FrankS
Registered User
Canada and USA are just so not like Europe with regards to travel.
L Collins
Well-known
Mississippi. you must go there. start in New Orleans and drive North through the Mississippi Delta to Memphis. The delta lies Northwest of Jackson and runs up to the Tenn border. it's the birthplace of Jazz, the Blues, Soul and Rock and Roll. It is One of the most amazing places in the world, and I say this having lived in Amsterdam, Paris, NYC, and visited every continent except Antartica. You really cannot truly understand the US without going to Mississippi.
Rayt
Nonplayer Character
Week one: I would rent a car and drive up the coast to San Francisco and stay there for 3 days and then go around Marin and explore for another day or two. I would then drive to Yosemite and spend two days there and then a few hours in Bodie ghost town since it is on the way to Vegas.
Week two: Vegas is not my scene but since you have come a long way then a day would be nice. Enter Arizona and spend 5 days there and do the Grand Canyon but you might want to go up north a bit and do Zion and other parks and monuments instead of Arizona.
Week three: continue journey to New Mexico. Taos, Santa Fe, Las Vegas (the other one). Don't bother with southern NM.
Fly to NYC. Spend what is left of your time.
This is what I would do because there isn't enough time to enjoy all the US has to offer. You can do 3 weeks in New England, and eastern Canada. If you are flying into NY first I would offer that instead.
Week two: Vegas is not my scene but since you have come a long way then a day would be nice. Enter Arizona and spend 5 days there and do the Grand Canyon but you might want to go up north a bit and do Zion and other parks and monuments instead of Arizona.
Week three: continue journey to New Mexico. Taos, Santa Fe, Las Vegas (the other one). Don't bother with southern NM.
Fly to NYC. Spend what is left of your time.
This is what I would do because there isn't enough time to enjoy all the US has to offer. You can do 3 weeks in New England, and eastern Canada. If you are flying into NY first I would offer that instead.
Vics
Veteran
Guys, These Folks Don't Drive!
Rayt
Nonplayer Character
3 weeks in the US with no car! Large cities have good public transportation but most other cities do not even have subways. Buses take forever to get anywhere.
Fly to San Francisco and stay a week or more. There are many local tours for Yosemite, Monterey, Hearst Castle, Napa, Sonoma, etc. After that just spend the rest of your trip in NYC.
Fly to San Francisco and stay a week or more. There are many local tours for Yosemite, Monterey, Hearst Castle, Napa, Sonoma, etc. After that just spend the rest of your trip in NYC.
someonenameddavid
Well-known
Since I live in Oklahoma, I would recommend Avoiding Texas. There is a lot of dull boring land there. Denver Colorado would be on my list. Even though you do not drive, renting an automatic car and leaving the city would probably not be as bad as you think: away from towns it is very relaxed.
David
David
furbs
Well-known
Chicago is beautiful in september, has passable public transit, and contains my favorite museum, the Art Institute. It's more "real" than the coasts, if that's what you're after. You'll find the exact opposite in SF, a city that is charming but not really representative of the states at all. But I live in SF, and it never really gets old.
Rent a car to get between cities but try to walk or use public transit where it's an option. You'll have more memories and encounter more of what life is really like here.
Rent a car to get between cities but try to walk or use public transit where it's an option. You'll have more memories and encounter more of what life is really like here.
Roger Hicks
Veteran
But see post 17.
Maybe a few hours' refresher with a driving school would be a good idea -- and save a lot of time and money in the USA.
Cheers,
R.
bigeye
Well-known
The advice above is very good.
I've travelled a bit and my european friends often ask where they should go in the US. Often, they consider driving across (don't!) and include Las Vegas and Nashville.
Do you like beach, mountains, cities, desert?
My favorite US cities:
Only 3 days in each of the above is over 3 weeks total. You will suffer from the American travel experience, "If it's Tuesday, this must be Belgium," if you are not careful. Face it, you will not see the whole country. I'd trim 3-4 from the list above and be more relaxed visiting the remaining areas. Good tapas are better than a bad entree.
