Travel USA travel tips and tricks

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I lost weight in the US - combination of walking everywhere and not eating huge, substantial meals - just quick stuff on the go.

I didn't even realise - took a friend to point it out to me. Wonder if I would have just let myself die if no-one had bothered to tell me.
 
d33my said:
I lost weight in the US - combination of walking everywhere and not eating huge, substantial meals - just quick stuff on the go.

I didn't even realise - took a friend to point it out to me. Wonder if I would have just let myself die if no-one had bothered to tell me.
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This is exactly what happened to me. Started off gaining weight but after a while lost it due to walking around NY. Plus the heat.
 

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I consider food to be a big part of the travel experience and a little indulgence never hurt anyone. Just accept that you'll probably gain a few pounds and adjust your lifestyle accordingly before or after your trip. A couple of tips though:
- substitute either breakfast or lunch with a light healthy snack like a muesli bar and fruit. You'll more than make up for it in the other two meals.
- walking not only burns energy but you'll get a greater sensory experience in somewhere like NY if you pound the pavement instead of being stuck in a cab. The US has some amazing natural beauty in all parts of the country too, so get out and enjoy it.
 
Arrived in the states yesterday. Our flights onto NYC were cancelled due to their major blizzards up that way. So we've got at least 3 nights now in LA, which isnt ideal but we'll get by. Any must eat/drink places around the Santa Monica area? We're going to take it pretty slow I think and spend most of our time around here (Santa Monica/Venice).

We'll also miss one of our NBA games (Brooklyn v San Antonio). Annoying!
 
ThePezDispenser said:
P.S - I LOVE FOOD!!!!

Also you want excellent authentic Mexican? Try Wooster st in Soho near Adidas Orignals. Best Mexican st food I've ever had.

Also best Mexican we had in NY was Dos Caminos on third avenue!
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I highly recommend Benny's Burritos located at 113 Greenwich Avenue in Greenwich Village www.blockheads.com
 
Aussie Assault said:
Arrived in the states yesterday. Our flights onto NYC were cancelled due to their major blizzards up that way. So we've got at least 3 nights now in LA, which isnt ideal but we'll get by. Any must eat/drink places around the Santa Monica area? We're going to take it pretty slow I think and spend most of our time around here (Santa Monica/Venice).

We'll also miss one of our NBA games (Brooklyn v San Antonio). Annoying!
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That was my main worry flying from LA up to San Francisco, getting delayed with bad weather. That would be the balls.

Can you get any refund via travel insurance for the tickets?
 
alex_is_on_fire said:
That was my main worry flying from LA up to San Francisco, getting delayed with bad weather. That would be the balls.

Can you get any refund via travel insurance for the tickets?
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Yeah our travel insurance should cover the extra costs of flights/accommodation/car hire here in LA plus the already booked NBA game. So not worried really at all about those.

Honestly when I booked the trip about 6-8months ago it was also the only concern I had - flying in and out of NYC due to the season. I watched the airports get shut down across Europe in the past month or so and just prayed. Obviously didnt work.

Knicks still though on Wednesday, Rangers Thursday. Just need to get there now.
 
Good luck mate.

We just had the same conversation over dinner regarding what we will do for bad weather. We came up with not really much other than pray it doesn't get that bad and airports get closed.
 
alex_is_on_fire said:
Good luck mate.

We just had the same conversation over dinner regarding what we will do for bad weather. We came up with not really much other than pray it doesn't get that bad and airports get closed.
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Cheers mate. I have re-found my love for the Santa Monica & Venice Beach area though because of it. Plenty of booze and classic foods - Pinks, In N Out, fish tacos, oysters etc - have been consumed around the area. A couple of runs along the foreshore to burn them off isnt a bad way to start the day with the Californian Coast as the backdrop.

The other stuff up we had on the first day was QANTAS telling us their A380 from Melb to LA wouldnt have in-flight entertainment. Just a lazy 13-14hr flight without anything to watch.. Anyway they gave each customer a $30 credit to the airport shops to purchase magazines or anything that would help our flight easier. Got on the plane after an hour delay and they had it up and running. Quite a large expense I would assume for QANTAS to cover that bill for 400 odd passengers. In saying that, QANTAS staff were really good on board. Plenty of food & beers (James Squires) and one of the better international flights I've had recently.

