"At the bottom of State Street and one block over toward the lake is the Memorial Student Union. Here you can spend an evening drinking beer on the outdoor terrace overlooking the lake. You will love the atmosphere there, and it will be thronged with students and locals alike. A live band plays for free on the weekends, too. Enjoy your trip!"

Wow that brings back memories. I didn't go to UW, but visited for a few days and remember that patio and the view, and the slight smell of spilled beer. Made me want to go back to school!

Yes, the smell of beer is ever-present!

At that time of year I think I would spend more time in Southern Maine, Cape Cod etc or NH lakes areas....but maybe you have seen that part of the U.S. already.

You won't want a car when you're in San Francisco, but you can rent one in downtown San Fran when you are ready to leave. Hertz is about $280US for a 7 day rental with return to Las Vegas, everything except fuel (and "2nd driver fee...not charged in California) is included. In the midwest and in Boston it looks closer to $400 to rent for one week with return to a different city.

Book at Hertz.com, note at the top right that you are UK, and use Discount code 62455 and coupon code 181344. You do have to reserve in advance to get the best rates, they may double closer to pick up time or being much higher as last-minute walk-up bookings.

http://www.hertz.com/rentacar/q-12808263/save-up-to-$25-a-day-if-you-re-20-24-years-old-special-offer

...note that other car rental companies may look like they are less expensive on first check, but check to be sure that under-age-24 driver fee has been figured in as well as collision coverage and liability.

And be sure you have indicated you are non-citizens. On another board a frequent traveler from Britain often indicates he is required to pay more for insurance, etc. I don't know the particulars, but just thought I would mention it.

I think that everyone thinks that their part of the country is the "real america". I can argue that the Boston to DC corridor is much "realer" since there are so many more people here.

However, if you've done the east coast in depth and want to visit the midwest - more power to you. Just not what I would reco.

For Brits it looks like one-way car hires are often the same price as returns, so consider not backtracking back to Chicago. You might want to find a city with good fares to Boston or better yet Manchester New Hampshire. How about driving down to Nashville for a couple of days?

One thing to note is that most midwest cities will not have availability of hostel-type accomodation like you find in San Fran, Los Angeles and New York.

I strongly recommend that at this point you start a new thread specifically for the California portion of your trip. You will get an entirely different climate of responses (more helpful) than you did for the Midwest. I think that the appellation "Flyover Country" is very unfortunate and a disservice to the traveler.

Regarding your trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles, this is where a car is desirable if you wish to take the scenic route along the coast on Hwy 1.

Re: Forums and Blogs: Try this for a start.

http://www.fodors.com/search/results...2F2013&author=

Once again massive thanks for all the positive responses :)

- clarkgrisworld I will check out the Hertz website now!

When I was exactly your age I rode a bicycle from New York to San Francisco. I was too dumb to realize the implication of the prevailing westerly wind.

Nevertheless, some of the most memorable and meaningful events happened in the "flyover" states: Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, eastern South Dakota. I agree with nytraveler and it's not necessarily what I recommend for a visit to the USA, considering what else we have. On the other hand you guys will likely have an unexpectedly great time in that part of the country. There's beauty to be found everywhere.

Have a great trip and welcome to America.

OK, well, I've been having some chuckles out of all of our responses here; it's time to step up just a bit.

brichardson1991 - Seems nobody in my circle of friends/family believe me, but one of the more worthwhile museums I have visited is in Kansas City. By all means, please, don't miss the National World War I Museum/Liberty Memorial.

Here is the link: http://theworldwar.org/

There are a number of wonderful places to get bbq - are you interested? Lots of potential arguments here, so withholding recommendations for that party.

Now let's turn our attention to the riverboat traffic that shaped this country. Kansas City has a rich history, and a wonderful museum has been built around the Steamboat Arabia, which sank and was excavated in recent years, like a time capsule. It's right down by the downtown farmers market:

http://www.1856.com/

And speaking of the farmer's market - seems all the railroads came through this point. This is worth a visit:

http://www.kcrivermarket.com/

So glad to hear you are interested in delving into more than just the more popular tourist destinations. That's often where we find the most rewarding vacations. Enjoy.

If you want to get a taste of the real America, I recommend the following:

1. Check out the festivals that will be taking place while you are here. State tourism office websites should have information on them.

Illinois - http://www.enjoyillinois.com/Events

Wisconsin - http://www.travelwisconsin.com/events

Minnesota - http://www.exploreminnesota.com/events/index.aspx

Iowa - http://www.traveliowa.com/calendar?navid=5&pnavid=0

Missouri - http://www.visitmo.com/events.aspx

Kansas - http://www.travelks.com/calendar-of-events/


2. Visit churches on at least a couple of Sundays. It means you can't stay out at the clubs all Saturday night, but keep in mind that the US has one of the highest rates of attendance at religious services in the Western world, and you can't really understand the country apart from that. Visit a suburban "megachurch" and an inner city church and a small-town church to cover the spectrum. You might even get invited to lunch afterward.


