Doing a trip to / "through" the states. Tips and recommendations

[bondgirl]

Hello folks,

me and my best friend are going for a trip to the states, for roughly 3 weeks, by the end of august. We have some ideas for how to spend the time but I wanna come here to not miss inside stuff.

Basicly we are going from the east cost to west coast (flight plans are landing nyc and departure will be san francisco). So it will be a road trip without any booked hotels.

My question is now. What is worth to definitly check out while we are there? I know this is like asking what could you do when traveling the world but I'm sure there is stuff to no miss out. Right now the only plans we have to do is maybe 1 day NYC (I guess I already hate that city for the sheer amount of ppl there) and then going straight to Washington and / or Boston. From there we will be driving to south dakota and that's where the plan aleady ends. I mean we have plenty of time and we wanna get some typical american impressions. So if you are from any state just post what you would recommend to check out and I'll see if we can make a route to see this. Since we are free from any bookings we are basicly up for anything (maybe some student party to check out ).

So every tip is welcome, be it food, party, points of interest (mount rushmore is already planed), or just some cool places to hang out.

Thanks in advance.

//E: oh and btw. what to take care of? I mean certain behavior etc. We are from Germany and, well we basicly know the states from TV (shame on us) and wewould appreciate some tips of how to get through w/o being jailed and uninvited from the party!

//E: any accomodations and BBQ invitations welcome!

[Jester Joe]

Chances are, NY is gonna smell if you're going through the city. Just fair warning, the food carts usually don't mix well scent wise. Depends on what you're into though, I would definitely suggest looking into the Museum of Natural History, along with walking through Central Park (which is not as packed as you would think it is usually).

Also, I'm not sure if they reopened yet, but DC Cupcakes is definitely worth a shot if you happen to be going past there-
http://www.discoverytsx.com/dccupcakes-cafe

They're small, and a bit pricy, but easily the best cupcakes I've ever had. Also, obligatory "You have to get Pizza and a bagel".

[Gamdwelf]

If you are ending up in SF you def gotta go through Nebraska, the best state there is possibly and great things to do and see.

[Toogoodman]

Go to Boston, Biased from me since i live here, buts its truly unique, and you can do whale watching (not fat girls, actual whales).

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Check out the grand canyon also

[PhantasmagoriaX]

Im from Norcal, Definitely give yourself some time to explore the San Fran. Its not as big as some people think

[PC2]

Since you're already going towards South Dakota you could keep going west to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. Yellowstone and Half Dome are the two most epic national parks ive been to. The Grand Canyon seems cool, but if you want a short travel route to San Fran you would want to pick either a northern route(Yellowstone) or southern route(Grand Canyon).

[bondgirl]

Go to Boston, Biased from me since i live here, buts its truly unique, and you can do whale watching (not fat girls, actual whales).

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Check out the grand canyon also

I spilled my beer over my keyboard. Thanks for the laugh.

But thanks for the tip. I had no idea you could do whale watching there. Definitly will check this out.

Thanks for the replies. Yellowstone sounds really great. Though I have no idea about the "rules" to stay there. Can you sleep in the car or rent a place for the night?

DC Cupcakes - check!

We will stay some days in San Francisco for sure!

Damnit Yosemite / half dome looks amazing aswell.

God damit. 30mins after this post I already feel the inner pain to miss out some cool stuff due to restricted time

Thanks nonetheless!

[Gestopft]

Since you're already going towards South Dakota you could keep going west to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. Yellowstone and Half Dome are the two most epic national parks ive been to. The Grand Canyon seems cool, but if you want a short travel route to San Fran you would want to pick either a northern route(Yellowstone) or southern route(Grand Canyon).

I'll agree with Yellowstone and Yosemite. Yellowstone in particular is very viewable from the road, and as far as national parks go, you can see a good amount of it without camping or long hikes.

[dwightyo39]

You could always take a jet boat tour of Hell's Canyon or do a short (guided) rafting trip near Riggins, ID (Salmon River). Those are probably the most unique tourist activities near my residence (northern, ID).

[bondgirl]

We wre talking about a rafting tour aswell. Unfortunately Idaho might not fit into our route. Will still consider it. Thanks for the tip.

