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Everything was cheap, or free.
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Travel USA travel tips and tricks
- Thread starter The Old Dark Navy's
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Everything was cheap, or free.
if you are a moron and throw away your money and waste time on your holiday at the casino to get comped its free i suppose.
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Didn’t spend a cent on gambling, stayed at the hard rock, still got almost everything comped
Mofra
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- Dec 6, 2005
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I stayed in Vegas and hired a car (convertible Mustang, good rate) and did a day trip to Death Valley, well worth it. There's a bar / tavern in the park that does a reasonable lunch.
Cruising up and down the Vegas strip before and afterwards was fun too, there are a few desolate roads out Death Valley way so you get to open it up. They get to 100mph pretty quick
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- #4,405
There’s so much competition for hotel, dinners, renting cars, shows that if you’re there at the right time they have to give you something free to get you in.
Our room was cheap and came with free tickets to a cirque de soleil show. We were walking past Tao and they asked us to come in cause it wasn’t busy. We went to rent a car and they offered upgrades because there were cheapest options with other companies.
- Oct 9, 2013
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Nice.
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I’m sure we got lucky (if there are conferences on or peak season I’m sure it’s tougher)
How does that work?
Did some of that 3 weeks ago. Grand canyon is awesome and one of the most spectacular places om the planet but crowded at the top. If you do some hiking and go 20 mins down one of the hikes then the crowds thin up a lot. Sth kaibab trail is absolutely amazing, much better then the main trail which isnt as spectacular. We went down to the bottom and up. But you need camping permits for that or to be very fit people.
Zion is overrated. Views arent as good as grand canyon but crowds seem even worse. Plus need to catch buses into the park. We did the famous narrows hike up the river for 6 hours. out of the 6 or so hikes i did on my trip it was the most boring. Looks very much like stuff you can see in australia.
Bryce canyon is absolutely stunning. Only need one night there. Makesure you do the longer peekaboo loop trail. That is the one with the best scenary.
We also went up to moab, monument valley, goblin valley and the needles and lake powell.
The needles has to be the most underated national park on the planet. Scenary is stunning. Giant purple spires and mushroom rocks everywhere and you get to scramble all over them. It looks straight out of a fantasy movie. Only problem is you have to hike to see things. This is a plus for hikers as very little tourists. We camped a night and it was amazing.
Also rented a boat on lake powell and camped on the shores for three nights whereever we found a beach. Campfires, kayaking up slot canyons, amazing scenary, rock diving and swimming (although only do this in summer or early autumn months when water is warm enough).
Did arches which was cool but crowds a bit of an issue there and only one great hike to do.
This area has some of the most varied and spectacular scenary on the planet. If you like that stuff it will blow you away. I cant wait to get back. The fact Vegas is nearby as well helps even more. Can reward yourself after all the hiking.
Didnt get to yosemite but that looks pretty amazing as well. Will try to add that to my next trip.
Grand canyon, bryce canyon and if you hike then also the needles are world class destinations. There arent other places like them in the world
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I'm not sure about the rules with campervans but they are everywhere. Some huge ones too that are as big as buses. Going by campervan would definately be an American experience. All the national parks that we went too had campsites with heaps of spots for campervans. Some you can just rock up to but most you have to book in advance. Often 4 to 6 months in advance during peak periods. There is a lot of advantage to booking inside the park as it can be quite a pain getting in and out of the parks. Sometimes need buses (zion) and in other times the drives within the parks are quite long to get to sites and parking can also be very limited. Once you figure out where you are going definately try to book some of those campsites. It will give you a lot more time to enjoy the parks.
I can't speak for going left of Vegas (and I'm sure that is fantastic as well) but a great route if you go right is to fly into either Vegas or Phoneix and then drive to south rim of Grand Canyon (if haven't been to GC then south rim is where you want to go - don't get sucked in to going the west or nth rim for a first time as the real Grand Canyon is the south rim), then east to Monument valley, north to Moab via the Needles (Moab is where Arches national park and all the famous slickrock for atv's and moutian biking is if that is an interest), then back West via Goblin Valley, capital reef, bryce canyon and then onto Zion then to Vegas. can then head west towards death valley and yosemite or simply finish at Vegas or on to LA. The drive along this route is stunning in itself, especially between Monument valley to Zion. All up (if you end at Vegas) its only about 15-18 hours of driving. Problem is finding the time to stop and do all the hikes as there is so much to see.
