America (advice?)

Tusky

Hoi.

A friend and I are planning a 4 week trip to the states this summer. We should have between 3-5k (euros) each. First of all...will that be enough ?

Second of all, where should we go ? The only place thats absolutely top of my list is New York. We have to go there. Neither of us are really into beaches so we arent too pushed in that regard.

Unfortunately, neither of us drive so we are going to have to fly/train/bus everywhere. Should we just stay on the east coast or should we try do both coasts.

I was thinking something along the lines of...

FLY to New York or Boston and then on to Chicago (fly or bus/train?), fly to San Francisco and then maybe to Vegas and then fly home ?

As you can probably tell, I dont know much about it and just randomly came up with that route while looking at a map. All advice much appreciated.

MrJoeSoap

Here's what myself and two friends did.

Flew into JFK on the 4th of July, 2004. Stayed in New York for three nights and took the overnight train to Chicago, where I stayed for another few nights. Back on the train again, which took us to the west coast, and the cities of Portland and Eugene in Oregon. The train from Chicago to Portland left on a Friday and arrived on the Monday...

Then I took the train down the west coast, staying in both San Francisco and Los Angeles (Hollywood) for four or so nights. The next step, yes you've guessed it, was the train again, from LA to New Orleans.

Stayed in New Orleans for five nights and then went full-circle back to New York!

Whilst it was a great month, and we got to see practically all of the border regions of America, looking back on it I think spending eight days on trains was a bit extreme! I'd use internal flights if you plan going from one coast to another, though if the trains are much cheaper for shorter journeys like New York to Chicago or similar I'd recommend them. I wouldn't be so sure about the Greyhound buses, I didn't try them myself but an English guy we met in New York said they weren't the best. Apparently when people get out of jail in the US they get a few dollars and a one-way Greyhound ticket! He said he was woken up in the early hours of the morning by a scitzophrenic one night... I'll take the train thanks!

As for the cities I visited, I'd highly highly recommend San Francisco and Chicago. Both are extremely clean, feel very safe and have plenty of things to see and do. New York is a must if you haven't been, just to get the unique feel of the place, but I must admit I felt slightly claustrophobic at times. It has some great character and sights.

New Orleans was cool, it really had character and a great vibe to it, but I've no idea what sort of a state it is in at the moment given what happened there.

I was staying in fairly budget accomodation, but if you want recommendations on any specific places to stay just ask. I stayed in a great cheap hotel in Chicago called the "Cass" which I'd recommend. If you plan on visiting LA there was a great one right beside the Walk Of Fame, but I can't think of the name of it off-hand. Other than that it was mainly hostels.

Any other questions, just ask. I'm pretty much an expert on US rail travel at this stage...

Black Swan

NY is cool. I would skip Chicago (as it really has nothing over NY). San Franciso is a grand idea (a beautiful and fun city!). Las Vegas, Reno, or Atlantic City are all pretty much the same, with gambling and shows. Hollywood-California is overrated.

If you are into amusement parks, Orlando-Florida is probably the best in the USA (there are 4 parks in Disney World that would take 4 days to cover them all). Orlando also has Universal Studios (for playing on a movie set) and Sea World (if you want to get spashed by a whale).

Would not recommend New Orleans since the hurricane and flooding there (and crime is reported to be out of control). Washington, DC, is full of a bunch of old buildings, politicians, and museums, if that's your thing (boring!), and is not far from NY.

If you want to save money on domestic flights, check out Southwest Airlines (in general, they are the cheapest, especially for one-way flights). If you are students, look for student rates NOW! (as they book early for summer).

I would not ride the trains from east to west (all you will see until the Rockies are about 2,500 miles of farms).

If you must fly one-way on an airline other than Southwest, check the price of a round trip and Saturday night stay over (then don't bother with the return trip or the stay over, cause it's often cheaper, although this makes no sense).

NY > Orlando > Las Vegas > San Francisco ?

Ruu_Old

You might be able to do part of your journey on the Amtrak trains, they are cheap and very comfy. There is one that goes from Chicago Union Station all the way down to New Orleans. (no 58 ftw!)

aaronm13

Have to disagree with what Blue_Lagoon said about Chicago.It's one of the best places I've been to.I've been six times now and I'm off there again in a few weeks,still not bored yet.The place has everything you could ask for in a city especially in the summer.Great night life,sightseeing,food and the people are so friendly.Trust me on this you will not regret it;)

Tusky

So far...

Dublin
Fly to
New York
train to
Chicago
fly to
Orlando
fly to
San Francisco
train/bus to
LA
train/bus to
Las Vegas
fly to
Dublin

phew. Looking at that journey, I would be getting an internal flight to go to Orlando. Are internal flights pricey ? Is it worth getting one just to go to Orlando for 4 or 5 days ?

