Multi Centre USA Holiday Tips

Synney

Hi all,

Thinking of going to US end of August/beginning of September and just looking for some tips/advice.

Currently flights are around 580 return - Dublin-Boston, return New York-Dublin. Could anyone tell me if these prices may come down or if it's best to book now for this time of year? Any sites it may be cheaper to book as a package?

Thinking of flying into Boston (stay perhaps 3 nights), then maybe a train to Washington, and then back to New York. Probably for 10 nights in total. Has anyone done something similar? Or would it be a better idea to stay somewhere as a base and in between do something like a 3 day coach tour to Washington/Boston etc. (if so with what company?)

Also has anyone done a trip to Niagara Falls - is it worth doing?

Any other advice welcome!Thanks in advance!

Synney

Forgot to mention flight price above is with Aer Lingus - hoping to go direct but can anyone tell me if other airlines are a better option?

endofrainbow

nobody can say for certainly it prices will stay the same - likelihood is that prices will rise. 580 is a good price for that time of year.

Your plan is a lot of traveling for just 10 days. I wouldn't bother taking the train - it's expensive and can eat into your already limited time. Have a look at Southwest or JetBlue for internal flights.

If you are set on doing 3 cities, I would look at Boston - NYC and possibly Philadelphia.

In my opinion a day trip to Niagra Falls is a waste of vacation time but there are some good tours if you want to have a look :

http://www.getbustours.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=New+York+Niagara+Falls&Search=&gclid=CLqe-7zb8bwCFeWw2wodLZcAoA

Synney

Thanks for the advice! Yes i think i will go ahead with the return flights. Been travelling around Europe for two weeks at a time the last couple of years so quite used to moving about at a quick pace. Thinking 3 nights in two cities and 4 nights in NYC

I priced the train for around 90euro.. that was Boston-Washington (although this journey is quite long-around 7 hours) and Washington-NYC so thought it wasn't too bad. I will look into Philadelphia instead perhaps!

Any other tips greatly appreciated!

InTheTrees

Late August and early September is still Summer so 580 seems like a good price. The price usually drops after schools start in mid-sept.

I cant imagine it would go down at this point?

JIdontknow

I just had a look at skyscanner.ie now, if multicity wasn't critical (Boston - New York is about 4.5 hours on the greyhound, I know from experience, might be quicker on different train..). Flights Dublin to New York (La Guardia) BUT with one stop in Charlotte, are coming in at €460 euro. I know its an extra stop over, and wait and travel time etc but if money is tight and you dont mind waiting then you're saving 120 euro, but flying in and out on NYC. Dates I put in are Friday 29th August - Monday 8th September.

Direct flights are around 568-580 euro.

Dave1442397

I would travel to NYC and Washington DC over Philadelphia, and I live 10 miles from Philly

Monday September 1st is Labor Day, so that weekend will be busy. It's the last weekend before kids go back to school, so you'll find a lot of attractions won't be nearly as busy once you get into September.

Gandhi

I would definitely try to push the trip to after Labor Day weekend (Sept 1st). The kids will be back at school and college and you'll have a lot more elbow room everywhere, and probably cheaper prices.

For traveling between cities, I'd use Megabus or Boltbus. Much cheaper, and nicer than Greyhound. Far cheaper than the train. Almost as fast as the train as long as you avoid rush hour traffic. Booking in advance on their web sites can save you serious money.

If you are going Boston to NYC, you could definitely fit in Philly or DC. DC has lots of free stuff (museums etc) but tends to be a ghost town at weekends. Philly has historical stuff, and a great art museum. You'd really need to look at the tourism websites of each city and see what attractions or events at the time grab your fancy.

Also, all the cities mentioned have major league baseball teams in transit-accessible stadiums. You'll be coming near the end of baseball season, so it will be either very easy or very tough to get tickets for a particular team depending on their chances of making it to the World Series. Even if you are not into the sport (and I'm not) a baseball game is a great few hours out with lots of beer and food. Good chance to see real America.

Synney

Thanks everyone for all of the advice!

@Dave1442397 Thanks - would it be worth going over for shopping for Labor day weekend or do you think its better to wait until afterwards due to the crowds?

@Gandhi - I'll check out the bus prices thanks hadn't even thought of that option but once its cheaper and around the same journey time we will go with that! Will book in advance once we have definite dates. Still been holding out on the flights but they haven't moved in price so i think i need to go ahead and book before i get a bad surprise!
Thanks for the Baseball match idea - it's not a sport im highly interested in but definitely think it would be an experience and fun! Any ideas on seats there? I've seen you can get seats at the very top behind the home area for under $40 - would like to go on a budget and just wondering if anyone has sit around section 420B in the Yankee stadium and what it is like?

InTheTrees

Synney wrote: »

Thanks for the Baseball match idea - it's not a sport im highly interested in but definitely think it would be an experience and fun! Any ideas on seats there? I've seen you can get seats at the very top behind the home area for under $40 - would like to go on a budget and just wondering if anyone has sit around section 420B in the Yankee stadium and what it is like?

A baseball game is really fun to experience. Its a real slice of americana. Its very easy and relaxed and a real family affair. Games last around 3-4 hours but you dont have to pay attention all that time, play stops frequently, people walk around, there's places to eat, shops, etc.
The thing about baseball is that unlike most other sports there are 168 games in a season, which is a huge number and means every team plays almost every night between april and early october. Which means its much easier to get tickets unlike football where there's only one game a week. Unfortunately the yankees are one of the very few teams where you might need to get tic's in advance, but it shouldnt be difficult.

Dave1442397

Synney wrote: »

Thanks everyone for all of the advice!

@Dave1442397 Thanks - would it be worth going over for shopping for Labor day weekend or do you think its better to wait until afterwards due to the crowds?

Well, you do get some good sales that weekend, so if you plan on buying clothes, etc, keep an eye on www.dealnews.com for advance notice on sales and discounts.

If you decide to come for Labor Day weekend and are going to shop in New Jersey, make sure you buy a copy of the local paper (Bergen Record and/or Star Ledger) on Sunday. They will have piles of sales flyers and coupons for labor day sales, and if you read the fine print you can save a lot of money on some items.

If you do end up shopping at a store and you don't have a coupon, make sure you ask the cashier if they have an extra coupon at the register (lay on the Irish accent for best effect) and many times they will scan one and get you a deal.

If you decide to go outlet shopping (eg, http://www.harmonmeadow.com/pages/secaucusmap.html ) be aware that many outlets no longer sell the same product line that's available in their main stores. Brooks Brothers is a prime example of this - they have a totally separate product line made specially for their outlet stores, and the quality is nowhere near as good.

That doesn't mean you can't find some good deals there, just don't assume everything you see is best quality...check it carefully. I've gotten some fantastic deals at Nordstrom's outlet, and also at the Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus outlets.


As for baseball - yes, it's worth going to a game, and when you don't know what's going on, any seat in the house is fine. It's very relaxed and you can get up and wander around whenever you like.