We are an Australian couple in our sixties, are experienced and independent travellers. We plan to visit the USA this year for approximately 4 weeks in September.

Would September be a good time to visit?

Places we want to see include San Francisco, Las Vegas, New York and Washington. Perhaps we could include some of the New England area and the southern states? We think a week in New York but are unsure about times needed in other places.

We recognise we will have to do much of the travel by air but we are also interested in train travel where possible.

Any comments or suggestions would be most welcome.

Consider Chicago. IMHO, one of the best large city in US. Wonderful architecture, some of the best food, very friendly natives, wonderful museums, easy public transportation, just a great city overall.

If you decide on visting somewhere in the south, I would suggest St.Augustine in Florida. The oldest city in US. Just a fun city with wonderful beaches nearby to boot.

September weather will be great in both cities.

Though I don't know about the West Coast, I can help with the East Coast a bit. I know that trip planning has gotten more complex than just showing up in some cities, as I hosted more than a dozen exchange students to the area.

East Coast;- September is a great time and you maybe will see the leaves changing. The weather is usually a good temperature.
I think the plan changes if you want to see Historic USA, or if you want to experience a bit of modern day life and see shows, baseball/football games, etc.

Generally;- If you are staying in Manhattan, you will like the tourist attractions, getting around is walking at a fast pace and taking the train sometimes because taking a taxi may mean you are stuck in traffic rather than walking quickly by it (even over a dozen blocks).

To see both New York and Philadelphia;- the midpoint is around New Hope, Pennsylvania. If you have a rental car, you can stay around New Hope (along the Deleware River) and drive to see historic Washington Crossing, park nearby quaint country shops and boutiques to catch a bustrip about 1.5hrs to NYC (near Broadway) for about $15RT (check fare) from a nearby Bagel shop and park the car.

Also, you can then check out Philadelphia;- where you must check in and get a tickets (they were free, may have a time to enter) to see the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Free Orchestra Concert at the Curtis Institute of Music, all within walking distance and a good day trip (depending on music schedule). There is security check in this area that is comparable to an airport security check.

There are also Science Museums, Art Museums, and alot more.
Eating in Philadelphia- I can check- there's a spot where they make the old colonial beer brews and serve the old style food that USA's Founding Fathers ate. Philadelphia is not a good place to walk around after sundown, except around the Rittenhouse Square area.

Washington DC is a nice trainride from Philadelphia 30th & Market Street Station, RT. You can get to Downtown Washington DC easily. And see more art or Historical DC near the Mall.
You could feasibly take a rental car and park it in Doylestown, PA (not far from New Hope)where there are exquisite cafe's and restaraunts and take the R5? to Philadelphia 30th Market Street Station and get an AMTRACK ticket to DC.

Just a thought. May sound complex;- however you could see the core of 3 major cities this way.

Congrats!

Check your climate guides for US here but September is nice.

www.weather2travel.com

Usually best to fly into LAX SFO RT

then fly/train around from there

USA Rail pass of some type will work well for your journey.

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/Conten.../1237405732514

For me a week or so in CA 1 weeks or so enroute

a week in NY/New England area

A week back on another overland route.

flights also possible www.farecompare.com www.cheapoair.com

Honestly see experience more by train...

Anything I fly over I miss...

www.discoverypass.com cheap budget overland not as great.

www.roadtripusa.com www.mapquest.com good overland planning.

Have fun and Happy Planning,

1. September will likely be a great time of year for your travels. Not only should the weather be good in the places that you plan to visit, but since schools will be back in session, you'll find fewer tourists and an easier time for finding accommodations (likely lower prices too.)
2. I've been to all of the places you mention visiting. While I don't know your specific interests, I think the following would be a good estimate of how much time to devote to each:

San Francisco--3 to 5 days, depending on how much sightseeing you plan outside of the city.

Las Vegas--3 days, unless you plan to see lots of shows, do lots of gambling or travel outside the city (e.g. Hoover Dam)

New York City--3-4 days unless you plan to see lots of shows or travel outside the city. A few days in the Hudson Valley might be nice. We enjoyed touring some of the mansions
(e.g.Vanderbilt home, FDR's home) and West Point Military Academy as well as dining at the Culinary Institute of America.

Washington, D.C.--I live just outside DC and I think that you can see most of the sites in 4-5 days, depending on your interest in museums and American history. One of the best things about D.C. is that virtually all of the museums are free. There are just a handful that charge admission and I find one of those, the Newseum, to really be worth the price of admission.

3. That leaves you a lot of time for exploring the U.S. You could devote more time to an area where you are already visiting, e.g. northern California when you visit SF. I think there's a lot you could do in Virginia after a visit to D.C. There's great hiking and natural beauty in Shenandoah National Park; colonial history in Williamsburg; beaches in Virginia Beach.

4. If you want to spend this extra time in other parts of the U.S., I agree that Chicago would be a great destination. We actually spent an entire week in Chicago and never ran out of things to see and do there. I'm not so familiar with New England, but my choices for the South would be Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia. They are only about 2 hours from each other so you could easily visit both.