[vindicatorx]

Uh my advice, avoid South Dakota there is jack shit here. I can't wait to move out of here when my contract ends.

[Gestopft]

Thanks for the replies. Yellowstone sounds really great. Though I have no idea about the "rules" to stay there. Can you sleep in the car or rent a place for the night?

There are some lodges, but I imagine you have to reserve well in advance. Cody, Wyoming is a town not too far from the park in the east, and there's a town in Montana out of the north entrance. You can probably see most of the hotspots in one (long) day, but I'd recommend two. When I did it last summer, I went over Beartooth Pass to get to the park, spent the night in Cody, and did more in the park the next day before heading out. This was with a one-year old, too.

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We wre talking about a rafting tour aswell. Unfortunately Idaho might not fit into our route. Will still consider it. Thanks for the tip.

Did you have a tentative route planned, or were you still deciding?

[dwightyo39]

We wre talking about a rafting tour aswell. Unfortunately Idaho might not fit into our route. Will still consider it. Thanks for the tip.

I'm sure you can find fun places to raft in Wyoming, Montana, Oregon, or Washington. Idaho has some of the best rivers (I'm biased). Regardless, you should raft somewhere.

Some outfitters (guides) will let/expect you to help paddle the raft. Others are set up with a rowing frame where the guests (you) are just there for the ride. Also, various outfitters may have different alcohol policies. Just stuff to keep in mind.

[Promethieus]

The states are definitely not a great place to visit. Too much crime. Come visit Canada. It'll be a lot more pleasant.

[bondgirl]

Uh my advice, avoid South Dakota there is jack shit here. I can't wait to move out of here when my contract ends.

We basicly planed to only go to mount rushmore (the touri stuff you know :P ). Dunno how stuff turns out cuz you never know. We don't intend to stay in South Dakota for longer than this. But what do you mean with jack shit (I'm not familar with this conclusion: in terms of since I haven't been there I don't know anything about that state)

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Did you have a tentative route planned, or were you still deciding?

Still planing.

The states are definitely not a great place to visit. Too much crime. Come visit Canada. It'll be a lot more pleasant.

Well yea we get the crime stuff and basicly all the bad news (cuz yeah its like everywhere, bad news spread but good news aren't going to make it over the ocean -- except for the prom news)

But should we be worried XD

[Piglord]

If it was me I'd go from NY, Baltimore, DC, Williamsburg VA, Charleston SC, Nashville TN, New Orleans LA, San Antonio TX, Austin TX, Carlsbad Caverns NM, Santa Fe NM, Petrified Forrest AZ, Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Moab, Red Wood National park, San Fransisco.

[belfpala]

We basicly planed to only go to mount rushmore (the touri stuff you know :P ). Dunno how stuff turns out cuz you never know. We don't intend to stay in South Dakota for longer than this. But what do you mean with jack shit (I'm not familar with this conclusion: in terms of since I haven't been there I don't know anything about that state)

The black hills are nice for scenery. Other than that, pretty much the only thing to do in SD is count poles along the road as you drive until you get to Wal-Drug, which is stupid, but you stop there anyway because it's different than counting poles.

If I were doing your trip, I'd go into Canada, through Toronto, then through Chicago, do some stuff in Minnesota, over to the black hills and the rockies, maybe hit Yellowstone, up to Oregon or Washington, then down the West Coast to SF. Possibly sneak up to Vancouver, because why not.

/shrug. Not much time to stay anywhere long in your time frame. (Edit: note this question is akin to, "I'll be in Europe for three weeks starting in London and ending in Rome, what should I do?")

Or as others have said, do the opposite and go south then along the southern border to Cali.

[Wiyld]

The USA is crazy huge... its impossible to do one of those 'things to see travelogue' things for us...just too big and too much to do.

You will find that costs vary dramatically as you move from region to region. Taxes are different state to state and it impacts prices in a big way. The big cities will be very expensive compared to the rural areas. New York, Chicago, San Francisco, LA....they will all be very pricey. Out in the country things will be pretty cheap most of the time.

What you see will really depend on which route across the country you take, a northern route or a southern one. You can go across the plains states in the north/middle and see a lot of natural sights. Or you could take the southern route and do more of the cultural stuff.