Whatever route you go I don't think you can go wrong.
I can't speak for going left of Vegas (and I'm sure that is fantastic as well) but a great route if you go right is to fly into either Vegas or Phoneix and then drive to south rim of Grand Canyon (if haven't been to GC then south rim is where you want to go - don't get sucked in to going the west or nth rim for a first time as the real Grand Canyon is the south rim), then east to Monument valley, north to Moab via the Needles (Moab is where Arches national park and all the famous slickrock for atv's and moutian biking is if that is an interest), then back West via Goblin Valley, capital reef, bryce canyon and then onto Zion then to Vegas. can then head west towards death valley and yosemite or simply finish at Vegas or on to LA. The drive along this route is stunning in itself, especially between Monument valley to Zion. All up (if you end at Vegas) its only about 15-18 hours of driving. Problem is finding the time to stop and do all the hikes as there is so much to see.
Whatever route you go I don't think you can go wrong.
00Stinger
100 - 7
Anyone been to Fredericksburg wine region in Texas?
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I did spend a few hours there last year, has a military museum, nice town, lot of antique shops with nick nacks, German influence for sure so can get lunch with steins and German cuisine, didn't check out the vineyards though
00Stinger
100 - 7
ok cool.
Im planning on spending a couple of days there in October. Planning on checking out the wineries, town and heading down to Wimberley for an afternoon too
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Looking at going in late November this year with my mate.
Thinking of doing NY, Boston, Vegas and LA at this stage.
What’s the cheapest price you can get a decent room for two to stay in?
And are nights out expensive there? I went to the USA back in 2014 but wasn’t 21. I spent a fair bit of money on clothes and food as the dollar was s**t. Trying to work out if I can do things a bit cheaper this time around.
Thinking of doing NY, Boston, Vegas and LA at this stage.
What’s the cheapest price you can get a decent room for two to stay in?
And are nights out expensive there? I went to the USA back in 2014 but wasn’t 21. I spent a fair bit of money on clothes and food as the dollar was s**t. Trying to work out if I can do things a bit cheaper this time around.
- Jul 9, 2010
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Beers in your room will be cheap and doing that with a mate is fun. Unfortunately it's unlike Europe where parks are nice, plentiful, and appropriate for drinking but a 24 pack of PBR is about 15 bucks Australian. Bars are pretty cool there. I think a four room hostel would be okay for you as you and the lad will dominate it and make it your own and everyone else will sort of succumb to that, but hostel's are a lottery. But they lack the vibe Europeans one do. Think I paid maybe $40 a day in a six bedroom with a proper bed in Brooklyn?
Americans drink like s**t too, they do shots at 3pm and don't properly have easy beers like we do.
How long are you going for?
PM me anyway.
Hey guys, this probably isnt the right thread for this post but its something I need to vent and feel pretty shitty about.
So Im currently sitting in Dubai airport coming home from a Europe trip, thing is I had to cut my trip in half and leave early.
Originally planned on going for a month, 16 days in and quite a few thousand dollars later i am coming home at least 14 days earlier than expected and not seeing the sights i had already paid for and planned to do.
We got to London and things were great. We were going out every night and banging birds, having a great time. Then one night my body decided not to let me sleep. So after doing an allnighter i basically had to miss out on a day trip and catch up on some much needed rest.
The thing is, this happened every night for the next 2 weeks. My mind and body were convinced on not allowing me to sleep unless i took sleeping pills or got blind drunk. So i compensated for this by doing the above things.
