NT Please help this Aussie on his first trip to America.

[bandit country]

Originally Posted by therealdealau

Originally Posted by Bandit Country

As an arrogant life long New Yorker, two weeks is too long. 

I guess we do not want to be rushing around everywhere to make sure we get everything done, how many days would you suggest?

What else is in the vicinity that could be good for a day trip? Washington?

I hear you. The thing about city living is that you will always feel like you are missing out on something, but it's impossible to do everything. If you're confining your trip to Manhattan (not saying you necessarily should) you can get anywhere with the subway. It's easy, cheap, generally reliable, and safe. Manhattan isn't a big island. As far as day trips, DC is about five hours away by car, a little quicker by train. Traveling by rail in the US is incredibly expensive though. A day trip is pushing it. You could definitely do a day trip to Philadelphia. I've gone there from New York just to get cheesesteaks with my boys. It's about an hour and a half from NYC. The problem, of course, is that Philadelphia is a degenerate filled sinkhole.

Boston is about three hours and change away. More doable than DC.


I don't know much about Aussie rules, but if you're interested in seeing Gaelic football, you could go to Gaelic Park in the Bronx. That part of the Bronx has a large Irish immigrant population. The games are good fun. You'd have to check the schedule. A friend from Ireland was in disbelief when he was visiting.

As tempting as it may be, I would stay away from chain eating as NYC has excellent, diverse, and generally inexpensive eats.

 

[johnson1]

^ just got back from Yosemite, I go every year.

You can do a day trip, but camping for a night or two is the best way to do it. March-May it is a little cold but the waterfalls are gushing at full strength.

Later summer the weather is most amazing.

 

[dyzzle]

Originally Posted by therealdealau

Would Yosemite be a day trip?

You should add Las vegas to your trip, it's only 3-4 hours away from LA. Then from there you can drive to Yosemite it's like a 7 hour drive. With 2 months, I think it's worth it. Are you over 25? You can easily rent a car in Vegas, drive to Yosemite, stay for a night then drive back to Vegas then fly out to wherever you wanna go next.

 

[therealdealau]

Originally Posted by Shahin1189

hey man, yea there are too many places in the USA to choose from. NYC, LA, Miami are top then you have DC, San Francisco, and so on. Niagara Falls is nice, especially if you can go to the Canadian side, which is much nicer than its American counterpart unfortunately, and Buffalo (25 minutes from Niagara) doesn't have much to offer, although it is worthwhile checking out, they have some awesome chicken wings and pizza.
 So now, I have some questions for you about Australia, as I am looking to visit there soon as well. Is Melbourne the top spot? When is the best time to go?do I also need to see Sydney? and just out of curiosity, how are racial affairs over there? what is the ratio of whites to others, and how is the economy? I met a girl from Melbourne recently, and she was pretty much trying to convince me to move there lol

Definitely a huge problem we are having, we have read so many books on "top places to go in America" the possibilities are endless. I figured I would create this thread to get a more personal vibe from people and narrow it down easier. How would we get to Niagara Falls, is that a day trip? DC definitely interests me.

