Travel USA travel tips and tricks

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Dips said:
in october i'm going to LA & Vegas. this will be my first time OS, flying with United from Melb to LA. I've never done a flight longer than 2 hours. Apart from boredom, what should i expect?

Also, we're hiring a car while there, do i need any special license to drive over there? (that may sound like a silly question)
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free alcohol and plenty of movies/tv shows/music to keep you entertained. I usually get a few hours sleep but each person is different and also try to walk around and keep your body moving.

You don't need a special licence over there
 

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Gavin Excell said:
Thoughts on driving? Im pretty experienced and confident driver here but other side of road concerns me. We are in Anaheim and travelling to Las Vegas next month. Should i just take the bus or rent a car. Hassle free is important. Is it easy to adapt driving right side?
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Driving is no biggie, just stay focussed, follow other cars. Take your time and be safe
 
Gavin Excell said:
Thoughts on driving? Im pretty experienced and confident driver here but other side of road concerns me. We are in Anaheim and travelling to Las Vegas next month. Should i just take the bus or rent a car. Hassle free is important. Is it easy to adapt driving right side?
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If you're a confident driver here then you will be fine over there. American roads are great for driving a car. If anything i was a better driver over there since i was very cautious. I survived the Philly peak hour many times which is much more insane than the Adelaide one im used to.
 
Gavin Excell said:
Thoughts on driving? Im pretty experienced and confident driver here but other side of road concerns me. We are in Anaheim and travelling to Las Vegas next month. Should i just take the bus or rent a car. Hassle free is important. Is it easy to adapt driving right side?
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Get a car and drive there yourself

A lot of driving is on multi lane roads so the right hand side bit isn't complicated. Corners you need to be a little careful with just to make sure you get to the right side but usually there's other cars so you follow them

Sitting on the left hand side of the car takes a little getting used to at first but you adjust soon enough

A car also gives you freedom to explore a bit without having to comply with someone else's schedule

Also having a car in LA is handy because it's so spread out
 
Gavin Excell said:
Thoughts on driving? Im pretty experienced and confident driver here but other side of road concerns me. We are in Anaheim and travelling to Las Vegas next month. Should i just take the bus or rent a car. Hassle free is important. Is it easy to adapt driving right side?
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we're doing the other way (via san diego)

i'm excited for the challenge of driving on the other side
 
Dips said:
in october i'm going to LA & Vegas. this will be my first time OS, flying with United from Melb to LA. I've never done a flight longer than 2 hours. Apart from boredom, what should i expect?
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Smelly people, snoring people and dehydration. The two things I've learnt from long haul flights over the years is that the amount of water you drink will determine how you're feeling in the hours/days after your flight and that I cannot sleep on planes, ever.
 
Gavin Excell said:
Thoughts on driving? Im pretty experienced and confident driver here but other side of road concerns me. We are in Anaheim and travelling to Las Vegas next month. Should i just take the bus or rent a car. Hassle free is important. Is it easy to adapt driving right side?
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Driving is fine. I drove from San Francisco through Yosemite to Las Vegas (about 1,000kms) and found it fine. I had to pick the car up in the middle of San Fran during peak hour, so i definately got thrown into the deep end. Just stay focused and concentrate.
Also drove from Miami to Orlando (about another 400km) and felt fine once I jumped in the car.

The only thing that did my head in a little bit was the Yield signs
 
00Stinger said:
Driving is fine. I drove from San Francisco through Yosemite to Las Vegas (about 1,000kms) and found it fine. I had to pick the car up in the middle of San Fran during peak hour, so i definately got thrown into the deep end. Just stay focused and concentrate.
Also drove from Miami to Orlando (about another 400km) and felt fine once I jumped in the car.

The only thing that did my head in a little bit was the Yield signs
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Yield? As in cede, give up?
 

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00Stinger said:
Driving is fine. I drove from San Francisco through Yosemite to Las Vegas (about 1,000kms) and found it fine. I had to pick the car up in the middle of San Fran during peak hour, so i definately got thrown into the deep end. Just stay focused and concentrate.
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thats about as deep as it can get.
 
