Thinking about visiting the States

[KillerCharlie]

Just keep in mind, LA is NOT a good repesentation for the average American city!

 

[Crono]

Oh, and if you haven't see it yet, check out "Stephen Fry in America". Awesome way to really see America (minus the Taxi cab, unless you just happen to have one ).

For all of you with Netflix instant streaming, it's on there.

 

[RossMAN]

That looks like a good route but I might skip the glacier national park. Maybe swing by Yosemite, Las Vegas and Grand Canyon.

Yes, this is the route I would recommend.

 

[Leros]

Just keep in mind, LA is NOT a good repesentation for the average American city!

There is no such thing as an average American city. The various geographic regions are pretty diverse.

New York City is nothing like Seattle which is nothing like Atlanta which is nothing like Los Angeles. Heck, Austin is nothing like the rest of Texas.

 

[RossMAN]

Yeah, I'm not interested in spending all my holiday on the road, that's why I thought Seattle -> LA should be doable in two weeks.

Or maybe just SF -> LA

Just to clarify, you would drive from Seattle to LA or fly?

If you're going to drive, plan it right and you can explore some beautiful scenery.

Here are some useful links I found with a simple Google search, bookmark/print these:

http://blog.onetravel.com/travel/th...to-los-angeles-what-to-see-along-the-way.aspx

http://www.roadtripamerica.com/foru...ice-for-roadtrip-from-LA-to-Seattle-in-a-week

http://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/seattle-to-la-area-driving-straight-thru.cfm

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopi...est_coast_drive_Seattle_to_LA-California.html

 

[OCNewbie]

Yeah, it's hard to recommend the East coast in the summer...

I live in DC and it's HELL here! The time to visit the east coast is more like April/May or October/November I think.

For the summer months, I would recommend something like:

Depart CPH for YVR (Vancouver, Canada)
Visit Vancouver (and surroundings)
Visit Seattle (and surroundings)
Head east over to Montana (Glacier National Park)
Then back west to HWY 101 via Portland, OR
Take 101 south via Redwood National Park to Napa Valley
Continue south via Berkeley and San Francisco (stop and visit for a while)
Continue south via Santa Cruz, Monterey, Carmel, Santa Barbara to Los Angeles
Do the touristy stuff in LA
End your journey there, departing LAX for CPH

As a lifelong Floridian, I highly concur with this idea

 

[raasco]

Yeah, it's hard to recommend the East coast in the summer...

I live in DC and it's HELL here! The time to visit the east coast is more like April/May or October/November I think.

For the summer months, I would recommend something like:

Depart CPH for YVR (Vancouver, Canada)
Visit Vancouver (and surroundings)
Visit Seattle (and surroundings)
Head east over to Montana (Glacier National Park)
Then back west to HWY 101 via Portland, OR
Take 101 south via Redwood National Park to Napa Valley
Continue south via Berkeley and San Francisco (stop and visit for a while)
Continue south via Santa Cruz, Monterey, Carmel, Santa Barbara to Los Angeles
Do the touristy stuff in LA
End your journey there, departing LAX for CPH

+1

 

[OCNewbie]

Dear lord please do NOT go to Disney in the Summer. We took our 5 year old this last July and it was miserable. I live in TN and am used to a lot of heat and it was still pretty horrible. Unless you're into paying for torture stay away.

Very much this. Summer is the busiest time of the year in the Disney parks. At times they actually have to turn people away because it gets so crowded. This is the time American families take their children to the parks, because the kids are out of school. The wait times for the popular rides are commonly 90 minutes + per ride, and sometimes worse than that. Not to mention the 90F+ temps, with very high humidity makes waiting in those long lines, surrounded by all those people, THAT much more grueling.

 

[KK]

Sometimes people don't realize the distances involved. Florida is not remotely close to NY or DC.

It's roughly the distance between Copenhagen and Florence, Italy.

Speaking of copenhagen, can you smuggle some into the country when you come over? Prefer the long cut btw.

 

[Geosurface]

Spending a lot of your time traveling is only a mistake in certain areas.

If you hit Montana and parts of Washington at the right time of year... the traveling is easily as good as the destinations.

 

[randomrogue]

For a first trip to the states don't drive cross country. The entire middle of the continent is nothing but BORING! Unless you're a corn aficionado it's a real waste of your time. Once you get past the Rockies/Badlands there's nothing - absolutely nothing - for a long ass time. Stick to the west coast since you're open to it. New York is a cheap flight at other times of the year when the weather is better. Just fly to the west coast and check out the gazillion things we have to offer. Yosemite alone will blow your mind. Buy a ticket with SAS to San Fransisco, rent a car for like $20 a day, and head all over the bay area before heading either North or East. Do a loop so that you're either leaving or coming back through Yosemite. Yes you'd miss Southern California but you can do that another time if you're on a budget/time crunch. If you find that you have more time/money then do a much larger loop where you get Death Valley and Southern California in there possibly coming in from Vegas.

 

[randomrogue]

Spending a lot of your time traveling is only a mistake in certain areas.

If you hit Montana and parts of Washington at the right time of year... the traveling is easily as good as the destinations.

Couldn't have said it better myself. However, it's nice to not be the only driver.

 

[OCNewbie]

Unless you're a corn aficionado...

Haha... that made me laugh

 

[potluv]

There's really only one place worth visiting that defines America if you're more of a city person. NYC. Too bad that in the past there wasn't much effort to preserve earlier skyscrapers from the early 1900's, 10's, 20's, 30's, and 40's. Wish all of the new shit was built in Brooklyn and Queens, and Manhattan had all the glory of an authentic Gotham.

It's a small city if you plan on driving around it, not as impressive to me as an adult as it was when I was a kid.

