Travel USA travel tips and tricks

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Will trawl through the earlier posts in this thread as well but what's cool to do in and around Washington DC?

The missus' family lives there so we're spending a little over 2 weeks of our US trip there so I have plenty of time to check it out. I'm pretty sure they'll line up all the touristy bits and bobs so really looking for stuff a little different to do?

Cheers guys.
 
sivart said:
Ok cool. So you are suggesting Universal Studios in Florida over the LA one?

We are hoping to get to Busch Gardens outside Tampa if possible. I have been recommended that theme park by a few people.
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Both of them are very good and some rides are the same in both theme parks. A couple of differences are:
LA has the studio (backlot) ride where you get to see the set of desparates housewifes and other movie sets and props which Orlando doesn't have but Orlando has TNA wrestling events on selected dates (see website) which you can attend for free. If you are a fan of wrestling, it is worth checking out.

Islands of Adventure is next to Universal Studios and is fairly unique that you won't see elsewhere. It has a lot of rollercoasters and the Harry Potter section. It is more popular/crowded than Universal Studios Orlando in that you are probably going to need the full day if you want to ride and experience everything in the park.
 
fryzie said:
Will trawl through the earlier posts in this thread as well but what's cool to do in and around Washington DC?

The missus' family lives there so we're spending a little over 2 weeks of our US trip there so I have plenty of time to check it out. I'm pretty sure they'll line up all the touristy bits and bobs so really looking for stuff a little different to do?

Cheers guys.
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Spy Museum
 

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Peter Sidorkiewicz said:
Both of them are very good and some rides are the same in both theme parks. A couple of differences are:
LA has the studio (backlot) ride where you get to see the set of desparates housewifes and other movie sets and props which Orlando doesn't have but Orlando has TNA wrestling events on selected dates (see website) which you can attend for free. If you are a fan of wrestling, it is worth checking out.

Islands of Adventure is next to Universal Studios and is fairly unique that you won't see elsewhere. It has a lot of rollercoasters and the Harry Potter section. It is more popular/crowded than Universal Studios Orlando in that you are probably going to need the full day if you want to ride and experience everything in the park.
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Ok, you seem to have an extensive knowledge on the States.

Does anyone know how I go about getting a visit of the Whitehouse. i have heard that I need to book through the Australian embassy, is that right?
 
sivart said:
Ok, you seem to have an extensive knowledge on the States.

Does anyone know how I go about getting a visit of the Whitehouse. i have heard that I need to book through the Australian embassy, is that right?
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I looked into it a bit not long back & while many places say that I think its been locked down for most.. I guess theres no harm trying.
 
fryzie said:
Will trawl through the earlier posts in this thread as well but what's cool to do in and around Washington DC?

The missus' family lives there so we're spending a little over 2 weeks of our US trip there so I have plenty of time to check it out. I'm pretty sure they'll line up all the touristy bits and bobs so really looking for stuff a little different to do?

Cheers guys.
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I found the Newseum quite fun and informative too. Probably allow 2 or 3 hours if you want to check it out in depth, we ran out of time.
 
Yeah I was stuck in the middle of Sandy. Spent it in a hotel bar watching it on TV and out the window. It was pretty bad.
I was lucky that the hotel I was in didn't lose power so I didn't have to move. The power went out about 10 blocks from where I was. NY was very strange the next couple of days after. Everything was closed. There was no traffic, no shops or businesses open. Looking down the St and seeing downtown all black at night. It's hard to imagine. Just tourists going for a walk because they were bored. I was due to fly out on Wednesday night but my flights were cancelled. I managed to get out a day later. There were people that had to wait an extra couple of days.

Because there was warning of Sandy coming, it didn't really effect my holiday. I got nearly everything I wanted to do done by Sunday. The only things I didn't get done was a Yankee stadium tour (I was booked in for the day Sandy hit) and I didn't spend much time in Central Park. NY is an amazing city. I loved it.
 
The Harry Potter ride at Islands of Adventure is the best out of the two Universal theme parks and worth checking out, even if you haven't read any of the books (I haven't).
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the rollercoaster(s) or the one with all the special effects?

my favourite ride in the two parks was the one where you could chose your own music (forgot its name). the coaster itself isnt brilliant (espeically after going to numerous coaster parks across the country) but it was such a fun experience with the music. hulk is massively overrated.

busch gardens is good. they have a couple of good rides there. and the manta ride at seaworld is awesome.
 
kaiserchief13 said:
I've got a couple of questions. If you only visited the US for 2-3 weeks would you go to the East or West Coast? And which cities in particular?
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I did both in about 18 days. LA>Memphis>NYC>Niagara Falls>Las Vegas>Big Island Hawaii>Anaheim. Leave out Hawaii and Anaheim (and Memphis too for most), include San Francisco and Washington DC.

If you have to choose though, East Coast is the way to go. Could spend 3 weeks in NYC alone and leave having just scratched the surface.
 
kaiserchief13 said:
I've got a couple of questions. If you only visited the US for 2-3 weeks would you go to the East or West Coast? And which cities in particular?
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Assuming you are coming from Australia, I would try to fly straight to San Fran, spend at least a long weekend there. Would not spend any time at all in Los Angeles. I would then consider two options: (1) Drive up the coast towards Portland/Seattle, some spectacular scenery. You can do this in a few days; or (2) Fly to Vegas and take a short trip to the Grand Canyon. You could always try to do all of this, but could be cramming things in.

I would then fly straight to NYC and spend as much time as you can there. There are other cities like Chicago, Boston, etc. which are cool enough in their own right ... but at the end of the day NYC is the king of all cities and has everything and more that these other cities have.

