Road trip US
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Antiopelle
Posts: 1,184 Member
Hi MFP'ers from over the big pond ! Hubby and I (Europeans) will travel to the US during the month of November for 3 weeks. As of now, we have only planned our arrival in NY and a few nights there.
After that, the general plan - which still is subject to change - is to fly to San Francisco and stay there for a day or two, hire a car and drive to LA then Las Vegas (not my thing but hubby says we need at least to have seen it) and then drive to Sedona maybe. So basically one week of city tripping and two weeks of nature hiking. We plan to drive by car and stay overnight in hotels or B&B's, but without much of planning ahead, assuming that November won't be super busy.
We have traveled a lot, but the US is still a blind spot. So what do you think? Any recommendations or tips? Absolute don'ts? All your input is welcome...
After that, the general plan - which still is subject to change - is to fly to San Francisco and stay there for a day or two, hire a car and drive to LA then Las Vegas (not my thing but hubby says we need at least to have seen it) and then drive to Sedona maybe. So basically one week of city tripping and two weeks of nature hiking. We plan to drive by car and stay overnight in hotels or B&B's, but without much of planning ahead, assuming that November won't be super busy.
We have traveled a lot, but the US is still a blind spot. So what do you think? Any recommendations or tips? Absolute don'ts? All your input is welcome...
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Replies
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The fourth week of November is super busy with traveling in the US because of Thanksgiving. Weather should be very moderate during your stay. I've road tripped in November and the weather was only super cold in the far northern states, so you should be fine. I agree with your husband - you should see Las Vegas. Just don't gamble, or gamble much at least. But there's a lot to see and do there. Hoover Dam, near Las Vegas, is very impressive. Sedona is a dream. You'll love it!1
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Thanks abakale, good to know about Thanksgiving, that is something we hadn't thought of at all !! Hoover Dam is on the list
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If you’re arriving in Sf, take your bags directly to your hotel. Don’t leave them in the car, even if you think it’s just 5 minutes or have someone stay with the car. Car break-ins in broad daylight with people around are rampant and in seconds your passports and other stuff could be gone. I’d email a copy of your passports to yourself for just in case. At the tourist spots, beach, Fisherman’s Wharf, Golden Gate Park rental cars are constantly broken into. Thief's see the little barcode tag and target them. Sorry to be a downer but it’s a reality right now. Some awesome spots for hiking and pictures are The Marin Headlands, especially the view from Hawks Hill. Twin Peaks has a great view of the city but don’t leave anything in your car. Avoid The Tenderloin ( I would highly suggest not walking through there) because of the needles, feces and chances of getting robbed as a tourist any time of day, The Fillmore or Hunters Point. There are lots of cool places in SF worth seeing that are beautiful but it’s in transition right now so just trust your gut. . If you have a chance to drive Highway 1 down to Monterey and Big Sur the views are pretty spectacular. Also SF has micro climates because of the fog of the coast. Point Reyes is an awesome day trip. Muir Woods you need to make an appointment for parking but The Redwoods are great. Prepare to have layers you can add and take off. Have a wonderful trip.2
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San Francisco is in a terrible state right now... be super careful.2
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positivelysimful wrote: »San Francisco is in a terrible state right now... be super careful.
No it really isn't. I live here and like any city, don't leave anything in your car. Don't believe all the bad press.1 -
Thank you @litha_ for the warnings and the spots ! We've lived a few years in Brussels, so we know about being careful and not leaving anything behind, but it's always good to have a reminder.
I think we will drive down to Monterey and Big Sur for sure. And as for the layers, as we are starting in NY, we will have clothes for all seasons anyway.
@positivelysimful and @mgalsf12 : we will be careful, but I've always believed that 95% of the people are to be trusted; we'll watch out for the other 5%.1 -
@Antiopelle - You’re welcome. If you have time when you return it would be awesome to hear what you think of SF. There are many people that live in these parts that tend to become desensitized to what they see on the regular unfortunately and think what we deal with is “normal” but a lot that are fed up as well. It’d be nice to hear from a fresh perspective what you think as a visitor. Have an amazing time.1
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Antiopelle wrote: »We have traveled a lot, but the US is still a blind spot. So what do you think? Any recommendations or tips? Absolute don'ts? All your input is welcome...
