I can't discern from your paragraph if you mean to travel to Boston on the 25th or fly home on the 25th.

But in either case, if you can, avoid traveling on Sunday, 25 November. I doubt International flights will be an issue but ***all*** domestic travel will be a total madhouse with people headed home after the Tgiving holiday. Even if you can get a seat on the Bolt bus, the highways will be jammed. Lines at the airport for everything from the toilet to security will be long. An extra day will make a big difference.

Sounds like a fun trip. NO and GC are very different places!

Sounds like a nice mix of cities. I would prefer Grand Canyon to NO, but I'm a real GC fan. If you can go back to NY on Saturday instead of Sunday you might be better off and if you go by train you will avoid traffic and/or weather problems on the road between Boston and NY.

And yes, air travel within the US is particularly high $$ around the Thanksgiving holiday, so if you can avoid flying from the weekend before Thanksgiving through the weekend after, it'll cost you less.

Also, there is only one non-stop flight from San Francisco to New Orleans. It leaves mid-day and arrives early evening. If you don't make that one, you'll have to change planes somewhere, often Dallas, but regardless, you're going to lose a day getting there, so take that into account in making your plans.

Travel from several days before, until several days after Thanksgiving is expensive and crowded - BUT travel ON Thanksgiving is often much less expensive and less crowded. So you could look into that.

I would also consider cutting one of your locations - except for NY you are moving every three days so a lot of travel for what is essentially two days in each location. I'd eliminate any one and add the days to the others.

You probably don't want to land in New Orleans on Halloween (Oct 31st).

Good points to take into consideration. Thanks so much.

I would think November would be more pleasant in New Orleans than at the Grand Canyon. If you book round trip now, maybe you could get a decent fare from Boston and avoid going back to NYC.

The Sunday after thanksgiving may be the worst travel day of the year. Kids are all going back to school, their families are all taking them to airports (so roads are mobbed) and a ton of people who went away for the weekend - to visit family or whatever - will be coming back. I would fly/travel on any day but that one.

As for the itinerary - I would bag New Orleans and Philadelphia and do DC instead. the others are certainly worthy of visits - but IMHO DC has WAY more to see and do.

In terms of weather you should be OK - we usually don't get much snow before Thanksgiving (although it is possible) but do be prepared for chilly and possibly rainy everywhere.

What do you like to do? That may help us guide you. My first thought was like nytraveler...bag NO and Philly.

nelsonian, no real suggestions for you but I am so happy you may be coming here and will be able to see your daughter and SIL. I know you have waited a long time for this visit.

Have been to DC nytraveller, admittedly only been to a few places. My DH and me to a lesser extent is into jazz, plays in a big band and would like to see New Orleans. We could do Philadelphia in a day trip from NYC maybe.

I would not bag New Orleans. That is quite a good time to visit since the dreadful summer heat is past but it will not be cold.

I do agree with not traveling anywhere on Thanksgiving weekend. It is the single busiest travel time of the year, much more than Christmas, and airlines, trains and buses will all be mobbed. NYC will be packed with people for the Macy's parade.

On the other hand, leaving NY for Boston on Thanksgiving day itself should not be crowded, and the city will be very pleasant on the Friday-Monday as everything should be open and all the students will be gone.

How about this? Add a bit of time to your San Francisco trip. It's a lovely city and you could add in Napa Valley for some wine tastings.

Then do New Orleans...if you are jazz lovers, then go!!

For your Maryland portion, stay at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore. Or you could do Annapolis.

Skip Philly. I've been numerous times (family) and I'm just not a fan. Use these Philly days to add to your San Fran portion.

Spend your 2 weeks in NYC.

Then visit Boston. You won't need a car in Boston. Fly out on Thanksgiving Day. The airport will be very quiet....at least the domestic portion.

Whatever you do - I think the best advice is check very carefully your domestic/US travel connections during the Thanksgiving period. IMO you are well advised to make any connection you have to on the Sat after Thanksgiving, rather than waiting until the next day/Sunday to try and travel.

I love the Grand Canyon - even if you only got there for a day. You could fly to say Phoenix - rent a car and zip up there - and then back to Phoenix and fly on to NO, whatever.

