Aussie family heading to the US for the first time
 

Hi All,

We are currently planning a Christmas holiday to the US. The trip will be my wife and I, and our two teenage daughters (16 and 14) first time. I have been working with the travel agent and have come up with this itinerary. Leaving Australia 16 Dec.

4 nights San Fransisco staying at Fishermans Wharf. (Fly to Las Vegas)
3 nights Vegas (fly to NYC)
7 nights NYC ( including Christmas) (hire car for the rest of the trip) (drive to Philly to see friends NYE here).
2 nights Philly.

Now the plan is to drive to Charleston NC. We have allowed 3 nights to get there. Is this too long. What should we see on the way.

We then have 3 nights in Charleston. Then plan to drive to Nashville. We have allowed a 1 night stop over to Nashville.

We have planned 2 nights in Nashville. Then drive to Memphis for two nights.

We then drive to New Orleans for 4 nights.

Any suggestions of things to see and tips for itinerary will be greatly appreciated.

Cheers
Glen

There's no "Charleston" in North Carolina - do you mean Charlotte, NC or perhaps Charleston, South Carolina?

Sorry it late here down under at the moment. Should have said SC.

Sounds like an awesome trip.

In addition to all the typical strip sites in Vegas, be sure to go to the old downtown area and see the free overhead Freemont Street Experience. There's also a cool Mob Museum downtown, too, if that is of interest. Taking a tour of Hoover Dam would be interesting and fun, too. Rental cars are cheap in Vegas and parking is free at the casino hotels, where you can usually valet park for the price of a couple of dollars in tip money.

Just a couple of notes.

You will be in areas that have full winter and others that have a milder winter - so you need to have real winer clothes (heavy down or wool coats, snowproof booties with non-skid soles and lots of items to layer depending on how cold it gets: sweaters, long sleeve tops and tees and dance tight to put under lighter weight pants (unless you will be buying cords or wool). And everyone needs a warm scarf, hat and gloves.

Weather will get gradually warmer as you head south but expect full winter in PA, DC and even VA and further south, esp if in the mountains. Bad weather is not so bad in the north since the cities are prepared - but the 3-4" of snow that are ignored in NYC can stop all transit in places further south which have no ability to deal with snow or even ice - and roads can be closed for days.

Be aware that driving in winter weather is a very different skill, so if you do run into bad weather find a place to hole up until the worst of the snow is removed. And whatever you do - slow down and drive safely (keeping a longer distance from cars in front, don't rev the engine if stuck in snow and be sure the car has proper winter equipment: snow shovel, windshield scraper, long-handled snow bursh and that you have water and blankets in the car in case you get stuck. Listen to a weather station regularly to get local condtiions.

I just don't understand the appeal of Las Vegas to foreign visitors. I see it as a moth & flame attraction. What are your reasons for wanting three days there? Gambling? Shows? Your children (being under 21) may not even be allowed in the casinos.


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Vic's travels: http://my.flightmemory.com/vogilvie

I would skip Las Vegas unless you have a real interest in the shows, gambling, glitter. Lots of people do - so not a problem keeping it, although as mentioned above be advised that your daughters will not even be allowed into casinos and some bars/shows. Instead I would fly SF - NYC.

Substitute those 3 days with Washington, DC. Good stopping point en route to Charleston and other southern cities.

Have you priced the 1-way car rental? It might be very costly. Another option would be to take Amtrak train NYC-Philadephia and then to DC. Rent car there for driving the remainder of the trip. Sometimes car rental companies work in "zones" and it might be cheaper to do a 1-way rental DC-New Orleans than NYC-New Orleans.

Prepare for winter delays. While snow is less likely in Dec, even a little snow or freezing anything makes DC and cities south go insane for a day or so.

<<Prepare for winter delays. While snow is less likely in Dec, even a little snow or freezing anything makes DC and cities south go insane for a day or so.>>

And makes flying into NYC a right PITA. The DC-Boston area is the most congested in the country for flights, and both EWR and LGA have crap on-time records in winter.