Fly from SFO/Oakland to Southern California (San Diego/Los Angeles). The drive is like London to Edinburgh (Paris to Amsterdam). It will take a whole day of your trip. There are wonderful things to see and do along the way, but then it will be two days of your trip. Flying is it, as our high speed rail won't be open until 2033 +/- 20 years.
With the price of petrol and the rental it will be less expensive too.
About 150€ for two one-way tickets.0 -
@Antiopelle - You’re welcome. If you have time when you return it would be awesome to hear what you think of SF. There are many people that live in these parts that tend to become desensitized to what they see on the regular unfortunately and think what we deal with is “normal” but a lot that are fed up as well. It’d be nice to hear from a fresh perspective what you think as a visitor. Have an amazing time.
Thank you, I surely will come back here to post my impressions.1 -
chris_in_cal wrote: »Antiopelle wrote: »We have traveled a lot, but the US is still a blind spot. So what do you think? Any recommendations or tips? Absolute don'ts? All your input is welcome...
Fly from SFO/Oakland to Southern California (San Diego/Los Angeles). The drive is like London to Edinburgh (Paris to Amsterdam). It will take a whole day of your trip. There are wonderful things to see and do along the way, but then it will be two days of your trip. Flying is it, as our high speed rail won't be open until 2033 +/- 20 years.
With the price of petrol and the rental it will be less expensive too.
About 150€ for two one-way tickets.
But isn't that a beautiful part to drive and visit?0 -
positivelysimful wrote: »San Francisco is in a terrible state right now... be super careful.
No it really isn't. I live here and like any city, don't leave anything in your car. Don't believe all the bad press.
No offense, but that's bad. The homeless and drug problem you're having there are bad. The shop lifting issues are bad. Maybe they don't seem bad because you're living in it; I was born & raised in NYC and thought it wasn't as bad as people complained about.
I've since moved... I can leave my keys sitting in my car on the seat with the windows open where I live and it'll still be there the next day.
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positivelysimful wrote: »positivelysimful wrote: »San Francisco is in a terrible state right now... be super careful.
No it really isn't. I live here and like any city, don't leave anything in your car. Don't believe all the bad press.
No offense, but that's bad. The homeless and drug problem you're having there are bad. The shop lifting issues are bad. Maybe they don't seem bad because you're living in it; I was born & raised in NYC and thought it wasn't as bad as people complained about.
I've since moved... I can leave my keys sitting in my car on the seat with the windows open where I live and it'll still be there the next day.
Then I'd wager you no longer live in a city. Large metro areas with populations in the millions are going to have crime and other issues that smaller communities don't have.
I live in a small rural village and I don't have to really lock my doors, etc...but I'd never do anything like that in any city or metropolitan area.1 -
Antiopelle wrote: »Hi MFP'ers from over the big pond ! Hubby and I (Europeans) will travel to the US during the month of November for 3 weeks. As of now, we have only planned our arrival in NY and a few nights there.
After that, the general plan - which still is subject to change - is to fly to San Francisco and stay there for a day or two, hire a car and drive to LA then Las Vegas (not my thing but hubby says we need at least to have seen it) and then drive to Sedona maybe. So basically one week of city tripping and two weeks of nature hiking. We plan to drive by car and stay overnight in hotels or B&B's, but without much of planning ahead, assuming that November won't be super busy.
We have traveled a lot, but the US is still a blind spot. So what do you think? Any recommendations or tips? Absolute don'ts? All your input is welcome...
@Antiopelle
I do quite a bit of road tripping. I personally like to keep my drive times at around 4 hrs give or take (not always possible) which allows me time to stop and see things along the way without feeling like I have to just drive straight through like I would on an 8+ Hr drive time. Here's what I would do if I had the time.
