How to plan a trip around America

[Deleted User] · 26/04/12 - 17:33

Help!

I want to spend 3/4 weeks going to certain parts of America, but I don't have a clue where to start!

I'm 23, my partner's 29. We live in Birmingham. He has a degree, I don't (that appears to be relevant for some student travel companies

)

I want to spend 3/4 days in New York, the same in Las Vegas and I want to go to Orlando for the theme parks, so was thinking about a week, and my boyfriend wants to travel the Californian coast, so a few days in Los Angeles too?

What order should we do it to make travel cheapest? Which companies should we use for internal flights? How far apart are these places/how long will it take to get between the two?

How much money are we looking at for this trip if we can't do it through student travel companies... any other genius companies out there to bring the costs down?

[Deleted User] · 26/04/12 - 17:43

Are you sure about the degree thing?? Ive never heard of that and i worked in travel for god knows..14 odd years??

I dont know your budget but to do 2 east and 2 west coast trips are a bit awkward. Its best to do them seperately. There are rides in vegas and theme parks in LA theres no need to do Orlando. You could stop off in NY on the way to LA. If you fly to vegas from LA for a few days its really cheap and about an hour.

I dont know your budget or dates. Its best to ring STA or Goldmedal but they will want specific dates but will help you out no end.

PS you will need a car in California.

ubanjod · 26/04/12 - 18:23

Been there, done similar. Have no idea how we managed it! We did have a starting base in Seattle though. And did NY on the exit. Hired a car and did the West coast. Mega roadtrip. California/LA is great. Then flew to the east and had about 10 days to do this side. Didn't hire a car though.

Hope you have a great trip. BTW we had just over 4 weeks in total.

John259 · 26/04/12 - 18:53

Hiring a car is going to be close to essential but likely to be very costly for young drivers. There's also an additional charge for one-way rentals.

Don't try to do too much. Spending the whole time in one area may be far more enjoyable than trying to pack in several different areas and seeing little of each of them. You're young, you can always go again and see more later.

What appeals to you? Cities, wilderness, history or what?

Are you ok with long car trips or would you prefer to avoid them? It's a huge country.

How about flying to San Francisco? Then you can explore the city itself, plus part of the California coast, and also head inland to Yosemite National Park, so you've got plenty of variety just in that one area.

Probably obvious, but Wikipedia and Google Streeview are great ways of researching places you're considering visiting, both city and country.

lozenger · 26/04/12 - 19:28

I travelled by Amtrak which is a wonderful way to see the country - the trains are often double deckers with huge comfy seats - some of the carriages on the longer trips are half glass with sideways seats so you can enjoy the views - (e.g. through the Rockies).

Drawback is they can be slow and infrequent but if you plan it properly you can even sleep overnight on them on the longer trips (for example going through Texas alone took something like 17 hours) - but there are bars, dinner cars and entertainment on board.

If you are going West Coast I would say Grand Canyon is essential!!

John259 · 26/04/12 - 19:36

letitiadeanfan wrote: »

any other genius companies out there to bring the costs down?

For accomodation, I'd highly recommend using Motel 6 and "mom-and-pop" independant motels. If you want to go little more up-market try Super 8.
http://www.motel6.com
http://www.super8.com

DEADLY_17 · 26/04/12 - 20:12

Try Trek America, if your not fussy with accommodation.

http://www.trekamerica.co.uk/

You can see alot of America with them for pretty much good money, they have budget options to. Im going with them after i Finish my work placement in Maine

Maxatoria · 26/04/12 - 20:48

the main thing will be that if you fly you'll need to get anal probed by the TSA before and probably after every flight so allow alot of time to your schedule for the federal probings

[Deleted User] · 26/04/12 - 20:51

Cant argue with treck america but its not really for couples.

x_malibubabe · 26/04/12 - 21:09

I agree with Barneyboy, Trek America definitely not for couples!

I was looking at doing them earlier this year and enquired to alot of companies about 'Multi/Twin-centre holidays' but they were £1000+ each, and this was for a week or so. You'll need a good few thousand each for a month!