And Philly is a quick trip from NYC (an hour or so?) - so if you want to see it - and at least make a visit to the famed Liberty Bell and corresponding history - and have a Philly Cheese Steak - you could take the train over in the morning, tour around and be back in NYC that evening.

I'm with Rizzo mostly. Leave out Philly and add those days to your choice. I think the GC will be hard to get to via air (car rental--OR you could probably get a tour from Las Vegas, which could "get you there" pretty easily. It IS a wonder of the world for sure.
I think it sounds like a terrific trip!!
I agree that travel ON T'giving itself (and I think often the day after) will be very quiet--and very reasonable, if that becomes a part of your plan.

In Boston, check out one of these food tours.

http://www.bostonfoodtours.com/

They are supposed to be excellent. Need to get my parents to take the kids for a day so hubby and I can enjoy it!

Not sure if the Pops will have started their holiday concert series yet, but if they have, try to go.

The absolute worst travel day of the year in the US is the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. The Sunday of that weekend is about #2 on that list. Figure out how to avoid that.

And consider not traveling on Thanksgiving itself - the New York to Boston corridor is heavily populated and will have ton(ne)s of people traveling to the various areas along I-95 or on the roads from Boston to Hartford to NYC. Expect Amtrak service to be slow.

Thanks for all your views, I am taking it all in. We have spent a few days in San Francisco on our last trip, did Alcatraz, Muir Woods, Coit Tower, riding the cable-car. street cars etc. I know there is a lot more to see but there is a lot of the remainder of the US to see also!!!

Rizzo we have friends who live in Columbia Maryland and stayed with them last time. We went to the Inner Harbor, Annapolis, the historic place in West Virginaia, Washington DC etc.

It seems like we are covering old ground but we didn't know our DD was going to end up living in NYC when we did our previous trip in 2007!!!

Travelling by air on Thanksgiving day might be a good idea. I wonder if we should do the reverse, start at Boston, and work our way round to New Orleans. Hmmm!!!

I have actually traveled both ON Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day here in the US and it was WONDERFUL in terms of minimal other travelers.

However, book your travel early and do not necessarily expect to see a big drop in fares for that particular day. Fares for the whole period (Thanksgiving) will be high.

Are you planning to use some sort of "budget" airline within the US when you do fly?

I was going to use SouthWest airlines Dukey, we used them last time. Are there better/cheaper options?

<<You probably don't want to land in New Orleans on Halloween (Oct 31st).>>

Uh.......why would that be a problem?

JetBlue and virgin America can have great prices too. Try kayak,com to get a baseline idea for pricing, but not all airlines participate

I was going to ask that too Grcxx3. I googled it last night and there were a couple of people murdered in the festivities last year, so maybe things get a bit wild, or is that just sensationalist reporting?

Actually, there are many many reasons (other than the Liberty Bell and cheesesteaks) to spend a few days in Philadelphia: it's a very walkable city with eclectic treasures, fairly reasonable prices, and great food. Just a few links to get you started:

My favorite trip report about Philadelphia ever:
http://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/philly-pfriends-pfood-an-overly-verbose-trip-report.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/walking-and-mass-transit-in-philadelphia.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/fall-hiking-in-the-largest-urban-park-philadelphias-fairmount-park.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/and-nowthe-100-best-things-to-eat-in-philadelphia.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/egg-rolls-at-930-in-the-morning.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/magic-gardens-and-flower-shows-traveling-in-my-own-city-philadelphia.cfm

Perhaps your DD would even like to join you for a bit:
http://www.phillyjazz.org/

Thanks Amy, I think my DD will do a couple of trips with us especially if there is jazz involved!!

nelsonian - Halloween, like any other holiday/festival, brings out it's share of idiots. Here is an article about last year's shooting:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/01/us-crime-halloween-neworleans-idUSTRE7A077Q20111101

Note: The first shooting took place on Bourbon St "early on Tuesday" (which was actually Nov 1) and the other shooting was an hour later on Canal St. So, unless you plan on partying until the early hours of the morning and in places you shouldn't even be in the early morning hours......I don't really see a problem.