Southwest airlines between these urban "islands" would be good; schedule > 2 weeks ahead and their rates are comparable to driving yourself and it doesn't waste time. There is a vastness to this country that will eat a lot of your time, with diminished reward. Long road trips have their appeal, but I'd save that for another trip, preferably with a car and a lot of time.
Once at a city, you can be creative to get around; locals will generally go out of their way to help a visitor and enjoy your company. You'll be a celebrity once they know that you've "come all the way from Spain." It adds to the adventure.
- Charlie
I've travelled a bit and my european friends often ask where they should go in the US. Often, they consider driving across (don't!) and include Las Vegas and Nashville.
Do you like beach, mountains, cities, desert?
My favorite US cities:
- San Francisco - don't miss; +Santa Cruz, Napa
- Santa Fe - high desert hike/bike, Spanish history
- Austin - if you must see Texas
- New Orleans - not what it once was, but still unique. Stay downtown.
- South Beach, Miami - high power beach & nightlife
- Savannah - untrammeled Old South. See it before it's crushed.
- Washington DC - city-as-national park. Unending museums.
- Boston - East Coast sister to San Francisco. College town, nightlife.
- Manhattan - you've seen the movie...
Only 3 days in each of the above is over 3 weeks total. You will suffer from the American travel experience, "If it's Tuesday, this must be Belgium," if you are not careful. Face it, you will not see the whole country. I'd trim 3-4 from the list above and be more relaxed visiting the remaining areas. Good tapas are better than a bad entree.
Southwest airlines between these urban "islands" would be good; schedule > 2 weeks ahead and their rates are comparable to driving yourself and it doesn't waste time. There is a vastness to this country that will eat a lot of your time, with diminished reward. Long road trips have their appeal, but I'd save that for another trip, preferably with a car and a lot of time.
Once at a city, you can be creative to get around; locals will generally go out of their way to help a visitor and enjoy your company. You'll be a celebrity once they know that you've "come all the way from Spain." It adds to the adventure.
- Charlie
cz23
-
I recommend a few days in Chicago. A great walking city with good museums, art gallery, fine food, and night life. You won't need a car.
Being from Barcelona, I don't think Miami would do much for you. But Key West, Florida would be worth a couple of days. I'm sure there's a bus from Miami, and it's a beautiful drive. Once there you could rent bikes.
One of my favorite areas of the US is the "low country" along the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina. Charleston, SC would be a great place to stay.
You would also not need a car in Washington, D.C. From Georgetown as a base, you could launch many adventures.
Most Europeans have not seen anything like our desserts or Great Plains. Wonderful places, although I'm not sure how you'd do that without a car. Maybe you could bridge that trip with a rodeo experience. Sept. should be good for rodeo. Google for some big events.
Enjoy your trip!
John
Being from Barcelona, I don't think Miami would do much for you. But Key West, Florida would be worth a couple of days. I'm sure there's a bus from Miami, and it's a beautiful drive. Once there you could rent bikes.
One of my favorite areas of the US is the "low country" along the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina. Charleston, SC would be a great place to stay.
You would also not need a car in Washington, D.C. From Georgetown as a base, you could launch many adventures.
Most Europeans have not seen anything like our desserts or Great Plains. Wonderful places, although I'm not sure how you'd do that without a car. Maybe you could bridge that trip with a rodeo experience. Sept. should be good for rodeo. Google for some big events.
Enjoy your trip!
John
Al Patterson
Ferroequinologist
Take the Crescent on Amtrak to New Orleans, then you could go north to Memphis, the Chicago. Then pick a Chigago to LA route. Doable in three weeks, better than buses by far.
Empire Builder to Seattle, the Coast Starlight to LA would work.
Edit: Ah, you are going LA to NY, so I'm backwards. But Amtak can work of you plan it well. I've done cross country trips via Amtrak 3 times so far, and am planning to do it again at some point.