If you're an outdoors person, Colorado, Wyoming, California, Nevada and Utah is worth a visit.

 

[biostud]

Just to clarify, you would drive from Seattle to LA or fly?

If you're going to drive, plan it right and you can explore some beautiful scenery.

Here are some useful links I found with a simple Google search, bookmark/print these:

http://blog.onetravel.com/travel/th...to-los-angeles-what-to-see-along-the-way.aspx

http://www.roadtripamerica.com/foru...ice-for-roadtrip-from-LA-to-Seattle-in-a-week

http://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/seattle-to-la-area-driving-straight-thru.cfm

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopi...est_coast_drive_Seattle_to_LA-California.html

Drive from SF to LA, since there seems to be a lot to see around here that would require a car to reach easily.

 

[RossMAN]

Drive from SF to LA, since there seems to be a lot to see around here that would require a car to reach easily.

Between Seattle, Washington to LA ... would you drive or fly?

 

[biostud]

Between Seattle, Washington to LA ... would you drive or fly?

Might skip Seattle, to lessen the time spent on the road.

 

[Jumpem]

From NYC, go to Letchworth state park (Grand Canyon of the east) in western NY, and then continue on to Niagara Falls.

 

[mrkun]

That seems like a lot of time to spend just on the East Coast. May as well hit up Canada and the West Coast while you're here. Definitely recommend doing lots of outdoors stuff if you're going to be here for an extended period of time.

 

[biostud]

So I have now ordered plane tickets 7 nights in NY then flying to SF 14 nights on the west coast flying home from LAX.

Since I'm traveling alone I'm thinking about staying at a hostel in NY, with a better possibility to meet fellow travelers.

I'm thinking of maybe staying 3 nights in SF, is public transport fine or is it better to have a car? Afterwards I would rent a car to get around the west coast.

Any thoughts/comments to my decisions?

Yay! I'm going to travel 3 weeks in th US this summer. I'm really excited

 

[skyking]

SF is really bad for cars. Work it all out on public transit or cabs there and save a ton of headaches.

 

[AreaCode707]

What are your dates? I've lived in the wine country in NorCal and in Seattle, and depending on when you're traveling I can make some recommendations on interesting things to do, festivals, etc.

You're flying into SF, not Seattle? Changed your plans to drive the full way down? That's a bit of a shame. There's lots more to see from Vancouver BC/Seattle/Portland/NorCal/SF than there is from SF to LA.

While you're IN San Francisco, skip the car. Parking is hell and VERY expensive and you can get around on public transit ok.

I'd recommend planning some time north of the city, but that's because I LOVE the redwoods and wine country. The Lost Coast makes from some beautiful hikes. We've got some of the best food in the world too.

When you're heading south, stay in Santa Barbara for a few days for your real beach vacation. It's a cute town.

 

[randomrogue]

Minimize your time in Los Angeles. I'm not sure why you're flying out of there since if you're flying into San Fransisco you'd want to head north, not south. Plus Los Angeles is way over rated. Driving in San Fransisco is fine but parking is not.

Since you're not heading north I would still recommend making time to go a little bit north to see the Marin Headlands for the amazing view and Avenue of the Giants for the world's tallest trees. I would also spend a day going to Point Reyes. It's really nice there and I have never been there without seeing whales. There's also an elephant seal colony nearby but you can't get too close. On your way from there you'll pass through part of the wine country that 707 mentioned. There's a few petrified forests that don't do much for me but you'll absolutely want to see some of the coastline. Consider a side trip to Bodega Bay for lunch and then drive up the coastline from there. There is a colony of Seals and you can walk out on the beach and see them up close. You could also make a trip to the Sierra Nevada. Something like Lake Tahoe. If you're going to be heading to Napa you could continue from there to Sacramento and up into the mountains.

Since you're heading south you should consider driving through Yosemite, Kings Canyon, Sequoia National Forrest, and from there I'd probably head through the Mohave and Death Valley on your way down to San Diego. You could make a trip over to Vegas and the Hoover Dam too. At the end of the trip drive up to LA and fly out or spend a day there if you really want to see something or go to Disneyland.

 

[biostud]

SF is really bad for cars. Work it all out on public transit or cabs there and save a ton of headaches.

That was what I was thinking. Just needed to confirm.

What are your dates? I've lived in the wine country in NorCal and in Seattle, and depending on when you're traveling I can make some recommendations on interesting things to do, festivals, etc.

Although it's normally a bad idea to public announce when you're not home, I have a tenant in my apartment so...
CPH -> NY June 30th
NY -> SF July 7th
LAX -> CPH July 22nd

You're flying into SF, not Seattle? Changed your plans to drive the full way down? That's a bit of a shame. There's lots more to see from Vancouver BC/Seattle/Portland/NorCal/SF than there is from SF to LA.

I don't drive regularly so I thought I didn't want to spend to much time on the road, and if I decide to stay 3 nights @ SF then I only have 10 days left.

I'd recommend planning some time north of the city, but that's because I LOVE the redwoods and wine country. The Lost Coast makes from some beautiful hikes. We've got some of the best food in the world too.

I'll look into that

When you're heading south, stay in Santa Barbara for a few days for your real beach vacation. It's a cute town.

Ok, Although I'm not much of a beach guy I guess I do have to take a dip in the Pacific Ocean.

I don't think I'm going to spend more than one or two days in LA, but I intend to see lot of the nature and national parks. Since it's my first time in US I do need to see all the tourist stuff

 

[Slew Foot]

SF, the Peninsula, Marin Headlands, and the coast up to Mendocino are fantastic. Aside from Yosemite, nothing else in CA compares.