USA people I need your advice
 

In an month or so I'm gonna have five weeks in the states. I start in New York and need to finish up in LA, everything in between is up in the air at this point. My friend that I'm travelling with does want to see DC, Toronto, Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon.

So what else should I fit in there? Is it easy enough to just book flights a week or two before like I normally do or should I be more prepared? I'd like to see some small towns/real life type stuff as well. Any advice appreciated.

By god someone better help me, I don't want to regret coming back here any more than I already do.

I don't know, Hillzy. I'd say any national parks or major cities are a good bet. Toronto isn't in the US though but I think you know that and I'm just being annoying by pointing it out. I'd probably skip Chicago or Las Vegas but idk I'm sort of boring. New York has never been boring to me and I do suggest it even without a plan. You always find something to do. What do you want to see here exactly?

be more prepared unless you have unlimited funds.

make sure to see chicago. and vegas is likely not worth it if this is a one time deal. see nyc, D.C., and Chicago. and I'd imagine New Orleans would be better for a casual visitor than Las Vegas, but I've never been to Vegas, so take that with a grain of salt.

Small town stuff is cute for about three minutes. I wouldn't make a point of seeing it.

also, even though I've never been, I'd recommend either San Francisco or Seattle in place of the small town bullshit.

i've never been to those places eulogy hasn't been to but i just wanted to neutralise his posts by saying don't go there

Yes, knew that was coming. Thanks though.

Thanks, I don't have completely unlimited funds but money isn't really a problem - its only five weeks. It's not a one time deal, I'm sure I'll be back there sometime for a better look, this is just a good opportunity for a little jaunt. I hear what you're saying about the small towns but I tend to try not to fall into that trap of just heading from tourist site to tourist site without seeing how people actually live there.

I'd say it isn't as easy to book flights as it is in europe...there's nothing like ryanair here, for example

drive through niagra falls on the way to toronto

also montreal is supposed to be fantastic but its out of your way

How do you plan to get from one coast to another? You want to fly between different locations of interest, or you take Greyhound? Going by Greyhound could give you this flavor of small town feelings, no?

Are you into big cities or rather nature?

I would vouch for San Francisco, too.
As to Toronto, man, I don't know if it is worth it- if I were about to ******* some city from Canada, I would rather go with Quebec City or Montreal, they are surely more remarkable and different from what you'd get in the US - Toronto is like another US city on the lake but in Canada (OK, Toronto might feel a bit safer).

Canadian side is way better at Niagara Falls. I would guess you could enjoy some more secluded national park in Rocky Mountains more than the big crowds and overall cheesiness of Niagara Falls, though.

as redbull pointed out, booking flights is much more difficult and much more expensive within the US than it is in europe. but if i remember correctly, you're a new zealander? so if that's the case then i imagine you don't have cheap flights in mind... but regardless, you can save a shit ton of money if you plan ahead. i cannot recommend that enough.

as far as "seeing how people live here" goes, i can't say enough about how worthless that would be. most people in the US, including myself, live really boring, homogenous lives. you see one small town and you've seen them all. you've seen one big city suburb, and you've seen them all. if this is a vacation, do not waste your time trying to discover how americans live. it's boring and bound to be disappointing. stick to big cities and national parks. that's all we have to offer. i recommend glacier national park. beautiful. wonderful hiking in the spring/summer/fall. i've not been to many of the others, but i'm sure other people here can point you in the right directions.

Thanks all. I'm open to flying, bussing, rent a car for a bit, just whatever suits. Just trying to get ideas at this stage really. Toronto is only on the list because we have people there to visit.
I see what you're saying Eulogy, I'm not gonna go from town to town, just saying I don't want it to be 100% in cities. Some friends spent a month or two driving around the south west a couple of years ago and were of the same opinion.

Main thing so far seems to be that I should get some flights sorted before I leave instead of my normal approach to this stuff.

yeah, it seems like, for you, it might be a good approach to get flights set up from region to region. like, fly into NYC, give yourself time to explore, then get a flight from either NYC or DC to Chicago. Then figure out more basic transportation, then go from Chicago to either LA or Seattle or Denver or whatever. I know that wouldn;t be your actual itinerary, but that's probably a good way to approach it. You can travel within regions fairly easily, but I would lock in the bigger plane rides as soon as possible.

Why does everyone mention Chicago. What is there?! Mikey if you stop by any national parks you'd probably get a good taste of small towns and good places to eat and all that. I don't really believe the American experience is much different from much of New Zealand but we do have our own collection of much different flora and fauna than you're used to and I'm sure you'll enjoy that. But I don't want to tell you what to do here. I mean it's all pretty good and seeing new things is always nice as long as you don't get sunburned

um, have you ever been there

Tell me what is there, Eulogy. But in another thread or PM

billys house is our biggest draw

if you're going to DC anyway, there is some really nice stuff in Maryland. The Chesapeake Bay is right there and there are beautiful beaches and stuff. A couple hours west of DC and you're in the Appilachian mountains. Also, Maryland is just a really pretty, well kept state. I could give you more particular pointers if you're into that.

If you want to see some mountains, you can fly into Denver and take a van like 1-1.5 hours into summit county, lots of skiing there in the winter but beaaauuutiful in the summer. Tons of hiking/fishing/wandering around looking at the mountains.

If you're going to NYC anyway, upstate New York can be really pretty as well, especially around Lake Ontario. Unfortunately everything is poor and depressing as shit.

San Francisco I've also heard nice things about. If you wanted to go to the pacific northwest that might be cool, ie Portland/Seattle/whatever. The landscape there is beautiful and I've heard good things about the cities.

Be more specific about what you want to do and where exactly and we can help you out more. USA is a biiiiiiiig place.

there's really nothing in Chicago. Its just famous because its named after a band

yeah, unless you're really into post rock i'd skip chicago

oh shit i never knew there was a real life basis for this

http://www.mobygames.com/images/shot...7354557-00.gif

Nothing against Chicago, but I'd skip it completely. It doesn't add much value to your American experience that you won't get elsewhere. I'd argue for you to head to Boston after NYC and skip Toronto, too. Outside of Boston (which itself is more American than anywhere else) is the small town area you seek. Maine coastal area and Cape Cod privide this, as does New Hampshire. Plus it is beutiful scenery (which Chicago environs don't have).

Just remember the places you want to visit are spread far apart - people (not you though) don't realize how large this country is. With 5 weeks though you have ample time.

houston adds the most to the American experience

chicago rulez. i think it's undervalued by a lot of americans.

:rockon:

i mean you gotta go somewhere in the middle of the country, right? where else would you guys suggest?

Greyhound Discovery Pass — Home

Unlimited bus travel in the US and Canada a 60 day pass is $539. I would definitely get one. It's a bargain even if you barely use it. Just be aware bus travel in the US can take a very long time. But when you consider a rental car is going to cost you at least $100 a day and air travel is going to cost you even more than that the pass is a bargain.

You don't have to but it'd be by far the best choice in the MW. I'd choose Austin and the Hill Country over Chicago - would give a different taste/experience.

Anywhere but Chicago, if your going to all the major east coast cities I would rather see something different in the middle of the country. If you do Toronto,Boston, and NYC stopping in Chicago seems a bit pointless. You would be much better off working your way down the cost then cut across the South East. If your goal is to see as much as you can and as much variety as you can then Chicago is defiantly something to skip over.