Travel USA travel tips and tricks

[alex_is_on_fire]

Cheers mate!

Get the GPS before we leave?

Anyone have an idea on whether travelling with a toddler seat is the way to go?

Just some advice, wait and grab your GPS from a Walmart. You can pick one up for like $49 and I feel, if you use that longer than 7 days - the GPS becomes disposable at the end. Or just chuck it on e-bay when you get home.

The car seat. I think you can chuck that into oversized baggage for nothing or at worse, it's counted as one bag. I would take it as you have to use it straight away.

Patients, I mean keeping it with the freeways and other idiots on the road as they are lunatics on the freeways.

 

[MinuteWaltZ]

anyone been to Indianapolis?

I happen to live in Indianapolis, so I can answer any specific questions you have, but I guess I'll give you a general overview.

Due to the city’s geography (landlocked, flat) and due to the fact that Indianapolis isn’t the center for a glamorous high-profile industry, like film in LA or musical theater and advertising in NY, Indianapolis’s tourism industry tends to be based around events that the city hosts (Indy 500, NCAA Final Four, FFA national conventions, State Fair, etc). As such, if you do happen to be in Indianapolis during a major event, the city does very a good job with hospitality and holding smaller supporting events such as parades and festivals to keep visitors entertained. However, if you happen to be in Indianapolis when there is not a major event going on, you will likely find the amount of unique, tourist level places to visit fairly limited.

That being said, a couple of places that would be worth going out of your way to visit if you’re going to be passing through the Midwest are:

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Even when there is no race going on, if you are at all into motorsports the museum on site is very interesting (it’s small but crammed full or old cars, trophies, and paraphenallia) and for a little extra you can go on a ~40 minute bus tour around the track ground and get out on track and kiss the yard of bricks. Even interesting just to drive around the outside of the grounds just to get a sense of the size of the place, you really don’t have a good sense of scale unless you’ve been there.

The Indianapolis Children’s Musuem – If you’re travelling with kids. This a general history museum (dinosaur bones, Egyptian artifacts, etc) where the exhibits are targeted at kids, with lots of hand-on and interactive displays. It is almost unanimously considered the top children’s museum in the country.

Depending on your vacation priorities, you might also enjoy:

Connor Prarie – A living history museum with re-enactors. It is an outdoor museum with recreations of settlements at various stages of historical development in the central Indiana area, from a Native American village, to log cabin settlement, to a late 1800’s town.

Indiana State Park System – Indiana runs a nice system of state parks. While the topography of the state does not allow some of the variance and grandeur of the National parks out west like Yellowstone, Arches, and Grand Canyon, these parks are still large tracts of woodland or prarie, which would be a good spot to take a break for a day and have a hike or a picnic if you are travelling cross country by car. Turkey Run State Park about a 75 minute drive due west of the city is my favorite, but Brown County State Park and Indiana Dunes State Park are have some unique and interesting features as well.

Sports – Indianapolis has a large number of sporting events in the city each year. Tickets are generally cheaper than in most other cities and the stadia are generally top of the line and located downtown.

In general I guess this is what I would say about Indianapolis: there is an American saying about some cites that “It’s a nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there”. Indianapolis is the opposite of that. It is a very nice place to live, and I’m very happy here, but the things that make it a nice city to live in (low cost of living, good economy, low/non-existant traffic, convenient low-cost symphony/zoo/museums/pro-sports, good universities in the area, etc) are not the things that interest tourists. I get that, because if you’re going to travel halfway around the country or halfway around the world, you want to see things that are famous or unique or the best of the best. That’s why everyone spends so much time on the coasts when they visit the US, because those are where most of the famous cities are located and where the glamorous film and TV and music industries are centered. So visit Indianapolis if you’re a motorsports fan. Visit Indianapolis if there is a major event the city is hosting that you’re interested in. Visit Indianapolis if you’re travelling through the Midwest and you want to see a sporting event or take some time to stretch your legs in a state park. Visit Indianapolis, or any other city in the central portion of the US, if you want to get a real cross-section of what the US is like. The coasts are nice, but less than half the population lives there and for better or worse you’ll only see a small view of the US if that’s all you visit. However, if none of that is your cup of tea (no hard feelings if it isn’t), your vacation time would be better spent elsewhere.

