Peth_

Hello, next year in September we will with friends to the USA and want to make a roundtrip. Started in New York to the Niagara Falls, Atlanta the Sea Aquarium to Orlando. There is much more to see, so we want to here from u what beautiful things there are, so i hope you can help us and tell us a lot. Thank you

Orlando_Vic

There are a lot of people who can and will help, but you first need to give us some specific information:


How many days for your trip

Your interests (big cities, scenic attractions, museums, restaurants, etc.)

Your budget

nytraveler

Agree we need more info:

Are you planning on flying or driving for the trip?

How many of you are there all together?

What ages are you?

Any special interests?

NJriverchick

On your journey you MUST include:

Grand Canyon & Sedona

Yosemite

Yellowstone

Goldengate Bridge

Cape May, NJ

enjoy

Peth_

Yes sorry the information was not enough, we want to drive from New york to Orlando first we want to see NY and than the Niagara Falls. We have 23 days vacation 1 day for flighing to NY and 1 back to Holland. So than we have a full 21 days in the States. We want to see much as possible, like history, nature, just the real things that make USA so nice.Thank you

asdaven

If you heading down south, don't miss the Great Smokey Mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. It is a national park and is my favorite in the Eastern US. It is very beautiful and very historical. Lots of wildlife and old pioneer cabins and rushing mountain streams. It is a wild and unique place. And there is no other place like it. It sounds like you are just staying in the eastern us. That is fine. There great things to see in the Eastern United States. However, I reccomend you consider another trip sometime to the Western United States. Fly to San Francisco, Denver, or Las Vegas and take a roadtrip. You could spend over a month out there seeing all the national parks. A few National parks I reccomend are:
Yosemite
Yellowstone
Grand Teton
Grand Canyon
Zion
Arches
Canyonlands
Bryce Canyon
Mesa Verde

These all great, breathtaking places.
Good luck-

sjk

Although I agree that all of the national parks mentioned are breathtaking and not to be missed, many of them are further west and not on the east coast, which is where it sounds like you want to stay. If that's correct, here are a few other suggestions:
NYC to Niagra for an overnight. THis is a 7-hour drive +/-. You may want to break off at some place in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York (Lake George??). Depending on your budget, it's also an option to fly there. THe fall color in that region is really beatiful that time of year.

Again in NOrtheast, you could spend a few days around Boston and Newport. Also along the east coast is Philadelphia for it's history and outlying QUaker communities. I second the SMoky Mountains National Park. Also in NOrth Carolina are the OUter Banks - not sure about weather that time of year, but Ocracoke Island is absolutely wonderful for relaxation and scenery. Charleston, SC and Savannah GA also come to mind. A lot of these will depend on if you want to fly or drive.... SO more information please.

asdaven

I mentioned the western national parks for another trip. The US is a big country, so it is better to stick to either the east coast or the west coast. Great Smokey Mountains are great as I mentioned. I second the outer banks, I am not really a beach person and am a person that enjoys the mountains, but if I were to go to the beach I would go to the Outer Banks because it is one of the least crowded beach areas on the east coast. Especially ocracoke island.

smartcookie

Are you sure you want to spend that much time driving? If you do, then your stops should include NYC, Boston, DC, and Philly and then Charlestona and Savannah. Most people seem to be dissappointed with Niagra Falls considering how long and expensive it is to get there. I would personally skip it. Orlando is basically only interesting for the theme parks. You can fly there from NYC as well. Most people prefer Miami, Keys, St Augustine, etc. 21 days is not that much time as things that you want to see are pretty far apart. Are you going with kids?

eulariza

Check out SF and other must-see places in the US on this website www.mapjack.com This will surely help you get a preview of what to expect in the spots that you planned to visit.

travelsdetective

You have plenty of time to plan your travel, you my advice is to read a lot so that you have no unpleasant surprises in store for you. Since you will be driving a lot, you can visit small out of the way places on the way. www.petergreenberg.com Peter Greenberg is a reputed traveller and has a list of such places and several other travel tips on his blog.

mclaurie

Here's one possibility just doing the east coast
>New York
>take amtrak.com TRAIN to Boston
>fly jetblue.com or other airline (look on kayak.com) from Boston to Buffalo, NY and rent car to see Niagara Falls.
>fly from Buffalo to Orlando
>drive from Orlando toward Atlanta stopping in Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, SC.
>fly from Atlanta to Washington, DC

Points to note:
>train between NYC, Boston, Washington,DC is relatively simple -
>driving to Niagara Falls will take a lot of time. Flying from either NYC or Boston to Buffalo, NY is 1 hr., relatively cheap and not too expensive.
>driving all the way from NYC to Orlando is not the best use of time.

Mapquest.com or maps.google.com are good sites for estimating driving times.

mclaurie

I am assuming, you are traveling with children or are, yourselves, big theme park people. Otherwise, I totally agree with smartcookie that Orlando is not worth your time. I've never been to the aquarium in Atlanta, but again, not sure I'd make a special trip there vs. possibly going to New Orleans or further west to the parks.

Orlando_Vic

Orlando is one of the world's premier travel destinations. More than 50-million people visit our area every year, enjoying the many attractions, beaches, and events that make Central Florida a great place to visit and live. In addition to the theme parks, here is a sampling of a few other things you can visit.