Empire Builder to Seattle, the Coast Starlight to LA would work.
Edit: Ah, you are going LA to NY, so I'm backwards. But Amtak can work of you plan it well. I've done cross country trips via Amtrak 3 times so far, and am planning to do it again at some point.
Last edited:
pete hogan
Well-known
Endless possibilities in the USA, but considering your situation, time, and no car, try New York to New Orleans to San Francisco, side trip to Yosemite Park, side trip to Muir Woods Park, then to Los Angeles. The USA is all about contrasts, and that will show many of them. And then come back again some time!
sepiareverb
genius and moron
Sounds good to me, or a week in SF, a week in the desert and a week in NYC. The US desert is really something to see.
ferider
Veteran
Compared to Southern France, Italy, or Spain, driving in California is a piece of cake 
This is what I would do if I were you:
- get out of LA as soon as you can
- drive to San Francisco via PCH; one of the most beautiful drives there is; stay a while in SF, let's have a beer together ...
- fly to Vegas; few people know: Vegas has the best restaurants in the country; do some day tours by car (grand canyon, death valley, etc).
- fly to Austin; stay a few days; eat steak, listen to Blues/Jazz, etc.
- fly to NY; stay a few days; drive north, visit Bob
Cheers,
Roland.
This is what I would do if I were you:
- get out of LA as soon as you can
- drive to San Francisco via PCH; one of the most beautiful drives there is; stay a while in SF, let's have a beer together ...
- fly to Vegas; few people know: Vegas has the best restaurants in the country; do some day tours by car (grand canyon, death valley, etc).
- fly to Austin; stay a few days; eat steak, listen to Blues/Jazz, etc.
- fly to NY; stay a few days; drive north, visit Bob
Cheers,
Roland.
pete hogan
Well-known
The PCH (Pacific Coast Highway Route 1) is a beautiful drive, high above the ocean. We drove it from Santa Barbara to Carmel last week. But it is no place for a driver of your admitted light skills IMHO. Much of it is tight and curvy, and there's no way to bail out once you're on it.
Frontman
Well-known
There are a few roads to get across America. The two most interesting are I-10 and I-40 (Interstate highways). Interstate 40 follows much of the old Route 66 in the western states, and you can still drive along the old highway because it was the main street in many towns, large and small.
Further east, I-40 passes through Memphis and Nashiville, good places to visit if you like Elvis or American country music. I-40 ends in Wilmngton, North Carolina, near I-95, which is the main east coast highway, and can take you to Miami or New York City. I-40 starts in Barstow, California. As you leave Barstow you will see a sign which says "Wilmingtom, NC, 2554 miles", which matches a sign in Wilmington, which says "Barstow, CA, 2554 miles". Years ago I wrote my name on the back side of both signs, I wonder if it is still there.
I-10 runs from Los Angeles to Jacksonville Florida. It is quite a bit longer than the I-40 route, but runs through Phoenix, El Paso, San Antonio, and New Orleans. You can listen to Cajun music on KBON radio, FM 101 for most of your drive across Louisiana.
Driving is not so difficult on the interstate highways. There are no tolls, traffic is light outside the cities, and they are quite wide and smooth. Be careful not to fall asleep, there is a least one place where there is more than 100 miles between service stations. Rest areas or picnic areas are usually found every 50 miles or so.
If you feel sleepy, start eating something chewy, like beef jerky, or hard biscuits, this works better than loud music or coffee. Once I drove from Phoenix to Tampa without sleeping. Not wise, but I was hauling animals to the state fair, and they had to get there asap. Eating does keep you awake when behind the wheel. On I-10, it is nealy 900 miles from one side of Texas to the other, and there isn't much scenery to keep you awake.
