len1962

Hi Guys

I am travelling from Australia in October 11, flying into Dallas. I have the following itinerary which I would like feedback on. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I will be flying between cities, maybe train between DC & NY.

24 DALLAS 1:50pm
25 - 27 NEW ORLEANS
28 - 30 ORLANDO
31 - 02 NOV CHARLESTON
3-6 WASHINGTON (includes side trips to Williamsburg etc)
7-15 NEW YORK (includes side trips into New England etc)
15 DALLAS
16 Fly Home

Len
from OZ

Gretchen

How are you doing the side trips.

nytraveler

I assume you will rent a car for the side trips - that's the only realistic way to do them.

Also, while the south will still be warm by the time you get to NY/New England you will be well into fall, it will be chilly/cold, all of the leaves are off the trees and many sights will be on shorter winter hours.

Also - unless you mean CT most of New England is too far for day trips (to Boston and back would take about 9 hours). You might consider some sights in the Hudson Valley, which has a host of historic sights, including the US Military Academy at West Point (incredible on football days) and FDR's home at Hyde Park.

Overall you are covering a LOT of territory. Do you have some sort of flight pass that gives you a certain number of flights or miles for a bargain fare - or the cost of airfare could really pule up.

bachslunch

Agreed with the other posters that your side trips will be very time consuming at best and impossible at worst if you're using public transportation. If October 11 is after Columbus Day, nytraveler is spot on about the likelihood of seasonal hours, especially for many things in New England and the Hudson Valley.

You itinerary looks fine, though. Personally, I could (and did) spend over a week in New Orleans happily with no shortage of things to see, but you can get a good taste of the city in three days.

Note well that New York and New Orleans are two of the biggest "foodie" destinations in the US, and researching places to eat can bring up rewarding options.

palmettoprincess

What do you want to do? Culture? Shopping? Beach? Personally I feel that Charleston is worth a visit but Charleston and New Orleans (at least before Katrina) have a similar vibe. If you are consolidating your schedule so you can spend longer in each destination I would do New Orleans or Charleston.
Yes, I know I'm going to get flamed by people who say you've got to do both, but flying to so many destinations will get pricy.

Do check out Southwestern airlines however. You will not find them on a general search engine such as expedia.com.

Cranachin

palmettoprincess mean Southwest Airlines (www.southwest.com)

Rksue

First... its a shame your flying into Dallas... although its a nice large city...its just that.
New Orleans is fantastic. I have been there a lot and yes I was there just last year. If your going to New Orleans and must see is of course the French Quarters. Go to the Cafe Du Monde. Located at Old Jackson Square...everybody that is local will know how to get there. Have a beignet. They are these fantastic donuts that will come out hot... Lots to do at night so 2 nites there is a must.

Orlando must be for Disney and MGM...Seaworld. Of course this you kind find all kinds of information on so I would add anything here.

Charlston is beautiful... and I am sure I might get shot for saying this but I just cant see anything more than a day...its a historic town... but I dont see that much time...

Washington DC has a lot to see and side trips will run the entire day... its a huge city so traveling out of the city will take time and there is what we like to call commuter traffic... could take you 2 hours just to drive 30 miles... and thats on a good day. I am not sure what time DC traffic is at the worst... most likely from 6 am to 9 am and 3 pm to 7 pm... just guessing on this one since that is the bad hours for Boston area... this includes up to 50 miles away from the city...

New York 7-8 days is fine... Just be aware that you are now into snow time. in November its easy into the 40 degree mark and yes they get snow storms in New England. You can take a quick flight from NY to Boston... should be resonable rates.

Once in Boston there are several ways to get north into NH and Maine. There is a train that goes. Kittery Maine is a place for shopping. I would suggest a car rental for doing New England... So many places to see that if you tell me what your looking for I am sure I can point you into the right direction. Lived and traveled New England for 30 years. I have done some cross country trips, spent 14,000 miles and 3 months on a motorcycle... you get so see quit a bit this way..
If you want to see Vermont than take a plane to Burlington VT. Its a beautiful town. Vermont does not have huge cities and is such a beautiful state to visit. The Vermont Teddy Bear factory is in Shelbourne (I think). The Shelbourne Museum is a hidden gem if you like art and history. They have Monets and all kinds of rare paintings...they also show you what Vermont use to look like. By the time you get this far I think Apple picking will be all done..

If at all possible, I would suggest you start in New England and head south rather than the other way around
Have a great trip

tomfuller

For your New England trip from NYC take the train from New York City to Boston and rent a car there. Return the car in Boston and ride the train through NYC to Washington DC.
You can rent a car in Union Station in Washington DC for your trip to Williamsburg. For in the city of Washington walking and the Metro will work better than trying to drive.

williamscb13

I think if I were you I would reverse your trip. I would immediately leave Dallas and fly to NYC and then DC and then Charleston & Orlando and then fly from Orlando to New Orleans and then from New Orleans back to Dallas. That way you are in NYC in October when it is glorious and you won't be chasing cold weather, instead you'll be probably about the same temperature throughout your trip.

Can you fly directly on Southwest from Dallas to New Orleans? You might want to check that out.