5. For some of your big city travels, you might look into purchasing a City Pass. These passes cover admission to a lot of places and also allow you to bypass the regular admission lines. We found the City Pass to be a good deal for us when we visited Chicago a few years ago. See: www.CityPass.com

6. Finally, if you have not already done so, you might want to post on Trip Advisor. You can choose specific forums there so you will probably get a lot more information about the various cities you want to visit.

Train travel across much of the US isn't realistic - train service is slow and conditions often not great - plus it's usually more expensive than flying. The one place the train is a good idea if the NE corridor: DC to Phil to NYC to Boston. Here the trains are frequent (once an hour during much of the day and the times from city to city no different from flying to driving. And if you buy tickets in advance the fares are often competitive or better than flying.

Suggest the following:

SF: 5 or 6 nights
LV: 3 nights
DC: 5 nights
NYC: 6 nights
Boston: 4 nights

This will give you the time to stop at one other place. You've had some good suggestions - but without knowing more about your interests it's hard to make specific recos. In Sept weather in LV, DC and even NYC can still be quite hot (FL VERY hot) and in Sept you will be too early for chaning leaves - you usually need Oct 10th or so for that near Boston - up in Canada for earlier than that.

It would be helpful if you described some of your interests. Also, would you be willing to rent a car for part of the trip?

Personally, I couldn't imagine spending a week in Las Vegas, but then I don't like Las Vegas. However, you could easily spend a week driving from San Francisco to Las Vegas and spend time at Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks. Or you could fly to Las Vegas and do a loop through Bryce, Zion and/or Grand Canyon National Parks. But that's assuming you're interested in visiting National Parks and willing to rent a car.

As stated above, a list of your interests and reasons for your chosen destinations will bring a wealth of more detailed suggestions. Is this your first visit to the USA, these cities?

If your first visit to the US, I would suggest you plan some time outside of the big cities by car or tour, if necessary.
I think SF is a great tourist city for 3 days using public transport, then can be combined with redwood trees in Muir Woods day trip (bus or tour available), or a state park south of the city (car required). 1-2 night trips to Yosemite or the Big Sur coastal area are gorgeous. Napa or Sonoma Valley if you like to visit wineries. Possible tours if you don't want to drive.

LV is a place I think everyone should see for the spectacle. I'm satisfied after 2 nights, then like to drive to the parks listed above. Tours are also possible out of LV if you do not want to drive.

There isn't a train from SF to LV.

Fly to NYC. Number of days/nights here depends on your interests--theater, architecture, etc.

As suggested above, you can now use train to reach Boston for a couple of nights--another interesting tourist city with more historical buildings and feeling of a "past" than many American cities. Though most of the history is of special interest to Americans, it is still a city with "personality" that tourists from everywhere can enjoy. You could visit some coastal areas if you wanted that atmosphere. Other parts inland in New England contain scenic small towns for antiquing and relaxing. Too early for fall leaf color, though. Best by car, but can train to some larger towns.

You could also head south by train to Washington, DC. Number of days depends on how many of the museums and monuments you want to visit. Easy to do by public transport.

The order of your visit may be affected by availability/cost of flights. For example, you may want to fly into SFO and enjoy that area, then fly to DC or Boston and work your way up/down the coast, fly to LV, on to LA and then back home. You may want to check all the options to see where the best times/fares are.

You could fly to somewhere in the South, but that is a big, varied region and your interests would dictate if we are talking about historic cities like St Augustine or Charleston, or sandy beaches of Florida, or music hubs, etc.

Depending on how thoroughly you explore cities, you might consider choosing either the East Coast or the West Coast to see -- one could easily spend a week each in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Washington DC, and New York, and five days each in Boston or San Diego wouldn't be unreasonable if you're thorough. And Las Vegas is good for at least a few days experience.

Plus as Shanti mentioned, some of the best US national parks are located in the western part of the country.

On the opposite side of the US and as noted above, New England has plenty of attractions to experience ranging from Cape Cod and the Islands to Maine (especially Acadia National Park) to Mystic to Newport to the Berkshires/Pioneer Valley to Vermont to the New Hampshire White Mountains. And there are no shortage of things to see in the general area of Philadelphia, ranging from Amish country to the Brandywine Valley to Buck's County to Gettysburg. Plus in New York state there are attractions on Long Island, in the Hudson River Valley, and in the Niagara Falls area.

Will definitely second Chicago, Savannah, and Charleston, though they're a good ways away from the other areas mentioned.