I would recommend a trip to Denver and snowfields (if winter), or even Austin, TX (where I live ... along with San Fran, NYC ... the 3 best cities in the USA) ... but this is probably out of the way and wouldn't fit your schedule.

Do what you want to ... but would basically say absolute musts are San Fran and NYC ... and try to throw in some nature watching in between.
 

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kaiserchief13 said:
I've got a couple of questions. If you only visited the US for 2-3 weeks would you go to the East or West Coast? And which cities in particular?
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It depends a little bit what you want, West Coast has the potential for you to check out more National Parks and stuff, but from the second part of your q, it sounds like you want to hit cities.

In which case I'd say East Coast - as others have said, NYC is just unreal, and I can recommend Boston, Philly, DC (especially if you dig history), even Chicago if you want to head that far (worth it IMO, maybe a stopover on your way from West Coast?)

What I ended up doing was basing myself in NYC for about a month and then doing weekend/three day trips to the other cities. Fairly easy to get around via bus/train to most of those cities for fairly cheap.
 
kaiserchief13 said:
I've got a couple of questions. If you only visited the US for 2-3 weeks would you go to the East or West Coast? And which cities in particular?
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Choose one coast and do it well rather than trying to fit in too much.

EAST: I would spend them in Washington DC (3-4 days), Philly (2-3days), NYC (6-7 days) and Boston (3-4days). Any spare time use up in Niagara Falls, Chicago or wherever your flight leaves from.

WEST: Hire a car and visit LA, San Diego and San Francisco . That will take 8-9 days depending plus add days for theme parks. Other attractions include the National Parks of Yosemite, Death Valley, Sequoia, Mojave and Joshua Tree in eastern California. With any spare time Las Vegas is not that far away either (4hrs from LA). A bit further east are some great outdoor areas including Grand Canyon, Red Rock, Glen Canyon, Monument Valley, Zion, Bryce etc but you would need another week.
 
Hey guys, just wanted some quick advice. Doing exchange next year for uni, and was wondering which place in the states would be the best to go to? I've narrowed it down from the choices I've been given to, LA, San Luis, Boston, SF, Philly and Cincinnati. I'm inclined to go outside of California, because I've been to the states heaps of times, and I have family in Cali so I usually go there. Never been to the non California choices I've listed, so really interested in maybe trying them out, thoughts?
 
So it looks like I'll be in Miami for the Miami V Minnesota, so just about to book that.

Would anyone be able to help me with the NHL though? With the league lockout are there any other leagues worth going to watch?

Also would it be worth going to the baseball. I can't say I'm a huge fan, but will the atmosphere overtake the game itself?

Lastly with the NFL, the weather (freezing and quite possibly snow) is putting me off going?
 
ThePezDispenser said:
Also would it be worth going to the baseball. I can't say I'm a huge fan, but will the atmosphere overtake the game itself?
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Depending on when you're going (I assume soon?) baseball season is already over.
 
My bad. Makes sense for a summer sport to be in its off season during winter..lol
 
ThePezDispenser said:
So it looks like I'll be in Miami for the Miami V Minnesota, so just about to book that.

Would anyone be able to help me with the NHL though? With the league lockout are there any other leagues worth going to watch?

Also would it be worth going to the baseball. I can't say I'm a huge fan, but will the atmosphere overtake the game itself?

Lastly with the NFL, the weather (freezing and quite possibly snow) is putting me off going?
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Which NFL game are you thinking of attending?
 
Eagles v NY Giants 30 Dec at Met Life Stadium looks to be the most convenient game.
 
ThePezDispenser said:
So it looks like I'll be in Miami for the Miami V Minnesota, so just about to book that.

Would anyone be able to help me with the NHL though? With the league lockout are there any other leagues worth going to watch?

Also would it be worth going to the baseball. I can't say I'm a huge fan, but will the atmosphere overtake the game itself?

Lastly with the NFL, the weather (freezing and quite possibly snow) is putting me off going?
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Baseball doesn't run during winter as far as I know.

Don't worry about the weather re NFL. I was in Denver New Years Day this year to see Chiefs @ Broncos. You don't feel the cold.... till you have to leave :D Well worth it though.

I managed to see 3 of the 4 major league sports on my trip (Dec-Feb). Missed out on baseball. There may be some minor league games happening, not sure as I'm not a baseball fan. I still did a tour of Safeco Field, which was really good, so if you want to do something baseball related, a stadium tour might be your best bet.
 
ThePezDispenser said:
My bad. Makes sense for a summer sport to be in its off season during winter..lol
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Yeah, that is why you should go around August - because baseball is still in full swing and the NFL has thier practice games, so usually the weather is perfect. Some can even line up in early September. I would only see an NFL game in winter if it were somewhere like Arizona's stadium, Cowboys Stadium or New Orleans.
 
Amazing Racer said:
Yeah, that is why you should go around August - because baseball is still in full swing and the NFL has thier practice games, so usually the weather is perfect. Some can even line up in early September. I would only see an NFL game in winter if it were somewhere like Arizona's stadium, Cowboys Stadium or New Orleans.
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If I was going there purely for sport, yeah. But really, I'm there with my gf for a white Christmas, primarily and making the most of the mandatory 2 weeks holidays of Christmas you must take in the business sector, so heading over for a month over that period, staying on Boston to ensure a White Christmas and NY for NYE.

Just about to book the Miami v Minnesota - I'm probably willing to pay up to $150 each, though what is the difference between sitting say upper center or lower center. Is it just the viewing or is there a better atmosphere down lower. The difference is around $70-80 to the $150?
 

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