Have a look on expedia at the flights and select multiple destinations. It came to just over £700 in flights for me to go to New York, Chicago, LA and Las Vegas, but that wasn't factoring in accomodation costs. I gave up after I saw those prices!:eek:

The degree is only relevant if you're living or working there, I believe you can visit for up to 90 days. Your best bet would be to save up and go next year instead.

daisyduck1976 · 26/04/12 - 21:51

Hi there- I travelled around America for 6 weeks with my best friend after our A-levels. We found by far the most cost effective option was a fixed price unlimited Amtrak ticket (US train company). We bought the ticket which was for as many journeys as you could fit into a fixed period of time. We then planned out where we wanted to go, called and booked all the journeys ahead of time to make sure we got seats. We flew into and back out of Boston, so we got all our tickets printed in one go at Boston station. The US trains are not, NOT, like ours. They are built for long distance journeys and are much more comfortable. I agree with lozenger that they are really good. The only problem is, that when they are travelling across several states, if they are late, they are really late. We were never really bothered by it though.

This is what we did- Boston, Chicago, a 2 day cross country journey across the middle ending up in Seattle(it was gorgeous- we basically stared out the window at the scenery as it changed from state to state), then san franciso, LA (seriously give it a miss- not worth it AT ALL), Grand Canyon, Dallas (I had family there), New Orleans, Orlando, Daytona Beach (just for a bit of a rest!), Washington DC, New York, Niagra Falls and then back to Boston.

It was an amazing trip. We stayed in YHA hostels everywhere. They were mostly really smart with great facilities and they were super cheap.

Of everywhere we went, I would never go back to LA or New Orleans (this was pre-Katrina). We didn't feel at all safe in either place after 6pm and they were both extremely over-rated in terms of things to see and do.

[Deleted User] · 26/04/12 - 21:58

LA is amazing if you stay in or close to Beverley Hills. You can go to theme parks, around the stars houses, marilyns grave/house, the clubs, bars and restaurants, the beach. LOVED IT. I think the other poster either didnt have a car or stayed in the wrong area.

lozenger · 26/04/12 - 21:59

Agree DD - forgot to add that calling to book seats a couple of days before the journey is vital - but all in all a great way to travel as we met lots of people in Youth Hostels etc and changed our journey plans several times to go to places we hadn't planned but that people had recommended along the way - great way to travel! Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!

kieranyeah123 · 26/04/12 - 23:39

How come lots of people just assume going around America is just simply Los Angeles, Orlando & New York?! There's so many cool places to go in so many states! Go to Kansas City or somewhere it wont be as expensive as the touristy places!

[Deleted User] · 27/04/12 - 00:53

Well if people havent been to the states before they want to experience the popular spots first. It doesnt take a genius to work that out.

Kansas city is hicks rattlesnakes and tarantulas. (Or so people think). If youre new to the US you want to see Mickey and the Hollywood sign.

[Deleted User] · 27/04/12 - 04:27

letitiadeanfan wrote: »

Help!

I want to spend 3/4 weeks going to certain parts of America, but I don't have a clue where to start!

I'm 23, my partner's 29. We live in Birmingham. He has a degree, I don't (that appears to be relevant for some student travel companies )

I want to spend 3/4 days in New York, the same in Las Vegas and I want to go to Orlando for the theme parks, so was thinking about a week, and my boyfriend wants to travel the Californian coast, so a few days in Los Angeles too?

What order should we do it to make travel cheapest? Which companies should we use for internal flights? How far apart are these places/how long will it take to get between the two?

How much money are we looking at for this trip if we can't do it through student travel companies... any other genius companies out there to bring the costs down?

I agree with another poster who said this is covering an awful lot over a fairly short time. That's about 6000 miles between all those cities and that's after the 4000(ish) miles you've covered to get there. Keeping in mind you usually lose the day you travel, it would greatly cut down on the quality of the trip overall.

Where you say 'travel the Californian coast' is another thing - that would definitely need a car and a few days. LA is on the coast, but it is not THE coast. The coast is about 600 miles, you could drive that in one day, but that would be pointless as you wouldn't see anything. You could consider going to Disney in Anaheim, CA instead of Florida, pretty similar parks.

May be a good idea if you two sit down and figure out a more concise plan and look at how some of the logistics fit together. It really depends on whether you are looking for quantity or quality!

ganderpoke66 · 27/04/12 - 06:55

Phew !

West Coast, Las Vegas, Orlando and New york

That's a lot of America to see in 4 weeks, but it's possible.

Not better to do the East Coast trip THEN do a West Coast trek another time ?

As an example of low cost US travel and how much mileage is needed to travel in the USA, next month I'm doing 14 days, UK flight to Dallas, hire a car, then to San Diego, up to LA, then coast road to San Francisco, down to Bakersfield, up to Vegas, then back to Dallas along Route 66 [I-40]. c 300 miles a day, staying in budget Motels for $40-50.
Round Trip 4000 miles.

