NEED ADVICE: Travelling to The US Next Year with Wife for 6 Weeks!

darkknightwayno on 09/07/2016 - 12:39
Last edited 09/07/2016 - 12:39

Hi Mighty OzBargainers!!
Planning a 6 Week break next June-August (flexible for 6 weeks) and need your assistance/advice on following:

Flying out of Melbourne and visiting the US. Want to visit the following places…

L.A
Miami
Vegas
Florida- Just Disneyland
San Diego Comic Con
Grand Canyon
New York

No tickets nothing booked yet and open to all options including hiring a car and getting from one place to another. Even open to short flights between each place.

Also want to do the following and need advice on how to go about booking tickets etc and not paying a fortune!!

Baseball Game in NY
San Diego Comic Con 2017
WWE wrestling night
Basketball game but off season so maybe not
Staples Centre in LA
Hollywood Drive
Universal Studios etc

Just need advice and some tips so we can get onto the right track. Been to Hawaii before so understand the currency aspect and other shopping etc but need help planning the best plan of attack to get around the various places above!!

Thanks all and looking forward to your knowledge of this wonderful destination.

Cheers

Travel

Comments

  • Savas on 09/07/2016 - 12:43
    -5

    Can't people ask a travel agent?

    • darkknightwayno on 09/07/2016 - 12:48
      +2

      Well somebody has got out of the wrong side of his/her bed :)

      • Savas on 09/07/2016 - 12:51

        Lol

  • cDNA on 09/07/2016 - 12:50
    +2

    I noticed you're not going to Washington DC. I quite liked visiting all the landmarks and going on tours.

    • AliensStoleMyMoney on 09/07/2016 - 12:53
      +1

      agreed its a great thing to experience if you can afford it…………. it is really costly

    • darkknightwayno on 09/07/2016 - 13:59
      +1

      Okay Washington added to list :)

    • darkknightwayno on 09/07/2016 - 14:00

      Love Tours

      Added Washington to list and will research…

      Would love to see Mt Rushmore as well

  • 1Kenobi on 09/07/2016 - 14:27
    +1

    For NYC

    "Book of mormons" on Broadway
    Cheaper tickets on the reseller (scalper) sites

    Bike ride central park

    Walking tour (forget those hop on hop off buses)

    Food in Hells Kitchen

    • Gershom on 10/07/2016 - 10:53
      +1

      Get tix from the Tix booth in Times Square. Cheap last minute.

  • rambutann on 09/07/2016 - 14:37
    +2

    I would suggest heading north to Niagara falls/Toronto before/after New York city.

  • dcuksuop on 09/07/2016 - 14:37
    +1

    LA isn't all that great, aside from theme parks, but if you're going to Florida, Florida's Universal and DisneyWORLD is WAYYY better…

  • [Deactivated] on 09/07/2016 - 16:02
    +1

    Grand Canyon: - there can be a loooong queue to get in and parking can be worse. Go for a drive down the surrounding highways. There are less people and the view is just as nice
    Consider shelling out for a helicopter tour. Awesome+++

    • Enzalicious on 13/07/2016 - 16:42
      +1

      +1 Helicopter.

      Saves you heaps of time, and worth the extra $$$ IMO.

  • [Deactivated] on 09/07/2016 - 16:07
    +2

    Disneyland is in LA - Disney World is in Orlando, Florida and is up to about six parks now including the upcoming Star Wars Land. Plan ahead for passes to skip the lines - look for deals on the Magic Band - FastPass+ to skip the queues

    Boys must go to Cars World….

  • try2bhelpful on 09/07/2016 - 16:17
    +2

    Haven't been back to the US for a while but my choices are:
    Move the travel to September/October - cheaper prices and not so crowded.
    - Ditch LA ASAP and do San Francisco. Hire a car and travel up the coast then go visit Yosemite, especially Glacier Point at Dusk.
    - In Florida visit Kennedy Space Centre. (then again my man and I are massive Geeks who were 8 years old when man first walked on the moon)
    - For the Disney theme parks look up the "hidden Disney" websites that tell you the best way to do the parks. There is the ability to prebook for some rides, which is a good idea given the queues.
    - Grand Canyon - it depends on what you want to do, but I would recommend using a Scenic flight to go there. Go to the relevant websites and work out how much you want to explore. It is spectacular but it can be expensive. Staying in Vegas, for the evenings before and after can be better value.
    - If you can get across to New Orleans, one of my favourite cities and the best places to eat in America. Creole food is very tasty. Great music, fun times.
    - New York we did the Hop on Hop off and that allowed you to see most of Manhatten. The view from the top of the Empire state building is beautiful at night. Not sure if the "freedom tower" has an observation room but the view from the top of the Twin Towers was pretty special.

