Travel USA travel tips and tricks

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I didn't expect to be back until late 2018 after my recent trip in March, but as fate has it, I'll be back in July! :D We got a family wedding happening in Toronto, and originally didn't plan to go, but circumstances have changed, and I'm only paying for half of it!


2 Nights in Los Angeles
9 Nights in New York
10 Nights in Toronto

Thinking of doing a day trip to Philadelphia, would anyone recommend this? Also looking at spending 2 nights in Montreal as well!
 
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one question if i may

going from MEL->LAX->Vegas. Only have a 2.5 hour stopover in LA before the flight to vegas. whats the deal with customs etc? will we have enough time?
 

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Kakkle said:
Thinking of doing a day trip to Philadelphia, would anyone recommend this? Also looking at spending 2 nights in Montreal as well!
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A day trip to Downtown Philly is a good idea, it's only an hour on the train from New York.
City is not afraid to show off its history, while at the same time, it is a very modern city with soul.
Independence Hall, Liberty Bell, Constitution Museum, Museum of Art (Rocky Steps)... go to the Reading Terminal Market for a Philly Cheesesteak

Would be a great to live there and go up to NY on weekends.
 
Dips said:
one question if i may

going from MEL->LAX->Vegas. Only have a 2.5 hour stopover in LA before the flight to vegas. whats the deal with customs etc? will we have enough time?
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should be enough time as long as your MEL -> LAX flight flies out with minimal delay

LAX generally is a very inefficient airport for being the largest center on the eastern side of the Pacific Rim... immigration/customs/baggage claim can take longer than it should... even leaving the airport is a bitch with traffic, but that's just L.A. in general
 
Dips said:
one question if i may

going from MEL->LAX->Vegas. Only have a 2.5 hour stopover in LA before the flight to vegas. whats the deal with customs etc? will we have enough time?
Click to expand...
Custom lines at LAX can be a bitch.

One of my trips to the States we were forced to sit on the Qantas plane for 45 minutes after it had landed as the queues at customs were too long and then it took another 90 minutes to get through customs.

My last trip we got through customs in about 20 minutes which was fine as we had another connecting flight in 3 hours time.

I find it is just luck of the draw as to what is going to happen on the day itself.
 
Both times it has taken me about 5-10 minutes but yeah just depends how busy it is. Going through immigration in the States is probably the worst part of the entire trip, what a pleasant bunch to deal with. Maybe the only thing that can top it is an overnight bus trip with greyhound.
 
Philly is worthy of a day trip. Spent a fair by of time there since my summer camp was about 40 mins away. Had a cheesesteak at the Reading Street Market and it was heaven. All the touristy things are downtown and Philly sports fans are hilarious.

Montreal is great and the weather will be fantastic. Easily worth a few days. Nightlife is great and the food was also excellent. And everyone speaks English so I got by fine.

Anyone got some recommendations for Toronto? Done the CN tower, been to a raptors game and been to Distillery District but that's about it. Cheers
 
I just got back from 3 week trip - Stagecoach in LA, Chicago, Kentucky Derby and Nashville. Had a blast!

Stagecoach was awesome fun. Really relaxed crowd. Half the crowd that attends Coachella. Its organised chaos when getting an Uber to leave the venue. There is an Uber zone where you get a code and then show code to the driver in the pickup zone. Saw Jerry Lee Lewis perform and he was amazing. Had the crowd going.

Chicago was bloody cold. Went to Cubs vs Phillies but left after 4 innings as it was too cold. But saw enough home runs. Score was 5-1 when we left. Had a burger at Au Cheval - worth the wait.

Kentucky Derby was good. The weather was terrible. Rained all day for the Oaks (Friday) and rain and sunshine on Derby day. Was frustrating lining up to bet as most people had no idea what they were doing.

Nashville had awesome weather. 30 degrees and sunny everyday. Ate at Hattie B's Chicken, Peg Leg Porker, Martins BBQ, Edley's. Was there during the playoffs for the Preds (NHL). Regretted not buying a ticket to Western Conference game. Preds won 2-1 from memory. Scoring the 2 goals in the last 5 min. Amazing atmosphere on Broadway.

