Places to go in North America

[Tyro1]

So, I'm organising a round the world ticket, and you can have six flights in North America. I don't really know that much about the some of the cities there. I was thinking

LA - San Fran - Chicago - Montreal - Boston - New York - Washington DC?

Are there any places you would recmend over the above places? The overall time would probably be around 2 months.

Where would you go if you had 6 internal flights?

Cheers

[dizzhizz]

Starting from the west coast and working my way east, I would start off in Seattle - SF - LA - Vegas - New Orleans - Chicago - NYC.

[groovbusta]

Are you only going to be doing the metropolitan centers, or will you have access to a car to head out to the surrounding areas? West coast cities have crap public transport, so a car is essential if you wanna head out for day trips. East coast cities have more options like trains, buses, even cheap flights.

If you're going to have access to a car/train/bus in some of the cities, then: SF, LA, Chicago, Montreal, NYC, Miami.

From New York, it's only 190mi/300km to Boston and only 200mi/320km to DC. There are loads of trains/buses that transport people through those 3 cities. I wouldn't waste one stop on your RTW ticket for Boston or DC if you're already going to NYC. Your ticket will be better used to go south to Miami.

Good luck.

[Tyro1]

I will be travelling, so no cars... all public transport.

Is there any no metro areas that people think are really worth visiting? I think I would tire of city after city.

Thanks for the help so far

[Analyst]

Definitely try to see other non-metropolitan places in the US as well. Off the top of my head, several places worth seeing are:

Lake Tahoe - a beautiful freshwater lake along the Nevada and California border surrounded by Sierra Nevada mountains and some of the best ski slopes in the US (during the winter anyway).

Annapolis, MD - a cute, historic town in MD on the Cheasapeake Bay and home to the US Naval Academy. Great waterfront and town. Best thing is to order a bucketful of Maryland blue crabs with a hammer and eat. Annapolis is around 30mi from DC.

Charlottesville/Lexington, VA - both historic college towns with cobblestone streets and some old cemetaries worth exploring. They are both about two and three hours away from DC, respectively.

Charleston, SC - I've never been here but have always wanted to check it out. One of the oldest cities in the South. Lots of history and cobblestones, I hear.

Wait, I suddenly feel like I sound like a senior citizen who does nothing by shop for antiques in small historic towns. Maybe after being in Asia for so long, I assume that everyone just wants to come to the US to shop and check out the best restaurants and clubs/bars.

But your trip poses some interesting questions. What places/cities/towns in the US really reflect the multitude of characteristics that make up the US. Obviously, cities like San Francisco, Chicago, NYC, Boston and DC are must see places. But I think there are some of my favorite places fit somewhere in between the NYCs and DCs and LAs.

There was a thread that went around a few months ago about the most underrated cities. Mentioned were Philadelphia,PA; Louisville, KY; Baltimore, MD (might be a stretch), and others. I am definitely much more familiar with the East coast. I know others here (England) who could comment much better for the West Coast and NoCal SoCal areas. Definitely check out some major cities, but also find a chance to see the less obvious places as well. Have fun. Sounds like a great trip! Cheers....

[Thorns]

Um... what are your interests? (understatment warning) North America is a pretty big place.

[swisloc]

seeing non-metro areas in North America will be VERY difficult without a car. american train transport is quite poor, and the bus rides (while available) can be long and tedious. that said, parts the american west are beautiful (as are many parts of canada and mexico), and in many ways are more essentially american than the cities.

yosemite, yellowstone, and the grand canyon, while huge tourist destinations, are so for a reason, they are immensely beautiful. this doesn't even touch on some of the lesser traveled parks like the cascades near seattle, rocky mountain in colorado, or even closer areas like the california coast/big sur area.

also, you said North America... does this mean, as it sounds, that mexico and central america are included? If so, i'd definitely hit at least one spot down there as well... if only to see how "successful" NAFTA has been.

[mizanation]

when would you be going?

[B-15C]

LA doesn't have useful mass transit and DC can be fun to see but is mostly just useful for completing your collection of American sites; I find there's very little to do in DC. There aren't any beautiful natural sights accessable by mass transit in the States.

How long do you want to be in each city? Are you opposed to taking trains to and from your city to sight-see or are you coming for nightlife and shopping? Where will you be staying when you visit? Hostiles or swank hotels? What are you living circumstances?

I just remembered how complicated travel was.

[englandmj7]

If you're not going to rent a car, don't even bother with LA. You will spend at least 50% of your entire journey sitting on buses or waiting for them (LA has an atrocious public transportation system).

Sure, there are some underrated cities, but if you want to do it right, you should really get the big ones out of the way on this trip.

I would say:

NYC -> New Orleans -> Seattle or Boston -> LA -> San Francisco -> Las Vegas

With the exception of LA, these are all very tourist/public transportation friendly. This would give you a nice mixture of the east and west coast, with a little bit of the south thrown in.......

Spend most of your time in NYC, then SF, and then LA. You only need 2-3 days in Vegas.

