Hi all,
Planning to spend xmas/new yr in the states. I hear alot about those crazy sales where people get stepped on or sometimes worse.
I am learning more towards LA side cos the misses wants to go Disneyland etc…new york be good but not to sure yet.
like to hear anyones opinions and experiences.
cheers
Of course it will depend on your interests, time available, and $'s, but I lived in LA for a year and to me LA is pretty cruddy. The best part of the West Coast was a quick run into Tijuana (Just for the experience of going into Mexico) a train LA to Las Vegas, flying to the Grand Canyon from Las Vegas, and also driving LA to San Francisco. A few years later I did a 2+ weeks trip. Flew Syd - LA - Salt Lake City 2 nights - flew to Washington DC 4 nights, train to New York 4 nights, hired a car, drove to Niagra Falls, to Nashville, to Memphis, New Orleans dropped the car off and flew back to Sydney Via LA. A BRILLIANT TRIP!!
I'm more of a fan of the East Coast through San Fran is pretty damn good. I lived in DC for a year and really enjoyed it, as a tourist there is so much to do. And it's only a 4 hour cheap bus ride to new york
East coast (LA especially) has really poor public transport so be prepared for hiring a car/waiting a long time
Hi Peck, I've been looking for train from LA to Vegas and got all overwhelmed. Can you point to me the right direction? We are arriving in LA Airport and I want to go straight to Vegas first, by train if possible. Thanx.
don't think there is a train from LA to vegas,
closest your gonna get is a bus, that journey will take about 5 hours
I would hire a car with GPS… it's a nice drive once you get on Interstate-15 (I.15) jpurny will take you about 4hours
if your flying into LAX catch a flight. 1 hour flight is much easier
This is what Peck said (sorry I dont know how to quote):
peck on 02/09/2013 - 00:29
Of course it will depend on your interests, time available, and $'s, but I lived in LA for a year and to me LA is pretty cruddy. The best part of the West Coast was a quick run into Tijuana (Just for the experience of going into Mexico) a train LA to Las Vegas….
Oh :o( I have just googled it and found out that it stopped over 10 years ago! Amazing! It was such a great trip. Sorry for the bum steer! I also flew Los Angeles to Las Vegas, and Las Vegas to Grand Canyon. Grand Canyon is spectacular! It, Gracelands, & Niagra Falls were the highlights of my USA travels. I don't know if these flights all still exist or not.
Ah well, you've got me excited for a while….
Will keep looking.
New York is a big bright city. If you are into watching people from a cafe, and love the idea of walking around urban structures with character history etc then its a real city
LA you need a car to go visit the sites like Disneyland, Universal, Venice beach etc
But while that seems less exciting, to get outside of the city centres anywhere in the US a car is the easiest.
BUT you say you are going to visit at Christmas time. NY can be pretty, but getting around in snow in the upper East coast, including NY is going to be the pits. Pretty if you arent concerned about being stuck in the one spot, but my guess is you are going to want to look around and see things.
So anything North of Washington DC will involve a great risk of getting stranded.
The West coast will be easier to move around. While LA has some great spots moving further north or west you will see some spectacular sites/places San Francisco, Monterrey, Grand Canyon, Bryce, Zion Yosemite. You will experience snow but can get around somewhat. ie while the site might be closed for snow, the whole state wont be.
Oh and BTW unless you are into getting stamps on passports (which you dont even get) to say you went to many countries, Tijuana is a waste of time. San Diego's Balboa park is probably as south as you want to go.
And since it's your first trip, and probably not your last, save NY for the next trip. With transfers its another day out of your itinerary and then there's the return as well.
Also hire a car, you will see more and save more. See the wiki here at ozbargain for tips on car rental
I agree with most said by RockyRaccoon. I forgot about the winter. Also note that driving north or northeast of San Franciso in winter is fraught with danger. Tijuana is not much, but if you have a car and are in the area of San Diego, it is fun to visit Mexico. You used to be able to go as far as Ensenada Mexico without a visa, and whilst these towns are Americanized, I still found it fun to visit and stay a couple of nights. TJ to Ensenada is a very picturesque drive. Solvang and Big Bear Lake are good 'day trips' from LA.
If the misses is keen on Disneyland, don't tell her about Disneyworld. It's the size of Manhattan
Went last year for a 3 week holiday. NYC was / is AWESOME. LA = Dump. I guess it's all down to opinions but NYC just has such an awesome vibe to it and so many places to explore. LA is a shitty version of Sydney IMO. Hollywood is a dump, Beverley Hills full of wanker stores, etc etc. Loved Vegas and driving from SF-LA was a highlight.