- Day 1: depart SF heading to San Luis Obispo via Hwy 1. Check out Big Sur and it's just a beautiful drive all the way down, though it can be a bit long. Overnight in SLO. (for some reason when I map this, google maps reroutes me back to the 101 so I'm wondering if their are road closures between Big Sur and San Luis Obispo)
- Day 2: depart for Santa Monica (I'm honestly more of a San Diego vibe than LA, but in the LA area I prefer Santa Monica
- Day 3: Santa Monica/LA
- Day 4: LA to San Diego (you could take the 1 and travel through Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Dana Point, etc...San Juan Capistrano is also worth a look see for the Mission)
- Day 5: San Diego (I prefer Mission Beach/Pacific Beach area
- Day 6: San Diego
- Day 7: San Diego to Sedona (this is about a 7hr drive straight through on really boring Interstate Hwy...you could opt to stop in Phoenix overnight and cut it by a couple of hrs or just push through)
- Day 8:Sedona
- Day 9: Sedona
- Day 10: Grand Canyon (it's about a 2 hr drive from Sedona. Check the weather...it can be either stunningly beautiful in Nov or no visibility whatsoever. Mind you Sedona and Northern AZ is more mountainous and can receive snow...I'd opt to stay in Flagstaff overnight rather than backtracking to Sedona)
- Day 11: Flagstaff to Las Vegas (Vegas has to be one of my least favorite places in the world but since you're here, it is quite a site, and easy to fly out of and there are non-stop flights back to NY)
- Day 12: Las Vegas
- Day 13: Las Vegas
- Day 14: Fly back to NY...overnight in NY to break up the travel time
- Day 15: Fly home
Best advise I can give is don't underestimate distances and the size of the US. My wife's cousins live in the UK and did a road trip through much of the west and southwest while here on a visit and bit off a bit more than they could chew because they underestimated what it would really take to drive the distances to see what they wanted to see.
As mentioned, I do quite a bit of road tripping...I like to use highways as much as possible rather than the Interstate (though Interstate is not always avoidable). The Interstate is very fast, but also pretty boring for the most part. I see way more interesting things going slower on the highway.
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cwolfman13 wrote: »Antiopelle wrote: »Hi MFP'ers from over the big pond ! Hubby and I (Europeans) will travel to the US during the month of November for 3 weeks. As of now, we have only planned our arrival in NY and a few nights there.
After that, the general plan - which still is subject to change - is to fly to San Francisco and stay there for a day or two, hire a car and drive to LA then Las Vegas (not my thing but hubby says we need at least to have seen it) and then drive to Sedona maybe. So basically one week of city tripping and two weeks of nature hiking. We plan to drive by car and stay overnight in hotels or B&B's, but without much of planning ahead, assuming that November won't be super busy.
We have traveled a lot, but the US is still a blind spot. So what do you think? Any recommendations or tips? Absolute don'ts? All your input is welcome...
@Antiopelle
I do quite a bit of road tripping. I personally like to keep my drive times at around 4 hrs give or take (not always possible) which allows me time to stop and see things along the way without feeling like I have to just drive straight through like I would on an 8+ Hr drive time. Here's what I would do if I had the time.
- Day 1: depart SF heading to San Luis Obispo via Hwy 1. Check out Big Sur and it's just a beautiful drive all the way down, though it can be a bit long. Overnight in SLO. (for some reason when I map this, google maps reroutes me back to the 101 so I'm wondering if their are road closures between Big Sur and San Luis Obispo)
- Day 2: depart for Santa Monica (I'm honestly more of a San Diego vibe than LA, but in the LA area I prefer Santa Monica
- Day 3: Santa Monica/LA
- Day 4: LA to San Diego (you could take the 1 and travel through Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Dana Point, etc...San Juan Capistrano is also worth a look see for the Mission)
- Day 5: San Diego (I prefer Mission Beach/Pacific Beach area
- Day 6: San Diego
- Day 7: San Diego to Sedona (this is about a 7hr drive straight through on really boring Interstate Hwy...you could opt to stop in Phoenix overnight and cut it by a couple of hrs or just push through)
- Day 8:Sedona
- Day 9: Sedona
- Day 10: Grand Canyon (it's about a 2 hr drive from Sedona. Check the weather...it can be either stunningly beautiful in Nov or no visibility whatsoever. Mind you Sedona and Northern AZ is more mountainous and can receive snow...I'd opt to stay in Flagstaff overnight rather than backtracking to Sedona)
- Day 11: Flagstaff to Las Vegas (Vegas has to be one of my least favorite places in the world but since you're here, it is quite a site, and easy to fly out of and there are non-stop flights back to NY)
- Day 12: Las Vegas
- Day 13: Las Vegas
- Day 14: Fly back to NY...overnight in NY to break up the travel time
- Day 15: Fly home
Best advise I can give is don't underestimate distances and the size of the US. My wife's cousins live in the UK and did a road trip through much of the west and southwest while here on a visit and bit off a bit more than they could chew because they underestimated what it would really take to drive the distances to see what they wanted to see.