I think honestly your best bang for the buck would be to roll down the east coast from NY to like Savannah then head west. You could drive up to Maine first if you want, to get the cold water lobster experience. It's kinda like Canada...but not...

You can hit up the big megalopolis cities in the north, big cities with varying historical sights in each. Then check out the beaches in south Carolina...Myrtle is always an easy one. Also a TON of history down there...if you want to stop in Charleston you can take a ferry out to Fort Sumter and see where the civil war started. There are historical locations down there that date back to the revolution. Just stop wherever along the trip down the coast and check stuff out...lots of things to do and see. Savannah is a gorgeous town....imagine Forest Gump.

Then head west...you can go down to New Orleans if you want...I wouldn't but if thats what you want its right along the way. You could head to to Atlanta too if you want....I don't know what you would go see, but it IS a huge city.

You could head north to Nashville and do the music scene there if you want.

From this point either head north all the way to Chicago, or take a southern route all the way across. If you go north...you could see Chicago...then head north to Milwaukee and Minneapolis...but honestly again...they are just big midwest cities...pretty generic. You could always come sit on the beach with me on Lake Michigan..but that would require you drive north east again into Michigan...and there isn't much to see here.

From here you sleep through the Dakotas...pretty country but huge and open and boring at the same time. Go far enough and you could hit up Yellowstone. Don't know if you are into nature stuff but Yellowstone is pretty much the mecca for that stuff. You will need to cross the Rockies at some point. Either now and you head to the west coast at Seattle or you head south toward the grand canyon first and then cross down south.

If you cross the country in the south, you will certainly want to stop in a couple places in Texas, Austin is a good place, San Antonio is close as well. Crossing in the south puts you through the desert. IT will be HOT at the end of August so be careful. Like... actually be careful..and I don't just mean bring sunscreen. Its a legit desert and there are huge expanses of land with no people to travel across. You could also hit up the Grand Canyon on this route. Also Vegas...we all know what that is.

Eventually you will hit the west coast, this is kinda like the East, probably worth it to drive along the coast hitting up a number of cities along the way.


You need to keep in mind how big the USA is. Texas alone can take a couple of solid days of driving to get through if you don't stop for anything. Compared to Texas or California, other states can look small on the map, but in reality can still take a lot of time to travel through. Google maps if your best friend.

Don't buy food from commercial chain food places. If you are here for the crash course in American culture then you want to hit up our local foods. Every region has something, be it a local BBQ variant, some sort of seafood or a local fruit in season..... if there is one thing we know in the US its food.

You mention not having hotel reservations.

I don't know what kind of accommodations you are planning but we offer everything from the horror story rape motel experience up to very nice hotels in most of the country. Lots of people travel around in the US a lot so there are a ton of cheap ass motel chains. You cannot judge them all by the company, you have to kinda take a look at each individually. You could find one Motel 6 that is just fine for a quick sleep, and others that you will likely get mugged and then infected with 6 diseases in. Generally they will follow suit with the part of town you are in. Just don't get a place in the shit part of town and you will usually be ok. On that note...every city has a shit part of town...some are smaller and harder to find...others dominate most of the city...just use common sense when getting off the freeways. If you take an exit and every window has bars on it...get back on the highway and go a few more exits.

The driving experience varies significantly here too. Generally the closer you get to a large population center...the more insane the drivers are. Large cities experience massive traffic issues at both AM and PM rush hours...so don't expect to cruise through Chicago at 4:30. Also, don't adjust to how people are driving in New York, and then go do that in rural Georgia...the local police will not appreciate that. Everybody speeds...but if you have out of state licence plates, its late at night, or you are the only one on the road...you are more likely to get pulled over. Contrary to a lot of the media about our police...you will almost certainly be fine. If you do get pulled over...just pull over immediately and follow instructions..they will walk you through it.


I dunno....tons of things to suggest but I'm tired of typing...let me know if you have any specific questions.

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I almost forgot Niagra Falls...when you are in the northeast thats another cool sight.

[Raunchy]

I love this thread i would love to go to any of these places but stuck in Ohiop.... dont come here its boring

[Shadowsgrace]

Biggest tip I can tell ya.... don't talk Politics or Religion.