danielc118

@ Daniel_Williams

Thanks for the advice mate! We have taken it onboard. At this point we are still really keen on Niagara, but will think about it for a few days before we book flights and accommodation.

We did look at New Orleans, Charleston etc, but didn't think we had enough time. It's definitely an option / backup plan.

We save $200 if we fly out of Seattle instead of Vancouver. Not sure if it's worth it yet or not, will think it over. I know Seattle is an interesting place, but apparently we need more than just an overnight stop there to make the most of it.

@ Dale,

Yes we are bouncing all over! We are from Australia, and at the age where you start to settle down, buy a house, start a family etc. We think this will be our last chance at an expensive overseas trip before all that. We really couldn't settle on just one area of the US. I have previously holidayed for 2 months at Whistler, and really want to show it off to my Fiancee, I know how beautiful it is at Christmas. I will be boarding, she may do a day or two of skiing.

I understand the originals are in LA, but I figure bigger and better right? Internal flights in the US aren't really expensive at the moment.

I understand that winter isn't the best for Grand Canyon etc, but it's the only time we have! It's that or miss out seeing it, unfortunately. I know that there is about a 5hr drive between GC and Zion. I have left that period roughed in until we get more info about what we can / want to do in the area.

@ NYTraveller,

Thanks for the info! we have taken it on board and are looking at options for accommodation now, as well as NYE events.

@ Tabernash2,

Yes it's pretty crazy. We did London-Paris-Switzerland-Venice-Florence-Rome in just 16 nights this last Christmas, as it was an opportunity that came up. Even just one night in Venice was great, we were glad that we didn't skip it and spend the extra day in Rome. Unfortunately my partner is a Teacher, so School Holidays dictate our schedules. We are already taking the entire break for the holiday!

@ Orlando_Vic,

Thanks again for your experience. We will keep our eyes open for the next week and make a decision on Orlando accommodation once our flights are booked. We are definitely looking at Epcot as the second park now.

Do you have an opinion on Shopping in Orlando? Cheaper that NY/Vegas/LA?

Any recommendations for places to stay in the Everglades for one night?

@ Ackislander,

Got it in one! Sorry for the confusion.

Thanks for the opinions, it looks like we will fly into / out of Buffallo, the flights are a bit cheaper and it's closer.
I am sure Toronto would be nice, hopefully next time! We are already cutting out so many places that we really want to see as it is.

@ Amy_Torres_SD

The northern lights look beautiful, and one of my photography bucket list items, but unless we can see them in Whistler we just don't have the time this trip

Thanks for the advice about SD, Yosemite etc. We have looked at maps etc, but your advice is invaluable. We don't really mind the 5 Hr drive, and we definitely have to see Yosemite in Winter. It looks like San Luis Obispo is highly recommended by many people.

@ Tomfuller

We ran the numbers on Amtrak, and for our journeys it makes more financial sense to rent a car. If it was one person then definitely the Train/Bus makes way more sense. I will have another look at it though. Thank you very much for the useful advice!

Thank you again everyone, you are greatly assisting my Fiancee and I with our dream USA holiday!

Dan

danielc118

@ Cranachin

I probably did get them reversed!

Yes yes I did. Thanks for the pickup

We were thinking of the night in Key West instead of Miami. Neither of us is fussed about Miami, pretty much just ticking off that we have been there / seen some of it while we are in the area. The drive to Key West sounds much more photographically interesting to me, especially Dawn / Sunset out there.

Re: Flights, yes you are probably correct it is too close. To clarify though the flight leaves LV early and arrives at LAX @ 7AM. It gives us a 3 Hr buffer to check in to our next flight. Otherwise we are basically losing the last night. It's definitely a decision we need to think about.