    Have a fun, and safe, trip.

  • darkknightwayno on 09/07/2016 - 17:03

    Thank you all….

    Some real good tips and ideas….

    Appreciate all your help

    I'll rethink each and every aspect and make sure we can fit in as much.

    Defn have the scenic helicopter ride in mind over the cannon. The Space Centre sounds awesome as love everything Space related lol

    Glacier point sound slike another must see

    Thank you again

    Lots to think off :)

  • SimbaGirl on 09/07/2016 - 17:18

    San Diego - instead of staying in the city itself, look at staying on Coronado - it's referred to as an island and is joined to the city by a MASSIVE bridge (as in tall, so the navy ships can go underneath it!), but it's actually joined to the mainland further down the coast by a long sand spit. Gorgeous place and just across the bay from the city - very peaceful, we felt safe walking around even at night, and it was fantastic to walk down to the ferry landing and look across at the lights of San Diego, especially as the USS MIdway is lit up at night. There's a good range of shops along the main street, including a great Vons supermarket. There's a ferry which runs back and forth all day, costs $4 each way if I recall correctly, but if you catch the "commuter" services Monday to Friday (same ferry, running between 5:40am and 8:50am) , it's free, and the crew give you a free return ticket to come back on any of the afternoon services! The ferry comes in on the San Diego side practically under the bows of the Midway and docks right alongside, which is pretty cool (and also very handy if you want to visit the ship!). It's then a nice stroll along the waterfront to the convention centre, if you're looking at going to Comic Con :)

    • SirFlibbled on 15/07/2016 - 09:25

      That being said, the chances of the OP getting into Comicon is pretty low. It sells out in minutes and you need someone who has been before to get you in.

  • Glider on 09/07/2016 - 18:12

    If you're an RAC member bring your card an you'll get a cheaper rate at most hotels (AAA rate), plus free maps and guidebooks at any AAA centre.

    In Vegas we loved going to the gun range and shooting the 50cal and minigun. $$$$ and it's over in a moment but I'd do it again if I had the chance and I'm not really a gun person.

    If you're going to visit national parks, consider buying an annual all parks pass at the first one. Cost is break even for 3 parks, and you skip the line which can be very long at parks like Yosemite and Grand Canyon.

    At theme parks, seriously consider buying the skip-the-line tickets. Cost significantly more but you don't waste all day on the line ride.

  • neil on 09/07/2016 - 20:25

    There are so many things to do in the US so don't get yourself overwhelmed with suggestions. Go to your library and get a couple of travel books for the US (Lonely Planet, Frommers etc.). You can then go through it and decide what you are going to do.

    As for sporting stuff, you'll be limited to MLB (out of all the major sports). Stubhub tends to be cheaper than MLB. I went to a Cubs game and Mariners game a couple of weeks ago and it ended up cheaper than buying direct.

    Theme parks, sign up to this deal for LMT Club. They tend to have cheaper prices than retail.

    I've driven from LA to Vegas then down to the Grand Canyon flying out from Phoenix (Flagstaff is a bit closer). It's pretty good. Just make sure you get a car with insurance.

    I agree with the users above. LA isn't anything special. San Fran is very cool and you can fly directly for the same price.

  • Donaldhump on 10/07/2016 - 00:02

    nba is offseason, but pre season is always in vegas

    • ols108 on 14/07/2016 - 21:53

      I think that's the summer league.
      Pre-season games are usually local, I saw a Knicks Pre-season game in 2014 at Madison Square Garden

  • bengal tiger on 10/07/2016 - 01:33

    Baseball Game in NY

    There's the NY Yankees (at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx) and the NY Mets (at Citi Field out in Flushing Meadows in Queens).