I agree with the recommendation to skip LV.
We spent almost a week divided between Memphis and Nashville, so you could add days there.

The Anti Vegas brigade are similar to the anti-Disney folks, they just don't get the attraction.

Sure it is not everyone's cup of tea . . . but MILLIONS of Americans and foreign visitors go there every year.

I don't know why you included Las Vegas -- but if you really want to see it, there is <u>absolutely</u> nothing wrong (or weird) about the idea.

I second Gail's revisions. Rent the car only at the point where it is essential, and renting in NYC to go to Philadelphia is not essential. I believe that NYC is also a high cost rental area.

I just did a quick search on rental costs. Using Autoeurope.com (the name is misleading) I found that the cheapest car rental is from Washington, D.C. to New Orleans, the most expensive by far is from Philadelphia to NO and the rental from NYC is in the middle. Check it out, the results may surprise you.

Some Las Vegas hotels have now started charging for parking.

http://lasvegassun.com/news/2016/jun...-on-the-strip/

Your plans to rent a car in NYC and drive to Philly and onward could grind to a halt if a couple of snowstorms develop, probably a 75% chance of this happening at some point over those few days.

Also you have yourselves flying into NYC Dec 23 or 24 which means you'd need to buy your tickets very soon as those are heavy travel days. You might want to add an extra day of padding (ie fly in on Dec 22) in case of any airport weather delays which have, in the past, thrown air travel into a frenzy at that time of year.

From which city are you flying home? You might want to move las Vegas to the end of your trip. Then you could fly to New York a couple of days sooner (Dec 20?) before things get particularly hectic....and won't be driving to Philly around the New Year weekend traffic mess. Also by leaving Vegas to the end of the trip, if there end being delays anywhere along your route, it's Vegas that gets cut short at the end. Tickets from New Orleans to Vegas (via southwest.com) will be somewhat changeable.

Gail's idea to substitute Washington, DC for Las Vegas is a good one. In addition to the monuments, they have some amazing museums there. My favorite is the Air and Space Museum where you can see the original Wright Brothers aircraft, Lindburgh's Spirit of St. Louis and real moon rocks. Space capsules also.

_____________________________________________
Vic's travels: http://my.flightmemory.com/vogilvie

Bummer on the parking fees at some Vegas properties. Seems bad for business IMO... I'll bet I won't be the only one who won't be dropping in play their slots��

probably a 75% chance of this happening

Philadelphia, New York and Washington, DC all have a less than 25% of a White Christmas.

Agree that 75% chance of snow then is much too high. But it certainly can snow. And while 2-4" is more likely in the past 10 years we have had very heavy shows around Christmas twice - once more than 23".

One more opinion:

DC would be a lot more interesting than Las Vegas. I for one always want to go to DC, despite several visits, and I really don't care if I never go to Las Vegas again.

Other than to be prepared for weather and delays, I think it's a pretty good plan.

If you could get from SF to NYC directly, you would beat the worst of the Christmas holiday flying.

And if you really want Las Vegas, going after New Orleans seems like a decent idea.

Or are you flying to Las Vegas for the Grand Canyon?

I am in the "skip Vegas" camp also but it is your trip.
But Washington DC is really a wonderful city and so often given short shrift by travellers near and far. It IS our capital and well worth seeing for many reasons.
And as for renting a car in NYC to go to Philadelphia (Washington would be better) and maybe Washington, it would be better to take the train to those cities and then rent the car for the rest of the trip.

I've been to Vegas many times so I "get" the attraction but for your family, I agree with skipping it.
I lived near Washington, DC, for decades and I would agree that <B>you should not rent ANY cars</B> until you are ready to leave Washington (take the train between New York, Philadelphia, and Washington.

And, <B>unless</B> there is some compelling reason to see <B>anything</B> between Washington and Charleston (and I can think of a few places) I would consider <B>flying</B> between DC and Charleston (www.jetblue.com) on a budget flight and rent the car <B>in Charleston</B>.