travel agent.

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

I booked my international flights through bestflights.com.au. Wouldn't do that again though because I could not ring up and make changes or enquiries through the airlines as I they purchased the tickets.

All my US domestic flights were through expedia or priceline or directly through the airlines. I caught Airtrans, US Airways, American Airlines and Jet Blue. Jet Blue are the best domestic carrier but all of them are pretty basic in economy.

 

[saj_21]

Hey all, first time to amercia in October this year. My trip will go something like this (its with a couple of mates) so essentially a footy trip!

LA 4 days
San Fran 3 days
Vegas 5 days
New York 4 days
Miami 4 days
Cancaun 4 days

The whole trip is one big party with a bit of sightseeing, doing 4 day contiki tours in LA and New York bcos they are cheap and saving some money.

Some advice i need is anyone who has been to Miami, is it best to stay on Miami beach or downtown Miami?

Likewise any ideas for accomodation in San fran?

 

[Hard Ball Get]

Anything near Union Square is pretty good for San Fran... Or SF as they call it.

 

[doppleganger]

Hey all, first time to amercia in October this year. My trip will go something like this (its with a couple of mates) so essentially a footy trip!

LA 4 days
San Fran 3 days
Vegas 5 days
New York 4 days
Miami 4 days
Cancaun 4 days

The whole trip is one big party with a bit of sightseeing, doing 4 day contiki tours in LA and New York bcos they are cheap and saving some money.

Some advice i need is anyone who has been to Miami, is it best to stay on Miami beach or downtown Miami?

Likewise any ideas for accomodation in San fran?

If your going to party stay on Miami beach, plenty of good party hostels.

Good party hostel in San Fran is the Green Tortoise

http://www.greentortoise.com/san-francisco-hostel/reviews.php

 

[saj_21]

Anything near Union Square is pretty good for San Fran... Or SF as they call it.

Yeah doing some research they seemed to have a few nice places and somewhat central to most places.

If your going to party stay on Miami beach, plenty of good party hostels.

Good party hostel in San Fran is the Green Tortoise

http://www.greentortoise.com/san-francisco-hostel/reviews.php

Thanks, after looking at the places on Miami beach im going to stay along there somewhere!

 

[waggamick]

Spent a year working in USA and really liked the place:
Savannah...loved it..looked like how I expected it to look..Midnight in THe Garden of Good and Evil;
New York..excellent...subway very good...would've liked to explore more of Long Island;
Washington....one day...at the most.
Richmond....really nice.
Shannendoah Valley...ditto..good Civil War battlefields..Yanks do history well.
Disney World....took two kids (6 & 8)...best ride was the shuttle bus to the car park.
Florida...only lace I've seen a Golf Cart Wreckers...and the most fat people per capita in the world.
New Orleans (pre-Katrina)...very good.
Atlanta...nothing special.
Memphis...Beale Street outstanding.
Ozarks...beautiful with a special mention for Eureka Springs...really worth seeing....be something esle in Autumn.
Minnesota...spectacular in Autumn.
Chicago..nothing special...but I did want to go to Wrigley Field but the Cubs were Away at the time.
Winnipeg...nice.
Toronto...not bad...good Ball Park.
As far as sports are concerned I went to heaps and without fail College games were much better atmosphere wse than the Pro's.
For cheap accommodation stop at the Tourist Info stalls as you coss each border and collect discount coupons.
WARNING: Do not under any circumstances stay at the Admiral Ben Bow Inn in Memphis......

 

[alex_is_on_fire]

I don't work for channel 9 or Getaway so i'm not advertising anything but at 8:00pm tonight, getaway have an LA special on. If you're looking at going to Los Angles anytime soon, that maybe a show you can tune in for.

Just a heads up.

 

[SonOfScray]

Spent a year working in USA and really liked the place:

New York..excellent...subway very good...would've liked to explore more of Long Island;
Washington....one day...at the most.

Memphis...Beale Street outstanding.

WARNING: Do not under any circumstances stay at the Admiral Ben Bow Inn in Memphis......

We stayed at Room Mate grace in NYC, had a pool, sauna, steam room and cocktail bar downstairs which was very cool. Breakfast included was decent value as well. I'd imagine if you were in party mode that it'd be a good place to stay, we didn't really make the most of the facilities as we were out all day from early morning well into the evening for shows, dinner and pubs out in the boroughs etc but I did like having a dip before bed, or a sauna to thaw out a bit.

