Travel USA travel tips and tricks

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Not sure about how it compares to the great ocean drive, but it's probably the best drive I've ever done. Especially the San Francisco half of it, going through towns like monterey, Santa cruz and carmel, was amazing, then within about 2 hours to L.A. it's average again.

Venice beach is a must do, if only for the novelty of it. There's something for everyone, tennis, muscle beach, venice ball, skatepark, buskers, rollerbladers, squash and whatever else you can think of. Santa Monica was O.K., didn't have time to look around the area though, may have the name of the beach wrong but from memory Huntington beach was awesome!

Not sure on the overall time of San Francisco to Vegas, would reccomend at least 3/4 hours south on HWY 1 before cutting inland though. As for L.A., check out and eat on hollywood boulevard, maybe do a tour, the 45 minute ones aren't bad and then you've pretty much seen all of it. L.A. is not great.
 
wce4premiership said:
Not sure about how it compares to the great ocean drive, but it's probably the best drive I've ever done. Especially the San Francisco half of it, going through towns like monterey, Santa cruz and carmel, was amazing, then within about 2 hours to L.A. it's average again.

Venice beach is a must do, if only for the novelty of it. There's something for everyone, tennis, muscle beach, venice ball, skatepark, buskers, rollerbladers, squash and whatever else you can think of. Santa Monica was O.K., didn't have time to look around the area though, may have the name of the beach wrong but from memory Huntington beach was awesome!

Not sure on the overall time of San Francisco to Vegas, would reccomend at least 3/4 hours south on HWY 1 before cutting inland though. As for L.A., check out and eat on hollywood boulevard, maybe do a tour, the 45 minute ones aren't bad and then you've pretty much seen all of it. L.A. is not great.
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Thanks mate. If we were to cut across inland it'd be just after Cambria. Will that cover the best of the coast? I think the Big Sur finishes just before then & that seems to be the part everyone raves about.

Yeah this'll be my 4th trip to the States & the other 3 have all involved time in LA, so doesnt bother me at all if we bypass it. I was more thinking of doing a fly by of it for the missus who has never been, but again she is not fussed too much whether we go there or not. But as you suggested Venice Beach is kind of quirky place to spend some time & I wouldnt hesitate heading back there if we do head that way. "It's the vibe.."
 

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I head to USA/Mexico in 7 weeks from early December to mid Jan.

Has anybody got any tips for me?
My itenerary is.
4 nights LA
4 nights San Francisco
3 days/2 nights driving from SF to Las Vegas through Yosemite National Park
4 nights Las Vegas
2 nights Buffalo (So I can visit Niagra Falls)
7 nights New York (over Christmas)
2 nights Washington
5 nights Cancun, Mexico (over NYE)
2 nights Miami
2 days/1 night driving Miami to Orlando
4 nights Orlando (disneyworld ext)
2 nights San Antonio
 
sivart said:
I head to USA/Mexico in 7 weeks from early December to mid Jan.

Has anybody got any tips for me?
My itenerary is.
4 nights LA
4 nights San Francisco
3 days/2 nights driving from SF to Las Vegas through Yosemite National Park
4 nights Las Vegas
2 nights Buffalo (So I can visit Niagra Falls)
7 nights New York (over Christmas)
2 nights Washington
5 nights Cancun, Mexico (over NYE)
2 nights Miami
2 days/1 night driving Miami to Orlando
4 nights Orlando (disneyworld ext)
2 nights San Antonio
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What route are you taking for this part? This is what I've been talking about in my previous posts with the time of the year many roads are either closed for the winter months or have the potential of closure during larger storms.

We still have a route penciled in that heads from SF to Sacremento, over the Sierras to Tahoe & then down the eastern side of the range (incl. Yosemite) on route 395.

I'd be interested to hear if yours differs and how you're doing it?

Our itinerary is very similar in parts:
-10 nights NYC
-8 nights Mexico (4 in Puerto Morelos (1/2hr south of Cancun) & 4 in Merida)
-5 nights SF
-3 days/2night somewhere between SF & LV
-4 nights Vegas

Cant wait for the NYC & Mexico legs of our trip. San Francisco everyone that has been says it is awesome, but I'm not sure what people spend their days doing here? At the moment the seafood there looks pretty awesome with their little oyster bar type places & the Mission district looks to have some decent food, but wouldnt mind hearing about what others do here outside of eating?
 
Aussie Assault said:
What route are you taking for this part? This is what I've been talking about in my previous posts with the time of the year many roads are either closed for the winter months or have the potential of closure during larger storms.

We still have a route penciled in that heads from SF to Sacremento, over the Sierras to Tahoe & then down the eastern side of the range (incl. Yosemite) on route 395.

I'd be interested to hear if yours differs and how you're doing it?