Hope this helps.

 

[crownie]

I happen to live in Indianapolis, so I can answer any specific questions you have....

thanks a lot for the reply.

my interest with the city pretty much is that i follow the NFL and NBA teams so i just think it would be nice to see what the place is like.

 

[Goodo73]

my interest with the city pretty much is that i follow the NFL and NBA teams so i just think it would be nice to see what the place is like.

If you're a fan of the movie Hoosiers then the Historic Hoosier Gym is located about 40 minutes east of Indianapolis, in Knightstown. According to Wikipedia "The gym has kept the same look as it did when the movie was filmed over 20 years ago and has been turned into a museum and community center."

http://www.thehoosiergym.com/index.html

Bill Simmons, of ESPN's B.S. Report & Grantland fame, visited there a couple of years ago. There's at least one clip of his visit on YouTube.

 

[Suspense]

hey all. never been to nyc.
any opinions on staying in the lower east side (10 nights)?

seems better quality/value accommodation than midtown and is close to brooklyn as well. apparently has decent nightlife/eats too. i take it that as long as its close to a subway station it'll be fine for getting around the rest of the city?

 

[nicky]

hey all. never been to nyc.
any opinions on staying in the lower east side (10 nights)?

seems better quality/value accommodation than midtown and is close to brooklyn as well. apparently has decent nightlife/eats too. i take it that as long as its close to a subway station it'll be fine for getting around the rest of the city?

Don't stay in midtown (seriously, pretty sure you would hate it). Lower East side is great as is the West Village and Brooklyn (Williamsburg - Bedford ave is where i stayed for a week and it is fantastic) I'd actually rate Brooklyn above Lower East side and West Village, but really, you can't go wrong with any of them. And yes as long as there is a subway you can get around quite easily.

Avoid midtown like the plague - it's the Leicester square of NY. It's overcrowded with tourists on shopping trips.

..... and NY pizza is the best!

 

[WCErevival]

I stayed in Tribeca which I found good for location not so much the hotel itself though. Really it doesn't matter where you are in Manhattan you can get around quite easily with the subway and just walking. Plenty of taxis if you really need one but I rarely used them.

 

[ohhhBigMalcho]

Okay so myself and a few mates are in the preliminary stages of booking our 40 day trip around America and Vancouver (16th Nov-23rd Dec) and have been quoted around the 3k mark from flights (Melbourne-LA-Bus to Vegas-San Fran- Vancouver-Miami-New York-Bus up and down to Boston and DC-then to Tokyo for a few days to check out Japan)

at the moment we are just looking at options on websites such as Student Flights who offered around 3k but wanted to ask for peoples experiences in this stage. have people used particular websites, waited for certain deals to appear before booking or have any other tips apart from the obvious before booking?

 

[Leper]

I stayed in Tribeca which I found good for location not so much the hotel itself though. Really it doesn't matter where you are in Manhattan you can get around quite easily with the subway and just walking. Plenty of taxis if you really need one but I rarely used them.

 

[crownie]

booked all my flights for my trip july/august.

hawaii,seattle,chicago,boston,miami,dallas,austin,san diego and LA

i have already been to NY and San Fran.

i dont mind cheaping it for accomodation so if anyone has recommedations for those places id love to hear them.

 

[cammania]

So.

Started Friday at the travel agents.
(And here it raises its ugly head again) and on the basis my contiki tour is the middle and unmovable part of the trip, I booked that in.

Now it's just a matter of beforehand. And afterwards.

Beforehand goes:
Arrive LA and spend a night there to recover from jet lag and just chill for a few hours.
And head off to San Fran for 5-6 days.
(Between San Fran and NYC possibly might do three days in San Diego )
NYC for what works out to be about 11-12 days.
Then a 26 day contiki tour.

The afterwards. Is up to a few things.
Still will need to head to Vegas. Texas. Couple of days in LA. (knowing its a hole, but you have to do the walk and I would like to go to universal) and then a bit of time in NYC Boston and Washington. Then Hawaii on the way home.
The after contiki depends on when NBA is. As I'm going on a sports like tour, I'm not missing out on it.

