Category: Travel and Tourism
I'm going to be in the US next summer, I'm spending a week in Boston with my dad but either before or after that I was planning to do some traveling on my own. I'm not bothered about sticking to the east coast as I've been there before. What are some of the best cities to go to and the most convenient ways to travel around? I know the rail network over there is nowhere near as comprehensive as in the UK and will be pretty slow because of how big the country is, so I figured flying might be an option.
Flying is definitely an option. For what you want to do, I'd use Southwest, as they have many direct flights from lots of cities to most places you would want to go.
Wow, how exciting!
What types of places do you like or would you like to see? For example, would you enjoy the craziness that is Vegas or the peace of a seaside sunrise? Is there any thing here that is particularly interesting to you?
Any city is easy to get to by flying. Like it was mentioned above it depends on what you like or what you want to see. If you don't mind a faster paced, large city New York is the place to go. Lots of things to see and do there. Chicago is my favorite place in the US because there are a lot of ways to get there, the transportation is great, the food is expensive but worth it, and it is not as crouded and fast as New York.
If you don't want to fly and take a day trip you could get a train from Boston to New York easily.
Well, the problem with the trains in the US apart from them being slow, is that you don't have a lot of options from getting to the west from the east. In the North east, you're good to go to most major cities by train.
Same thing applies on the far west of the country. You can go from San Diego in the south, all the way up to Seattle, easily enough, though again, its a bit of a long trip to go all the way from the north, to the south.
the next question is probably what you're looking for/what you want to do.
I've really enjoyed my time in California. the SF bay area is easily one of the better cities in the west. LA isn't bad either, if you can deal with transportation being a bit hit or miss. that area has a lot of theme parks, and the like. I've heard good things about portland, though I haven't been there yet.
Come to Portland, enjoy the microbrews and fine wines, the music and the outdoor festivals. Over Fourth of July weekend we have a Blues Festival some of us nickname the Booze Festival.
And so long as you stay in Portland Proper you can get near about anywhere transportation wise.
I'm interested in beaches and sports, big cities, festivals. So much. Thanks for the advice guys, also in general how complex are cities to get around? I'd be on my own, and so I'm not really sure how it is in the US.
I don't honestly know a lot about the Boston area so I don't know if they have decent beaches. New Jersey shore areas are hit or miss. You can either really enjoy them or regret every minute because the parking sucks sometimes, and there are a lot of rude people in some areas.
Traveling around cities will also depend on the city. I've heard many good things about Boston Transit as well as New York. Chicago's transportation systems are great when it comes to the buses and subways, but I'd be careful with cabs wherever you go. One place I've heard of many complaints is Los Angeles, that the transportation really sucks there.
Usually buses and subway trains require a fair. You can buy an all-day pass for a set amount, say $1.25 or $1.50 and be able to either ride the buses, subways, or both all day long, again depending on how the city's system works. Cabs are always out and about but I would not recommend them as a first choice. They are expensive, and you are at their mercy when it comes to how they get you from point a to b. Lastly, any downtown part of a city is easy to walk around for pedestrians.
Hope this helps.
honestly, it depends from city to city. Some make a lot more sense, and are a good deal easier to navigate than others, or have better transportation.
To make things easier, i'd probably stick to places with a lot of transportation options, E.G subway/light rail/trollies, busses, cabs, and maybe even cities that have companies like uber working in them, that let you book your lifts in the app, see the prices, and driver info, etc.
At least you've got a lot of options.
Would you want to visit one place, or a few? Maybe trying to figure out that step would make it easier to try and find the best place/places.
I'm going to boston for sure, but that's with my dad. But when I travel on my own I'm thinking of Colorado, California or Texas. Not sure which one of those yet!
Nice. I've been to Dallas and San Antonio in Texas which were nice. Dallas has good transportation but where I was in San Antonio it was ok, but planning a trip ahead of time was key. I've heard great things about North California, particularly near the bay area and San Fransisco, as well as Denver which is in Colorado.
Yay, Texas made the cut. lol
Austin is good for live music and the 6th streen scene. There's allot of Texas history there because it's the capitol. Transportation is good there.
San Antonio has Seaworld, Fiesta Texas, the Alamo, and River Walk. I can't speak about transportation because I've never experienced it.
We do have beaches here, i.e. South Padre Corpus, etc but honestly, there are better beaches in the US.
Then, there's the DFW, or Dallas Fort Worth, area. Dallas is, ... well ... Dallas. It's big and has good transportation. There's the JFK museum, a cultural district, the Lower Greenville bar scene, the Galeria mall, and probably some other stuff I can't think of.
