Travel USA travel tips and tricks

[deck]

Yeah was looking at flying in on the Saturday of a game weekend, and then flying out the next Friday (the day after another game), it's just too much, especially with our exchange rate. Better off leaving it as a fantasy that something that is realistic for me at the moment.

Not sure you would want to do a week in Green Bay without a car.

Although the exchange rate could be better historically $0.70-0.74 is about the best you could hope with the exception of a few freak events.

 

[revo333]

Yeah was looking at flying in on the Saturday of a game weekend, and then flying out the next Friday (the day after another game), it's just too much, especially with our exchange rate. Better off leaving it as a fantasy that something that is realistic for me at the moment.

It's a shame it's located where it is, I wanted to try the last time I was in Chicago just to do a stadium tour but It's a lot of effort to make even from Chicago.

 

[brutus76]

NASCAR calendar came out last week - locked in for the Pocono 400 July 23, 2023 - yeee haaaaaah!!!!!!!

 

[Dirty Bird]

GF and I considering going to USA.

She is desperate to go to Disneyland so wanna do the 3 day package or something like that (not just 1 day)

We want to do say 7 days LA/7 days NYC.

How much do you think we need to have to have a good holiday without stressing about money?

Return flights $2k?
accommodation $4k?
spending $250min per day?

more or less?

On SM-S908E using BigFooty.com mobile app

I'm currently trying to look into stuff myself (September next year) and accommodation seems to have skyrocketed in America compared to when I was there in 2014. And I'm looking at Seattle/Boise/motels near Yellowstone. Not even looking at LA/NYC

I wouldn't at all be shocked if that blows out an extra $3k+ and you're looking at closer to $7k for LA/NYC (NYC Was already stupid expensive.)

 

[revo333]

I'm currently trying to look into stuff myself (September next year) and accommodation seems to have skyrocketed in America compared to when I was there in 2014. And I'm looking at Seattle/Boise/motels near Yellowstone. Not even looking at LA/NYC

I went to America in 2013 when the AUD to USD was good value, stayed at some of the same hotels later in 2016 and 18 and I was paying atleast $300-400 more.

 

[brutus76]

Hopefully the AUD to USD hits low to mid 70c range by Easter 2023

 

[00Stinger]

Never feel threatened in all my visits to USA however in saying that most of my visits have been to my friends in Boston plus NYC, LA and Vegas.

Have deliberately stayed away from Texas - don’t trust the mother*ers.

Nah Texas is a ******* awesome place

Saw a few people carrying guns openly in a couple of towns but didn't feel threatened at all. In fact I've been around a lot of America having family over there and would say Texas had the friendliest people and felt almost the safest

 

[kirky]

I highly recommend doing the Graceland tour in Memphis.

It's the best tour I have ever done.

From thr Elvis mansion to the museum and even the aeroplane it really is incredible how they have set everything up there on that property.

Agree and I’m not an Elvis fan.

Memphis itself is not what I expected at all. Disappointed but I was in Downtown in late autumn (it even snowed whilst I was there).

Am off to Boston in about 6 weeks for a birthday - away in USA for just 5 days. So looking forward to getting on an international flight.

 

[deck]

I'm currently trying to look into stuff myself (September next year) and accommodation seems to have skyrocketed in America compared to when I was there in 2014. And I'm looking at Seattle/Boise/motels near Yellowstone. Not even looking at LA/NYC

I wouldn't at all be shocked if that blows out an extra $3k+ and you're looking at closer to $7k for LA/NYC (NYC Was already stupid expensive.)

Exchange rate to then adds about 30% on top of what you paid without taking in inflation and covid costs on top.

Weird thing is I booked a hotel in NYC early January and it is cheaper and nicer and better located than the one I stayed in late October early November 2012. So timing is everything when it comes to hotel and flights costs.

 

[Peter Sidorkiewicz]

Agree and I’m not an Elvis fan.

Memphis itself is not what I expected at all. Disappointed but I was in Downtown in late autumn (it even snowed whilst I was there).

Am off to Boston in about 6 weeks for a birthday - away in USA for just 5 days. So looking forward to getting on an international flight.

You can do Memphis in a day quite easily.
Graceland, Beale St at night and maybe Sun Studios if you love music.

Nashville is the better place to go in Tennessee. You can easily spend 3-4 days in Nashville.

 

[kirky]

You can do Memphis in a day quite easily.
Graceland, Beale St at night and maybe Sun Studios if you love music.