We spent two half days in DC, did a night tour of the all the monuments, air and space musuem and a walk through the mall in the morning the next day before catching the train to NYC. A little rushed, but we wouldn't have needed anymore time I think. Really nice place though. For sight seeing anyway.

Memphis - amazing, I agree. Awesome food, night life, people, ball park, stadium, tourist spots etc. In Vegas all the staff at NYNY were wondering why the hell we were going there, gave Memphis a real bad wrap - not sure why. The main tourist district , historical area and riverfront were real cool. We stayed across the road from the Peadbody at the Holiday Inn which was a bit shit but you get what you pay for.

 

[Freakie]

I don't work for channel 9 or Getaway so i'm not advertising anything but at 8:00pm tonight, getaway have an LA special on. If you're looking at going to Los Angles anytime soon, that maybe a show you can tune in for.

Just a heads up.

Thanks Alex, I'll be there in 2 weeks woooo!!

 

[alex_is_on_fire]

Thanks Alex, I'll be there in 2 weeks woooo!!

Well, that was a waste of time. The ads gave me the impression it was a half hour special with Jennifer Hawkins. But it was only 4 or 5 mins.

 

[NAUGHT5]

There's a chance i'll be working at an American Summer Camp in LA for 8 weeks ( late May-August). Weekends i'll be able to spend in and around LA so i'll try and cover that off during those weekends.

Would finish it at the start of August and then travel for 4 weeks.

Thinking maybe going (roughly) Vegas - Texas (Houston, Dallas or Austin?) - New Orleans, Miami and then head towards NYC, Boston etc.

What are the best cities on the East coast?
Best site visits? What cities would you recommend spending more/less time in?
Considering it's only 4 weeks I don't to waste time in a city that isn't that spectacular and sacrifice extra time in New York or New Orleans.

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

There's a chance i'll be working at an American Summer Camp in LA for 8 weeks ( late May-August). Weekends i'll be able to spend in and around LA so i'll try and cover that off during those weekends.

Would finish it at the start of August and then travel for 4 weeks.

Thinking maybe going (roughly) Vegas - Texas (Houston, Dallas or Austin?) - New Orleans, Miami and then head towards NYC, Boston etc.

What are the best cities on the East coast?
Best site visits? What cities would you recommend spending more/less time in?
Considering it's only 4 weeks I don't to waste time in a city that isn't that spectacular and sacrifice extra time in New York or New Orleans.

I haven't been to all the places you are looking at but some I wish I did have time for and will do next time around.

If you are going to Texas, sounds like you will be there near the start of the next NFL season or at least there for the preseason. For that reason, I would go to Dallas and time it for a Cowboys Stadium game if possible. Incredible stadium, would blow your mind.

I guess it depends on what sort of things you like. You there for the bar scene, natural sights, man made sights, or just to immerse yourself in culture/pop culture?

I didn't get to Boston so am definitely looking to go there next time. Will be a train ride away from NYC and I can not imagine myself ever going to the US without returning to NYC (and maybe Vegas).

I wanted to spend a whole month in NYC so I no longer felt like a tourist. Walk the whole of Manhattan, check out all of the boroughs, go to concerts and sporting events, just soak up the characters and the way the place moves without having to be in the same hurry. I can no longer watch NY based TV shows without freeze framing different places I have been to and feeling pangs of sadness that I am not there.

My wife wants to go to Chicago but between Lonely Planet and travel sites, it seems it is either so-so to brilliant. I probably don't want to go to another big city over there for the sake of it. It is iconic but not as iconic as NYC obviously, so it really has to offer something different.

You spend time in NY as a local, you pass through the likes of Washington DC playing tourist, and you move around the New England states to admire their beauty.

If you are looking at other possibilities, consider Memphis. It is old but charming, being on the banks of the mighty Mississippi is a bonus and it comes alive in Beale Street. It is most definitely not all about Elvis but you are well served if you want to explore that area. The food is pretty good in Memphis and I swear, while you might want to stay out of dark backlots at night, the people there are the most polite and friendliest I encountered anywhere in the US.

Check out the Tom Cruise movie 'The Firm' to get a sense of old Memphis perhaps.