The wonderful US of A

[Andre]

Hi all,

I plan on taking a trip to America coming year.
And because a lot of the forumers live there, i thought why not ask some advice :D

I live in Belgium myself so it's pretty far. We will probably take a 15 day trip or something similar.
Also we would like to see the West-coast (Las vegas, San fransico, etc.)
You get the picture :cool:
So my question to you guys, what are the places to stay away from?
What rental car companies have bad reputations?
What do we really have to see?

I have googled a lot of this stuff, but still wanted some personal opinions!

Thanks!

[dialex]

The Playboy Mansion - you may end without your very clothes.

[Evil D]

It's a biiiig country, hard to see everything good in 15 days. I don't live on the West coast, but I have been to San Fran, it's a really cool city. I wasn't there for sight seeing though.

[Sequimite]

What are your interests: nature, music, film, popular culture, history, architecture?

I'm at the north end of the west coast and nature is the big draw in my area along with a couple of preserved Victorian era towns.

[Syncharmony]

If you are going to be in the San Fran area, take at least a day, maybe 2 to drive out to Yosemite. It's about 4 hours away and it will blow your mind. Also, if you are coming up the coastline from Las Vegas, take Route 1 up so that you drive through Big Sur, it's absolutely gorgeous.

[rodloos]

Stay away from New York City, at least if you want to carry any knives with you :) .

Oh, and you must include the Spyderco Factory Outlet in Golden, Colorado on your itinerary (I have yet to make it there myself, but plan to someday).

And I agree with others, so much to see, depending on your interests.

[Knivesinedc]

If you have the time I suggest you Drive up to Shaver lake Just an hour or two away from Fresno. It has a bunch of pretty breathtaking sights, decent 4X4 opportunities, and good fishing for trout. It's super pretty and at anywhere from 4 to 9 Thousand ft elevation, the air is fresh, clean and its a very good place to relax. the water in the lake is a little low this year but theres still plenty :)

[kbuzbee]

What David said, it's a big place. If you are planning on driving, even just Las Vegas to San Francisco is a long drive. If funds allow I would pick 2-4 cities you want to see and fly between them. It's easy enough to spend two weeks in Las Vegas alone between shows, visiting Hoover Dam etc.

If driving is your thing, I would pick a region (Pacific Northwest) and plan your route there

Any of the major car rental companies are fine, Hertz, Dollar, Budget etc

Of course you could just visit SFO in Golden, CO and call it good

Ken

[Pinetreebbs]

Andre,

Take highway 1 to San Francisco, see the Redwoods near San Francisco. San Diego is good too. Visiting Mexico at our western border is not recommended.

There are many good travel books for the western states, where you visit really depends on your interest, beaches, mountains, art etc.

Car rentals are notorious for having many prices fro the same car. I suggest going to a web travel service, e.g., Expedia, to rent your car. They list all the major rental companies, I have used Alamo, Hertz, Dollar and Budget, all were good, though given a choice it would be Alamo. Years ago I was in line at Hertz checking in a car, it cost me $187 for a week. Two gals from France were in front of me with a reservation for $200+ a day! I showed them my paperwork and recommended they call another company and ask for a 'corporate' discount and get a better rate. I'm not picking on Hertz, they all operate similarly. They will also try to sell you insurance coverage that is very costly. If you have insurance it may cover car rentals, also some credit cards include some level of insurance coverage when used to rent a car. Some agencies also charge by the day for a GPS, check ahead, you can buy your own for less than $100.

I hope you have a great trip.

[JNewell]

Thinking out loud...it is a huge country. If I were to pick three places to visit, it might be, in no particular order or priority:

1. Massachusetts/New England (history and sea coast)
2. Northern California (start in San Francisco and move up north into wine and redwood county and see the Pacific coast)
3. Arizona (history and amazing geography)

[3rdGenRigger]

Check out San Diego if you get a chance...one of my favourite cities I've visited. Vegas is always fun for obvious reasons, but there's always non party stuff to do too. Last time I was there I got to hot lap a Nissan GTR around the road course #2 at Las Vegas motor speedway. The Hoover Dam is also a short drive from Vegas, and well worth a tour (Especially if you know a lot of the back story behind the engineering challenges they faced etc).

[phillipsted]

I concur with the "Big Country" comments. I've lived here for over half a century and have only visited 47 of the 50 states. :cool:

I'll put in a plug for visiting the Washington D.C. area and the Mid-Atlantic region (including Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Baltimore, and Philadelphia). Politics aside, this is a wonderful area with a great mixture of natural scenery, culture (world-class museums, music, arts) and history. Within a 3-hour drive from here, you have everything from beaches to mountains to woodland - way more than 15 days worth of things to see. This means you wouldn't have to fly around as much - just rent a car and drive!

TedP

[Andre]

Thanks for all the advice so far guys!
We would really like to go for the nature/beach holiday combined with 2 big cities or something similar.
Is there any place i can find the dates for a baseball game or nascar race (2 awesome things we don't have here :D )? And is it necessary to book tickets in advance or can i just buy them there?
Also are there any stadiums for baseball or nascar located near san fransico or vegas? (1 hour drive? 3 hour drive?)

[The Deacon]

If you're going to Las Vegas, you'll be within driving distance of the Grand Canyon which would definitely be a "must see" for me if I was out that way. If you're driving from Vegas to San Francisco, you can go through Yosemite Park, another "scenic wonder". You can book lodgings there too. NASCAR schedules can be found on the NASCAR website, not sure if all the 2014 ones are out yet. 2014 baseball schedules aren't out yet, when they are they'll be available on the Major League Baseball website. There's a track in Vegas and San Francisco has a major league baseball team. Doubt any ball games other than the World Series are ever sellouts, so I'm pretty sure you can get tickets at the game. Less certain about NASCAR.

[eric m.]

If you're in the Bay area there is the Fisherman's Wharf! San Francisco Chinatown, largest in the U.S.! A drive through Napa Valley wine country with a couple stops at Robert Mondavi and Christian Brothers, among others! Then about 4 hours north you are getting into the Sequoia and Redwoods! Have a great time! :)

[Buendia518]

If you have the time a drive along the northern Pacific Coast could be great experience. Oregon and Washington don't have too many large attractions but they're gorgeous.

When I was a kid I went to Santa Fe, New Mexico a few times and I still have a romantic image in my head, that's somewhere I'd like to go. Driving between states could be very time consuming but if you rent a car you could do it. I can't give advice on rental car companies, they won't do business with me. :)