First trip to USA
 

We are a family of 3, with girl child aged 9 years and are now planning our first trip to the USA in
July 2016 for about 25days.

Would be arriving from Karachi, Pakistan into New York on July 07, 2016

Our main interest are Shopping, fun entertainment, amusement parks, hiking, a bit of beach, parks, nature, scenic beauty. Not much interested in history, art & architecture apart from some big names

We know that we surely want to visit NEW YORK and ORLANDO , the rest we are open to suggestions.

We have decided to mostly cover the areas around the East coast, otherwise would have surely gone to Las Vegas and

Based on above we would be glad to receive suggestions

Thank you

If you only have 13 nights in the US, then I would not include NYC just stick to California and the west. Anyway - something like this might work for you, if you rent a car:

Night 01 - Los Angeles
Night 02 - Los Angeles
Night 03 - Los Angeles
Night 04 - Las Vegas
Night 05 - Las Vegas
Night 06 - Grand Canyon NP (South Rim)
Night 07 - Las Vegas
Night 08 - Hwy 395 (Bishop)
Night 09 - Yosemite NP (if Tioga Pass is open)
Night 10 - Yosemite NP (if Tioga Pass is open)
Night 11 - Monterey (Big Sur Coast)
Night 12 - Santa Barbara
Night 13 - Los Angeles
Night 14 - Fly Home

Peter, thank you for the reply, but i guess you missed 2 important points
1. We have 25 days (Excluding the arrival and departure days)

2. New York and Orlando are a MUST

It looks to me as if the OP has 25 days. If that includes travel, and jet lag, they will have 20 good travel days in country.

Asimn,
Is there any possible way you can move your trip to arrive on July 2nd? If you could be here and settled somewhere for July 4th, the biggest celebration of all American Holidays, it would be great fun for your family. New York will be terribly crowded, but someone could advise you on the best place to be.

If you do go to Orlando, I assume it is for Disney. After that, for beaches, head over to the Gulf Coast. The beaches are wide and beautiful with lots of choices, and many good restaurants.

There is good shopping pretty much everywhere.

Are you going to rent a car for part of the trip?

Personally I wouldn't move just to arrive on the 4th--it's our celebration, stuff is closed, it's crowded, etc.

There are huge shopping outlets near Orlando (and elsewhere).
Look for some coupons and discounts for Disney online.
I suggest seeing Washington DC in spite of your disinterest in museums and history. Your daughter might really enjoy some of the offerings there.
Shopping, amusement parks and hiking. Lots to do along the Blue Ridge Parkway perhaps.

Personally I wouldn't move just to arrive on the 4th--it's our celebration, stuff is closed, it's crowded, etc.

There are huge shopping outlets near Orlando (and elsewhere).
Look for some coupons and discounts for Disney online.
I suggest seeing Washington DC in spite of your disinterest in museums and history. Your daughter might really enjoy some of the offerings there.
Shopping, amusement parks and hiking. Lots to do along the Blue Ridge Parkway perhaps.

In addition to the Disney and Universal amusement parks in Orlando, you might enjoy Hershey Park in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Or, for a combination of amusement and beach, check out the boardwalk an Atlantic, City, New Jersey.

Also, since you will be in New York, Niagra Falls (absolutely including the Canadian side) would be a delight.

Sorry, Atlantic City doesn't have much to offer this family. There are other Shore towns that do if they want to go that way.

I'd include the area around Great Smokey Mountains National Park. The park itself is fabulous and you could visit Dollywood amusement park.

I'm not sure why you started a new thread . . . Here is your earlier one.

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...rip-to-usa.cfm


(I have no idea what Peter_Hasdon21 is on about so I won't even go into the 'issues' with his itinerary)

Sorry but Atlantic City is a dump filled with trashy casinos. There is no way i would take kids there. Plenty of nice beach towns on LI or in NJ.

My suggestions, assuming you land in NYC, and taking into account that you have a 9-year-old girl.

3-5 days in NYC:
See a Broadway show, possibly the Lion King.
Central Park Zoo.
Ferry from Battery Park to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
Empire State Building

3 days Washington DC:
Smithsonian Air & Space and Natural History Museums.
Tour the White House (see if someone in the US can get you tickets in advance).


Beaches:
Wide selection on the East Coast of the US. It really depends on the kind of environment you're looking for. Be aware that you will be there in the middle of tourist season, so you will have to book early to get a place.

Amusement parks:
Similar to beaches, the East Coast has many amusement parks. It's difficult to recommend one over another.

Orlando:
I assume you're doing Disney and the surrounding parks. Be aware that Florida is very hot at that time of the year. You may want to take a break from Orlando and head to one of the beaches on the East Coast and possibly tour the Kennedy Space Center.

