If you were planning a trip to the USA for about a week (I know.. not long enough...)

Where would you go?
x2 parents (1 Male, 1 Female)
x2 mid 20 somethings (1 Male, 1 Female, young couple)
x2 early 20 somethings (both Female, bezzie mates)

Options are :-
New York
LA
San Francisco
Miami
Other & why?

Hmm, tough one - I did the States back in May, but in 10 days we did Long Beach, CA for 2 days, Las Vegas/Grand Canyon for 5 days, then Hollywood for 3 days - it was knackering.

So if I was to go back for a week only, I would either do New York or probably San Francisco.

I am in no rush to go back to Miami, so that is out.

I also found LA to be very boring :shrug:

With a crowd of 6 of you, has to be New York? Loads to see and do - and not such a long haul flight.

Stu DemonD said:

Hmm, tough one - I did the States back in May, but in 10 days we did Long Beach, CA for 2 days, Las Vegas/Grand Canyon for 5 days, then Hollywood for 3 days - it was knackering.

So if I was to go back for a week only, I would either do New York or probably San Francisco.

I am in no rush to go back to Miami, so that is out.

I also found LA to be very boring :shrug:

With a crowd of 6 of you, has to be New York? Loads to see and do - and not such a long haul flight.

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Cheers Stu, indeed that is Mrs Ffoxys preference but it is our youngest daughters 21st Birthday prezzie... decisions - decisions... she has no idea herself lol!

I was going to say I found NY boring and way over-priced, however there are lots of sightseeing things to do if you're into that.

Vegas is interesting, but again, after a few days you run out of things to do.

San Francisco is a nice place

Oh, and LA has Santa Monica beach, Universal Studios, Six Flags and of course Hollywood....

ben said:

Oh, and LA has Santa Monica beach, Universal Studios, Six Flags and of course Hollywood....

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Yeah, fair point - the day we went to Santa Monica, it was freezing

We did stay at the Hilton at Universal, so that was fun - but we covered the park in a day using Fast Pass.

Hollywood was ok - but a bit over-rated imo; we ended up just driving down the Boulevard, it was heaving

When I said LA was boring, I was thinking more of the down-town area.

Vegas - never really bored of it, but on the Monday and Tuesday, it was lovely; by the Friday, you couldn't move, although we were staying in this suite which was immense Plus a helicopter trip to the Grand Canyon. A week there would be too much plus you would be skint :spin:

If not New York, then I would definitely stick with San Francisco - even Ben likes it there

ben said:

I was going to say I found NY boring and way over-priced, however there are lots of sightseeing things to do if you're into that.

Vegas is interesting, but again, after a few days you run out of things to do.

San Francisco is a nice place

Oh, and LA has Santa Monica beach, Universal Studios, Six Flags and of course Hollywood....

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Thanks to you Boss! Wow... personal advice from ben himself... gotta love this place

Ha - you know though, a lot of people love NY, so I wouldn't take my view as gospel. I was also there during early Jan, which meant it was sooo cold and had snow.

Personally my favourite place is Arizona, but that's because of the desert raves ... which I don't think will really have much bearing on your decisions

Grand Canyon is quite a sight to see as well.

At the end of the day though, wherever you go will be great, because the food is just AWESOME!!!

I would have to choose Other.I would choose Orlando Florida, been there 3 times, Foods great, lots of stuff to do, cheap shopping for big branded name's, You Have Sea World, Wet 'n' Wild, Universal Studios, International Drive (Has loads & loads & loads off stuff to do on this road)Have been to Orlando 3 times and can't get enough of it, last time i went was December 2009 with my parents and brother, we all enjoyed it and never had a bad word to say about Orlando.i would Recommend.

Orlando is on the assumption you love theme parks and queuing

I have been twice as well - but there is way more to see in the States

Stu DemonD said:

Orlando is on the assumption you love theme parks and queuing

I have been twice as well - but there is way more to see in the States

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Queuing is absolutely not necessary in Disneyworld. Have a look at Touringplans.com look at the crowd calendar and follow their parkplan, We were there this summer, with a 6 year old son, no more than 10 min. wait maximum...!!

New York is my all time favorite city, been there about 6-7 times, even ran the NY Marathon in 1992, just to be there...!

When going to the West side of the USA, don't forget to drive a piece of Route 66, the Motherroad.

When renting a car in California, remember the large rental companies have no drop of charge in that state.
So f.i. you can rent a car in Los Angeles, and leave it in San Francisco without paying the expensive return fee...
Buy an "open jaw" flight ticket for that reason!

Really appreciate everyones input & thoughts, keep them coming.

(Iwant to go to the Kennedy Space Centre personally)

No rental car drop of charges in Florida as well...!!
So rent a car in Orlando, and leave it in Miami !!
When visiting Kennedy Space Center ( very interesting, been there twice...) stay in nearby Cocoa Beach and enjoy the HUGE waves...!!
When going in July or August it's possible to take a Turtle Watch Tour and see large seaturtles come ashore at night to lay their eggs, saw that last summer, VERY recommended...!!

www.tripadvisor.com

www.roomsaver.com

www.hotelcoupons.com

www.seatguru.com

Ffoxy said:

(Iwant to go to the Kennedy Space Centre personally)

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I was there in 1986, soon after the Challenger explosion. Also went again in 1989 - great place

Just to throw a wobbler into the equation, how about Canada? I went to Toronto a few years back (well I stayed in Hamilton, another city in Ontario, but it was only down the road) for a week, and it was immense - not only do you get the CN Tower but Niagara Falls isn't that far away, as well as many other things to see and do. You could always hire a Winnebago and drive to New York lol

The flights were also cheap - I paid £280 return via Air India (ooh yeah, we joined as passengers at Birmingham, within half an hour, I was drinking free Kingfisher and tucking into a chicken curry)!!! Their attitude is so different to the Americans as well, probably because they hate them

I would love to go back

Stu DemonD said:

Their attitude is so different to the Americans as well, probably because they hate them

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They may hate them, but they totally depend on them....
90% of all Canadians live within 100 mls of the US border.....!!!
You can reach the Niagara Falls from New York City within 4-5 hours....!!
Btw, it's a complete madhouse overthere at the falls, it has a fun fair attitude, if you ask me, been there three times...
And yes, the glass floor at the observation deck of the CN Tower is fun...!!

Yep, which is why I suggested the Winnebago - for the crack

I was at the Falls in February - totally out of season and about -30C with windchill - but the views were immense.

The Glass Floor is also fun :slayer:

But as I said, just giving ideas - especially with Ffoxy & Co. only wanting to go for a week

I almost chose san Francisco. Brilliant city and a lot friendlier than the big 2 of NYC and LA.

But my personal recommendation would be to fly to Phoenix, rent a car and spend a week or 2 touring Arizona. You won't have enough time to see everything, but you can tick off the big stuff like Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Painted Desert, Sedona, Monument Valley, Tombstone, Lake Havasu (rent a boat for a day and explore the Colorado River. You can sail right under London Bridge. Yes, THAT London Bridge.). And that's only the obvious things. You could also be like me and fall in love with the town of Bisbee, just stone's throw from the Mexican border.

I've been to AZ three times now, and it gets better every time. To really see America you need to get into the small towns and meet the locals. Brilliant people and more welcoming than any I've met anywhere else.

He has just one week....!!

And yes, Western USA is the perfect place to explore, I totally agree.

Peter Pick-Up said:

He has just one week....!!

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