I have read the threads. The numerous threads. But any suggestions at all on the brief synopsis I gave.
All the places. Pretty much doing all the touristy and sporty stuff.
And I'll probably gone for three months.
Have saved. Am 26 years old. Suggestion on buget and any things you all may have done or suggestions welcome. All happening and now a reality due to getting my passport a week a go and booking a tour on Friday just gone.

So. Any convo or suggestions would be mic appreciated.
Starting with San Diego. Have no idea about the place but know many people rate it highly. Could you get a good three days there in mid September and fill them up with some touristy stuff, some drinking socialising and relaxing.

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

Beforehand goes:
Arrive LA and spend a night there to recover from jet lag and just chill for a few hours.
And head off to San Fran for 5-6 days.
(Between San Fran and NYC possibly might do three days in San Diego )

First things first. If you do San Diego, better to do it first after you arrive in LA as it is reasonably close. Otherwise, you have a longish trip to San Fran, then a longer trip to San Diego and bugger all chance of getting a direct flight from SD to NYC. I'd go LA, car/bus to SD, then fly to SF. From there you may get a flight to NYC connecting half way.

 

[cammania]

First things first. If you do San Diego, better to do it first after you arrive in LA as it is reasonably close. Otherwise, you have a longish trip to San Fran, then a longer trip to San Diego and bugger all chance of getting a direct flight from SD to NYC. I'd go LA, car/bus to SD, then fly to SF. From there you may get a flight to NYC connecting half way.

Thanks for the response.
Miraculously, about five hours after getting that off my chest, every plan went out the window.
Decided I was probably going a bit early which was eating up dollars and time that could be spent elsewhere.
As I'm travelling to see sport. I sacrificed some I wanted to see and made that up in seeing other things.

Things I have slowly learnt:
(Can't say I wasn't immune to knowing.)
NYC is very expensive to stay. Accomodation wise
San Fransisco is very Exxy to stay as well. Accomodation too.
Vegas is cheap. Because there are so many things to do. And ultimately so many places to stay with many rooms.

Sme things I did want to know for this posting.
Obviously am researching of course but just need a little push along.

What's the actual site or agent that people here have gone through to book tours of ground zero.?

Secondly. The ANZ card seems to be the best for conversion rates and ease of use. Did go to the bank today but just wouldn't mind a few opinions of ease of use etc. (yes, the are a few convos floating about on back pages but am asking for now)

Probably looking at 5 baseball games planned. (2 Yankees, two mets and one Texas rangers)
Looking at four to five NFL games. (Dallas, Oakland, NY giants, chargers and 49ers) the one game I did want to see, the minimum price for a ticket is around 500 for nose bleeds. And decided that was a bit steep.
Then NBA will fall into place for the latter part of the trip. And organise that at a later date.

Also, any opinions on Hawaii or things to do, big or little, or definates. Wild love to know as I am probably planning on spending 5-8 days there on the way home. (Play a few rounds of golf too )

 

[Dee Won]

NYC is expensive, I would try to find a cheap hotel near a good subway station. There's so much to see and do that you'll be out till late and only use the hotel for sleeping.
San Fran is actually a small city, so if you think you are far away from something you probably aren't, just try to go downhill for most of the routes you take (if walking)

NFL is definitely something I need to go back to the States for. It was offseason during the time I went, would like to check out new 49ers stadium in a couple of years. Doesn't surprise me regarding expensive tickets, just 16 games a season, ONLY 8 home games a season.

 

[Nelso]

Thanks for the response.
Miraculously, about five hours after getting that off my chest, every plan went out the window.
Decided I was probably going a bit early which was eating up dollars and time that could be spent elsewhere.
As I'm travelling to see sport. I sacrificed some I wanted to see and made that up in seeing other things.

Things I have slowly learnt:
(Can't say I wasn't immune to knowing.)
NYC is very expensive to stay. Accomodation wise
San Fransisco is very Exxy to stay as well. Accomodation too.
Vegas is cheap. Because there are so many things to do. And ultimately so many places to stay with many rooms.

Sme things I did want to know for this posting.
Obviously am researching of course but just need a little push along.

What's the actual site or agent that people here have gone through to book tours of ground zero.?