And Dallas is not all bad. Take a day and go see the 6th Floor museum about the assassination of JFK. It is very well done and really highlights such a cultural change/impact in the U.S.

williamscb13

oh and reading tomfuller's post. Do not take the train from Boston to DC. That's like an 8 hour train ride and a waste of a day and it's not like Amtrak has sleeper cars for overnight trips. If you want ot include Boston. Fly from Boston to DC. so far in advance you can get a cheap ticket.

tomfuller

You're right about the 8 hour trip from Boston to Washington.
The first NE regional leaves Boston at 6:15AM and arrives in DC at 2:00 PM. If you ride the Acela the trip is 6.5 hours.
You probably can get an airline ticket from Boston to DC for less, but you may spend more to get a taxi into the city. Car rentals are cheaper in downtown locations than at the airports.

bachslunch

Haven't been to Dallas but have researched it a little, and it appears one could spend as much as four days there if so inclined. Fair Park looks to have about a day's worth of museums alone. The main attractions in the Arts District (Dallas Museum of Art, Crow Collection of Asian Art, Nasher Sculpture Center, Aquarium) might occupy another day. The JFK related stuff downtown could combine with the Heritage Village at Old City Park for a third. And add a fourth to see the Meadows Art Museum and the Zoo.

And that doesn't even count what nearby Fort Worth has to offer.

Not sure I'd select Dallas over NYC, Boston, Washington, Charleston, or New Orleans, but that's another story.

Gothampc

I would agree with the others that say you should try and reverse your schedule. If you come to New York and New England in October, you will be able to experience the leaves changing color, the apple crop at its peak and the nip in the air of Fall. Also if you can be in New York on October 31, you can view (or join in, anyone can march in it) the Halloween Parade in Greenwich Village. Coming to the middle of November is not as exciting.

paulhelmick

I think by traveling to both Charleston and N.O. you will have the chance to decide for yourself which city is richist in history and great food.Both are first rate.I have done walking tours in both cities and found them very rewarding.There is a national park service tour led by a ranger in N.O. You can check on line.I also think that your time in D.C.is to short.There is just so much to see in D.C. even without the side trip.Alot of people go to Arlington national cemetary and then to Washingtons home in Mt.Vernon and that takes up one day.One other thing you might consider is that N.O. and Charleton have less public transportation options.They are smaller cities though.I highly recommend getting out of the French Quarter in N.O. NYC,Boston,and D.C. have great public transportation.I think Orlando would be the hardest to get around without a car,but I am guessing you are going to Disney parks and can arrange around that.

len1962

Rksue ... I had planned to do NY first (mainly for the fall leaves), but on another post here they said all the leaves would be gone anyway, and further south would still have them, also NY is cheaper in November, as end of October is NY Marathon, and hotel rates go up.

If NY/New England still had autumn leaves late November, I would have pleased to go back to my original plan.

Your advice on this would be appreciated.

Len
from OZ

len1962

sorry. ... that should read 'if NY/New England still had autumn leaves in late OCTOBER I would be pleased to go back to my original plan'

Len

nytraveler

You are likely to find leaves only in NYC Central Park at the end of October - and as noted that it's a very busy time - between the marathon (30,000+ runners) and the huge Halloween parade. But - everything from early Oct on is high season in NYC - although that one weekend will be esp busy.

panchodog

Hey y'all, as a native Southerner I clicked on this thread to offer what advice I could about a "tour of the south" but found y'all talking about fall in New England!!

Len, once you get to DC, you're out of the South. DC is Mid-Atlantic. I think the South stops somewhere between Richmond and DC. Many people don't include Texas in the South, either, instead lumping it in with the Southwest (appropriate for West TX IMO, but not necessarily Dallas) or letting Texas be it's own thing ("a whole 'nother country" and all that).

That said I think your itinerary looks good, but I agree that reversing it might be the way to go. It can still be in the 80s-90sF (26-32C) in the Deep South in October. Weather.com has good historical weather data on the cities you will visit if you dig for it.

I disagree that New Orleans and Charleston are too similar. New Orleans has it's own special culture. Charleston is more the genteel, historical, plantation South. I could see choosing between Charleston and Savannah as a case could be made for them being similar, but I think if you want to see the South then including Charleston is appropriate.

If it's the East Coast you want to see then you might like to include Boston or Maine as a pp mentioned as well as NYC.

If you're looking for leaves you might check out the Appalachian mountains in mid October. Usually around the 15th-20th is peak leaf time, but it really depends on any number of variables. Many people from throughout the South go to places like Asheville to see the leaves in the fall, so you'd do well to book lodging early if you decide to do that. The most popular way to see the leaves is by driving the Blue Ridge Parkway, but you could see a lot hiking or biking, too.

panchodog

Oh, I'm wondering about the flying between cities, too. It seems like that could add up pretty quickly and there's really not good public transportation options in most of your destinations except for NYC and DC. You really need a car to get around most of the US, unfortunately.

panchodog

Oh, one more comment — re: the fall leaves in NY, you might like to have a look at this thread, http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...upstate-ny.cfm . BTW, Columbus Day is Oct 10.