Iason said:
Hoooooooo, boy.

If you're AirBnB-ing it, I'd look for a place to stay in River North, Capital Hill or the Lower Highlands neighborhood. Very walkable neighborhoods with lots of bars/restaurants.

Denver is one of the craft brewing meccas in this country (the others being Portland and San Diego), so if you're in to beer, you're in luck. You can't throw a rock in this city without hitting a brewery. Great Divide is probably the most well known brewery, they have two locations which for some reason are very close to each other. My favorites include River North Brewery, Renegade, Strange, Trve, Bierstadt, Ratio, Crooked Stave and Blackshirt. I'm leaving out a ton, but that just goes to show just how many breweries are here. If you head up to Fort Collins, you could check out Odell and New Belgium, and if you head up to Boulder you could check out Avery (my favorite brewery overall). If you want a bar where you could try a little bit of everything, Falling Rock Tavern on Blake Street is one of the better beer bars in this country. My favorite bars that aren't breweries are Finn's Manor, Bar Fausto (amazing cocktails), Pon Pon (little joint that makes good cocktails and plays great music), Kentucky Inn (A dive. A glorious dive). I'm missing a bunch, but sadly, I don't go out nearly as much as I did when I was single, so I suck at drinking now.

In terms of food, if you tell me the style of food that you like, I can narrow down some great places for you. I have a theory that every city does one meal of the day properly, and Denver is a breakfast/brunch city. Some of my favorites are Jelly, Sassafras, Denver Biscuit Company (You have to go here) and Lucille's. Honorable mentions for Bacon Social House and Snooze (though they always have a line there and there is better breakfast/brunch to be had).

Denver as a city is really coming in to its own, there are tons more things to do here than there were when I first moved here 5 years ago. Three of the four sports stadiums are pretty much downtown (Coors Field deserves a mention here. Beautiful stadium thats right in the middle of one of the bar districts here, so pre and post games are fun affairs), so definitely try and schedule a game at one of them if you can. You should rent a car though and get out of the city, whether it be up to the college towns of Fort Collins and Boulder, or just a drive down I-70W to really see the Rockies. This is one of the most beautiful states in the country, and if you're outdoorsy, this is where you want to be. Oh and legal weed.

Let me know what kind of food you like, and what kind of bar scenes you're in to, and I'll be more specific.
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Great post. You have sold me, I'm over in October.
 
Keys said:
Sitting on the left hand side of the car takes a little getting used to at first but you adjust soon enough
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I found it is more your use of peripheral vision on your right side that now you must use your left side for staying in your lane. Found we drove a bit to close to the gutter for the passengers comfort the first day or 2.
 
Special Agent Utah said:
Great post. You have sold me, I'm over in October.
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Beautiful time to visit. Sports wise, the Broncos will be in full swing, as well the University of Colorado Buffaloes in Boulder and the Colorado State Rams (who are opening up their new stadium this coming season) in Fort Collins. The Rockies, barring some miracle World Series run, will not be playing at that time. Weather wise, it should still be very nice (it's actually hitting 80 degrees Fahrenheit this coming weekend, which is crazy for March. People think of Denver as this dark and dreary place but it has a huge number of sunny days annually, and the altitude means that theres no moisture in the air, so cold weather isn't as harsh in the winter and there isn't any humidity in the summer. There are tons of beautiful hiking trails that are very accessible from the city, especially up in Morrison (where Red Rocks is), Golden (Where Coors is based out of. Beer is s**t, but it's worth the tour just to see how massive the production facility is. Plus they give you like 3-4 tall boy cans throughout the tour) and Boulder.

blakey_10 I forgot to mention Red Rocks! Not sure how big of a music fan you are, I'm not sure how you feel about the band Primus (not a fan myself) them, but they are the only scheduled concert during your time here. Red Rocks is an amazing place to catch a show, and it seems like every band who passes through raises their game when they're there. You could even go during the day and walk around as it's in a state park.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Rocks_Amphitheatre
 
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