It depends on what you value most in your holiday. Melbourne is considered the best city in Australia, mainly because of it's culture, it's people (although most aussies are very friendly) and it's unique ability to blend an amazing city with the natural wonders of Australia. Melbourne would be definitely considered the "hub" of Australian entertainment/sport with our premier sport arena the MCG. The one downfall about Melbourne compared to the other cities of Australia is the weather. It is a common joke among Aussies that you could wake up in Melbourne to clear blue skies and 30 degree weather, walk down the street and suddenly you are getting rained upon. The best time to go would definitely be summer so that you have the good weather consistently, November through to January are the best months, busiest but definitely the best. If you are coming to Australia and have a good amount of time on your hands I would recommend basing your holiday in Melbourne, possibly flying up to Sydney (melbourne and sydney are very close together) for a period of time to check out the Opera house, the Harbour bridge, Bondi beach and Taronga Zoo. If you really want to experience Australia though you MUST go to Queensland, namely the Gold Coast and Cairns - google the them and look at the beaches they are incredible. The weather is fantastic and a trip to the Great Barrier Reef will be something that you never forget. The whole experience is incredible. Snorkeling around there is a must. Back to Melbourne..as far as living there it ranks as one of the best if not the best cities to live in. The crime rates in general in Australia are considered relatively low, and although the cost of living is rising in Australia, especially Melbourne there are many factors that out weigh this situation. Such as the employment level, health care, education, infrastructure and as i stated before low crime rate. As far as racial issues are concerned I would say that there is none at all, Australia so multicultural and racial issues are a rarity. I don't know if I can comment on the ratio of "whites to others" as I said Melbourne is a very multicultural city. If you are indiscreetly asking about the native Australian's they are mainly populated in the northern parts of the country. My final point was going to be the women, I have had mates from all over the world come to Australia to visit and they all leave with one thing in common. The women are awesome. No doubt this girl from Melbourne is in the same breed, however you might not want to tie yourself down when you come over here

I hope this helped.

 

[therealdealau]

Originally Posted by dyzzle

what else other than sports are you guys into? theme parks? food? i can tell you what's good in Cali

I guess we are into everything. We love the outdoors, we love good food - I am huge into Steak. We want to visit all the landmarks we can and just experience America to the fullest. Theme parks would definitely be up there, we do not have many in Australia. Tell me about Cali mate, what are the cities that we must visit?

 

[adrian1221]

Originally Posted by therealdealau

Originally Posted by Adrian1221

Born and raised in san diego, if you ever head this direction pm me ill give you ideas of where you wanna go

I have heard nothing but great things from mates that have been there. What words would you use to describe San Diego, is it more on the chilled/relaxing side? Thank you for your offer, I'll definitely be pming you if we decide on heading to SD. I like the chargers!

Its friendly and has great scenery. There is a lot to do and a lot to see. Very close if you want to take a detour and go south of the border and have a good time for cheap. However, every single time we get people from out of town they describe the weather as "perfect". However, since you are from australia im sure it would be the norm for you 

 

[therealdealau]

Originally Posted by Bandit Country


I hear you. The thing about city living is that you will always feel like you are missing out on something, but it's impossible to do everything. If you're confining your trip to Manhattan (not saying you necessarily should) you can get anywhere with the subway. It's easy, cheap, generally reliable, and safe. Manhattan isn't a big island. As far as day trips, DC is about five hours away by car, a little quicker by train. Traveling by rail in the US is incredibly expensive though. A day trip is pushing it. You could definitely do a day trip to Philadelphia. I've gone there from New York just to get cheesesteaks with my boys. It's about an hour and a half from NYC. The problem, of course, is that Philadelphia is a degenerate filled sinkhole.

Boston is about three hours and change away. More doable than DC.


I don't know much about Aussie rules, but if you're interested in seeing Gaelic football, you could go to Gaelic Park in the Bronx. That part of the Bronx has a large Irish immigrant population. The games are good fun. You'd have to check the schedule. A friend from Ireland was in disbelief when he was visiting.

As tempting as it may be, I would stay away from chain eating as NYC has excellent, diverse, and generally inexpensive eats.

Awesome man, I appreciate your response. Is it viable to fly around to these different cities? Is flying worth the expense?

Can I pick your brain about New York, I know it would be tough to suggest places as you live there and might find the thing we are looking for mediocre but what are the must do's in NYC

I can imagine just walking around would be an experience in itself. I definitely want to go to the MSG and the usual travel book places like the Empire State, Statue of Liberty, Central Park, Times Square, Broadway? But is there anything that could be a non-mainstream attraction or something unknown?

Not really a fan of Gaelic to be honest, we over here generally think of it as a butchering of our main sport!

We definitely wont be going to the US to eat Mc Donalds, however i'll definitely have to check out your size portions I heard they are insane. Good pizza in NYC?

 

[therealdealau]

Originally Posted by Johnson1

^ just got back from Yosemite, I go every year.