Bumped into the actor Johnny Galecki twice in Nashville at two different bars. He had a local blonde glamour under his arm. He shook my hand and hugged me after he asked for ciggy.

Regarding SIM card - I went into AT&T and got a $75 unlimited data for a month. Well worth it. Especially for Ubers at Stagecoach & Kentucky Derby.

Caught a few Greyhounds. My first one from LA to Stagecoach - sat near people who were normal. Were a few different cats. Also caught two others and they were. I was pleasantly surprised by the comfort. Could recline all the way back, air con.

Looking to head back next year for Stagecoach. Deciding between Portland &Seattle or Denver. I will be going to Minnesota to catch up with a mate and also Nashville as its my favourite city.
 
FootyJunkie said:
A day trip to Downtown Philly is a good idea, it's only an hour on the train from New York.
City is not afraid to show off its history, while at the same time, it is a very modern city with soul.
Independence Hall, Liberty Bell, Constitution Museum, Museum of Art (Rocky Steps)... go to the Reading Terminal Market for a Philly Cheesesteak

Would be a great to live there and go up to NY on weekends.
Click to expand...

I guess it'll depend on what I get up to in NY, I plan to have a action packed itinerary, so if I head down to Philly, it'll probably be a last min decision. I was looking at Amtrak, and I like how they have trains going really early in the morning, so I can get there nice and early, and be back in NYC by 3pm.

A Philly Cheesesteak is a must though!


Tannehill17 said:
Philly is worthy of a day trip. Spent a fair by of time there since my summer camp was about 40 mins away. Had a cheesesteak at the Reading Street Market and it was heaven. All the touristy things are downtown and Philly sports fans are hilarious.

Montreal is great and the weather will be fantastic. Easily worth a few days. Nightlife is great and the food was also excellent. And everyone speaks English so I got by fine.

Anyone got some recommendations for Toronto? Done the CN tower, been to a raptors game and been to Distillery District but that's about it. Cheers
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I don't think I'll have a lot of time in Montreal :( if I do go It'll probably be a full 24 hours. (To many family commitments in Toronto at this stage)

I've read a lot about Toronto but not a hell of a lot is sticking out for me. So far on my list I have CN Tower, a drive down to see Niagara falls, Aja Khan Museum, & a Blue Jays game (so cheap!)
 
HirdyLannister said:
You heard correct, it's crap.. Aussie's who enjoy it are probably the same ones who go to Bali..
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Or go for Essendon...

Bit of a silly comment really. NOLA's not for everyone, but it has a lot to offer.
Even parts of Bali are amazing, it isn't just the rubbish in Kuta that you see on A Current Affair.
 

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Michaels said:
Has anyone done thanksgiving parade in new york before ?

We have got extremely lucky our hotel is close to 6th avenue so i think we can watch it from the streets.

I'm assuming it's pretty packed?
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Not there for Thanksgiving but was in New York for the Halloween Parade, which I'm told is the biggest night of the year after NYE. And honestly, like yeah it was busy, but I didn't find it too much worse than, say, the Mardi Gras in Sydney. I had a decent enough view of the parade and got into a few establishments afterwards, which were heaving but not unbearable 30 minute waits to get in (as it is for anywhere in Sydney for Mardi Gras or anything like that).

Kakkle said:
Thinking of doing a day trip to Philadelphia, would anyone recommend this? Also looking at spending 2 nights in Montreal as well!
Click to expand...

I really loved Philadelphia. I think it's underrated, one of my favourite cities with just a lot of history. The nightlife isn't as great as some of the other cities, but there's more to see by day than most of them. And make sure you get in by train - I loved the train station. The art museum is terrific too - don't just go for the Rocky steps but go in it. It saddened me that there were more people gathered at the Rocky statue outside than there were around Van Gogh's Sunflowers inside. Such is life.

Tayl0r said:
All of my customs portals into the USA are done via Honolulu, quick and easy
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I've never been to Hawaii, but once I was in Panama and flew into San Juan in Puerto Rico. By far the easiest entry into the States I've ever had - just a lot less crowded, a lot more chill, so much easier. I can imagine Honolulu would be similar.
 
