Travel USA travel tips and tricks

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Nelso said:
Has anyone been to Legoland at Carlsbad in California?

I am thinking of taking my 5 yr old daughter there in March. It is worth the drive from Anaheim? I would have to rent a car to get there. I don't want to do one of the tours from Anaheim as it would be too long a day for my daughter having to wait for the bus to pick everyone up from the different hotels.
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We did a day tour there with our 5 and 3 y/o, absolutely loved it and the bus left from the greyhound depot in anaheim so no stopping at hotels.
 
Elixuh said:
On one of the road trips around the US we drove to the Staples Centre to see a Lakers game. There's a small car park outside the (main) front gate/doors to the stadium where parking was $20 (very limited we got to the stadium quite early). So essentially we parked 50/100m from the main doors :)
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The traffic around the stadium is insane both before and after the game though. I just caught the train to and from there and it was so much easier. The train station is only a 4 or 5 minute walk from the stadium.
 
I don't know why people freak out about driving in So Cal. Okay, granted the traffic is bad, but it is the best and most time cheapest way of getting around if you are going to go from LA/Valley to OC. If I'm just doing a Disneyland trip, then I fly into John Wayne Airport and book a shuttle (I usually stay at a Disney hotel or ones across the road e.g Howard Johnson). Like it or not So Cal is a driving culture. Public transport is there, but its not really convenient.
 

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looking to head to the states later this year October-ish with two mates preliminary stages of planning looking at 5 days in NY, 7 in vegas then 2-3 in San Fran, so will slowly go thru the forum and get tips have already been to all three places (back in 2000) and have a few ideas but the other two have not.

Looking at trying to get to either an game i.e NBA, MLB game etc whilst over there just for the experience, which place is the best to get tickets and how far out should you book them??

have heard some good things about stub hub is this a good site??
 
I was skeptical about StubHub originally but having gone through a few transactions (including a last minute ticket purchase for the Lakers about half an hour before the game for a friend that cost her $40) I can tell you there are some great bargains to be had, especially if you don't mind sitting up in the rafters. If you want closer seats though you will be paying through the nose for some teams.
 
I turned up to an MLB game in Chicago one night and just bought tickets at the gate (officially, not from scalpers). Was about 30 bucks and had great seats, ground level about 90 left of home plate. Of course it probably depends on the game/team/time of year (i.e Yankees v Sox on 4th July would be more difficult :p ) but from what I can tell baseball tix are easiest to come by.

As for stubhub, I used it to get a ticket to Springsteen while I was over there, no dramas with it. they seem to have a fairly good system for if you get scammed, but if the alternative is not getting tix at all then you might as well give stubhub a try.
 
It has only been a week since I returned but god I miss New York.

Some bomb pizza places you MUST check out: Artichoke Pizza for a casual slice- whilst the Artichoke pizza is a nice buttery niche, the double baked Sicilian is the real deal.

For whole pies, you can't go wrong with Motorino. Quaint little joint on 1st street that makes them thin based with a sweet pomodoro sauce, just like they were meant to be made.
 
Just had a month in the US by myself. 3 weeks in NYC, 2 days in Boston, 3 days in Miami and 4 days in Orlando.

Bets month of my life. NYC is nothing short of breath taking. Can't speak highly enough of the locals. Some of the nicest and most down to earth people you'll ever meet who will go out of their way to make your trip better and easier. Boston was much the same, incredible people.
 
Just a tip if your in East LA don't wear anything shiny and don't carry loads of cash. Otherwise I advise visit the area for the best Mexican food you will ever have. Also in LA I recommend Santa Monica and Venice Beach, Downtown Little Tokyo is great has some side bars and great Japanese food. Hire a car if you want to get around it's so much easier I know a lot of people who get accommodation in Hollywood or West Hollywood try to avoid La Brea, Crenshaw and Rosecrans at night time well known car jackings happen there. If your going by transport Union Station connects you to the whole city and is easily accessible from Downtown LA just watch yourself at night heard of a couple of girls getting stalked there at night. All up LA is a beautiful city probably the best in the world.
 
JDE23 said:
Just a tip if your in East LA don't wear anything shiny and don't carry loads of cash. Otherwise I advise visit the area for the best Mexican food you will ever have. Also in LA I recommend Santa Monica and Venice Beach, Downtown Little Tokyo is great has some side bars and great Japanese food. Hire a car if you want to get around it's so much easier I know a lot of people who get accommodation in Hollywood or West Hollywood try to avoid La Brea, Crenshaw and Rosecrans at night time well known car jackings happen there. If your going by transport Union Station connects you to the whole city and is easily accessible from Downtown LA just watch yourself at night heard of a couple of girls getting stalked there at night. All up LA is a beautiful city probably the best in the world.
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You are kidding right? I have been to LA a number of times and the city itself is nothing flash apart from the tourist spots. NYC, San Fran, Chicago and Vancouver would beat LA any day of the week as far as best cities in the US/Canada.
 