You can do a day trip, but camping for a night or two is the best way to do it. March-May it is a little cold but the waterfalls are gushing at full strength.

Later summer the weather is most amazing.

everyone is saying Yosemite, I think i'll lock it in. How cold are we talking? Will it be average weather everywhere we go in March-May? I live in a city where it is 25-45 degrees most days of the year, I don't want a huge shock to the system.

 

[dyzzle]

Originally Posted by therealdealau

Originally Posted by dyzzle

what else other than sports are you guys into? theme parks? food? i can tell you what's good in Cali

I guess we are into everything. We love the outdoors, we love good food - I am huge into Steak. We want to visit all the landmarks we can and just experience America to the fullest. Theme parks would definitely be up there, we do not have many in Australia. Tell me about Cali mate, what are the cities that we must visit?

For parks - Disneyland, Universal Studios, Six Flags. If you guys stay in LA, they would all be relatively close to each other.
Watch the Lakers play

(expect tickets to be about $200-400 right now), Walk around hollywood, shop a little.
You can drive to San Diego from LA (2-3 hours), I suggest going to La Joya. Eat at Phil's BBQ 

Have some In-N-Out, Roscoes Chicken and Waffles, Korean BBQ

(not sure if you guys have that in Australia but it should be something new to you i guess)

 

[calikev34]

Originally Posted by therealdealau

Originally Posted by calikev34

Oi

American sports are trash compared to what you got over there mate! Quade Cooper is my favorite player, so yes I'm biased
But I would say that a playoff basketball game would be an awesome experience for you

The rugby here is *!!#, and there's definitely no footy haha

And I second the notion of going to Yosemite
Used to go every year- an amazing place. If you enjoy the outdoors, you'll love it there bro

G'day mate, you are an American who loves rugby? Crazy! Do you follow rugby league as well?

Old mate Quade got a bit of a grilling over here in some of his performances but he has played some great games for us. I love rugby and footy (AFL) but i've grown up with it and going to games every weekend is just a usual day out for me. I want to see an NBA game in the flesh, I think it would be unreal.

Would Yosemite be a day trip?

I play rugby union for my college- love the game so much, wish I would've discovered it sooner.
The following in the states for rugby is growing- and it will only get bigger because 7s is going to be in the Olympics
Not much experience with league, but I do know that Benji Marshall is amazing.
And a teammate of mine is now playing league in AU. He's encouraging me to get into league; tells me I could be joining him out there

You'd enjoy a basketball game, but I think an even better idea would be hockey
Knowing nothing about the game- I've thoroughly enjoyed hockey live. And I've never heard any different from other people new to the game
And the atmosphere is a lot like a rugby match

And as far as different places to visit, it really depends on what you're into and what you're looking to do
I would recommend stops in San Fransisco (that's where I'm from). SF is very similar to Seattle
Seattle- the legendary Pike Place Market, Art Museums, and other stuff like that. Seattle is a chill place- great views, awesome for photographs- and all of Washington in general
Los Angeles. See a hockey game (Los Angeles Kings) or a basketball game (Los Angeles Clippers). Great place to shop, eat, "fun night out in the city" type of place
Yosemite- as someone already said, a day trip is great, but a night or two would be ideal. They have campgrounds, cabins, or hotels to lodge in- lots of options depending on how nature-y you want to get

That's a pretty solid tour of the West Coast, if you ask me
The only way to top it off would be a trip to the Grand Canyon, in Arizona
It's an 8 hour drive (East) from LA, so driving might not be the best option. Not sure about the small plane thing- I'm sure you could catch a flight with a major airline

Last suggestion!
Go skydiving! Unbeatable views of the water. Top experience in my life
I did it in Santa Barbara (3 hour drive- North of LA)

 

[therealdealau]

Originally Posted by dyzzle

Originally Posted by therealdealau

Would Yosemite be a day trip?

You should add Las vegas to your trip, it's only 3-4 hours away from LA. Then from there you can drive to Yosemite it's like a 7 hour drive. With 2 months, I think it's worth it. Are you over 25? You can easily rent a car in Vegas, drive to Yosemite, stay for a night then drive back to Vegas then fly out to wherever you wanna go next.