Some people might not have considered Vegas. EVERY tourist has to do it at least once. It is an enormous adult playground of debauchery and drunkeness open 24 hrs. a day, 365 days a year and is quite the marvel, even if you don't gamble. Beautiful women, great food & great bars, and great weather. I like LA or NYC more, but if you have to choose 6 cities, then don't miss Vegas.

I will be travelling, so no cars... all public transport.

Is there any no metro areas that people think are really worth visiting? I think I would tire of city after city.

Thanks for the help so far

Sure, there are thousands of great ones. You'll need a car to get around them though.

The thing is, however, that all of these cities are so phenomenally different from each other that I am sure you aren't going to feel this way. With the exception of NYC (and Seattle to some extent), none of these are the traditional enormous skyscrapered, compact cities you might be weary of.

Also, all of these cities have bus tours, etc. to cool non-metropolitan areas around them. In SF you can get a tour out to Napa Valley to visit some wineries, etc. or go for some beautiful coastal hiking out on Point Reyes or in Muir Woods. From Las Vegas, you can easily go out and see the Grand Canyon and the Hoover Dam. From LA you could even take a 3-4 day all-inclusive bus trip down to Mexico, or a short ferry out to Catalina Island, and so on...........

[Kasper]

Unless you are coming from Late October to early April, avoid Montreal. It is very, very cold, and the streets are filled with salt and slush or snow and ice. However, if you are going during the summer, it's a premo destination. It has a more pleasant climate in the summer than a lot of other metro areas.

this is extremely good advice, Montreal is much much colder than you can imagine in the winter. but it's soooooo awesome during the summer, definitely somewhere you can't miss. Montreal is a 5h bus ride to Boston and 6h to New York and chinatown buses are quite cheap so you might want to save a plane ticket by taking the bus. like other said, Washington is cool for all the historic sites, but otherwise it kind of sucks.

IMO, you HAVE to visit the rockies, so i would strongly advice to visit the Northwest. Vancouver is one of the nicest cities around and i would strongly advice to visit there as you could easily check out the rockies from there (the train that goes from vancouver to calgary is legendary for the views, + you can stop in Whistler and Banff which are some of the nicest places). Seattle is also quite close to Vancouver to you could visit there as well. another plus for vancouver is that the weed is cheap and plentiful.

and yeah, being in LA without a car is just not worth it. and yeah, Vegas is a MUST.

and if you can, visiting Alaska or Yukon could a once in a lifetime kind of thing. some of my friends spent a summer in Yukon without a car and managed to get around pretty easily. otherwise, like others have mentioned, the grand canyon is just amazing.

if i was you SF- Vegas - Vancouver or Seattle - Montreal - NYC - Miami or New Orleans

[Tyro1]

Thanks so much for the help so far...

There's a lot to think about. I guess Vegas is a must then!

As far as the style of travel, we definately wont be staying in big hotels at all, cheaper accomodation where available.

The time of year will probably be around summer, so Montreal should be good, I had a friend who lived there and said it was awesome in summer, TAM TAM?

[todesengel]

Does your ticket cover central america? Might be a bit of a stretch, but if you want something completely different... Maybe you could go overland from southern Mexico up to San Fran or something.

[sparka]

the amtrak train from LA to SF (or vice-versa) is really beautiful, but really long (like 13 hours). i think the trains all have these glass "observer" cars where you can see all the countryside and you would never guess you are in california. if you have time, i would recommend that to get your fill of city as well as "non-metro" areas.

also, LA really is near impossible without a car, though there are still cabs but theyre absurdly expensive.

hope that helps

[Christmas In A Submarine.]

if you're not going to have a car- portland. two bucks to take the train from PDX to downtown. super easy, good stuff downtown. definitely worth it.

[Roflcopterpwnsyou]

Charleston reminds me of a southern attempt of Santa Monica in LA. But it's mostly just civil war tours and ghost tours ( my aunt runs one, not very exciting). For a short period of time it's kind of nice. And a former editor of Style magazine has an excellent shop there.

Charleston, SC - I've never been here but have always wanted to check it out. One of the oldest cities in the South. Lots of history and cobblestones, I hear.

[RAISED BY WOLVES]

I met a gang of Aussies and Kiwis on their "Round-the world" trips when I was in Alaska this past September. From Bellingham, WA, (hour up from seattle) you can take a ferry all the way up the coast to Juneau, skagway, Kodiak, and beyond. You will never see anything like it, and it is highly recomended.

So, I say,New York, NY; Minneapolis, MN (personal preference over Chicago); New Orleans, LA; San Francisco, CA; and Seatlle, WA, with a round-trip ferry booked up through Southern Alaska.

This should do you nicely.

[smurf]

If you're coming from the west, I'd skip LA altogether and fly into San Francisco. It's a great city to start your trip in and like others have said, being in LA without a car is like going on a hike without legs! I'd skip Vegas too, if you're not going to LA and you've seen both of those place a million times in the movies anyway!