Our itinerary is very similar in parts:
-10 nights NYC
-8 nights Mexico (4 in Puerto Morelos (1/2hr south of Cancun) & 4 in Merida)
-5 nights SF
-3 days/2night somewhere between SF & LV
-4 nights Vegas

Cant wait for the NYC & Mexico legs of our trip. San Francisco everyone that has been says it is awesome, but I'm not sure what people spend their days doing here? At the moment the seafood there looks pretty awesome with their little oyster bar type places & the Mission district looks to have some decent food, but wouldnt mind hearing about what others do here outside of eating?
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San Francisco to Vegas
Will be travelling on Interstate 5 south - Hwy 99 S - hwy 58 E - I-15 N. I might get onto Hwy 120 depending on weather conditions or even go through Death Valley. From my research I am looking at 9-11 hours driving time which I will try to break up into 3 days as to take in the scenery. From my research this is the best way to travel through Dec-Jan as there should be no road closures. I was originally going to do LA to SF but most people I speak to say it is not much better than the Great ocean Rd. Plus my theory is I can drive along the coast anywhere in Australia, but I can't drive through massive mountain ranges like I could in the USA

In SF I plan on spending a day doing Alcatraz and seeing the Golden Gate Bridge. I may even pop into Oakland just to check it out since we will have a car. We plan on catching a game of NFL while we are there. My cousin spent a year in the USA a couple of years back and she said she spent 90% of her time in SF as the bars, cafes ext are amazing.

I am probably looking forward to Mexico the most as we plan on visiting Chichen itza, Xcaret & Xel-Ha as well as a couple of days sinking coronas and tequila in a resort.
 
sivart said:
I head to USA/Mexico in 7 weeks from early December to mid Jan.

Has anybody got any tips for me?
My itenerary is.
4 nights LA ok
4 nights San Francisco ok
3 days/2 nights driving from SF to Las Vegas through Yosemite National Park reconsider this - the drive without doing yosemite properly isnt that good. i liked death valley too.
4 nights Las Vegas maybe one day too much
2 nights Buffalo (So I can visit Niagra Falls) one day too much, you only need a few hours here. fly in then fly out in one day
7 nights New York (over Christmas) good
2 nights Washington too little. need 3-4 nights
5 nights Cancun, Mexico (over NYE) never been
2 nights Miami never been
2 days/1 night driving Miami to Orlando never been
4 nights Orlando (disneyworld ext) never been
2 nights San Antonio never been
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crownie said:
people love it or hate it.

where abouts did you stay?
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Didn't hate it but far from loved it. The whole upkeep of the city seemed poor and the general "to do" list wasn't that great.
We were on sunset boulevard, just north of the viper room. Did one long walk the first day all the way to, and around hollywood boulevard, I actually enjoyed this, I like walking and seeing the different vibes of the cities. At the time it was good, but upon going back after seeing so many other cities, it was average in comparison.
 
wce4premiership said:
Didn't hate it but far from loved it. The whole upkeep of the city seemed poor and the general "to do" list wasn't that great.
We were on sunset boulevard, just north of the viper room. Did one long walk the first day all the way to, and around hollywood boulevard, I actually enjoyed this, I like walking and seeing the different vibes of the cities. At the time it was good, but upon going back after seeing so many other cities, it was average in comparison.
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you stayed in the right place, people make the mistake of staying downtown which really is a bit of a hole. Its a very unique place and what i like about is it has kept its vintage and style and hasn't modernised itself like so many other cities.
 
I Liked the areas south of the city, huntington beach/newport/venice etc was very nice to drive through and park up. I think my favourite cities were in no particular order:
San Francisco
Dallas
Vegas
Washington D.C
New York

Overrated:
Miami

Would love to check out:
Chicago
San Diego
Seattle
Austin/Houston
 
heading to the us mid november for a 2 month holiday with a few friends, doing la san fran and vegas before we fly to austin and pick up a car which we're driving to philadelphia. any tips on what to do on that road trip mostly/ a good route to go/where to stay in austin-new orleans-washington and philly. cheers!
 

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BERT said:
One week to go till I go to New York for and then onto Vegas.
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TheStinger said:
Three more days before I hit Toronto and then onto New York, Chicago, Miami, Cancun, San Francisco and LA. Can't wait.
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Either of you 2 caught up in Sandy? Cant imagine how chaotic it is over that way at the moment with transport grounded and/or not operating..
 