Cheers,
Dan

tomfuller

If you get snowbound in Buffalo with no planes flying out, remember that a train will get you from Buffalo Depew station to New York Penn station with a higher chance of arriving before NYE.
Drop your last night in Las Vegas to make sure you are close enough to LAX to be certain of catching your flight home.

nytraveler

There is no way I would leave only a 3 hour window to catch an international flight. Check with your airline - but I think they will want you to check in the the international leg 3 hours in advance. And if you have checked luggage - and plane from LV is even an hour late - you might well not make it.

RVvagabond

Rent a private airplane?

Been to Roo-land. Bondi is the place!
Suggest Venice Beach in L.A. A must do stop.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venice,_Los_Angeles
Many places in L.A. - spend a week easily there.

Personally, I've been to every place you reference including the real 4-corners. Note: With GPS, that monument location is no longer precisely correct.

Thus, I'd avoid every place north of San Francisco,including NYC during the winter. You could lose 30% of your travel time due to snow storms or stuck in a ditch. Or hoping the car will start.
Remember Canada is cold and more cold in the winter.

>>> Seriously reconsider the entire trip schedule.
North in the summer
South in the winter

Ackislander

Well, I do like it a lot better. Still two items.

If I were doing the Four Corners of Australia, I would be satisfied with Cairns. Near enough to the tropical to be not necessary to go what amounts to all the way to Papua just to get the true top corner. similarly, could you be satisfied withLA as your SW corner? I really like the idea of your seeing Venice, Santa Monica, and Malibu more than San Diego. If it were warmer, I would suggest you not even think of doing anything else. Since it is off season and you are renting the car in LA anyway, you don't really have to make a decision until you are on the ground. Warm? LA. Chilly? San Diego.

Buffalo has lots and lots of snow. The good news is that this means they know how to manage it on the roads. The bad news is the danger of flight delays and cancellations

I like trains almost as much as tomfuller , and I ride them a lot, but his advice in your situation is not good.

Finally, do not underestimate Miami. It is truly a fantastic city.

danielc118

@ TomFuller

Cheers mate. We will leave the train/driving to NY as the backup plan. We love snow! we live in the tropics in Darwin, Australia so we never get to see it. I spent 2 months in Whistler though, and we both did a Europe trip this last winter.

We are debating the final night options. Don't really have to decide now though thankfully. Just to clarify though, it would be 5 hours between the plane being meant to land at LAX and our international leaving. We may drive in the morning, we may drive the night before.

@ RVVagabond

Appreciate the opinion! Venice Beach is on our list, we have found a good tour that will show us LA including venice.

Unfortunately we have our hearts set on seeing as much as possible! We have friends that have done NY in winter and loved it, and I have spent months at Whistler before, so we are no strangers to it and will adapt and overcome

@ Ackislander

1) We are only heading to San Diego for the legendary Zoo and Sea World. Do you think they warrant the drive? We have seen plenty of Zoo's and aquariums in our time, but these are meant to be some of the best.

2) Fingers crossed it's just enough to be beautiful and not enough to delay our flights at least we are only heading to NY next, we will find a way to get there!

I try to never underestimate a place, but it's hard with a lot of negativity out there for it.

It's like on our EuroTrip we decided to take 2 days out of our Rome schedule to see Venice and Florence. Best decision ever, Venice is still one of our favourite places in the world, even though we were there for less than 24hrs.

Hopefully Miami surprises us!

Dan

Ackislander

Venice isn't Buffalo.

Acqua alta isn't lake effect snow or a blizzard.

In fact, I would LOVE to have the chance to make a trip like this and don't have any issues with the way you want to divide up you time, but I and others are encouraging you to have contingency plans. Lots of people on here don't . In rfact, some of the best things on trips are the things you do on the spur of the moment, like your trip to Florence and Venice.

I encourage Miami and Key West because they are the kind of places where things happen. You come in to a bar to get out of the heat and have a cold one, and pretty soon you are buying beers with the locals and they ask if you like to fish and there you go. I don't like places like Disney because they are programmed, but you have plenty of opportunities for adventure.