Well trip is coming around quickly, Officially booked flights today with Air NZ ($1150 return at the moment).

I stayed at the Moment last time i was in LA and that was good but looking to try somewhere else, anyone got any recommendations for LA/San Fran and Portland. The rest are pretty much covered.
 
Special Agent Utah said:
Well trip is coming around quickly, Officially booked flights today with Air NZ ($1150 return at the moment).

I stayed at the Moment last time i was in LA and that was good but looking to try somewhere else, anyone got any recommendations for LA/San Fran and Portland. The rest are pretty much covered.
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I mean it's a pretty good area, and pretty central, I've stayed literally down the road from there, and find it a very convenient location. Pretty easy to get every where from there. Staying with a friend in Echo Park next month, literally right behind Dodger Stadium. Maybe Downtown? I stayed there for 2 nights after I returned to Los Angeles from Chicago, and found myself enjoying it more than I expected surprisingly, although quite expensive. I've noticed a few of my friends having stayed close to Venice recently as well, which I've since discovered to be a pretty popular place to stay.


So in the past I've built my trip around NHL/NBA games, so it's a little odd trying to plan my nights and fil in gaps on my iten :p I've slowly been getting into the MLB, and have found myself enjoying it quite a bit. Anyone here been before and what are your thoughts on it?

Got tickets to

Braves @ Dodgers
Athletics @ Mets
Rays @ Yankees
Angeles @ Blue Jays
 
Went to Yankees game. Sat in the bleachers and loved it. The fans are obnoxious and homers but were hilarious. My fav ballpark I've been to is the Pirates one. Overlooks the rivers and bridges and ripper view of downtown. The game I went to ended up going about 15 innings but I was blind so I've only lasted till the 11th-12th haha. Pittsburgh is such an underrated city, same with Columbus.
 
Silent Alarm said:
Cheers! Just one of those things where you have to lock in one thing and cop it and realise you can't see everything, but you'll have a great time anywhere. There's always next time. Reckon I may give the east coast a miss (aside from just a few days in LA at the end) and spend a month or two next time going down from bottom to top and maybe doing that so I cop some decent-ish but not oppressive weather in California then some colder days in the northern parts.

Really really torn on TX v the Midwest... would rather spend a month just hanging out in towns in a smaller area than criss-crossing and spending a ton on flights and wasting full days in the process.
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o_O you mean the west coast?
 
Tannehill17 said:
Went to Yankees game. Sat in the bleachers and loved it. The fans are obnoxious and homers but were hilarious. My fav ballpark I've been to is the Pirates one. Overlooks the rivers and bridges and ripper view of downtown. The game I went to ended up going about 15 innings but I was blind so I've only lasted till the 11th-12th haha. Pittsburgh is such an underrated city, same with Columbus.
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Thoughts on Pittsburgh in general?
 
Just got home from a US visit.
5 days in LA, 6 days Chicago, 12 days NYC, 4 days in Boston.
Then flew from Boston to Denver and got a Hire car for 10 days. Drove from Denver up to South Dakota - Black Hills, Badlands, Rushmore, Custer State Park. Then back across Wyoming to Utah's National Parks - Zion, Bryce, Arches...then down to Arizona for Grand Canyon & then back up to Colorado again to cross the Rockies back to Denver.
From Denver flew back to LA & then home.
Saw MLB at Dodgers, Angels, Cubs, Yanks, Mets & Red Sox.
Amazing cities, particularly NYC, Chicago & Boston.
Plus it was well worth it to get to the great outdoors in Colorado, Utah, South Dakota etc..
Great trip.
 
Special Agent Utah said:
Well trip is coming around quickly, Officially booked flights today with Air NZ ($1150 return at the moment).

I stayed at the Moment last time i was in LA and that was good but looking to try somewhere else, anyone got any recommendations for LA/San Fran and Portland. The rest are pretty much covered.
Click to expand...

If you're not fussed about being in central LA, I stayed at a great hotel in Venice. It's called Venice on The Beach, it's right on the boardwalk and feels more like a holiday house than a hotel.
 

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