Secondly. The ANZ card seems to be the best for conversion rates and ease of use. Did go to the bank today but just wouldn't mind a few opinions of ease of use etc. (yes, the are a few convos floating about on back pages but am asking for now)

Probably looking at 5 baseball games planned. (2 Yankees, two mets and one Texas rangers)
Looking at four to five NFL games. (Dallas, Oakland, NY giants, chargers and 49ers) the one game I did want to see, the minimum price for a ticket is around 500 for nose bleeds. And decided that was a bit steep.
Then NBA will fall into place for the latter part of the trip. And organise that at a later date.

Also, any opinions on Hawaii or things to do, big or little, or definates. Wild love to know as I am probably planning on spending 5-8 days there on the way home. (Play a few rounds of golf too )

I was in Hawaii a few months ago. Must dos - Pearl Harbour, circle island tour around the island, hike up to the top of Diamond Head. Lots of shopping, they have a factory outlet store at Waikele which is about 40 mins from Waikiki. It is just great to chill out and lay at the beach after a long trip elsewhere. I would have loved to have played golf there. Some great golf courses there but they are very expensive.

San Diego is awesome. The Gaslamp district is fantastic, lots of bars and restaurants. I would not bother going to Tijuana, it is a shithole even though it is very close to the border. The San Diego zoo is meant to be one of the best zoos in the world. Definitely go to Seaworld, they have a lot of good rides there now.

You will have a great time on your Contiki trip. I did the US Contiki some 15 years ago and I am still in contact with lots of people who were on our tour.

 

[NitroFan]

NFL is definitely something I need to go back to the States for. It was offseason during the time I went, would like to check out new 49ers stadium in a couple of years. Doesn't surprise me regarding expensive tickets, just 16 games a season, ONLY 8 home games a season.

im guessing the $500 nosebleed was for a big game of some kind. the majority of games seats can easily be had for <$100 and usually <$50

 

[Drumroe]

Thanks for the response.
Miraculously, about five hours after getting that off my chest, every plan went out the window.
Decided I was probably going a bit early which was eating up dollars and time that could be spent elsewhere.
As I'm travelling to see sport. I sacrificed some I wanted to see and made that up in seeing other things.

Things I have slowly learnt:
(Can't say I wasn't immune to knowing.)
NYC is very expensive to stay. Accomodation wise
San Fransisco is very Exxy to stay as well. Accomodation too.
Vegas is cheap. Because there are so many things to do. And ultimately so many places to stay with many rooms.

Sme things I did want to know for this posting.
Obviously am researching of course but just need a little push along.

What's the actual site or agent that people here have gone through to book tours of ground zero.?

Secondly. The ANZ card seems to be the best for conversion rates and ease of use. Did go to the bank today but just wouldn't mind a few opinions of ease of use etc. (yes, the are a few convos floating about on back pages but am asking for now)

Probably looking at 5 baseball games planned. (2 Yankees, two mets and one Texas rangers)
Looking at four to five NFL games. (Dallas, Oakland, NY giants, chargers and 49ers) the one game I did want to see, the minimum price for a ticket is around 500 for nose bleeds. And decided that was a bit steep.
Then NBA will fall into place for the latter part of the trip. And organise that at a later date.

Also, any opinions on Hawaii or things to do, big or little, or definates. Wild love to know as I am probably planning on spending 5-8 days there on the way home. (Play a few rounds of golf too )

With New York, I recommend having a look at airbnb if you can. We stayed at an apartment in west village there and it was awesome, plenty of cheap options, especially if you're just happy to rent a room.

For my ground zero tour i used http://unclesamsnewyork.com/tours/32/Heroes_Of_The_World_Trade_Center_Tour/. Tour guide was really good, although I did mine in December and the memorial was freezing! Had to hide behind a wall for about half the time inside the memorial just to be shielded for the wind.

I'd recommend having a look at 28degreescard.com.au for their 28 degrees card. I used this while over in the states and found it the best and cheapest way to travel. Just put it into positive balance and off you go.

Also, with tickets for NBA games etc. have a look at stubhub.com. Really good way to find tickets.

 

[Lets Roar like '44]

Also, with tickets for NBA games etc. have a look at stubhub.com. Really good way to find tickets.

Have used several times, highly recommend.

 

[Goodo73]

Also, with tickets for NBA games etc. have a look at stubhub.com. Really good way to find tickets.