To try and squeeze days in Orlando and New York into a month time frame would be tricky but possible, and you'd be fairly knackered :cool:

Surferfish · 27/04/12 - 09:37

My advice:

Get a plane ticket to California (LA or San Fran) which includes a stopover in NYC. Companies like STA and Trailfinders are quite good at these sort of tickets.

Stop in NYC for about 3 days (pre-book your accomodation here) and then fly on to LA or SF. Arrange to rent a car in California and you can then travel by car seeing places like SF, California coast, LA , San Diego, Vegas, Death valley, Grand Canyon, Yosemite, and anything else you fancy. It's not necessary to prebook all your accomodation as you can just drive up to most motels on the day.

Leave Orlando for a different trip - maybe when you're older and have kids! There is a Disneyland and other themeparks like 6 flags and Seaworld in california so you don't need to go to Florida as well for that.

When are you planning to go? September/October is a good time as its quieter but still good weather.

John259 · 27/04/12 - 09:54

johnF1971 wrote: »

It's not necessary to prebook all your accomodation as you can just drive up to most motels on the day.

That's true most of the time, but it's not a bad idea to use the motel chain 800 numbers or web sites to make provisional bookings (that automatically lapse if you don't show up by a certain time) for a day or two ahead, just in case of problems.

John259 · 27/04/12 - 09:59

If you're ok with a lot of driving and tend to prefer the national parks to cities, then Interstate 15 is a good "backbone" for a trip. Along its length or relatively close to it are:

California:
San Diego
Los Angeles
Joshua Tree National Park

Nevada:
Las Vegas

Utah:
Zion Canyon National Park
Cedar Breaks National Monument
Bryce Canyon National Park
Salt Lake City

Wyoming:
Grand Teton National Park
Yellowstone National Park

Montana:
Glacier National Park

(I am talking about a _lot_ of driving here, which many people might not care for)

butterworth · 27/04/12 - 10:01

I have some vague recollection that it works out better if you start West and then work backwards. Some years ago, I had to go to San Francisco and Seattle and, whilst both on the West Coast, Seattle is further West and so it made a difference to the ticket rules if I did it first...

saladcream · 27/04/12 - 10:31

letitiadeanfan wrote: »

Help!

I want to spend 3/4 weeks going to certain parts of America, but I don't have a clue where to start!

I'm 23, my partner's 29. We live in Birmingham. He has a degree, I don't (that appears to be relevant for some student travel companies )

I want to spend 3/4 days in New York, the same in Las Vegas and I want to go to Orlando for the theme parks, so was thinking about a week, and my boyfriend wants to travel the Californian coast, so a few days in Los Angeles too?

What order should we do it to make travel cheapest? Which companies should we use for internal flights? How far apart are these places/how long will it take to get between the two?

How much money are we looking at for this trip if we can't do it through student travel companies... any other genius companies out there to bring the costs down?

new york - internal flight to florida ( prob a few hours) - fly to vegas ( 6 hours ish) then drive to california. if you drive you will see some amazing scenery!!! and can stop in Yosemite park on the way...

you will get to see a lot more than the usual american cities by doing this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tioga_Pass

http://www.yosemitepark.com/

saladcream · 27/04/12 - 10:33

kieranyeah123 wrote: »

How come lots of people just assume going around America is just simply Los Angeles, Orlando & New York?! There's so many cool places to go in so many states! Go to Kansas City or somewhere it wont be as expensive as the touristy places!

concurred..

I stumbled across Eureka Springs in Arkansas last year!
lovely place

saladcream · 27/04/12 - 10:34

ps i thought orlando was crap

blackpool on steroids

[Deleted User] · 30/04/12 - 17:39

So assuming we leave Orlando for another trip when we have kids, where's best to start? UK ----> NY

> Vegas? Can they all be done on internal flights once over there?

muggins14 · 30/04/12 - 18:12

letitiadeanfan wrote: »

So assuming we leave Orlando for another trip when we have kids, where's best to start? UK ----> NY
> Vegas? Can they all be done on internal flights once over there?

Yes they can. Don't forget there's Disneyland in Anaheim (LA) so you can still do Disney.

Also, pay for your internal flights once there; they are so cheap internally, people hop on and off flights over there like buses. My parents got a good 4-flight internal deal in the USA last time they were there, from NY to San Diego, to Vegas to NY but any combination would work.

If you really want to see America, why not do the Greyhound bus tours. You'll see it all then.

Hey there!

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