Hi all, am looking to travel across USA in early/mid November to mid December to celebrate finishing uni and am after some travelling tips. Am looking to travel to New York and from there down to New Orleans/Houston then back up to San Diego/San Fran. No idea on timeframe in cities yet, probably 3-4 days depending where it is. Any tips on how to book flights, where to stay and even any standout places I should consider going to at that time of year? Of course looking for cheaper flights and options but open to all suggestions, any help would be much appreciated!
Best way to travel across USA?
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thanks man appreciate it so much! just a quick question, did you book all your domestic flights before you left or did you do it while you were over there? i'm guessing it's cheaper to book them before i leave rather than while i'm there?
Almost always cheaper to book before you leave. Have you booked your international flights yet? If not, try booking the domestic flights on the same ticket as it can work out cheaper in some cases and will usually entitle you to the international flights baggage allowance on the domestic flights.
I flew with Spirit Airlines for a couple of my domestic flights last time and they were fine but they operate using an ultra-low-cost-carrier business model so beware of the extra charges for things like baggage and selecting a seat before you book.
haven't booked anything, still in the really early stages as I still don't know for sure where I want to go/what to do. I probably won't be able to book for a few months as I was going to wait for my uni exam timetable so I can go as early (and for as long) as possible as I have to be back in mid december for graduation. thanks for the help!
One of the relatively few people that I've left enabled in my Youtube all-activity feed subscribed to JackVsLife just before the youtuber in question embarked on a trip across the U.S. last year. Prologue to the trip, here
Nice, slightly nuggety little English fella with a few smarts, so I ended up watching the series. Little of interest on his channel since he finished the trip.
Anyway, he initially and briefly detoured up into Canada before doing the whole 'buy a cheap van, travel across America' thing.
Given your age, there might some particular inspiration for you in that, or just in relation to some of places he visited.Beyond the prologue, don't be put off if you don't like the first few videos. From memory, the filmaking and scenery both improve nicely as things go along.
He's in his mid-twenties, I think, but if I got a bit of cheap-end, no-frills, seat-of-the-pants vicarious travel enjoyment out of the trip he took, you sure as hell will. Have fun, whatever you end up doing.
As many others will probably recommend, we have been to the US 3 times and with any domestic flight we try to fly Southwest Airlines, although they are seen to be a budget carrier we have found them to be excellent and also your first 2 bags fly free whereas others like Delta, AA etc charge a $20-$25 per checked in bag
Take a look at autodriveaway.com and other similar companies for relocating peoples cars. ie. FREE car hire
Maybe you could arrange an itinerary with them that gets you across the US from NY to LA.Beware flights mid to late november , thanksgiving in the USA is bigger than Xmas and the flights become very heavily booked and expensive, so get in early
I booked my internal flights within the US before I left.. Used priceline and Kayak to scope the prices then went and booked them on the airlines own website as they were the same price and had probs with seat selection on priceline..Had I known about the advantages of booking all flights together (including the international leg) would've done so.
you'll also need to do this before you go
https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/As for money - Grab these cards
http://www.28degreescard.com.au/
http://www.citibank.com.au/plus3/so is it better to do my own bookings than go to a travel agent? As I wouldn't really know where to start if I book them on my own. Can you explain what you have in those links a bit better? Cheers
Looking to fly from Bne to cheapest point on East coast than make our way back to SF or LA and home. Have seen most of the cities. But would see Washington again Would like to concentrate on the nature, and the drive. 6 weeks around April, May. Any thoughts, advice appreciated. Like the monuments too. And art galleries culture, bargain shopping etc. resisted Las Vegas on previous trips but will go this time. Love good food. Will be catching Memphis in May.
I would strongly recommend you look into getting a domestic air pass for your internal flights. Having an international ticket makes you eligible for a special fare class for domestic flights, both with your international airline and their partners but also often just regular domestic airlines. I haven't yet flown to a country that didn't offer these somewhere, and they are really cheap - eg Japan earlier this year I paid about USD100 per sector. Just google USA air pass.
Will do. Thanks Gwbh.
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forums/americas-unite…
Apparently competitive enough that airpasses not really good value?I guess that makes sense given its so competitive there.
Still worth checking, it's important you compare apples with apples- many air passes I've used give flexible fares (easy/cheap to change) which can be worth a lot compared to standard discount fares.
Let us know how you go, I'm heading there next year.
Also am hoping to go for closer to 5-6 weeks depending on how early i can do my exam. Anyone have a suggestion for backpack sizes, as in how many litres? As I think Kathmandu have a sale on atm!
Buy your internal flights as soon as you decide how long you want to stay in each city, as this would be the cheapest option.
I have just come back from a 5 week holiday in the states. Feel free to ask for suggestions on where/what to visit. Knowing what to do in each city will help determine how long to stay in each place I guess.
Jy808, we are looking at coast to coast NY to LA. With all points of interest in between! Well, the 'must dos' anyway. What was your itinerary?
As I hadn't been back to the states since I was 11 years old, I did a lot of the tourist attractions with my partner. So a lot of things you would do if you have not visited.
They'd include the main attractions such as Hollywood, Golden Gate Bridge, Grand Canyon and so on.
Shoot me a PM with your email and I can send you a pdf copy of my itinerary.
I went from LA > SF > LV > NY > ORL > MIA > CANCUN > LA
My recommendation? Don't shop for the next 3 months and blow all your money at the outlets!
As above, book flights using a site like expedia. Expedia will then give you discounted hotel stays between flights. I ended up in a SF (upper class) hotel for half the price of AirBnB units… and was on both tram lines! I saved about $800 for a week there…
cheers appreciate it, although I've heard mixed things about expedia!
Id Be looking at getting flights booked real soon as they prices go up around early Dec to late Jan (not that you'll be traveling in that time period).. Its a good idea to go from the east coast back to the west as you take advantage of the time difference as you gradually make your way back to san fran and you do not have that long flight home as if you were finishing your trip in Ny
Flights:
check out skyscanner and momondo.. good places to start to get an idea of prices or just book with the airlines direct.
Priceline and kayak also good places to get an idea of the cost of your internal flights.
Havent been to Houston or SanDiego but spent 5 nights in new york (which was no where near enough but was on a 6 week trip)
Ny sights
Top of the rock (Observation deck)
Empire State Building (its ok only do it if you must)
Museum of natural history (bored the shit out of me but the Ex loved it)
Staten island ferry
Madison Square Garden (Ice hockey game)
soooo much to see and do
get some more ideas in thread below
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=2175446
As for san Fran only spent 3 days there but did Alcatraz, segway tour of one of the parks there
When in NY stay in Manhatten as thats where most of the touristy stuff is and catch the subway. New york pass or city pass could be worth considering
hope that helps as a starting point