Drive around and explore whatever you can but imo, 3 - 4 days in LA at most.
I agree
why not go to both, you'll have to be in LA anyway for the flight and Qantas has a connecting flight to NY
thanks for the feedback and stories, LA it is and a bit of cruising around and i will see if i can squeeze in NYC for new year eve which will be most likely a once in life time experience.
Funny choice, given that everyone seems to be saying LA is a dump and avoid it.
I've heard terrible things about NYE in NYC - they pack people in to Times Square, don't let you leave, don't have enough bathrooms and it's generally cold and miserable (unlike say Sydney which is huge and has tons of vantage points, New York doesn't). But YMMV.
On the other hand, New York in the lead up to Christmas is amazing and magical. Also it probably won't snow in December - it will just be bitingly cold.
LA is different and compared to NYC it isnt the same, but there are plenty of things to do in the LA area, its just not a cosmopolitan city like NY, Like others have said, 4 days is all you need
Its spreaaaaadout AND a car is a must. Whereas NYC a Car is a hindrance.
And with LA you can drive to San Francisco & Las Vegas and the weather will be more navigatable.
I don't mind LA for a short stay like 3-4 days. I booked a rental car on www.driveaway.com (price you pay includes everything, taxes inc.) with Dollar Rentals. Booked the cheapest car and then paid an etra $10 per day to upgrade to a Mustang convertible. Recommend Getty Museum and Getty Villa and it's a nice drive along the coast toward Malibu to get to these places. Catch a Lakers/Clippers game while you're there if sports are your thing.
Strongly recommend Vegas if you are staying on the east coast. :)
cool planning to stay for 2 weeks so i put a few days for NYC the rest go all over the place on the west side.
As an aussie do I need a visa or not?getting conflicting information online and from government sites.
No visa required, just register for an ESTA. It's really easy and only costs $14 per person.
https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/
Have you got any flight quotes yet? If you're interested in flying with Virgin let me know what dates and prices you have found and I may be able to help you find it cheaper.
Each flight is six hours so you're losing an entire day or more going to NYC and back. I reckon you're cramming too much into 2 weeks. But up to you
Guru donga saved me 30% - I'm still on my 3 month "layover".
Car hire for US via most UK sites are cheaper and inclusive than US.com sites.
Bookmark www.smartervegas.com !!
Disneyland tickets - see SoCalPass www.citypass.com/southern-california
Consider Airbnb.com for accomms.
New York is a blast. Arrived from Niagra to NYC Grand Central Station. The vibe cant be explained in words.
As someone that has spent considerable time in SoCal I recommend staying in Santa Monica if you are headed to SoCal (Los Angeles). Easy trips wherever you want to go and it has a vibrant culture. It's by far my favorite part of the LA and Greater Area without heading too far south (into say Anaheim).
Long Beach is also nice - I had a friend live there so spent considerable time there too.
MMMM christmas in winter time, i see most of the comments missed something for this period. on the east cost especially new york and boston it gets really cold and snows. i was there for my honeymoon 3 years ago and they had record snowfalls, needless to say the subway was closed road was closed and was pretty much trapped inside the hotel for just under 48 hours. we flew into boston attended my cousins wedding, and then drove to Washington DC Via new york, very nice drive. niagra falls is 9hr train ride. or 1.5 hour flight.
a white christmas for most aussies will be quite interesting boston, niagra falls, and DC are great but be prepared for the cold.
on the west coast LA, San Fran, Vegas and San diego are also great doesn't snow but the wind chill is very cold. especially in Vegas at night,
san fran will be foggy and cold pretty much all day, LA will be sunny but not that cold, but really freezes at night. sandiego will be the same as LA. you can visit seaworld and sea an orca whale. dont get much chance to see one of those. it's name is (shamu)
vegas is spectacular anytime of the year.
their christmas sales sales aren't as crazy as thanks giving sales which occur last week of november.,
shopping at outlets would probably be the best best vegas premium outlet (north)and new york outlet (woddbury), san diego (carlsbad) and boston (wrentham village)
pack nice and warm because it's gonna be cold
New York is great but accommodation is a lot more expensive than LA/Vegas for what you get. How long are you going for? Maybe you could visit both?