Just remember it's effectively legalised scalping, so there's a good chance you'll pay above face value ($99 lower bowl tix to a Magic-Cavs game in 2009 cost me $200 on stubhub ... but I did see LeBron, Dwight & Shaq play live ). However, on the basis of being that 'once in a lifetime' thing, that's probably not too much of a consideration. Like anything though, shop around.

 

[Goodo73]

NFL is definitely something I need to go back to the States for. It was offseason during the time I went, would like to check out new 49ers stadium in a couple of years.

I'd actually like to see a Niners game at Candlestick Park before it gets the heave-ho. Sadly when I'm there later in the year they have the bye.

 

[Lets Roar like '44]

Just remember it's effectively legalised scalping, so there's a good chance you'll pay above face value ($99 lower bowl tix to a Magic-Cavs game in 2009 cost me $200 on stubhub ... but I did see LeBron, Dwight & Shaq play live ). However, on the basis of being that 'once in a lifetime' thing, that's probably not too much of a consideration. Like anything though, shop around.

Ive found stubhub cheaper than buying straight from the team itself.

I saw the Yankees and got tickets, 1st base 3rd level for about $60 or something like that. Yankees website was about $180 odd. The only way to see a lot of hockey games is through these websites as they are all booked out year round by season ticket holders. If you wanted to see the Canucks in Vancouver you couldnt, unless you went through these dealers, and from my experience were usually face value.

 

[ThePezDispenser]

With New York, I recommend having a look at airbnb if you can. We stayed at an apartment in west village there and it was awesome, plenty of cheap options, especially if you're just happy to rent a room.


I'd recommend having a look at 28degreescard.com.au for their 28 degrees card. I used this while over in the states and found it the best and cheapest way to travel. Just put it into positive balance and off you go.

Also, with tickets for NBA games etc. have a look at stubhub.com. Really good way to find tickets.

Couldn't agree more. Used all three

 

[cammania]

With New York, I recommend having a look at airbnb if you can. We stayed at an apartment in west village there and it was awesome, plenty of cheap options, especially if you're just happy to rent a room.

For my ground zero tour i used http://unclesamsnewyork.com/tours/32/Heroes_Of_The_World_Trade_Center_Tour/. Tour guide was really good, although I did mine in December and the memorial was freezing! Had to hide behind a wall for about half the time inside the memorial just to be shielded for the wind.

I'd recommend having a look at 28degreescard.com.au for their 28 degrees card. I used this while over in the states and found it the best and cheapest way to travel. Just put it into positive balance and off you go.

Also, with tickets for NBA games etc. have a look at stubhub.com. Really good way to find tickets.

Thanks. Will look at what you have said and take it on board.

As for stub hub. Am a fan. It's actually where I'm looking for my tix and find it so easy to use. And the interactive map. Pick where you want to sit. And if you only want to spend $100 on a ticket for example you can click around til you find what's right. Found a nice seat at a Texas game for 200. Right next to Texas dug out and in what's called a commissioners box. Do that at Yankee stadium, good luck salvaging anything less than 3k. Hahaha.
Huge fan of it. Can't wait to get some tix off there.

I was in Hawaii a few months ago. Must dos - Pearl Harbour, circle island tour around the island, hike up to the top of Diamond Head. Lots of shopping, they have a factory outlet store at Waikele which is about 40 mins from Waikiki. It is just great to chill out and lay at the beach after a long trip elsewhere. I would have loved to have played golf there. Some great golf courses there but they are very expensive.

San Diego is awesome. The Gaslamp district is fantastic, lots of bars and restaurants. I would not bother going to Tijuana, it is a shithole even though it is very close to the border. The San Diego zoo is meant to be one of the best zoos in the world. Definitely go to Seaworld, they have a lot of good rides there now.

You will have a great time on your Contiki trip. I did the US Contiki some 15 years ago and I am still in contact with lots of people who were on our tour.

Thanks bud. Certainly all on the things to do list.

 

[Goodo73]

As for stub hub. Am a fan.

Don't get me wrong; I like it and would use it again. Just alerting people to the fact it's not necessarily a 'cheap tickets' site.

 

[dales.girl38]

I used stubhub to go to the Bulls vs Heat match (game 3) last week based on the recommendations in this thread - they emailed the tickets instantly, was perfect