Then because i wasnt resting, i got an awful chest infection. Hot and cold flushes, green flem, coughing, temperature everything you name it. Problem is by now we have started a massive contiki that basically moves at a fast pace everyday. So here i am on deaths bed, body and mind not allowing me to sleep and recover. Anxiety begins to take over. How am I going to do this for another 15 days? Mentally I defeated myself, and after doing yet another allnighter (probably the 7th or 8th of a 14 day trip) in a bad moment i decided to book a flight home. The cost of this flight? $2800. Mind you the contiki already paid for aswell as my return flight home.
Mentally im in a bad place. Everyone is going to ask me how my holiday went and why I came home early. My other mate on the trip had the same issue as me, except he didnt last as long and left 8 days into the trip. I guess it makes it easier because i have him to talk too.
All I want here is some advice boys? Did I make the right decision?
So Im currently sitting in Dubai airport coming home from a Europe trip, thing is I had to cut my trip in half and leave early.
Originally planned on going for a month, 16 days in and quite a few thousand dollars later i am coming home at least 14 days earlier than expected and not seeing the sights i had already paid for and planned to do.
We got to London and things were great. We were going out every night and banging birds, having a great time. Then one night my body decided not to let me sleep. So after doing an allnighter i basically had to miss out on a day trip and catch up on some much needed rest.
The thing is, this happened every night for the next 2 weeks. My mind and body were convinced on not allowing me to sleep unless i took sleeping pills or got blind drunk. So i compensated for this by doing the above things.
Then because i wasnt resting, i got an awful chest infection. Hot and cold flushes, green flem, coughing, temperature everything you name it. Problem is by now we have started a massive contiki that basically moves at a fast pace everyday. So here i am on deaths bed, body and mind not allowing me to sleep and recover. Anxiety begins to take over. How am I going to do this for another 15 days? Mentally I defeated myself, and after doing yet another allnighter (probably the 7th or 8th of a 14 day trip) in a bad moment i decided to book a flight home. The cost of this flight? $2800. Mind you the contiki already paid for aswell as my return flight home.
Mentally im in a bad place. Everyone is going to ask me how my holiday went and why I came home early. My other mate on the trip had the same issue as me, except he didnt last as long and left 8 days into the trip. I guess it makes it easier because i have him to talk too.
All I want here is some advice boys? Did I make the right decision?
Went too far out of your comfort zone and the body was over come with nerves and anxiety from being away from home?
First every trip away for a decent length and? Your mate left early so subconsciously you felt alone?
First every trip away for a decent length and? Your mate left early so subconsciously you felt alone?
I did the USA for a month and loved every minute of it. Europe is a different beast, I guess.
I think so, yeah. Although I still had other friends there with me it was impossible for me to relax at any stage. Which then caused me to get really sick.
Thanks for the words mate.
It's how you deal with the sickness.
I couldn't sleep and was getting anxious because I wasn't getting the hours needed for recovery.
Now that I'm home and have had a 20 hour sleep I feel fine.
00Stinger
100 - 7
I had runny eggs and very raw meet in the South of Mexico. It was delicious.It's part and parcel of travelling really.
On a sailing tour of Croatia, myself and others were stupidly jumping off the back of the boat swimming while we were in port. Completely forgot this is when the sewage gets dumped
Then a few hours later violently ill for 48 hours. Funny story now
- Nov 9, 2012
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Anybody know anything about Indiana?
Would like to get there next year for an extended period to watch a few NFL games.
Would like to get there next year for an extended period to watch a few NFL games.
Tannehill17
Team Captain
Ive been a few times being a Pacers fan and having a bunch of mates studying at Butler. Good city, love the midwest.
Saw a colts game a few years ago, a good experience and the stadium is lovely.
Nice enough city but after a few days i had seen enough.
- Dec 29, 2000
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Have done Yosemite (both winter and summer), Zion, Bryce, Canyonlands, Monument Valley and Grand Canyon. Highly recommend all and especially so if you love to wander. Take plenty of water if going in summer.
Stayed at Goulding’s in Monument Valley and watch the sunrise over the valley (bloody earlier at around 5am). The silhouettes of the Valley at sunrise as sun sits just below the horizon, bloody spectacular.