    The Yankees have a bigger fan base so it can be difficult to get advance tickets as popular games can sell out quickly. Interleague ticket prices can be higher than regular AL games as well as games against rivals like Boston. Have a look online at their official site, legit second-hand sale websites like Stubhub, in person at the Yankee Clubhouse near Port Authority or at the stadium itself on game day.

    There's also resorting to ticket touts outside Yankee Stadium if you're not sure in advance which days you can attend. Standard tout bargaining rules apply - pay premium prices before the game starts and get an increasingly bigger discount the longer you wait after the first pitch as they'd rather get some money for the ticket rather than nothing. Yankee Stadium is easily accessible by subway, either the 4 train on the Manhattan east side or the B/D trains on the west side.

    Mets tickets are cheaper and easier to come by and the stadium is generally less crowded. As above, try their official site, second-hand sales, the Mets Clubhouse on 42nd St opposite Bryant Park or at Citi Field right before the game.

    Getting to Citi Field can take a while from Midtown Manhattan so leave early. The 7 train out to Queens will take you there but it's important to wait for an express train (a white 7 on a purple diamond background) instead of the stopping-all-stations regular service (a white 7 on a purple circle background). The regular service will take around 45min but the express train can halve that travel time. I've done this trip several times and it's worth letting a few regular trains go by and wait for the express as they come quite often on game days.

    If you're not familiar with MLB rules or the home/away team players then you may want to take a portable radio/iPod and head/earphones to listen to play-by-play commentary while you're at the game.

  • cevad on 10/07/2016 - 10:13

    If you are going to to go to Washington DC, then the Smithsonian Museums are all free - loads and loads to see. The Smithsonian Air and Space Museums are amazing, and if you like planes, space, etc, then it's a great way to spend a couple of days (yes, I said a couple - there are 2 Air and Space Museums, one in the central DC area, and one out near Dulles Airport, this one has the SR-71 Blackbird, Space Shuttle, Enola Gay, etc, and if you enjoyed the Transformers Movies, one of them was filmed there).

    For Baseball tickets, try Stubhub.com. Tickets can be expensive though. If you want an alternative to Empire State Building, Top Of The Rock was cool, we also did an Architecture tour of the Rockerfeller Centre, which was interesting. We bought a New York Pass (www.newyorkpass.com), which made things quite a bit cheaper.

  • Gershom on 10/07/2016 - 10:55
    +1

    Skip LA and Florida, substitute San Fran and New Orleans.

  • ms_caz on 10/07/2016 - 11:54

    i'd go to tripadvisor and browse the forums/ask your questions there.

    Type in the destination name, then go to overivew for that destination, then go to forums under the overview heading. You will be able to find lists of frequently asked questions, as well as to ask questions of your own.

  • Yola on 11/07/2016 - 11:37

    If you can end your trip in New York and go to Woodbury Common Premium Outlets, much better than the about 10 other outlets I have been to. Fantastic bargains. You need to get a bus/tour from the city. Agree heaps of info on Trip Advisor and use the forums to ask questions or search specific topics but need to allow time for people to respond. I would look into the weather as well particularly when you go to Theme Parks and have to queue up in the sun. September/October is nice in New York and New England. I love Boston as well and its great if you are into history. New York is fantastic. I recommend you walk the Highline and take a walking tour, these were my highlights in New York plus Central Park and Chelsea Market.

  • maximum on 13/07/2016 - 04:56

    Stub hub for Yankees tickets - we also bought Yankees tee shirts etc at an outlet store in Orlando for peanuts. Loved the game and the atmosphere . My son loved the popcorn with free refills - he is a bargain hunter and made friends by sharing the popcorn with every one in the rows around us.
    Also look on stub hub for concert tickets. I wanted to go to a show at Maddison square gardens and got Diana Ross tickets cheap - it was awesome. We did a tour with take tours from New York to Niagara Falls - which also went to Washington - super cheap - made for Chinese tourists (we are not Chinese) .squashed in a lot to 3 days that we would never had seen if we'd tried to do it ourselves.
    I agree with the assessment of LA nowhere near as good as the rest of America - although we did a TV show taping of jimmy Kimmel so we got to see 50 cent and then walked out and saw Jane Fonda on the red carpet across the street and seeing all the basics - Beverley hills etc. don't need too much time there.
    Most important don't forget travel insurance best money you can spend.
    Seriously jealous now.

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