LAX is still the same shithole that its always been.
 
Aussie Assault said:
The other stuff up we had on the first day was QANTAS telling us their A380 from Melb to LA wouldnt have in-flight entertainment. Just a lazy 13-14hr flight without anything to watch.. Anyway they gave each customer a $30 credit to the airport shops to purchase magazines or anything that would help our flight easier. Got on the plane after an hour delay and they had it up and running. Quite a large expense I would assume for QANTAS to cover that bill for 400 odd passengers. In saying that, QANTAS staff were really good on board. Plenty of food & beers (James Squires) and one of the better international flights I've had recently.
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Ha ha that's some good quality luck. I would have been very pissed off if I booked an international flight on the A380 and the entertainment system didn't work. $30 credit or not, I would have been pissed.

As I said a few pages back, we used Air Pacific to go between Australia and Hawaii via LA and their entertainment system didn't work at all but I guess you get what you pay for.

LAX is still the same shithole that its always been.
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True but is any airport any good?

IMO, they are all the same. Just a very large tin shed that allows you to board an aircraft. All boring, sterile and lifeless places.
 

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Has anyone been to Orlando, Flaoria before?

Considering dropping Boston from our itinerary and adding Orlando for a week.

Are the theme parks (Universal Studio, Disney World et el) very different to the ones on LA? if you've done the LA ones, are they worth doing again in Florida?

What is the shopping like and the extra attractions.

In comparison to LA and Hawaii, is the outlet shopping and malls equal - better or worse?

Same as New York for the shopping? is it worth it
 
alex_is_on_fire said:
Has anyone been to Orlando, Flaoria before?

Considering dropping Boston from our itinerary and adding Orlando for a week.

Are the theme parks (Universal Studio, Disney World et el) very different to the ones on LA? if you've done the LA ones, are they worth doing again in Florida?

What is the shopping like and the extra attractions.

In comparison to LA and Hawaii, is the outlet shopping and malls equal - better or worse?

Same as New York for the shopping? is it worth it
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Did 5 days in Orlando. Did universal for a day which was awesome. Disneyworld is huge, has 4 parks all the same size as L.A. plus another 3 water parks.

I enjoyed it, and reckon you could do it in 3 days. You must stay at the Disneyworld resorts when Doing Disneyworld though, because you need their internal shuttles.

Can't really comment on the shopping as I mostly just did the theme parks. If thinking about going to Orlando, I did a 3 night cruise around the Bahamas from there with Royal Caribbean that is cheap and well worth it.
 
DisneyWorld is huge, very child orientated though, so if you have kids you'll want to go here, otherwise there's only 3 or so rides worth going in in the Hollywood section of disneyworld. Universal studios was awesome, I enjoyed it a lot more and it's next door to a water theme park(Water world or something like that)

Unfortunately never got to do the L.A. theme parks, I did hear from a fair few people that 6Flags is the best one
 
wce4premiership said:
DisneyWorld is huge, very child orientated though, so if you have kids you'll want to go here, otherwise there's only 3 or so rides worth going in in the Hollywood section of disneyworld. Universal studios was awesome, I enjoyed it a lot more and it's next door to a water theme park(Water world or something like that)

Unfortunately never got to do the L.A. theme parks, I did hear from a fair few people that 6Flags is the best one
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Yeah I can agree with that. Universal is definitely better. The Drury inn is An awesome hotel that has a free shuttle to/from there. Free breakfast and free dinner with 3 alcoholic drinks every night. And free popcorn and softdrink all night
 
I really enjoyed the rides at Universal Studios in Orlando where we did Universal and not Disneyworld whereas in LA we did Disneyland and not Universal.

Disneyland LA (the original park) was very 'childy' and definitely wouldn't go there for the rides, it's where someone who doesn't like scary rides would like to go.

