Hi all,

I'm completely overwhelmed with all the information out there and thought it best to ask some 'experts'.

I will be travelling with my partner (we are mid 20s from Perth, Australia) and need some help.

Last October/November we did a 6-week trip through Chicago, Boston, New York, Washington DC, San Diego, Anaheim (couldn't miss Disneyland!), Los Angeles, Las Vegas and San Francisco...yes we saw a lot!

We are planning another holiday between mid December and mid January (4-6 weeks max). We start off in Hawaii (family part of the holiday) and then will be left to our own devices.

The places we definitely want to see: New Orleans, Nashville, and we want another 5 days in New York this trip.

We are considering Denver, San Antonio or Austin, Philadelphia, Charleston. We might also extend the trip (to make it 6 weeks) and see a bit of Canada (Toronto, Calgary, Blanff, Vancouver - is Alaska worth it?, Niagara Falls too cold?). Where should we go? Places we have missed?

I know this is a long message but trying to include as much information as possible

Essentially, we won't be coming back to America/Canada region for quite a few years so want to tick as much off as we can. We don't have any particular things we 'must do' (e.g. don't need to be anywhere for skiing...haven't had any experience living in Perth!) but want to do as much of the 'must sees' as we can....

Please help

Thank you so much for any help you can give us!

Alaska is definitely worth it, but not in January. Days are very short, it is cold and many of the parks are closed. The scenery is still beautiful and there is a chance you might see the northern lights but that is not a sure thing.

While you are in the south US, you might like Disney and/or some of the other parks in Orlando, FL or some of the other Florida sights.

Niagra falls may be frozen, so unless you visit it in conjunction with your trip to Canada, I wouldn't bother going there and yes expect it to be too cold there and in most of the Canadian spots. They can deal with snow up there, so if you want to visit, go ahead.

Part of the "must sees" depends on what you like to see/do, museums, mountains, sea shore, historic sites, hiking, nature, cities, small towns, etc.

Your trip last year was in the fall and you probably had cool but good weather in the colder areas.

But now you are looking at travel in midwinter and it is likely to be much colder and you can get a LOT of snow, esp in Niagara Falls (many sights closed for the season) and Canada. Alaska will be frozen with MANY things closed. Denver will also usually have a strong winter - esp if you head into the mountains.

New York City is about 100 miles south of the snow belt so while it will be cold(one month last winter the average high was 22 - F). the chance for substantial snow is limited. But it can happen - we have had 2 recent Christmases with 10/12 inches of snow - which wreaks havoc with plane travel for a day or two.

Another factor is that while more northern places are prepared for snow removal - with hundreds/thousands of plows and gigantic mound os salt and sand - many of the southern areas are thrown into chaos by an inch or two or snow or even a sleet storm - since they are simply not prepared to handle it.

The key to travel this time of year in areas with considerable snow potential is to leave yourself s little extra time, since you may run into flights delayed for a day or so many times.

I'm not suggesting you don;t come. I love cold weather and we do trvel then - but make sure we're prepared. And do avoid places with many things shut such as Alaska and Niagara Falls (which IMHO is not really that great even in summer. Pretty - but we only visited since we were driving to Toronto for several days.

I would urge you to check out the average weather in each of the places you plan to go.

Sorry - the Christmas blizzard of 2010 left up to 32" of snow in NYC.

As you are coming from Perth, I assume that you are not familiar with driving in snow. It's not something I would want to do for the first time on vacation.

You have so many good possible destinations that don't (or rarely) encounter snow that I would go to them rather than Canada.

It would help to know some of your interests, but there are some great destinations in Texas (Austin, San Antonio and Fredericksburg would make a nice trifecta. You could easily spend 8 - 10 days in these 3 places.) Then New Orleans, Nashville, Savannah and Charleston could round out your southern destinations before you head up to Philadelphia and NYC.

I'm not sure how much you want to make this a driving trip, but the route between Texas and New Orleans is not particularly interesting or scenic. Likewise, the route between New Orleans and Nashville is not all that great either. (Of course, as an Australian, you may find driving these routes more interesting that we, as Americans, do.)

I've been very fortunate to do Switzerland/Germany over the Christmas period previously so have some cold weather gear ready to go Although I was born and raised in Australia, I truly hate the heat - so I'm very looking forward to escaping the 100+ Fahrenheit days in Perth!

It would just be a shame to travel all the way to Hawaii and then turn around and come home - plus I start a new job after our holiday so USA wardrobe shopping is essential

emalloy - thanks for the tips! Alaska is now off the list. I had noted NF might be an issue during that time period so will have to save it for a future trip.

As for what we enjoy doing - it's really hard to say...how about a bit of everything? We are relatively active (and I like to think cultured) 24 year-olds. Would probably stick to major cities at this stage and then if we have the luxury of returning will expand our horizons. We do museums, sports, shopping, historic sites, scenery - as it's only our second time, it is what is often considered 'not to miss'.

Thanks nytraveler (I envy your name!). Have read previous forums about the potential issues with travel - so definitely something to keep in mind.

Plenty to see in the south. While there might be snow or sleet, it is much more likely that the weather will be fine or just rainy.

There is a very good route between New Orleans and Nashville, it's called the Natchez Trace Parkway - http://www.nps.gov/natr/index.htm

If the weather is good you could then visit Asheville, in the mountains, on the way to Charleston. If it's bad you'd go via Atlanta. Then Savannah and St. Augustine, maybe keep going south to Miami and Key West. Orlando if you must.

Don't be afraid of the potential for snow - but just be aware of the possible problems and ready to solve them.

Christmas is incredible in New York if you can manage that (although it is also mobbed and tends to be expensive). So if you decide to stay in NYC try to do it the couple of days right before and after Christmas. But be aware that schools are closed - so 1/1 million kids on the street that many parents are taking to see sights/activities.

Sounds like a nice trip, I would stick to the south and southeast with a bit of time in Texas. We enjoyed New Orleans a lot and stopped in Natchez, MS for a night but that was during spring when they do a lot of garden tours. Not sure how much is going on during the winter.

Sorry - be aware that it's extremely difficult to find a car rental agency that will let you take a car rented in the US into Canada and vice versa. So if you want to road trip in Canada you will need to do a separate listing and do all of Canada together.

Also - for Denver and Canada are you looking at skiing? You will typically have to reserve those places fairly far in advance.

Thank you so much for your responses!

This is what we have so far decided after Hawaii:
Denver 2 nights
San Antonio 2 nights
New Orleans 3 nights
New York 5 nights (before the Christmas lights are turned off on the 6th and might come back after Philadelphia)
Philadelphia 3 nights

Suggestions? Comments?

Thank you

Are you planning on renting a car or flying between all those cities? Where are you spending New Years Eve?
An alternative between New Orleans and NYC would be the Amtrak Crescent via Atlanta, Washington DC and Philadelphia.
I know that Amtrak trains are often late but it would be better than having a flight cancelled because of bad weather on the east coast.

I'm also confused about your plans, flying vs. driving. For example you have Denver 2 nights and San Antonio 2 nights, but nothing in between.

Are you planning to drive that in one day, then that counts as one of your San Antonio nights? Or are you flying?

Denver is a big outlier from the rest of your trip. Is there something specific you want to see / do there? You might consider dropping that and focus more on the south and east.