3. Visit a senior citizens' center and talk to the people there about what life was like in the US when they were your age and their opinion of it now. Visit an American Legion or Veterans of Foreign Wars hall and see if you can find men (and maybe women) who served in the armed forces in Europe during World War II and hear the memories of some Yanks who experienced it.


4. Tour one of the state capitol buildings to get a feel for how the American system of government works (and to sense the pride that Americans take in their states). Madison is the capital of Wisconsin, so that one would be easy. I'm not sure what the attraction of Cedar Rapids is, but Iowa's capital Des Moines is between there and Kansas City. Jefferson CIty, Missouri, is between KC and St. Louis, and Springfield, Illinois, is between StL and Chicago.


Like I said, these will all give you a window into the culture that visiting major tourist attractions won't.

You're really all over the place with your itinerary. If you're flying into Chicago, head west from there and then go to Boston and fly home, rather than zigzag across the country.
For the Midwest portion of the trip, you could easily spend a week in Chicago and should. Don't bother with Cedar Rapids, Columbus, Cincinnati, etc. Milwaukee is a nice place to spend a weekend if you live within a few hours' drive. It's a decent city, but for someone coming from Europe, I would not put it anywhere near the top of the list. Same goes for St. Louis and Kansas City -- fine cities with stuff worth seeing but not at the top of any must-see lists. Instead of renting a car in Chicago, you could, for example, rent one instead in Vegas and drive to the Grand Canyon and Southern California. Or maybe, you fly from Chicago to Seattle or Portland and make your way down the West Coast before flying east and back home.

sludick: I've done those two things and you are absolutely correct. I'm not a big history buff but the WW 1 museum was excellent and the Steamboat is neat.

Regarding state capitols, though not on the itinerary (yet) Lincoln Nebraska has a great capital bldg. Perhaps more on the linear itinerary: Topeka, Kansas capital building under major renovation, but eventually should be worth a visit again (it may still be worthwhile on the inside).

First, I'll apologize--you are trying to put together an interesting trip to middle America.
I have spent a good amount of time driving in some of your area of interest. Kansas City is of course on the border of Missouri and Kansas. Iowa (Cedar Rapids) is above Missouri.
Your route will be circuitous to say the least.
Actually Minneapolis is a wonderful city. And Minesota an interesting state. I might suggest a little circuit up into Wisconsin and Minnesota rather than Missouri and Iowa. You could even see the headwaters of the mighty Mississippi, for example.
As I did say in an earlier post, there is a lot of things in all parts of the US that can be "exotic" to a foreign traveler that we find very ordinary--just as we find in Europe.
I know he has said he spent time in New England--maybe where towns are closer together, much like England. However, I will point out that in our Midwest farm land, towns are far apart and distances stretched out. It is a full (and boring) 4+ hour drive from ST. Louis to KC.

Thank you for all of your help guys :)

We fly out to Chicago on Mon 22nd July and are looking to be in Boston to be collected by our 'Adopted family' on Monday 5th August to spend 3/4 nights with them in New Hampshire. So if anybody has any further suggestions on how we should spend them 2 weeks please do :) Initially we were thinking 2 weeks in the mid-west but if people feel we should spend a week there and then a week in the East please offer suggestions as long as it involves ending up in Boston on Monday 5th August :)

After our 3/4 day 'chill out' (the family have a lake house) we will then be back to 'travel mode' on the Thursday/ Friday (our friend flys out to Boston on the Friday 9th so we must be there to meet him). We plan on being in San Fran by Monday 12th Aug so feel free on suggesting how we should spend that weekend (maybe go NYC).

Also if anyone has any 'hidden gems' they suggest visiting in Cali please let me know :). The general idea we have is to spend 3/4 days in San Fran/ San Jose before getting a bus down to LA on the Friday. We will then spend the weekend in LA before hiring a car on the Sunday/Monday to explore Cali for a week. Where should we visit??? Orange County? Palm Springs? San Diego?

Please be as critical of this plan as long as it is constructive :)

So many places to visit in California - WOW!

For sure Monterey and Big Sur- and the 17 mile drive - beautiful coastal drive - However these places are fairly close to SFO and San Jose so you will miss them if you only have 3/4 of a day in the area. Maybe you should rent the car in San Francisco and drive to LA

San Diego is one of my favorite places- but make sure you visit some of the coastal towns north of SD- La Jolla, Carlsbad, Solana Beach, Encinitas. You can take Amtrak train to all of these except La Jolla.

Sweet :) Will research all of these places and look into the car rental as well :)

Although our flight is booked from Vegas for 26th August we can always stay longer if we still have the funds!

I really would cut your time in the Midwest and do it east or west as you like. Once you see the west coast around SF, you are going to be wowed. I HOPE you will go to Yosemite. The National Parks of the Us are unrivalled in the WORLD, and Yosemite is a world treasure. It ain't all bars, guys--and that is also fine!!

Here is a suggested driving itinerary for a couple of days on the California coast- but you would be doing in reverse, starting in Monterey.

http://byways.org/explore/byways/2301/itinerary/63350

Maybe try your hand at kayaking Monterey Bay- fun and easy- you will hopefully see sea otters and sea lions, seals. Fun way to spend a couple of hours