Further east, I-40 passes through Memphis and Nashiville, good places to visit if you like Elvis or American country music. I-40 ends in Wilmngton, North Carolina, near I-95, which is the main east coast highway, and can take you to Miami or New York City. I-40 starts in Barstow, California. As you leave Barstow you will see a sign which says "Wilmingtom, NC, 2554 miles", which matches a sign in Wilmington, which says "Barstow, CA, 2554 miles". Years ago I wrote my name on the back side of both signs, I wonder if it is still there.
I-10 runs from Los Angeles to Jacksonville Florida. It is quite a bit longer than the I-40 route, but runs through Phoenix, El Paso, San Antonio, and New Orleans. You can listen to Cajun music on KBON radio, FM 101 for most of your drive across Louisiana.
Driving is not so difficult on the interstate highways. There are no tolls, traffic is light outside the cities, and they are quite wide and smooth. Be careful not to fall asleep, there is a least one place where there is more than 100 miles between service stations. Rest areas or picnic areas are usually found every 50 miles or so.
If you feel sleepy, start eating something chewy, like beef jerky, or hard biscuits, this works better than loud music or coffee. Once I drove from Phoenix to Tampa without sleeping. Not wise, but I was hauling animals to the state fair, and they had to get there asap. Eating does keep you awake when behind the wheel. On I-10, it is nealy 900 miles from one side of Texas to the other, and there isn't much scenery to keep you awake.
Don Parsons
Well-known
Oh man....what a trip.
Post your pictures on a blog so we can all share in the adventure please.
Best wishes on your journey! You'll have tons of choices and not enough time.
Don
Post your pictures on a blog so we can all share in the adventure please.
Best wishes on your journey! You'll have tons of choices and not enough time.
Don
dbarnes
Well-known
Overall great advice from @Bigeye.
Kozhe
Well-known
Guys, once again thank you all very much. I´m overwhelmed by the quantity of interesting information here Sorry for not replying more frequently, I´m really busy these days with wedding and travel plans and exams.
I´ll try first to comment on some of your input. Although I deeply apreciate each one of your comments, I can´t do it for all of you, otherwise this post would be huge, but here are some:
- Roger Hicks: You´re so right about the car. On a second thought I´ll try a few drives with my father´s car these days and see if I feel confortable enough.
- dbames: I like your itineraries and what I have in mind is kinda similiar.
- TheFlyingCamera: Your input is priceless as much as pricey! Unfortunately I don´t see a way we can do any tour in the USA without spending a good amount of dollars...
- marcr1230: Oshkosh airshow would be so great... I´m also crazy about planes, unfortuntely we won´t be there in July. At least I´ll do my best to see the USS Intrepid in NY. Planes/car shows in the states must be a great place to get a bit of the american taste. I´ll take note for the next time
- L Collins: Mississippi was #1 on my list (I love jazz and its history) but I find it quite hard to make a short stop there on our coast-to-coast trip. It deserves more time than what we can give.
- bigeye: Great list!! I´d love to visit Santa Fe and Boston but those are definately out of the list. At least this time...
- ferider: I think you hit the nail
- Frontman: Man, you are a better driver than me, no doubt! If I just were confident enought with my driving skills...
So. Still a lot to be planned but we are down to something like this, which still sound kinda optimistic for just 3 weeks:
- Los Angeles (arriving from Tokio) Lady wants to see Hollywood and Beverly Hills so we´ll be there 1 day and a half.
--> Train to San Francisco: 2 or 3 days there.
--> flight to Las Vegas: I´m being kitsch here. Just looking for some excess and see how EuroVegas will ruin Madrid soon... We´ll look for a tour to Grand Canyon. Also 2-3 days.
--> flight to Austin. Not so sure about this one but seems like a nice layover in the way to the east coast. A visit to San Antonio, maybe? Would you recomend something better for a couple of days in Texas?
--> flying to The South: Savannah, I know the city for Clint Eastwood´s Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and some of you said it´s a cool place. Would be great to spend another 2-3 days moving around the area. Charleston maybe?