Aussie Assault said:
Either of you 2 caught up in Sandy? Cant imagine how chaotic it is over that way at the moment with transport grounded and/or not operating..
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Given the timeframes given, I'd be amazed if BERT wasn't in NYC now and Stinger either there or about to go there,but Toronto also copped a bit so he is in it either way. I feel for you guys, although it was a rather historical storm. Interesting being in the thick of it.
 
wce4premiership said:
In a strange way I wish I could have experienced it, such a thing like manhattan being blacked out would be amazing, especially in comparison to the normal state of NYC
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Yeah, sort of a perverse thing. Like being in the middle of a disaster movie. Would make for a memorable holiday.
 
Aussie Assault said:
Either of you 2 caught up in Sandy? Cant imagine how chaotic it is over that way at the moment with transport grounded and/or not operating..
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I managed to get out of Toronto the day before it hit, but I went to Chicago instead of NYC. Now I can't get a flight back in to NYC and even if I did it wouldn't be much fun with no subways until Friday. So I am stuck in Chicago. I can think of worse places to be stuck.
 
sivart said:
I head to USA/Mexico in 7 weeks from early December to mid Jan.

Has anybody got any tips for me?
My itenerary is.
4 nights LA
4 nights San Francisco
3 days/2 nights driving from SF to Las Vegas through Yosemite National Park
4 nights Las Vegas
2 nights Buffalo (So I can visit Niagra Falls)
7 nights New York (over Christmas)
2 nights Washington
5 nights Cancun, Mexico (over NYE)
2 nights Miami
2 days/1 night driving Miami to Orlando
4 nights Orlando (disneyworld ext)
2 nights San Antonio
Click to expand...
Would recommend you swap Buffalo for Toronto. Much better city to visit even if you only have 1 night.
Also driving from Miami to Orlando should only take 4 hours. If you get good traffic and don't stop for a snack, even less.
I would also think you don't need 2 nights to make the drive from Sf to Lv.
 
Peter Sidorkiewicz said:
Would recommend you swap Buffalo for Toronto. Much better city to visit even if you only have 1 night.
Also driving from Miami to Orlando should only take 4 hours. If you get good traffic and don't stop for a snack, even less.
I would also think you don't need 2 nights to make the drive from Sf to Lv.
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Thanks for the ideas. I did think Toronto but I don't want to to have to go through American customs 3 times in 6 weeks.
Miami and Orlando I allowed for time for us to stay in a town along the way if we like.
SF to Lv we are going to try and scoot through Yosemite (which may be hard due to weather), hence the two nights
 
sivart said:
I did think Toronto but I don't want to to have to go through American customs 3 times in 6 weeks.
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Not really an issue to walk between the American and Canadian Falls. Takes no time at all to get through. Buffalo is a hole and I would strongly recommend staying at Niagara Falls itself (or Toronto).

There is also a local bus that runs direct between Niagara Falls (US side) and Buffalo Airport which I have used regularly - saves on the cab fare.
 
2009premiers said:
Not really an issue to walk between the American and Canadian Falls. Takes no time at all to get through. Buffalo is a hole and I would strongly recommend staying at Niagara Falls itself (or Toronto).

There is also a local bus that runs direct between Niagara Falls (US side) and Buffalo Airport which I have used regularly - saves on the cab fare.
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Thanks for the advice.

I have heard that Buffalo is a hole, it just didn't want to try and map out a long trek to a place to stay at as I only plan on being in the region 1 & 1/2 to 2 days
 
I'm suppose to fly in to NY tomorrow ATM united are saying flight is still on. Def not the way I wanted to see NY but should still be awesome. Fully we get in cos we have $1000 worth of sporting tickets each
 
sivart said:
Miami and Orlando I allowed for time for us to stay in a town along the way if we like.
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If you want to see Everglades you could stop in Ft Lauderdale on the way but I think getting to Orlando quicker is better.
I note that you have four days to see Disney World (which your definately going to need given their are 6 theme parks there) if possible you should try and fit Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure too.
The Harry Potter ride at Islands of Adventure is the best out of the two Universal theme parks and worth checking out, even if you haven't read any of the books (I haven't). If you decide to go, make sure you get their just before opening time and head straight to Harry Potter section of the theme park, as they regularly close that section during the day when it gets too crowded.
 
Peter Sidorkiewicz said:
If you want to see Everglades you could stop in Ft Lauderdale on the way but I think getting to Orlando quicker is better.
I note that you have four days to see Disney World (which your definately going to need given their are 6 theme parks there) if possible you should try and fit Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure too.
The Harry Potter ride at Islands of Adventure is the best out of the two Universal theme parks and worth checking out, even if you haven't read any of the books (I haven't). If you decide to go, make sure you get their just before opening time and head straight to Harry Potter section of the theme park, as they regularly close that section during the day when it gets too crowded.
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Ok cool. So you are suggesting Universal Studios in Florida over the LA one?

We are hoping to get to Busch Gardens outside Tampa if possible. I have been recommended that theme park by a few people.
 
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