You were told to avoid NYE in Times Square. Forget that advice; of course it will be wild and cold and uncomfortable, but it won't be programmed. Go for it. I remember a Hogmanay in Edinburgh ( I may be one of the few who do) when we almost froze but participated in a strip the willow from George Square to Charlotte Square, said to be the longest ever.

sharona

<We are only heading to San Diego for the legendary Zoo and Sea World.>

I have been to Sea World in both San Diego and Orlando. They are virtually the same. We even saw the same shows. Since you are going to Orlando why not just go to Sea World there. I don't think it's worth the drive to San Diego just for the zoo, although it is a very nice zoo and I'll be making a return visit myself in a couple of weeks (I'm on the east coast of the US).

My other comment is if you do decide to make the drive to San Diego PLEASE do not get off the plane at LAX, pick up the rental car and drive to San Diego that night. That's a very dangerous prospect after a long, international flight with major time changes. Just get a hotel near LAX and start out the next morning. Hotels aren't expensive near the airport and there are a lot of them. Get one through Priceline or Hotwire.

Orlando_Vic

"My other comment is if you do decide to make the drive to San Diego PLEASE do not get off the plane at LAX, pick up the rental car and drive to San Diego that night. That's a very dangerous prospect after a long, international flight with major time changes. Just get a hotel near LAX and start out the next morning. Hotels aren't expensive near the airport and there are a lot of them."

I couldn't agree more!
Trust me, you will have major jet lag. Don't even think about it. I speak from experience.

"Do you have an opinion on Shopping in Orlando? Cheaper that NY/Vegas/LA?"

Shopping in Orlando is considered very good. Take a look at this: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/trave...0,201112.story

Many of our UK visitors buy an extra suitcase here just to take their purchases home.

"Any recommendations for places to stay in the Everglades for one night?"

I would ask this here: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum...k_Florida.html


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

nytraveler

Sorry -

NYE in Times Square isn't "wild". It's tedious - hours and hours of standing (unless you are there by 5 pm you will be many blocks away) for 10 minutes of excitement. And then it takes another hour afterward for everyone to figure out how to get out of the area - since all public transit anywhere nearby stops running around 3 in the afternoon. You are herded into pens with horses as you arrive, police search everything you are carrying, and once blocked into a pen mobbed with people, you have to stay there. If it's an emergency you can leave - but you can't return. Out is out.

IMHO - it's not worth going through that for 7 or 8 hours just to see a ball drop at midnight. You can have a nice dinner in another part of the city and then head to Central Park to see the fireworks. Tons of people - but not squashed because the space is so big.

amy_torres_sd

I agree with going to Sea World in Orlando, and would therefore skip the San Diego Zoo in favor of seeing more of Los Angeles. While it IS a fabulous zoo, I don't think it's worth a trip just to see it, especially with long drives ahead of you on the following two days. You could theoretically do the Zoo as a day trip, but I wouldn't advise it while jet lagged (no falling asleep on the road and traffic can be a bear between LA and SD.) Incidentally, the SD in my name refers to San Dimas, not San Diego. hehe

J62

Re GC/Zion/Bryce, I think you will be very time & weather challenged to do more than GC alone, or Zion/Bryce.

From Las Vegas it's about 2.5 hrs to Zion. It will be winter there, but it's not super high elevation in the valley so you will be able to enjoy the beauty at least at lower elevations.

From Zion to Bryce is another 2 hours, but weather there will be VERY different. Bryce is at 8000'+ elevation. In early May it was snowing, so I don't know what will be open or accessible in Winter.

From Zion or Bryce to Grand Canyon (south rim) is a 6hr drive. The north rim roads will be closed for the winter.

Vegas to the Grand Canyon takes 4-5 hours drive.

shanek

G'Day Dan.

San Diego Zoo is awesome, but its a long way to go just for that.

However, the rest of Balboa Park where the Zoo is situated is full of fascinating Museums and Galleries, the Midway is worth visiting and the city of San Diego is vibrant and interesting.

We spent 7 days there during a 5 week West Coast trip a few years ago and loved our time there.