Do I need to book train tickets in advance and how much do they cost, roughly ? Also, Can I get trains from SF to La to LV ?

How much on average will I be looking at for accomadation per night ? Would it be more than 50 euro ?

Thanks again, help much appreciated.

LundiMardi

Ok, from that list i gather your first destination will be NY.... So why plan further ahead? Go to new york, when you get there, have fun, then decide where to go. Planning it all just makes it boring.

MrJoeSoap

Tusky wrote:

Do I need to book train tickets in advance and how much do they cost, roughly ? Also, Can I get trains from SF to La to LV ?

Train from New York to Chicago is roughly $80 per person. I'd recommend booking it before you leave, to be sure.

You can get a train from SF to LA, its a train to Bakersfield and then a connecting bus as far as I remember. Nothing too intensive as far as I remember. Around $100+.

There's no train service from LA to Vegas but there are connections as far as I know.

Its all on www.Amtrak.com

How much on average will I be looking at for accomadation per night ? Would it be more than 50 euro ?

Thanks again, help much appreciated.

What sort of place are you looking to stay in?

Tusky

MrJoeSoap wrote:

Train from New York to Chicago is roughly $80 per person. I'd recommend booking it before you leave, to be sure.

You can get a train from SF to LA, its a train to Bakersfield and then a connecting bus as far as I remember. Nothing too intensive as far as I remember. Around $100+.

There's no train service from LA to Vegas but there are connections as far as I know.

Its all on www.Amtrak.com




What sort of place are you looking to stay in?

Dublin
Fly to
New York
train to
Chicago
fly to
San Francisco
train/bus to
LA
train/bus to
Las Vegas
fly to
Dublin

This is the new journey, gonna cut out Orlando because its an extra flight and I found out that theres a universal studios in LA.

Thanks for the help Joe, much appreciated. In regards to the accomadation, doesnt need to be fancy but at the same time, dont want to be staying somewhere really dodgy. I'll check that website.

p.s was looking at some videos of universal studios on youtube, looks amazing.

Ponster

An LA -> Vegas flight was $120 return last year.


4 weeks and you're only going to see 5 cities ??? I managed a 3-week east-west trip that also included Memphis, Nashville, Fort Worth,... sure it was probably more rushed than what you're planning but ita may be something that you don't get to do again and by missing out on the south you're really only seeing one vision of the country.

Tusky

Ponster wrote:

An LA -> Vegas flight was $120 return last year.


4 weeks and you're only going to see 5 cities ??? I managed a 3-week east-west trip that also included Memphis, Nashville, Fort Worth,... sure it was probably more rushed than what you're planning but ita may be something that you don't get to do again and by missing out on the south you're really only seeing one vision of the country.

Well nothing is set in stone, im open to suggestions! Was the south worth visiting ? Is there anywhere else on the west worth going ?

Tusky

What are peoples thought son flying into Boston and getting a bus to NY ? Boston worth visiting ?

Ponster

I've been to Boston once before (heading out there again in March) and spent 2 fine days in the city. It's a nice human-sized city and a great place for a base if you're hoping to visit other places in New England.
I wouldn't say that you *have* to see it as that part of the States is probably the most European but if it was on the way I'd stop in.
We visited on our way from NY to Buffalo (Niagara Falls)

I spent 3 weeks and €1.5k in the US about 3 years ago travelling from NY to LA through Boston, Buffalo, Nashville, Mempheis, Dallas, Denver, Las Vagas, San Diego and LA


Nashville & Mempheis were pretty cool. The people we met in the south were very different from the Americans we met in the North (NY & Boston). They just had a different way of looking at things compared to the others.
Nashville was full of country music bars and Mempheis of course had Graceland and all the Elvis bars in the world that you could ever need

Dallas was hot but would only go back there to visit family (Fort Worth right beside it was a much nicer city). Denver was a very interesting city and one of the only places I found on my visit that I'd like to live in some day.


Since then though I've been back twice and now tend to spend my time out of cities and visit more of the natural wonders (Grand Canyon/Yosemite National Park/) which to me is more of a relaxing holiday than just going from city to city but as I already live in Paris, it may explain why I try to get away from the hetic life for something more relaxing.


All I can say is do what I did and buy a BIG map of the US and put little stickers on the towns that look interesting and figure out a way of getting from one to another!
If I had another 3-week trip I'd probably go back to New York (I could spend weeks there), San Francisco (hire a bike and cycle over the Golden Gate Bridge into the countryside!) and probably spend some time in the mid-west that I've never really been to.

Either way, you have to realise that you can't possible see everything and just decide what type of a holiday you're looking for (hiking in Utah or clubbing in LA) and then find the right places to do so!