snowie25

Hi

I am flying out to Toronto from the UK in late July and spending 2 weeks there. I will then be travelling to New York city via Niagara. I then have 3 weeks to make my way down to Miami. Any suggestions on routes to travel and places to see would be much appricated as I don't want to miss out anything interesting. Is the best way to get around by bus? or train? as I will be going alone so a car would be too expenisve and I'm on a limited budget. I'm pretty much into anything: sport, beaches,cities, history and culture. Any recommendations for places to stay would be helpful.

Thanks

BaltoTraveler

Except for visiting cities along the Northeast rail corridor, train travel is not very convenient, and for many places not even possible. But by all means check out Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington DC by rail.

South of Washington (or if you want to go outside the cities along the way), you'll want to go by bus. It isn't especially cheap, but you should get an unlimited bus pass for 15 or 30 days on the Greyhound system - the most comprehensive bus company in the States. They go just about everywhere.
http://www.discoverypass.com/products.asp

Get to the beach at some point... the coasts of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, and South Carolina have some excellent beach resorts (as, of course, does Florida). Some are big, wild, and crass... others are quiet and rather quaint. All have wide sandy beaches and nice swimming.

Charleston, South Carolina and Savanna, Georgia are both mid-size cities with a lot of history and charm.

Getting into the Appalachian Mountains would be nice, but difficult to do properly if you don't have a car.

snowie25

Hey thanks for the info.
This is my ruff route I think I will take on the grey hound 30 day pass.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&so...77,19.6875&z=6

Any other comments about destinations worth visiting are more than welcome,

Thanks

BaltoTraveler

Looks like a good outline. If you are going to Virginia Beach, by all means stop for a day in Williamsburg. It is a supurb re-creation of an American colonial city of the 1770s.

Daniel_Williams

You could potentially divide it up by train as well (be aware that delays are common out of the northeast corridor). Catch the Amtrak Palmetto Service or Regional Service to Richmond, then the Palmetto Service to Charleston, then Palmetto to Savannah. Then grab the Amtrak Silver Meteor toward Miami.

If you stick with Greyhound, the one thing I would absolutely NOT do is try to go from Savannah to Key West in one fell swoop on Greyhound (or otherwise). Even Miami to Key West on Greyhound is 5 hours. I'm also not a big fan of Virginia Beach (too overdeveloped and sprawly for my tastes), especially seeing as you'll be getting beach anyway further south. I'd probably opt for Richmond instead if I wanted to split things up.

Best wishes, Daniel

GoTravel

Just a tip but I'd stay off Greyhound. When I worked for the SC Department of Corrections, we moved our inmates around by Greyhound.

Google Greyhound and crime.

Greyhound from Miami to Key West would be fine but that is about the only route I'd take.

nytraveler

Amtrak - except from Boston to NYC to DC - is very unreliable. Often late, sometimes cancelled - and usually quite expensive (flying is often just as cheap). Buses tend to use terminals in the wrong end of town, are also sometimes late - and you may find some very unsavory people riding them. Sorry to say - the US is really set up for either car or air travel.

If you're careful, bus is doable - but do check out schedules carefully (some drop you off in the middle of the night) and have a definite plan asa to where to go when you get to wherever.