If you do go to LA, consider driving the coast highway from there to LA.

Otherwise, fly from SFO to Seattle. Seattle's great in the summer and if you want to do any outdoor stuff, it's surrounded by mountains and sea. Mount Rainier is twice as tall as anything in Australia and it's about 60 miles away.

Take a boat from Seattle to Vancouver BC. It goes through the San Juan and Gulf Islands.

Vancouver is a pretty cool town too. Lot's of outdoor stuff to do. Winter olympics will be there next year.

Fly from Vancouver to Montreal. Speak some French.

Fly to Chicago. Do midwestern things.

Fly to New York. Shop, eat and party your arse off. Maybe take the train to Boston or just fly to Washington DC.

Yell obsenities at the White House.

Leave the country.

Next time you come back to the states, do it in our late autumn or early spring. Then do LA, Vegas, Austin, New Orleans and other southern locations that are hotter than the sun in July.

Have fun!

[Kasper]

Vancouver is a pretty cool town too. Lot's of outdoor stuff to do. Winter olympics will be there next year.

2010 actually

[isoform]

Seriously, I would do this --

LA > SF > bus > LV > Austin > Chicago > Wash D.C. > Montreal > NYC

I haven't even heard of tourists/visitors/travellers taking the bus from San Francisco through the National Parks and the Sierra Mountains to get to Las Vegas--I think it'd be fun.

Las Vegas + Grand Canyon ... I think ppl should do it on their first time in America trips. :] If you had a car i'd also recommend Bisbee, AZ--such a weird and out of the way place, but the drive down is fun(ny) and they sell turquoise and silver pretty cheap.

Austin = you get the feel of Texas which is a... well, an interesting state and very one-side of America... and then there's Austin. Cool city... the only place in Texas I could probably survive w/o losing it.

Chicago over Minneapolis anyday for visiting... Chicago is the most American of cities imo--it has a lot of fat people, segregation, complex and thoroughly "American" history, great food, corruption, and a crazy mashup of architecture, cultures, and people.

Washington D.C; well-worth the visit imo if you're into knowing anything about the US--american ideology, history, government, memorials, classical architecture, civil war era stuff (including the cool old style of some townhomes), and especially Georgetown (visit this place right outside of DC versus Boston)--plus the Metro is very easy to use and everything you'd want to do is accessible by the train system.

Or if you just want to shop, eat well, and see pretty neighborhoods. Dunno how fab the scene is outside of politics and student life, because I only stay there 1-3 nites at a time and it's not for the club/party/bar scene.

Pacific Northwest is pretty and all, but kinda boring and you'd need a car or boat, but I think what was recommended before--Seattle to Vancouver by boat would be very relaxing and nice. Vancouver Island was beautiful, but we had a car--although you can go hiking or to island tours very easily (e.g. no car needed).

Also--don't forget about Mexico.

LA > SF (+ Napa Valley, East Bay) > bus (thru scenic Cali) > LV (+ Grand Canyon) > Mexico City or Pto Vallarta > Chicago > Wash DC > Montreal (+ Quebec City/scenic stuff) > NYC

Puerto Vallarta is on the Pacific side in Jalisco (the whitest state in Mexico) so no white-sand coral beaches, but the city has mountains on one end and the sea on the other, cool french-ish architecture, warped Liz Taylor history, and the best filipino food I ever tasted (and I'm pinay)... but go there when the weather isn't ass humid and hot--during December/January it's supposedly perfect weather--I went there in August and it was hot, but bearable.

Mexico City is cool because, well, it's in Mexico, the capital city, polluted to all hell 'cause it's in a valley, and you get to do the Aztec ruins.

Cancun is ohkay if it's not spring break or ass-humid or hurricane season... I liked it alot mostly because of the Mayan ruins and the not-all-inclusive resort--get out of the city, I say--because it's super annoying and built up to only serve rich American tourists.

I definitely think the time of year shapes if you'd ought to go to Mexico, the US, and Canada at the same time or not--but as long as it's not hurricane season or full-on winter you should be fine.

AND... yeah--if you're not going to have a car... reconsider Los Angeles.

I'm getting excited for you. :]

[lms]

I'd just like to emphasize what other's have said. Being a Los Angeles native, you cannot get around Los Angeles without a car, nor without knowledge of the area.

Don't overlook Canada, the South, and Mexico.

Montreal is a fantastic place, more charming than San Francisco (you don't need to speak French). Toronto is better than most American cities. Vancouver might be interesting to checkout.

Places in the south like New Orleans or Memphis will be radically different than the rest of the US. New Orleans is beautiful (or was?).

Also, Mexico will provide a radically different experience than the rest of North America.

If I were you, I'd want to vist places that are different than each other.

[Tyro1]

Thanks so much so far! I think LA will probably be missed then, or maybe jsut a couple of days before jumping on a bus. Austin really interests me, so maybe there also.

[Kasper]

since i saw in the superconfession thread you were about to leave, i'll bump this cause i'm interested in where you choose to go