--> flight to Washington, a couple of days there and
--> somehow to NY, at least 5 days there. Can´t wait to visit the MoMa, Guggenheim and some other trillions of place there.
I think we´ll probably have to let something out, maybe Washington or even the Texas layover but overall I think it´s quite close to the final route. I´ll really like to see more rural places instead of big cities but no car=no way
We´ll try to find cheap places at airbnb or something similar, we definately won´t be looking for nice hotels in this trip. If some of you guys are in these cities and what to exchange a small bed for some spanish cooking or guitar lessons...
Do you know any must see festivals or celebrations around these places in September?
And on a more photo-friendly note. Got rid of all my gear and got a cheap Nex5 + 16/2.8 and a CCTV 35/1.7 Can´t wait to see how this behaves around the world.
Sorry for not replying more frequently, I´m really busy these days with wedding and travel plans and exams.I´ll try first to comment on some of your input. Although I deeply apreciate each one of your comments, I can´t do it for all of you, otherwise this post would be huge, but here are some:
- Roger Hicks: You´re so right about the car. On a second thought I´ll try a few drives with my father´s car these days and see if I feel confortable enough.
- dbames: I like your itineraries and what I have in mind is kinda similiar.
- TheFlyingCamera: Your input is priceless as much as pricey! Unfortunately I don´t see a way we can do any tour in the USA without spending a good amount of dollars...
- marcr1230: Oshkosh airshow would be so great... I´m also crazy about planes, unfortuntely we won´t be there in July. At least I´ll do my best to see the USS Intrepid in NY. Planes/car shows in the states must be a great place to get a bit of the american taste. I´ll take note for the next time
- L Collins: Mississippi was #1 on my list (I love jazz and its history) but I find it quite hard to make a short stop there on our coast-to-coast trip. It deserves more time than what we can give.
- bigeye: Great list!! I´d love to visit Santa Fe and Boston but those are definately out of the list. At least this time...
- ferider: I think you hit the nail
- Frontman: Man, you are a better driver than me, no doubt! If I just were confident enought with my driving skills...
So. Still a lot to be planned but we are down to something like this, which still sound kinda optimistic for just 3 weeks:
- Los Angeles (arriving from Tokio) Lady wants to see Hollywood and Beverly Hills so we´ll be there 1 day and a half.
--> Train to San Francisco: 2 or 3 days there.
--> flight to Las Vegas: I´m being kitsch here. Just looking for some excess and see how EuroVegas will ruin Madrid soon... We´ll look for a tour to Grand Canyon. Also 2-3 days.
--> flight to Austin. Not so sure about this one but seems like a nice layover in the way to the east coast. A visit to San Antonio, maybe? Would you recomend something better for a couple of days in Texas?
--> flying to The South: Savannah, I know the city for Clint Eastwood´s Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and some of you said it´s a cool place. Would be great to spend another 2-3 days moving around the area. Charleston maybe?
--> flight to Washington, a couple of days there and
--> somehow to NY, at least 5 days there. Can´t wait to visit the MoMa, Guggenheim and some other trillions of place there.
I think we´ll probably have to let something out, maybe Washington or even the Texas layover but overall I think it´s quite close to the final route. I´ll really like to see more rural places instead of big cities but no car=no way
We´ll try to find cheap places at airbnb or something similar, we definately won´t be looking for nice hotels in this trip. If some of you guys are in these cities and what to exchange a small bed for some spanish cooking or guitar lessons...
Do you know any must see festivals or celebrations around these places in September?
And on a more photo-friendly note. Got rid of all my gear and got a cheap Nex5 + 16/2.8 and a CCTV 35/1.7 Can´t wait to see how this behaves around the world.
Vics
Veteran
GREAT itinerary! Again, let me stress Southwest Airlines for all your US flights. No connection, but lots of my friends from Europe have wasted TONS of money flying the usuals like AA and United et al. Use the close-in airports and try not to check bags. Travel ultra light and have lots of FUN!