Nashville is the better place to go in Tennessee. You can easily spend 3-4 days in Nashville.

Yes, only spent two days in Memphis and had 3 days in Nashville. Loved Nashville.

 

[phantom13]

Personally loved Memphis but i can see why its not for everyone. Wife is an Elvis fiend, we did 3 days and could have stayed for another few.

 

[revo333]

You can do Memphis in a day quite easily.
Graceland, Beale St at night and maybe Sun Studios if you love music.

Nashville is the better place to go in Tennessee. You can easily spend 3-4 days in Nashville.

Thought Memphis was good for Graceland and thats about it.

 

[offtherails9]

I went to Memphis during a snow storm and they were completely unprepared for it lol. City was a ghost town for the few days I was there, was weird. However had some good food and Beale Street was fairly busy on a few nights I guess.

 

[brutus76]

all my US sporting calendars are out except for UFC and boxing (hoping to see something in Vegas or LA)

But i got 5 cities for MLB next year
NASCAR from Pocono
race day at Churchill Downs (home of the Kentucky Derby)
NFL, MLB, NBA and Rock and Roll Hall of Fames
chance to tour a few NFL stadiums

 

[The hands of stone]

We have locked in our next US trip for next July , 10 days locked in this time with kids in tow 7 and 5 .
Main objective is Disneyland and imagine we will have 2-3 days there , and we have earmarked Sam Diego zoo as another day .

Given time we are pretty much locked into LA which is fine for this trip.

Anyone got any recommendations of what else we can do thats kid friendly ?
We will be staying in Anaheim

Cheers

 

[Sydney Kicker]

Just had some holiday fun reading the last 100 or so pages of this thread. Kudos to all who posted.

In 2019 my family spent a bit over 3 months in the USA in 2 instalments as part of a year away from Oz traipsing the globe (40 flights, 27 countries, 1 year before COVID ). A lot of good tips on this thread but the one thing missing (from what I read) is tips on how to save serious $ while still having a good time (90% of the experience for 50% of the price).

So as the world opens up AND making allowances for the fact that COVID might be a bit of a game changer, here's some useful thoughts.

General tips

• do your research and book as much as you can yourself (flights, hotels, attractions)
• start planning a year ahead (at least)
• know when to splurge and when to save. Some places it's worth paying the extra dollars when the alternatives are vastly inferior (eg staying inside Yellowstone or at the Grand Canyon v staying outside Yellowstone or a Day trip to the GC)
• timing is everything (see rest of post)

Air travel

• fly internal midweek (Tue and Wed had huge bargains)
• look at public transport options to/from airports - surprisingly they are often pretty good (depending where you go of course)
• look at using less popular airports but close to where you want to go (eg Oakland for SF, Hartford for New England or even NY). Flights are generally way cheaper and car hire can be cheaper too
• as always, know the baggage and extras policy to make sure you aren't getting a nasty surprise when checking in.

Accommodation

• if staying in one place for a while, get a place where you can make your own meals. They (apartments, places with kitchenettes) can be hard to find in the US but we found a few
• if driving, stay at places between the tourist areas (eg in South Dakota and Wyoming we stayed in Hot Springs, Moorcroft and Cody while driving to see Mt Rushmore, Devils Tower and Yellowstone)
• stay in the cheap (but safe) places in big cities out of the centre (eg New York we stayed in Brooklyn, SF we stayed in Oakland - both a short subway ride to the city)
• know the optimum time to book. If you are going to the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone it's 12 months ahead usually. For Orlando or Vegas, a few days before and you'll get a last minute bargain for certain at the right time of the year.
• Vegas hotels are crazy cheap in midweek as long as no events are on. We stayed at a resort with pools, waterslides and a room with full kitchen from Mon to Thu and paid about $100 (Aus) a day.

Timing - by far the most important

• research what's on. Unless you are travelling for the event, you don't want to go to Florida during spring break or Dallas for the Superbowl.
• look to visit key natural sites at the start and end of season. We did Colorado, Utah, Wyoming in late September and October and it was amazing. especially Yellowstone with snow. We stayed at Old Faithful in a cabin for 3 nights the last week before they shut down for the season and Grand Canyon North Rim on the last night it was open for the season for probably 50% of the high season price, with perfect weather (if you don't mind a bit of a chill) and 25% of the crowds. Just remember to be prepared for cold weather and potentially difficult driving conditions.
• some cities are cheap on weekends (eg Salt Lake City) and make good stops between better locations if you need a comfortable place to chill for 48 hours without breaking the bank.