Arlington is between Dallas and Ft. Worth. It has 6-flags, Hurricane Harbor, Texas Rangers baseball ball park, Dallas Cowboys statium, and a ginormous shopping area called Parks Mall. Transportation is actually surprisingly good in the entertainment district of Arlington but it is nonexistent in other parts of the city. Of course there are cabs but no public busses. The entertainment district has a trolly system that runs around the various attractions and hotels. My family and I used it last summer and were very impressed. Trolly passes are usually free to registered hotel guests. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Crown Plaza and they were very appropriate and helpful to us as we are both blind.
Finally there's Fort Worth. We just opened our newly renovated Sundance Square area down town. I haven't been there yet but apparently it is really something to behold. My husband says it's like the Time Square of the South. Fort worth is where culture meets the wild west. It is a very friendly city. I can personally recommend a trust worthy cab driver here. There are also buses that are good in the downtown and entertainment districts but they get a little iffy once you're out of the main areas. I wouldn't think that'd be a problem for a tourist though. In addition to the downtown area, there's the Stock Yards area where you can go to Billybobs. We also have a great zoo, a very cool science and history museum, the Cowgirl museum, beautiful Botanic gardens, a Log Cabbin villege, and a bunch of stuff you'd find in many cities.
Those are the cities in Texas with which I am most familiar. You'll of course get allot more info by googling tourism and these cities but hopefully this is a good starting point. If you decide on the DFW area, let me know. Perhaps we could meet up or something, depending on when you come.
San Antonio has cabs, in addition to paratransit vans that you can have pick you up. we also have cabs, which are an option, if you have a good chunk of money.
they aren't usually expensive, but if you're on a limited income, or don't wanna spend much, I wouldn't recommend them.
sorry for the repetitive post.
I'll add that there are also public buses in San Antonio, as well.
Wow thank you for the info about Texas, that's really useful!
I've been to Washington D.C., and it's pretty interesting if you're a museum/history type of person. I'm not sure how navigation goes since I went with sighted friends. LA is great, though I'm not sure how the beaches would work (I've heard the waves are pretty big and am not sure if swimming is allowed due to wave size). The museums in D>C are pretty accessible. In New York, there's so much to see and do. If you're an opera/musicle person, go and find something you like on Broadway or at the Metropolitan Opera. The Museum of Natural history is a flop in terms of accessibility (85percent glass cases, and no audio guide), but the Museum of Modern Art, and the Gugenheim seem accessible as far as I know. In D.C I'd recommend the Air and space museum, since there are audio guides, documentaries, and some stuff to touch, (such as airplane parts, moon rocks etc.) I'd recommend the Intrepid, an aircraft-carrier/museum in New York, there's an excellent tour of the Condor airplane that's located there, as well as the ability to touch most things in the Growler submarine there. In Boston, the Museum of science is accessible, with audio-guides and tactile stuff in some of the exhibits. In Washington D.C, the International Spy museum is very interesting, however most of the things are in glass cases, but there are lots of signs with info regarding the encased objects, (I'm not sure whether they can be scanned with teh Iphone, since I traveled with sighted people) In NYC, the subway seems accessible, and since the city streets are grid-based it should be relatively simple to navigate.
Hope this helps.
Seattle also known as the emerald city is a must see destination for visitors. Featuring such places of interests such as the space needle, the sci fi museum as well as world famous coffee. Whether its starbux or Seattle best. Pike street market offers some of the best food in the north west and of course, terrific public transportation including magnet buses.
If you want nice beaches, St. peetersburg florida is awesome! Warm water, smooth sand..always sunny..Has really nice hotels and public transportation is great as well. the people here are very friendly and helpful. We also have a great baseball team since you said you're into sports and the like.
Denver is also a nice city, though if you plan to drink there, be careful. The high altitude makes alcohol much more effective. They also have a very nicely done lightrail system that can get you around the city itself as well as any nearby suburbs. The people are nice, and if pot is your thing, it's legal now, but quite expensive.
As for cities that are fairly easy to get around, I think New York is about as easy as you can get if you wish to do a lot of walking. The subways can be confusing to those who do not use them regularly. However, you have a vast amount of things you can do here. Also, the city's grid system makes almost complete sense, as streets and Avenues are all numbered, with the exception of Broadway, which is a bit confusing since it runs diagonal across the city. However, as long as people know you are not going to ask for money, they're usually more than happy to help if you need it.
Washington D.C. is pretty accessible, depending where you are. There is a metro system that can carry you between many of the museum districts. Denver, Co features a light rail system, which is pretty comprehensive. I don't really enjoy New York City, as I am hearing impaired, and being that it is the city that never sleeps, it is way too loud for me. But, New York City does have a lot of attractions. One of my favorite things to do there was take a carriage ride through Central Park. It was pulled by horses and a tour guide explained objects in the park. I here Broadway plays are always a favorite.
Hey Hardy that sounds like so much fun! A carriage ride neat! I've never done that.