eigasuki

I’m hoping to take about six weeks off work sometime this year (won’t know for sure until new Administrator arrives in February). Originally I thought it would be April/ May but at this stage, may have to be September/October. Flying from Australia and hoping to visit both sides of the US, it looks like a round-the-world ticket is the way to go and I’d like to fit some of UK and France in on the way home.

My present plan is to spend about a week on the West Coast, Las Vegas area ( I have a friend there, one of the main reasons for the trip) and New York/east coast respectively followed by time in Europe (about two or three weeks). Will September be a good time to do this trip or would I be better to wait till 2008 to go in April? I’m also wondering whether going east or west is the best direction. I’d like to catch some fall foliage somewhere and get the best weather for each location.

I’ve usually relied on public transport, especially trains, to get around on my previous trips but is this a reality in the US? I’m nervous to consider hiring a car, mainly because of the left hand drive but also as a sole female it possibly isn’t economical or safe. Is it an option for me? What is the best way to get from place to place within the US? Are there budget airlines similar to Easyjet for travel within the US?

I do realise that I can’t see everything in this time span and that a lifetime wouldn’t be enough to see all that the US, or Europe for that matter, has to offer. I wish I did have the time and funds to do everything I want to do.

janisj

There are pros and con's for traveling east and west so I really won't make a rec re that. (Me personally - I get worse jet lag flying west - but most of my friends it is just the opposite)

September/October would seem to be a terrific time for your trip. It will be hot in Las Vegas - but for most of the other places you mention Sept is very nice.

As for Public transport in teh States -- where do you mean by "west coast"? San Francisco? No car needed (or wanted. Seattle - again no car needed. Los Angeles/San Diego? A car is pretty necessary there.

For Las Vegas - if you mean LV proper and not exploring elsewhere - then no car is needed there either.

On the East coast - NY/Washington/Boston etc - public transport is very good.

there are terrific budget airlines in the States - the 2 biggest being Southwest and Jet Blue. Both have very good service and low fares.

J62

Non-stop flights from Sydney are to the west coast of US (LA or SF I believe), so take that into account. If you are visiting the US before Europe then it makes sense to start your US trip in California.

The US is a large country - it's a 6hr flights from California to NY.

Low cost airlines include Southwest and JetBlue. Both are very highly rated and effiecient. You can check out their routes on their web sites.

Within any city you are visiting you can definitely use public transportation - except perhaps LA. If you plan to visit national parks or other rural areas then you'll need a rental car to get around.

I agree September is a great time to visit.

eigasuki

Thanks for your feedback. By West Coast I am thinking San Francisco and Los Angeles. I think that's all I would try to fit in on this trip. My present, not very firm plan is the spend about three or four days in each and do a bus tour which stops overnight en route between the two. Which city I fly into would depend on the fare I eventually get, but I imagine it would be easier and more logical to go to las Vegas from LA.

I'm hoping my friend will take care of the LV part. She lives out of town but commutes to LV for work. She has mentioned day trips but I won't want to impose on her too much and of course she has work to do.

Guess I will have to summon the courage to consider driving in LA?

ValCanada

Sounds like an awesome trip. You'll have to fly between all of your US destinations - it would be far too time-consuming otherwise. Janis is correct - without a car, you'd best give Southern Cal a pass but I'd bet you'd enjoy San Francisco as much or more than you would Los Angeles. You wouldn't want a car in SF, LV or NYC. For your first time, I'd pick NYC as your base city on the east coast - research the "turning" of the leaves in the surrounding area - there's a two or three week window that's spectacular and the "inns" almost anywhere in the New England states are gorgeous. Enjoy!

janisj

&quot;<i> . . spend about three or four days in each and do a bus tour which stops overnight en route between the two</i>&quot;

I personally would ditch the bus tour idea. Bus tours in the States tend to be mostly for seniors (not exclusively though) and there really aren't that many between places like LA and SF - or any that I'd recommend.