Car hire

• watch the hidden extras when booking (goes without saying)
• check very carefully what cover your travel insurance gives you in case of accidents and break downs (you don't want to be under insured in the US but you also don't want to double up)

Other

• if you're going to LA or Orlando for the adventure parks and are time flexible, check one of the websites that has a crowd calendar (eg Universal Studios Hollywood Crowd Calendar ) . Also get a multi day ticket, we got unlimited fortnight tickets for Universal and Seaworld in Orlando that included all their affiliate parks like Busch Gardens and Discovery Cove for an amazingly low price. Watch the park websites for the 12 months prior for deals.
• you can get some good (even fairly healthy) hot meals from some supermarkets (Grocery Stores)
• think about what combo of flights, cars and busses/trains works for you. Some destinations are pretty close together and you find flying a waste of money. But on the western side distances are more Aussie like between key cities. Be flexible and use all different modes depending on the circumstances.

I might follow up with some more tips and ideas for specific destinations.

 

[revo333]

• stay in the cheap (but safe) places in big cities out of the centre (eg New York we stayed in Brooklyn, SF we stayed in Oakland - both a short subway ride to the city)

Might be the first time ever I've read that Oakland is safe

 

[Cuzz09]

We have locked in our next US trip for next July , 10 days locked in this time with kids in tow 7 and 5 .
Main objective is Disneyland and imagine we will have 2-3 days there , and we have earmarked Sam Diego zoo as another day .

Given time we are pretty much locked into LA which is fine for this trip.

Anyone got any recommendations of what else we can do thats kid friendly ?
We will be staying in Anaheim

Cheers

that is pretty much what we want to do.

What is it costing?

On SM-S908E using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[The hands of stone]

that is pretty much what we want to do.

What is it costing?

On SM-S908E using BigFooty.com mobile ap

Have only booked the return flights to Hawaii as they were on sale , we will then book the LA leg and accomodation next month.

But the Hawaii flights return were $650 pp from Melbourne , pretty good deal I think .

 

[Sydney Kicker]

Might be the first time ever I've read that Oakland is safe

Yeah probably not the best example of safe, but it was cheap (compared to SF). Oakland was one place where poverty was very apparent - a bit of a homeless encampment in a park near our hotel. That said we never felt in any risk but we were cautious about where we went and when.

 

[revo333]

Yeah probably not the best example of safe, but it was cheap (compared to SF). Oakland was one place where poverty was very apparent - a bit of a homeless encampment in a park near our hotel. That said we never felt in any risk but we were cautious about where we went and when.

I did a Yosemite tour from SF and the driver said he got nervous every time driving through Oakland on the way back when it was dark.

If it's generally considered worse than SF for safety then it must be pretty bad.

 

[The hands of stone]

I did a Yosemite tour from SF and the driver said he got nervous every time driving through Oakland on the way back when it was dark.

If it's generally considered worse than SF for safety then it must be pretty bad.

In SF my wifes was a tour guide , had lived there for 15 years .
Basically told us where to go and where to avoid .
Cant remember the street name , but it was a major one but was rife after dark.

Her advice with Oakland was dont go there unless you have too

 

[The hands of stone]

that is pretty much what we want to do.

What is it costing?

On SM-S908E using BigFooty.com mobile app

Not sure if this helps but we booked our accomodation

We have gone budget but looks pretty good to me, 10 minute walk to Disney and all the eateries nearby .
10 nights total $2995
Disneyland which is mainly why we are going 4 days pass Family of 4 $1495 total .
This was a bit more than we were expecting but also does get you into California Park

 

[EFL Boy]

We have locked in our next US trip for next July , 10 days locked in this time with kids in tow 7 and 5 .
Main objective is Disneyland and imagine we will have 2-3 days there , and we have earmarked Sam Diego zoo as another day .

Given time we are pretty much locked into LA which is fine for this trip.

Anyone got any recommendations of what else we can do thats kid friendly ?
We will be staying in Anaheim

Cheers

Highly, highly, highly recommend Universal Studios, & the VIP tour if possible cost-wise. Did it a number of years ago, you get the usual skip-the-lines for all of the rides, entry an hour before the park opens, buffet lunch, and then a tour throughout the whole park where you see movie/tv sets etc. super fun.