Caveat: have not been to Los Angeles or San Diego, but have researched both. Have been to all the other cities mentioned above. Have seen several western national parks and much in New England, plus Amish country, Gettysburg, and Niagara Falls, and have at least minimally researched the rest.

cant add much but will make a few comments--if you go to LV make sure you take a day to visit Zion National Park.If you dont go to LV,id mae sure to visit the Grand Canyon and Sedona.Fly into Phoenixe ,ernt a car abd ddrive to Sedonas sat at Enchantment village,then drive to GC and stay there a night.
SF is a great city,you could spend 4 days there easy--make sure to see the redwoods--if you stay long, try hard to go to Yosemite--its breathtaking.Sept though all the falls wont be full,but tourists will be down
Id also try real hard to vist Maine,and see the coastal villages,and Arcadia
As you zero in on what youre doing let us know,and well be more specific on local suggestions

I don't have much to add to the good information you have here (except to say that a "sampler" of West Coast cities/western National Parks/East Coast cities NY to Charleston/add some villages sounds like fun) but I would like to respectfully submit that I do not agree with Tenshi's contention about Philadelphia after sunset. I am not sure on what this is based, but, especially in recent years, Philadelphia's downtown and Old City areas are safe and vibrant with many events and lots of nightlife, and there are other neighborhoods as well that are not only safe but also active in the darker hours.

Much as I love traveling by train, please don't count on it to get around the U.S., at least not for long trips. Passenger trains share track with freight trains and have frequent delays. There is decent service in the Northeast among cities such as New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC and Boston that I believe is generally reliable. I've taken the train from NYC to DC with no trouble, but the train from NYC to Savannah, GA was about four hours late.

You have some great advice. I can't speak for you because I don't know your interests but the West Coast is a great place to visit. I could spend a month in San Diego, CA, Carmel and Monterrey, San Francisco, CA, Napa Valley, the Oregon Coast, Portland, OR, Seattle, WA, Coeur D Alene, Whitefish, MT, Glacier National Park, Yellowstone NP, Jackson, WY, Park City, UT, Grand Canyon, Sedona, AZ, Santa Fe, AZ and W to LV, NV.

I love NYC and the E Coast but a month there would be fun too. I would not include a trip to the W Coast and the E Coast in one visit. Make one this time and come back. Good luck.

Second (or third or fourth), spending some time in Chicago. Art, architecture, theater, dance, music, food, culture, history, Lake Michigan, shopping, friendly people.

You have some great recommendations and advice here. However, I would strongly encourage you to see one of the cities in the American South: Charleston and New Orleans are my personal favorites. The culinary experience alone will be worth the detour!

My first reaction was the same as AA's, Chicago. Especially if you are flying from the west coast, should be easy to stopover on the way to NYC. I would also add Boston.

I have never understood the fascination with Las Vegas. For me it is a stopover on the way to the Grand Canyon or Zion/Bryce.

"I have never understood the fascination with Las Vegas. For me it is a stopover on the way to the Grand Canyon or Zion/Bryce."

Agree 100%. I just don't understand the fascination with it among foreign tourists especially.

As mentioned by several others, Charleston, Savannah and St. Augustine are all very worthwhile. As are, the Western National Parks (Bryce, Zion and Grand Canyon + Yosemite and Sequoia).

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

I'm with Amy on safety questions re Philadelphia. The area where tourists go (bounded by Spring Garden Ave. to the north, South St. to the south and the water to the east and west) is fine in the evening for walking around.

As for Las Vegas, I'm not sure it's worth more than one visit or a long stay unless you're an avid gambler. And the unfortunate recent closing of the Liberace Museum shuttered one of the city's best attractions. But a visit of ca. 3 days is enough to experience this uniquely over-the-top and strange city. Others may not agree, of course.

I would avoid trains other than the Mid-atlantic corridor (NY-Philly-DC). I have had nothing but terrible, awfule expereinces with trains outside of this geographic area.

Be sure to look into Megabus, Bolt Bus, etc for travel from city to city (ie NYC to Boston, NYC to DC). They do operate outside of the eastern seaboard (I took one from Chicago to Indinapolis over Thanksgivig.) They're quite affordable -- about $25 each way -- convenient, and pretty easy to use.

"Would September be a good time to visit?"

It's a great time to visit.

"Places we want to see include San Francisco, Las Vegas, New York and Washington. Perhaps we could include some of the New England area and the southern states? We think a week in New York but are unsure about times needed in other places."

A week in NYC is perfect. We usually go for a week at a time (and have been many, many times). The sights and activities possibilities in New York are endless.

For your other stated interested areas:
San Francisco: 5-6 nights
Las Vegas: 1 or 2 nights (max)
Washington DC (my hometown!): 5 nights

That does indeed leave a little time leftover for "New England area and/OR the southern states".

Boston, while a great destination, is somewhat similar to some of the other cities you will be seeing, so I would consider skipping it. However, New Orleans is quite unique - consider staying in New Orleans for 5-6 nights which would include a day trip to a more rural area outside of the city. Also, include a half day at the New Orleans zoo - not just for the native wildlife but more importantly to experience the unique plant life in that part of the US.

""We recognise we will have to do much of the travel by air but we are also interested in train travel where possible."

As mentioned above, the corridor that runs from Boston to New York to DC is one area where train (or bus) travel makes sense for this trip. You'll need to fly from San Fransisco (is that where you land/depart from the US?) to Las Vegas and from Vegas to New Orleans or the East Cost.