Nelso said:
You are kidding right? I have been to LA a number of times and the city itself is nothing flash apart from the tourist spots. NYC, San Fran, Chicago and Vancouver would beat LA any day of the week as far as best cities in the US/Canada.
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Probably agree Chicago is better great city not a huge fan of NYC never been to San Fran or Vancouver. LA is awesome for its culture and lifestyle.
 
Would have to agree that L.A. is below average. Preferred NYC, San Fran, Vancouver, Washington D.C, Dallas and a lot of other little towns as well. The area south of L.A. is nice though, huntington beach/venice beach being my favourites.
 
JDE23 said:
Probably agree Chicago is better great city not a huge fan of NYC never been to San Fran or Vancouver. LA is awesome for its culture and lifestyle.
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Got to agree only problem i had with LA was getting around. NY was good for the novelty of being in NY but way too many prople and very dirty too. Vegas, Chicago and Boston were the places i enjoyed the most.
 

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I liked LA because it was so diverse in its layout but it's a desert city and as such looks dirty and the roads are terrible in most places. I found LA was the novelty and New York was fairly dripping with culture and lifestyle. Sure NYC still has garbage picked up on the sidewalk and is a gritty place in part, but that only adds to its charm. I like both, but I'd be going back to NYC before anywhere else.
 
I didn't like LA at all. Venice Beach was a dump.

Last time I went to the USA, the only time I spent in LA was at LAX.

NYC was just brilliant. I loved that place.
 
Won't be rushing back to LA. Maybe when I'm older and have a bit more time to just cruise around at whatever pace and lok at some places just out of town.

Loved NYC and Vegas, as well as Austin. Will be going there again.
 
Chicago is the best place I went to in the US. I loved every little bit of it. LA was good, although once you have done Hollywood (which takes about an hour) and gone to the theme parks, the lustre wears off pretty quickly. Got to see the Lakers and the Clippers play, so that was good. Miami South Beach is pretty good, but Miami Downtown is a dump. If you are staying in South Beach, catch the bus to Bayside, but go no further in.

San Francisco is pretty awesome but it turns into a homeless shelter around 10pm. A little bit dangerous, especially for girls at night (no sexism). Still need to go to NY, as my visit there was curtailed by a bit of wind at the end of October.
 
I didn't rate Miami South Beach, the area is very clean, it is one of the best looking cities I went to, but the beach itself? Over rated more than I could believe. The night life, below average. There were some great restaurants though.

L.A. had good surrounding areas but the city itself was a bit dumpish. NYC I will definitely go back for another week at least.
I only got to see Dallas of the three main cities in Texas (Houston/Austin/Dallas) what do people rate as the best one? I loved Texas and would go back but wouldn't mind seeing other places.
 
Anyone else find the Zip code for credit cards when paying through auto machines like at the petrol station, train station or even online when ordering delivery or booking things very annoying?
 
ThePezDispenser said:
Anyone else find the Zip code for credit cards when paying through auto machines like at the petrol station, train station or even online when ordering delivery or booking things very annoying?
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Every time something fairly unofficial (ticket machines etc) asked for my zip code I always entered 90210 as it was the only zip I could consistently remember off the top of my head. Seemed to work fine.

If it was serious (airline or something) I would either try my Melbourne zip or just enter the zip of my hostel and hope for the best. A couple of times I did have to use my friends address in NY as certain things just won't accept a foreign code.
 
ThePezDispenser said:
Anyone else find the Zip code for credit cards when paying through auto machines like at the petrol station, train station or even online when ordering delivery or booking things very annoying?
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I found petrol stations in general were a nightmare. We hired a car and had half a dozen petrol stops and every single one was different - prepay at pump, prepay in store, no prepay, pumped by attendant, and some pump had this weird lever system that had to be activated before the gas would flow. Also pulled up at some place with a bunch of homies smoking cigarettes right next to the pumps :eek: - we drove on.
 
I feel your pain. I experienced everyone of those situations, bar the homies. Although filling up in Miami in an area with literally no whites was pretty awkward.
 
Hi guys,

I'm going to New York City next week, would anyone whose been before recommend I wear some thermal underwear to stay warm?

Also going to London and Paris next Christmas, would the same apply.

Any feedback would be appreciated, other than me being soft.

Cheers

Mick.
 

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