That sounds perfect man. How long would you recommend to be in Vegas for? I dont mind a bit of gambling

How are the roads and the drive to Vegas? I'll be 24 when I go, will I still be able to rent a car easily?

 

[sk8eddunks]

If someone greets you with, "Wud up BLOOD!?" you reply, "Nothing, Cuz!"

 

[therealdealau]

Originally Posted by dyzzle

Originally Posted by therealdealau

Originally Posted by dyzzle

what else other than sports are you guys into? theme parks? food? i can tell you what's good in Cali

I guess we are into everything. We love the outdoors, we love good food - I am huge into Steak. We want to visit all the landmarks we can and just experience America to the fullest. Theme parks would definitely be up there, we do not have many in Australia. Tell me about Cali mate, what are the cities that we must visit?

For parks - Disneyland, Universal Studios, Six Flags. If you guys stay in LA, they would all be relatively close to each other.
Watch the Lakers play

(expect tickets to be about $200-400 right now), Walk around hollywood, shop a little.
You can drive to San Diego from LA (2-3 hours), I suggest going to La Joya. Eat at Phil's BBQ 

Have some In-N-Out, Roscoes Chicken and Waffles, Korean BBQ

(not sure if you guys have that in Australia but it should be something new to you i guess)

Awesome mate these are the replies I was hoping I would get. Are all these parks in Cali? What about the one in Orlando? Definitely checking out the Lakers, I am a Laker fan and hope to see Kobe Bryant play before he retires.$200-400 decent seats? Appreciate the reply mate.

 

[bandit country]

Flying is definitely viable and generally cheaper than rail. I flew up to Boston recently, for a little over $100 round trip. Took 45 minutes from JFK to Logan.

In addition to the stuff you mentioned,
I loved The Intrepid as a kid. It's a decommissioned aircraft carrier in the Hudson river. It's an airforce museum now.
 hit Chinatown,
 hit Soho,
Little Italy is losing ground, but it's still worth a tumble.
Doubt you're into shopping, but your girl might like Macy's on 34th. It's right by the Empire State building.
The Highline is a former elevated train remade into a park.
Gracie Mansion (where the mayor lives) is in a nice park, with a great walk on the east river.
You get a nice view of Queens/Roosevelt Island. You could ride the tram to Roosevelt Island.
You can get great views walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. If you like steak, there are several land marks throughout the city.
Keens is my favorite, but Peter Lugers is great if you want to go to Brooklyn. It's just across the east river. The Old Homestead is the oldest steak joint in the city.
The Village is worth checking out.
The Central Park Zoo is small, but pretty cool.
 If you feel like going up to the Bronx, Arthur Ave is a must for Italian chomp and the Bronx Zoo/Botanical Gardens are right over there as well. Not too difficult to get to from Manhattan. I love the Bronx Zoo. I realize this is disjointed, but I'm crying over baseball while brainstorming.
L&B Spumoni Gardens is excellent pizza, but it's pretty deep into Brooklyn. Coney Island is definitely worth seeing if you're going out to Brooklyn. You don't ever need to leave Manhattan, but there's plenty of great stuff to do in the other boroughs.

 

[therealdealau]

Originally Posted by Sk8edDunks

If someone greets you with, "Wud up BLOOD!?" you reply, "Nothing, Cuz!"

Would "G'day mate, not doing much cobba just lookin for some tucker." be a decent reply?

 

[therealdealau]

Originally Posted by Adrian1221

Originally Posted by therealdealau

Originally Posted by Adrian1221

Born and raised in san diego, if you ever head this direction pm me ill give you ideas of where you wanna go

I have heard nothing but great things from mates that have been there. What words would you use to describe San Diego, is it more on the chilled/relaxing side? Thank you for your offer, I'll definitely be pming you if we decide on heading to SD. I like the chargers!