As mentioned, I do quite a bit of road tripping...I like to use highways as much as possible rather than the Interstate (though Interstate is not always avoidable). The Interstate is very fast, but also pretty boring for the most part. I see way more interesting things going slower on the highway.
Wow, @cwolfman13, that is really detailed, I absolutely love it, thank you so much !! We really appreciate it.
It is very near to what we already had in mind, but better
I will give you all some feedback in December, about the trip and about our perception of the safety in the cities.0 -
Hello everyone,
as promised, herewith a short(ish) overview of what we finally did and experience:
The cities:
1. NYC: I absolutely loved it, felt right at home and I really mean I could live there. We walked around a few neighbourhoods, an early morning walk in Central Park, and then on the way back, we walked to catch a glimpse of Macy's parade but we were too late. It didn't matter as we had some streets all to ourselves on the way to midtown- which was gorgeous. I was terribly moved by the memorial of ground zero; it just brought all those horrible memories back. We met exceptional people and generally we had a great time.
2. San Francisco (@litha_): more laid back and more European in a way (I hope I don't offend anyone by saying this). We loved both the seaside and the inner city, although we avoided the Tenderloin area as recommended. Had a lovely lunch in Chinatown and generally had one of the best days of our holiday there. Did we see homeless people? Yes, but not any more that in any other town. We didn't see any crime happening and when we passed homeless people we just each went our own way (as we usually do in cities) and all was fine. We also avoided the Alcatraz tour as it seemed way to touristy to do.
3. Las Vegas: we were there for a few hours only and that was enough. I have played slots for probably the only time in my life and I won 29 dollars, whoohoo !!
4. Sedona: it wasn't my thing unfortunately. The surrounding nature was stunning, but the town itself was full of palm readers and crystal healers and other new age stuff, which just isn't my vibe.
Nature:
Before leaving, we decided to skip the LA & San Diego part & rent a van instead of a car from SF and focus on the National Parks: we went to Yosemite, Sequoia, Death Valley, Bryce and Zion, Grand Canyon and we ended up in Lake Mead and Valley of Fire before returning the van in LV. That was an amazing trip (but cold !!!!) and we enjoyed it tremendously.
In general:
We found the cities very safe, the people extremely kind and understanding; drivers very careful and slow (compared to ours) so driving was no issue. We generally had an excellent trip, both in cities and in nature. The only two thing I couldn't get used to was the bread (found a decent loaf in SF and we went to a Belgian bakery in NYC) and the restrooms with cut-off doors (I want my privacy when I need it, haha !).
We are now home, completely jet-lagged but happy !1 -
Glad you had a good time. Sounds like you were in NYC the same time my family and I were...I love NYC! I hear you on Sedona for sure. Beautiful surroundings, but it's way too busy these days for my taste...I love to hike and it's really hard to find a trail there that isn't packed with people on it. I used to love it about 20 years ago. Good idea on the National Parks too.0
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Thank you @cwolfman13. You live in a gorgeous country. Standing on the rim of Bryce Canyon (both our favorite place), we were in awe!1
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Antiopelle wrote: »Hello everyone,
as promised, herewith a short(ish) overview of what we finally did and experience:
The cities:
1. NYC: I absolutely loved it, felt right at home and I really mean I could live there. We walked around a few neighbourhoods, an early morning walk in Central Park, and then on the way back, we walked to catch a glimpse of Macy's parade but we were too late. It didn't matter as we had some streets all to ourselves on the way to midtown- which was gorgeous. I was terribly moved by the memorial of ground zero; it just brought all those horrible memories back. We met exceptional people and generally we had a great time.
2. San Francisco (@litha_): more laid back and more European in a way (I hope I don't offend anyone by saying this). We loved both the seaside and the inner city, although we avoided the Tenderloin area as recommended. Had a lovely lunch in Chinatown and generally had one of the best days of our holiday there. Did we see homeless people? Yes, but not any more that in any other town. We didn't see any crime happening and when we passed homeless people we just each went our own way (as we usually do in cities) and all was fine. We also avoided the Alcatraz tour as it seemed way to touristy to do.
3. Las Vegas: we were there for a few hours only and that was enough. I have played slots for probably the only time in my life and I won 29 dollars, whoohoo !!
4. Sedona: it wasn't my thing unfortunately. The surrounding nature was stunning, but the town itself was full of palm readers and crystal healers and other new age stuff, which just isn't my vibe.