Regardless of which Sea World you go to, do make the effort to go as the shows are spectacular. Much better than what we have on the Gold Coast.

emalloy

Re. GC/Zion/Bryce, what J62 said should be listened to. The north rim is not open until mid May, so the south rim is the only option if you want to see the GC National Park.

I would use a couple of Vegas days to visit the GC and Zion/Bryce. One option would be to take a flight/tour (NOT the ones that go to the west rim/sky walk) the ones that take a day, fly to the south rim, bus to the sights along the rim then fly back to Vegas.

My choice would be to be flexible and look for a good room package in Vegas and choose when drive to the south rim, hike along the rim and see sunset, spend the night there, and see sunrise, then head either to Bryce/Zion for a night or back to Vegas. This would give you the flexibility to account for weather. We've been in the area in January and February when the weather was wonderful, light jacket no snow and also been there when there was snow. We've never had trouble getting a room for a night at the parks at that time of year. Bryce has always had snow on the trails, but the roads were ok as long as it was not snowing.

J62

I have mixed feelings about recommending someone visit the Grand Canyon if they only have a short time for a visit to the rim or at most 1-2miles down one of the trails. (Bright Angel or South Kaibab).

My first trip to the GC a few years ago I did just that & while impressive, you really do not get any real sense of what the GC is unless you go all the way down to the river & spend some time there.

I just spent two weeks at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, rafting the CO river, and found that I was only able to scratch the surface of all there was to see and do down there along the 200+ miles of river.

If you are fit, regardless of young or old, I recommend you venture as far down into the Grand Canyon as you can during your trip on the Kaibab trail. Due to limited daylight hours that will be somewhat tough at the end of the year - you need to budget twice as much time to hike back up as you do going down, but I think you will find a hike deep into the canyon rewarding.

danielc118

Thanks guys.

J62, are you aware of anywhere we can stay the night either in the canyon or very near to it? Overnighting in it would be ideal for photo's.

Question 2)
We have booked all our internal US flights now, except miami to vegas, as the price has doubled in the last few days since we checked. I have seen some from fort Lauderdale that are a little cheaper though.

Do you think these will be the best we will find or would there be a better price closee to the day / on sale?

Cheers,
Dan

J62

Along the south rim, in Grand Canyon village, there are 6 different hotels within GC National Park. These are all run by Xanterra - you can book rooms at www.xanterra.com.

Below the rim your options are either

a) camping - there are just a few places to camp along the main in/out trails, or at the campground by the river @ phantom ranch - requires a back country camping permit or a camping reservation at phantom ranch. I don't know the details.

b) getting a room at Phantom Ranch cabins. There is about maybe 10 rooms there, and they book up ~1 year in advance. You cannot stay at phantom ranch without a reservation.

It's about a 8-10mi hike down TO the river, going about 4600' elevation drop. And another 4600' back up... For most people this is at least a two day trek, although very, very, very fit, fast hikers/runners can do a down & up in the same day in the spring or fall. I don't see how it's possible at all in one day at the end of the year due to limited daylight.

So I recommend you book a room on the rim at the link posted above - any of the hotels there will do as they all basically have the same location. Then hike the S. Kaibab trail down ~3mi - i forget the name of the lookout but if you do a little research you'll come up with it.

They you can hike back out on the same day and stay in the park on the rim.

danielc118

Sounds great, thanks a lot for the help mate!!

laura_schlueter_90

I saw the comment about Disneyland v Disney World. I've been to both and definitely recommend the one in Orlando. In Anaheim you can see Disney from the street, in Orlando they have their own roads and radio station as you drive up. Just seems like a better experience to me. As to San Diego it was beautiful when I went in May, but not sure how it would be that time of year. If you opt not to go maybe you could pick Disney's Animal Kingdom as your second park to replace the zoo. If you're going to do a few parks you might want to check out the website Allears.net. They have reviews of all the rides, restaurants (with menus) etc.