Its friendly and has great scenery. There is a lot to do and a lot to see. Very close if you want to take a detour and go south of the border and have a good time for cheap. However, every single time we get people from out of town they describe the weather as "perfect". However, since you are from australia im sure it would be the norm for you 

Sounds like a must do. What is the weather like around April/May.

 

[therealdealau]

Originally Posted by calikev34

I play rugby union for my college- love the game so much, wish I would've discovered it sooner.
The following in the states for rugby is growing- and it will only get bigger because 7s is going to be in the Olympics
Not much experience with league, but I do know that Benji Marshall is amazing.
And a teammate of mine is now playing league in AU. He's encouraging me to get into league; tells me I could be joining him out there

You'd enjoy a basketball game, but I think an even better idea would be hockey
Knowing nothing about the game- I've thoroughly enjoyed hockey live. And I've never heard any different from other people new to the game
And the atmosphere is a lot like a rugby match

And as far as different places to visit, it really depends on what you're into and what you're looking to do
I would recommend stops in San Fransisco (that's where I'm from). SF is very similar to Seattle
Seattle- the legendary Pike Place Market, Art Museums, and other stuff like that. Seattle is a chill place- great views, awesome for photographs- and all of Washington in general
Los Angeles. See a hockey game (Los Angeles Kings) or a basketball game (Los Angeles Clippers). Great place to shop, eat, "fun night out in the city" type of place
Yosemite- as someone already said, a day trip is great, but a night or two would be ideal. They have campgrounds, cabins, or hotels to lodge in- lots of options depending on how nature-y you want to get

That's a pretty solid tour of the West Coast, if you ask me
The only way to top it off would be a trip to the Grand Canyon, in Arizona
It's an 8 hour drive (East) from LA, so driving might not be the best option. Not sure about the small plane thing- I'm sure you could catch a flight with a major airline

Last suggestion!
Go skydiving! Unbeatable views of the water. Top experience in my life
I did it in Santa Barbara (3 hour drive- North of LA)

Mate I would definitely look at getting into League, an excellent sport and style of Rugby. I enjoy it more because it is definitely more active and the kicking/territory game is not used as much. The key diffrence is you only get 5 phases before you have to turn the ball over. Which encourages more aggressive and faster style of play. It is huge in Australia and is probably the second biggest sport here after AFL and it is not far behind at all. Benji Marshall is great, having a rough season at the moment. Check out some clips of "Billy Slater" probably the best fullback to play league, he's dominating right now. You should definitely get into League and make the trip, it would be an experience of a life time. Does he play NRL? What position do you play in Union? I can hook you up with a few links to stream NRL games live if you want to watch a game sometime pm me.

Sport in LA seems to be on the rise with the competitive clippers/lakers and now the Kings who are dominating. I'd love to check out a Hockey game. What about Baseball is that enjoyable? I know nothing about Baseball/Hockey. Everything you mentioned about the West Coast sounds perfect, I have written it all down thank you mate I appreciate it. Is the weather on the West Coast good year round?

 

[therealdealau]

Originally Posted by Bandit Country

Flying is definitely viable and generally cheaper than rail. I flew up to Boston recently, for a little over $100 round trip. Took 45 minutes from JFK to Logan.

In addition to the stuff you mentioned,
I loved The Intrepid as a kid. It's a decommissioned aircraft carrier in the Hudson river. It's an airforce museum now.
 hit Chinatown,
 hit Soho,
Little Italy is losing ground, but it's still worth a tumble.
Doubt you're into shopping, but your girl might like Macy's on 34th. It's right by the Empire State building.
The Highline is a former elevated train remade into a park.
Gracie Mansion (where the mayor lives) is in a nice park, with a great walk on the east river.
You get a nice view of Queens/Roosevelt Island. You could ride the tram to Roosevelt Island.
You can get great views walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. If you like steak, there are several land marks throughout the city.
Keens is my favorite, but Peter Lugers is great if you want to go to Brooklyn. It's just across the east river. The Old Homestead is the oldest steak joint in the city.
The Village is worth checking out.
The Central Park Zoo is small, but pretty cool.
 If you feel like going up to the Bronx, Arthur Ave is a must for Italian chomp and the Bronx Zoo/Botanical Gardens are right over there as well. Not too difficult to get to from Manhattan. I love the Bronx Zoo. I realize this is disjointed, but I'm crying over baseball while brainstorming.
L&B Spumoni Gardens is excellent pizza, but it's pretty deep into Brooklyn. Coney Island is definitely worth seeing if you're going out to Brooklyn. You don't ever need to leave Manhattan, but there's plenty of great stuff to do in the other boroughs.