Nature:
Before leaving, we decided to skip the LA & San Diego part & rent a van instead of a car from SF and focus on the National Parks: we went to Yosemite, Sequoia, Death Valley, Bryce and Zion, Grand Canyon and we ended up in Lake Mead and Valley of Fire before returning the van in LV. That was an amazing trip (but cold !!!!) and we enjoyed it tremendously.
In general:
We found the cities very safe, the people extremely kind and understanding; drivers very careful and slow (compared to ours) so driving was no issue. We generally had an excellent trip, both in cities and in nature. The only two thing I couldn't get used to was the bread (found a decent loaf in SF and we went to a Belgian bakery in NYC) and the restrooms with cut-off doors (I want my privacy when I need it, haha !).
We are now home, completely jet-lagged but happy !
@Antiopelle - Thanks for coming back and sharing your experience. I'm glad you had a really good trip. I will say if you visited the time from 1st-17th the city head honchos had a mad rush to clean it up to make it presentable for the APEC conference with Xi and Biden meeting in the city. The sourdough bread in SF is really good. Hopefully you got a loaf! Boudin is pretty tasty. Anyways, glad you had a wonderful trip and thank you for sharing with all of us! It's nice to hear your thoughts. Oh and Alcatraz is super touristy and Fisherman's Wharf. 0 -
Antiopelle wrote: »Hello everyone,
as promised, herewith a short(ish) overview of what we finally did and experience:
The cities:
1. NYC: I absolutely loved it, felt right at home and I really mean I could live there. We walked around a few neighbourhoods, an early morning walk in Central Park, and then on the way back, we walked to catch a glimpse of Macy's parade but we were too late. It didn't matter as we had some streets all to ourselves on the way to midtown- which was gorgeous. I was terribly moved by the memorial of ground zero; it just brought all those horrible memories back. We met exceptional people and generally we had a great time.
2. San Francisco (@litha_): more laid back and more European in a way (I hope I don't offend anyone by saying this). We loved both the seaside and the inner city, although we avoided the Tenderloin area as recommended. Had a lovely lunch in Chinatown and generally had one of the best days of our holiday there. Did we see homeless people? Yes, but not any more that in any other town. We didn't see any crime happening and when we passed homeless people we just each went our own way (as we usually do in cities) and all was fine. We also avoided the Alcatraz tour as it seemed way to touristy to do.
3. Las Vegas: we were there for a few hours only and that was enough. I have played slots for probably the only time in my life and I won 29 dollars, whoohoo !!
4. Sedona: it wasn't my thing unfortunately. The surrounding nature was stunning, but the town itself was full of palm readers and crystal healers and other new age stuff, which just isn't my vibe.
Nature:
Before leaving, we decided to skip the LA & San Diego part & rent a van instead of a car from SF and focus on the National Parks: we went to Yosemite, Sequoia, Death Valley, Bryce and Zion, Grand Canyon and we ended up in Lake Mead and Valley of Fire before returning the van in LV. That was an amazing trip (but cold !!!!) and we enjoyed it tremendously.
In general:
We found the cities very safe, the people extremely kind and understanding; drivers very careful and slow (compared to ours) so driving was no issue. We generally had an excellent trip, both in cities and in nature. The only two thing I couldn't get used to was the bread (found a decent loaf in SF and we went to a Belgian bakery in NYC) and the restrooms with cut-off doors (I want my privacy when I need it, haha !).
We are now home, completely jet-lagged but happy !
@Antiopelle - Thanks for coming back and sharing your experience. I'm glad you had a really good trip. I will say if you visited the time from 1st-17th the city head honchos had a mad rush to clean it up to make it presentable for the APEC conference with Xi and Biden meeting in the city. The sourdough bread in SF is really good. Hopefully you got a loaf! Boudin is pretty tasty. Anyways, glad you had a wonderful trip and thank you for sharing with all of us! It's nice to hear your thoughts. Oh and Alcatraz is super touristy and Fisherman's Wharf.
Yes, we only heard later that Biden and Xi were coming. But you still live in a beautiful city with very friendly people. I was surprised by the streetcar drivers who must deal with tourists every single day, and still performed their job with a smile. But genuinely, everywhere we went: the hotel, restaurants, coffee bars, the aquarium, public transport, stores, ... everyone was so so nice to us. That is something that I certainly will remember from SF. That and beautiful beachside walk to the GG bridge. And the good bread
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