You can spend a bit of time in LA if you want - then fly up to SF on Southwest for less than what a bus tour would cost. Then you can fly very cheaply over to Vegas.

ValCanada

I'm with Janis. Even by train (Amtrak), there's a LOT of space between SF and LA - ground travel is too time consuming and there's not really much countryside worth staring at. Your best resource in this regard is your friend from Las Vegas - she's probably travelled between the three cities many times.

I live in Canada and I used to live in San Diego and I STILL don't drive when I'm in LA! The freeways there are crazy even for some local drivers.

degas

Go to SF and LV and skip LA.

stokebailey

There IS a lot of ground between LA and SA, but along the coast Highway 1, nothing to look at? Au contraire.

(I'd skip LA, too, however.)

stokebailey

I mean SF, of course.
This sounds like an incredible trip, by the way.

suze

I think you can do it without a car. While certainly Los Angeles is a city set up for getting around by car, it is NOT a place I would want to be driving on &quot;the other side&quot; of the road for the first time! I travel solo/female and am not comfortable renting cars either.

While you might be somewhat limited especially in LA, were I in your shoes, I'd simply plan the entire trip using public transportation.

Here's my idea: Fly into Los Angeles and see your friend and Las Vegas, 1 week. Train to San Francisco, 1 week. Fly to New York. Spend some time in the city, 1 week. Train or bus up into one of the New England states to see beautiful foliage at the end of your trip (Massachusetts, Vermont, or New Hampshire are all gorgeous states), 1 week.

So I would allow 1 month for the U.S. and 2 weeks in Europe at the end.

eigasuki

Your suggestion sounds good Suze. However I'm aware that at least a few days will be taken with some lengthy plane trips. so six weeks is more like five in actual land content.
I'm a bit surprised that you say there's nothing to see between LA and SF. My reading has suggested that it's one of the most scenic coastal drives going.

bigtyke

you need to deteremine what is is you want to see. Is it just the cities or natural wonders or what? Forget about being stuck with seniors on a bus tour. If the tour is going to see what you want, go ahead and do it. Believe me, as a single female from Australia, you will be llike a celebrity on the tour.

Start listing what you want to see and place a time value on them. That will help determine how to spend your time.

Sept is a good time to travel in the US. Most places have their best weather then.

flanneruk

Don't worry about driving on the wrong side. Collect your car at an airport, potter round the car park for quarter of an hour or so to get the hang of things, then just drive.

By the standards of, say, Sydney the roads are empty and wide, and the cars are all so sluggish no-one does anything quickly anyway. Familiarise yourself with some of their odder traffic rules (people behind you get VERY pissed off if you don't turn right at a red light, for example).

You don't need a car in New York, and probably not in San Francisco (though you might if you want to see things in the vicinity). There's next to no public transport in Las Vegas, except for an extraordinarily slow and pricey monorail between hotels: you can get away without a car there if you're staying in a hotel (if you don't mind melting in the monorail's sweltering stations) - but not if you're staying with friends.

But a crucial part of America's charm is the quaint little towns, and the countryside between the cities. You're missing a huge opportunity by not driving along Highway 1 between San Francisco and Los Angeles, for example. And you've GOT to stop off somewhere you've never heard of and go into a diner.

There are bits you can do without a car. But you're cutting yourself off from loads of what's on offer if you're relying on public transport. And car hire - as well as petrol - can often be preposterously cheap.

suze

Hey, wait a second... I didn't say there's nothing to see between LA and San Francisco!!!! It's an absolutley GORGEOUS stretch of the state and drive.

I was only suggesting the train (or fly) because you clearly said you didn't want to rent a car.

suze

&lt;&lt;as well as petrol - can often be preposterously cheap&gt;&gt;

Though I must contradict Flanneruk because gas these days is preposterously expensive!

Gardyloo

<i>Though I must contradict Flanneruk because gas these days is preposterously expensive!</i>

Not by UK standards, but then again, everything in the UK is overpriced.

suze

Good point, Gardyloo. I was thinking of price of gas in the U.S. a few years ago, compared to now.