Wow, awesome reply. I can't thank you enough man. As far as accommodation is concerned what would be the best/most central to everything  be? Do you support the Knicks? Are the games good?

 

[calikev34]

I second a stop in San Diego
The SD Zoo is regarded by most as the best in the country
And La Jolla is one the the most beautiful beaches I've ever been to

If it's not Cali you're in, then it should be New York, New Orleans, DC, Las Vegas, Arizona or Utah

Cheers

 

[bandit country]

I don't like basketball, but the atmosphere at the Garden is incredible and you should definitely try to get to a Rangers or Knicks game. I can't speak much for hotels, but like I said, everything you'd want to see in Manhattan is accessible by cab or subway, so location isn't SUPER important. They'll probably try to bang you over the head when it comes to prices for a trendy neighborhood and I'd avoid staying near TImes Square just because it's insanely packed every second of every day and you won't want to deal with that $+*+ after a long day on your feet. Even most of the places I mentioned in Brooklyn are close to the river (Not Coney or L&B)

 

[sk8eddunks]

Originally Posted by therealdealau

Originally Posted by Sk8edDunks

If someone greets you with, "Wud up BLOOD!?" you reply, "Nothing, Cuz!"

Would "G'day mate, not doing much cobba just lookin for some tucker." be a decent reply?

I'm pretty sure that will just get you robbed...

 

[shahin1189]

Hey, Thanks a lot for the Info! I am definitely more excited about making the Australia trip now, and I hear the outbacks are also a must see. So the trip would probably also have to be rather longer than shorter. But yes, it seems from my experience that Australian people are certainly very social, and enjoy meeting new people, which I like.
But to your question, Niagara Falls is about a 8 hour drive west of NYC, and 2 hours from Toronto, so if you are able to criss cross boarders, you might as well check out parts of Canada such as their Niagara Falls and Toronto, maybe even Montreal if you are in the New England area. Buffalo is the metropolitan area where Niagara Falls is, and they have a nice mall, but the must see is certainly the Falls, which people come from all over the world to see, but from the Canadia side you get a much nicer view, and their tourist area(Clifton Hill) is much livelier than the american side, where there are few people. There is also a nice small town called Niagara on the Lake, that would be nice to stroll around on the Canadian side. I used to live in Buffalo, so I've been to Canada plenty of times.
Now I live in DC, and I feel like it is a very underrated city. It's very clean, and it's unique in the fact that there are no skycraper buildings, but it has several very lively urban areas, that you could explore. It's only a 4 hour drive at most from NYC and you can even take the bus for cheap from NYC to DC and back, so I would certainly recommend visiting DC. After all, this is where all the Presidents live, and all the foreign ambassadors as well. There are plenty of Monuments to see. Feel free to hit me up, if you have any more questions!

 

[black chiney]

Miami is dope.
Check out Overtown and Opa-Locka if you come here.

 

[therealdealau]

Originally Posted by black chiney

Miami is dope.
Check out Overtown and Opa-Locka if you come here.

Keen for Miami, what is the weather like in April/May? Would staying on South Beach be the way to go?

 

[therealdealau]

Originally Posted by calikev34

I second a stop in San Diego
The SD Zoo is regarded by most as the best in the country
And La Jolla is one the the most beautiful beaches I've ever been to

If it's not Cali you're in, then it should be New York, New Orleans, DC, Las Vegas, Arizona or Utah

Cheers

Thanks mate I think SD is locked in now. I am strongly considering DC, have you been? What about Miami/Orlando?