Wekiwa Springs State park
http://www.floridastateparks.org/wek...gs/default.cfm
http://www.canoewekiva.com/

Blue Spring State Park
http://www.floridastateparks.org/bluespring/default.cfm

Winter park Scenic Boat Tour
http://www.scenicboattours.com/

THE CHARLES HOSMER MORSE MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART
http://www.morsemuseum.org/home.htm

Leu Gardens in Orlando
www.leugardens.org

Kennedy Space Center
www.kennedyspacecenter.com/

Boggy Creek Airboat Rides
www.bcairboats.com

Restaurants in orlando
1. Seasons 52 <http://www.seasons52.com/> on Sand Lake Road. This is a very classy restaurant and requires reservations 1-2 weeks in advance.

2. Bahama Breeze <http://www.bahamabreeze.com/> on International Drive. Use their call ahead seating to get your name on the waiting list before you come. Casual dress is the norm.

3. Sweet Tomatoes <http://www.sweettomatoes.com/> at 6877 South Kirkman Rd. is one of a chain of "salad bar" restaurants but is very conveniently located to the Prime shopping outlets <http://www.primeoutlets.com/cntrdefa...p?cntrid=1077> at the north end of kirkman Road.

4. Straubs Sea Food <http://www.straubsseafood.com/> is a short drive away in the "downtown" Orlando area to the northeast. Just take I-4 east (toward Daytona Beach) and get off at Colonial Drive (State Road 50) and go east several miles. The food is good and the prices moderate. It is very popular with locals. The "early bird menu" (before 6 P.M.) is a particularly good value. Again, casual dress is O.K. reservations are not required but a good idea, particularly for the early bird menu.

5. Artist Point <http://tinyurl.com/8nc5x> at the Wilderness Lodge in WDW.

Use the restaurant search tool in the Orlando Sentinel <http://www.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment/dining/> and try to find restaurants in the area of interest (e.g. I-Drive/Universal or Disney/Lake Buena Vista) that have been favorably reviewed by restaurant critic, Scott Joseph, or are a "Foodie" award winner. The new list is due out in a few weeks.

And finally...don't miss St. Augustine. Coming from Charleston and Savannah to the north, it is right on Interstate Highway 95, approximately 100 miles north of Orlando. St. Augustine is our oldest city - over 400 years old.

capxxx

Here is an itenerary that goes to the places you mention. It has a variety of cities and natural scenery.

Fly to Toronto. 1 night in Toronto, then to Niagara Falls the next morning. 2 nights in Niagara, or 1 night if you choose option A. below.

A. It is at least a 7 hour drive to NYC. If you don't want to spend that much time in the car, stop somewhere in the Finger Lakes Region, like Ithaca or Skaneateles, 1 night. Enjoy beautiful scenery.

Drive to NYC. 5 nights. Take a day trip. First week gone.

Now make your way down the coast to Orlando:

3 nights Washington DC.

Long drive to Atlanta, through scenic mountains (Shenandoa National Park) Stay 2 nights in or near the Great Smokey Mountains National Park, or farther north in, say Roanoke.

2 nights in Atlanta.

Drive through the Okefenokee Swamp (near Waycross, Georgia), to stay on the coast near Jacksonville (Florida), maybe in St. Augustine. 2 nights.

5 nights Orlando area. Ejoy Seaworld and all the other stuff. Fly home from Orlando.

Peth_

Thanks for all your reply, we are going with friends without childeren. We where the last time in Orlando in 96 so i think their being a lot of change, we realy like the parks so that is the reason that we want to go to Orlando, but now we want to see more than only Orlando, and that's why we want to make a trip from north to south and want to see as much as we can. We think it's possible to see a lot but than we have to drive every day, but that's no problem. That's why we want to see the beautiful things that the USA has to offer, and we think that is a lot. So wenn some one knows more places, everything is very welcome. Thank you.

mindforms

Here are some things I would take time to see between NYC and Orlando. 1. In Philadelphia go see where the United States was born, the Liberty Bell,and a cheese steak hoagie. 2. Drive through Pennsylvania Dutch country and sample the Amish way of life (buy Apple Butter), 3. Go walk the battlefield at Gettysburg and wonder how Pickett got his men to march 1/2 mile in open field under 20,000 Federal guns, 4. Spend at least a day in Washington seeing the Lincoln Memorial, Viet Nam Memorial, the National Archives, and parts of the Smithsonian, 5. Somewhere in Maryland eat crabcakes (you have never tasted anything as good), 6. Visit the "Fan District" in Richmond to see wonderfully restored homes and buildings, 7. The Outer Banks of NC are beautiful, particularly some of the less developed areas, 8. Savannah and Charleston are both wonderful, but you might want to try Beaufort, SC, 9. Fernandina Beach, Florida is a delightful town with wonderful beaches.

kja

Hi, Peth -

If you are interested in waterfalls, you might consider a short stop in New York's Finger Lake area, say in Ithaca - there are many, many beautiful waterfalls there that are easily reached. There was a post not too long ago about access to the parks and waterfalls there, so you might do a search on this forum.

Good luck!

celfan

I would also say skip Niagara Falls. It's just not worth the long,uneventful drive. If you insist on going though, go to Niagara Falls on the Canadian side. Niagara Falls NY is pretty much a dump