As far as shopping any premium outlet location (you can search them, they're everywhere) is very similar with the best probably being in Las Vegas - We went to the Orlando one (pretty good here with a nice italian place with extremely low prices and good food), Pismo beach, Las Vegas and even one more which the name escapes me - I think it may have been something different and not a premium outlet.

Would definitely not drop Boston by the way. We loved it. Plenty of good food, Harvard and a great culture you just want to be around.
 
Liam#9 said:
I enjoyed it, and reckon you could do it in 3 days. You must stay at the Disneyworld resorts when Doing Disneyworld though, because you need their shuttles.
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You dont need to stay there. i caught a public bus from the stop out front of seaworld (which was next to my hotel) which takes you to the main bus/shuttle terminal at disneyworld and from there caught the shuttle to the hollywood park.

For rides, the best park in the area is Busch Gardens. its a fair way from orlando but they have free buses that leave from seaworld. seaworld itself also has a couple of good coasters. Manta was my favourite of all the orlando area rides. went on it at least a dozen times (staying on because theres no one lined up in your aisle ftw)

Universal is divided in to two seperate parks which have a bunch of different rides to the la one. certainly worth going even if youve done la


fortunately never got to do the L.A. theme parks, I did hear from a fair few people that 6Flags is the best one
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You heard correctly. Awesome park. knotts berry farm is also great, and not too far from disneyland.
 
alex_is_on_fire said:
True but is any airport any good?

IMO, they are all the same. Just a very large tin shed that allows you to board an aircraft. All boring, sterile and lifeless places.
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Very true, but certain ones around the world do it better than others and make that dead time a little less lifeless.

Functioning wifi would be a massive start that opens so many possibilities for passengers.

In saying that though we flew out this morning (currently 36000ft in the skies above Texas on an Air Tran flight) and the whole hire car drop off & their shuttles are very efficient & well drilled.

3 nights in LA was better this time around than previous visits. In N Out Burger is taaaaasty. Lots of shopping in the Camarillo Outlets which were a breeze to get to from Santa Monica. Weather was chilly, but the sun was shining still. Onto to NYC.
 
cammania said:
Seattle.
Whose been there, what's it like. Safe? Would you recommend it.
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One of my favourite places in the US, it's very picturesque. Stayed at City Hostel, very friendly staff and super close to the things you'll wanna see - Pike Place Market, Space Needle, etc. One thing I can really recommend is the Experience Music Project (EMP) - it's basically a rock and culture museum. The people at the hostel said to allocate a half day for it, and I scoffed but when I got there they were right. Lots of cool stuff.

Other things to do: take a half day trip out to the Boeing factory in Everett, scenic flights, boat cruise etc. They also have these 'underground tours' which show you the foundations of the city, and some original shop fronts that have been built over (the original city had a problem with flooding and sinking).

As for safety I didn't see any problems, like any city in the US (or the world) just be smart about it (no dark alleys alone late at night) and you'll be fine.
 
kaiserchief13 said:
I've got a question about car hire. If you drive the car into Mexico will you need to tell the people you get the car from your intentions? Will the hire cost be more because of insurance?
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I'd be absolutely checking the fine print on that one as you could void your policy by crossing an international border. If it was allowed then I'd expect an additional premium would be applied.
 
cammania said:
Seattle.
Whose been there, what's it like. Safe? Would you recommend it.
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I spent 3 days there in June last year as part of a bigger trip to Western Canada and we drove down from Vancouver to Seattle.

It's a very picturesque place and relatively easy to get around. We stayed at the Holiday Inn which was in a pretty good spot and we had no problems walking around the city especially as we were traveling with my now 3yo son and my mother-in-law who is in her 60's and at no stage did we feel our safety was threatened.

Depending on what sports you like I recommend the tour of Safeco Field where the Seattle Mariners play baseball and follow it up with a tour of the Seahawks NFL stadium which is next door.

We actually did a tour of seattle via one their amphibious vehicle tours which was a great way to see the city. Check the link below
http://www.ridetheducksofseattle.com/

All in all I really liked Seattle and I would have liked to have spent some more time there.
 

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