If you have never been to Las Vegas - I think you are really missing an "experience", plus - it is easy to get to the Grand Canyon from there - either in a Helicopter or on a one day tour. There are also plenty of flights in and out of Vegas. And we use Southwest all the time. Probably consistently the best bang for the buck, on time, plenty of connections, friendly employees - and hey - "your bags fly free".

As for someone getting shot in the wee hours in New Orleans - that can happen anywhere. Best to be soundly snoring in your hotel in the wee hours.

And I am going to read the links Amy supplied about Philly. I think that city gets overshadowed being so close to NYC and also not that far from DC, etc. It 's definitely worth at least a short visit.

I've been checking hotels in Boston for a friend's visit in October or November and prices are high in October but very low for Thanksgiving so bear that in mind if you switch the order for your trip.

Book the bolt bus as far ahead as possible and if you avoid weekend travel you will get better prices.

We regularly travel on and around Thanksgiving and I think it's worse to be on the roads rather than at the airport. Wednesday (the day before) is the worse day at the airport.... but if you enjoy a zoo atmosphere or don't mind being bumped then go for it!

I'm going to read those Philly reports too. We go at lease once per year and I'd love some ideas.

I do enjoy a pork sandwich at DiNics at Reading Terminal Market. And Longwood Gardens is nice to visit as well.

I agree with Tomsd that Vegas is fun and everyone should check it out at least once.

Utah is a wonderful state to check out some time too...great National Parks!!

I agree, re. New Orleans. Early November is the best weather New Orleans has - it's the perfect time of year to visit.

Also consider more time in San Francisco - even if it means cutting elsewhere. It deserves 4 or 5 days. My favorite American city by far.

Otherwise your original plan looks damn good.

Your suggestion of switching the order and doing NYC in October and then winding your way down to New Orleans would be a better idea as the weather is better in the Northeast in October than November, the weather in New Orleans is spectacular in either month. There are very few tourists from out of state in New Orleans during Thanksgiving, most of the tourists are intra-state tourists attending the Bayou Classic, so leaving out of New Orleans during Thanksgiving will be a breeze. Just don't do it the Wednesday or Sunday.

Thinking about it, one of the reasons for going to NYC was to see the Christmas lights etc which won't be up until towards the end of the month, so will stick with the original plan. However DD has now complicated the issue saying we can take you to Boston from NYC for a few days and then you can fly out of NYC instead of Boston. Hmm her DH is not into touristy things so don't think they will want to stay for three days. If he can go listen to jazz music it could be different!!! Will keep thinking about it.

Thanks for your ideas.

Just keep in mind around the holidays, starting Thanksgiving, the Northeast is flooded with tourists dreaming of a Norman Rockwell Christmas. That means airports are over crowded and the experience is not nice. Leaving out of New Orleans at Thanksgiving will be a breeze in comparison. Just trying to maximize your experience.

Consider getting a 15 day Amtrak USA Railpass. Make the flight from San Francisco to New Orleans.
From NO take the Amtrak Crescent to BWI and rent a car for your visit to Columbia MD. Get back on the train into NYC and then to Boston. You can take the train back to Chicago or even back to San Francisco for your flight home.
amtrak.com I have traveled many miles on various rail passes.

Just found that the Crescent does not stop at BWI. You have to get off in Baltimore to rent the car for Columbia. The USA Rail Pass is $429 for an 8 segment 15 day Pass. Click on Deals.

I need to visit this forum more often

November may or may not be good for Grand Canyon. I would be afraid of bad weather.

Also, T-giving w/end is bad for travel, the busiest time at the airports.

And when in SF make time for a GTG or we'll never forgive you

Dayenu the airfares have been booked so it is all go. We are flying into San Francisco 30th Oct leaving on the 2nd Nov for New Orleans. A GTG would be perfect while we were there.

Flying out of New Orleans the 6th Nov to New York although those flights haven't been booked yet waiting for SouthWest airlines to release fares. Flying out of NYC on the 26th Nov 2012 so will be there 20 days but will do a couple of trips from there with my DD and SIL.

When doing your research on flights from NOL to NYC compare the flights with BWI or Newark (EWR). You may do better flying to one of those and renting a car. Each of these airports has an Amtrak station attached to it.