Vincenzo beat me to it. I agree with everything on that list but suggest a day at Coney Island in NYC, beach and amusement park all in one. And I'd give yourself 5 days there just because you'll be suffering from major jet lag. This will also give you plenty of time to shop and see things.

Then Washington DC is certainly an option as is Boston to the north or Charleston or Savannah to the south though Savannah and Charleston may not be as convenient.

Then several days at Disney. Do Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral. You should also think about legoland if only got the apparently gorgeous gardens. It gears young so if your daughter has any interest in Legos go now.

Thank you all

Firstly I have 25days in full apart from the arrival & departure days

The itinerary I am thinking after considering your suggestions is as follows
Arrive NYC and straight go to New Jersey for 3 days to stay with a dear cousin
Washington 03 days
Atlanta 02 days while travelling to Orlando
Orlando 03 days
Miami 03 days or any other beach better
Need to go to Houston but how (to meet another dearest cousin& nephew) for 03 days

Back to NYc for 05 days
Niagra for 02 days

Please advise on above itinerary

Yes I do plan to rent a car from New Jersey but wouldn't it be too long to travel all the way to Houston? How to plan it

And need suggestions b/w these to choose some nice destinations

Any national scenic parks which can be visited

Sorry driving to Houston makes no sense - it will take days.

For anything except NJ to DC (which can be the train) you really need to fly the other legs.

Not sure why you want to see Atlanta. If you are looking to stop on the way from DC by car - but this is a LOT of driving - there are much better places to stay. But I would fly all legs to avoid wasting days just driving interminably.

As for the White House my understanding is that foreign nationals are not allowed to joint the tours. And when they used to be allowed to it had to be arranged with the White House by their embassy.

Im thinking of going to Pakistan for three weeks and renting a car to go to Norway for two days. How does that sound?

Please go back and reconsider the drive to Houston.

Forget driving to Houston.
Skip Atlanta
IMHO, there are lots of better beaches than Miami. Gulf Coast is much nicer.
Carolina and Virginia Beaches are beautiful.
Since you will be here during the hottest weather, you could do your beach time in NJ or someplace along the NE Coast.
Allow travel time.

Day 1, arrive NY, travel to NJ
Days 2, 3, 4, NJ
Day 5, travel to DC - probably by train
Days 6, 7, 8, DC
Day 9, fly to Orlando
Days 10, 11, 12, Orlando
Day 13, rent car, travel to beach
Day 14, 15, Beach on Gulf Coast
Day 16, fly to Houston from Tampa
Days 17, 18, 19, Houston
Day 20, fly to NY
Days 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, NY

Obviously you have to cut someplace in order to include Niagara. I would not cut from NJ because you might need time to re-coup from the long trip. I would not cut from DC because there is so much to see.

I might cut from Orlando, the beach, NY or Houston.

You don't need two days in Niagara, one day would be fine. Rather than going to NY, then to Niagara, look into flying someplace close and renting a car for the short time there. I have only done it as part of longer driving trips, so others can advise you on how best to do Niagara.

You could change the order of places in many ways to re-configure the itinerary. Where will you be in NJ?
If very, very close to NYC, you could fly to Orlando from there, put DC after Houston and train from DC to NY.
You could also fly into Tampa and do the beach days before Disney.
You could fly to Houston after NJ, then to Florida, DC and NY. Cost and timing of flights to consider.

Look into flying into Buffalo for Niagara Falls.
Also, be sure to go to the Canadian side. It has spectacular views. Do not know if you need a visa or anything special to do that, just a heads up I case.

Foreign nationals can indeed tour the WhiteHouse but the application has to done via their embassy in Washington DC

If you want to go to Houston, you will have to fly.

I would skip Atlanta.

Be aware that you will be driving in one of the more congested parts of the US in a high-traffic season. Most of your driving will be on major highways and toll roads, so do not plan on making an enjoyable scenic drive. Honestly, and I say this in the spirit of being helpful, what you have planned and the driving involved sound like a disaster.

Instead, depending on your budget, consider:

Use public transportation in and around New York City, to get to Washington, and in and around Washington.

Rent a car when leaving Washington and drive to one of the nearby East Coast beaches for the beach part of your holiday.

Drive from your beach site to Orlando. You will need a car there. Use it to visit a beach on the east coast of Florida or the Kennedy Space Center. Alternatively, you could fly from Washington to Orlando and pick up your rental car there.

If you must visit Houston, do so by flying out of Orlando. It has a major airport, meaning you should be able to find reasonable airfares and a direct flight.

Fly back to New York City from Orlando. If you must see Niagara Falls, realize it is a full day of driving (6-7 hours) to get there from NYC, and another full day of driving to get back. Plan accordingly. Maybe you will want to fly from Orlando to Buffalo, NY, rent a car, see the falls, and drive the rental car to NYC.

In general, I recommend you spend some time researching times and distances.