Advice for my holiday to the USA

[The Fonz]

We in the US drive on the other side of the road and the other side of the car. When I visit the UK I never drive. If you think you can adapt go for it, if not better pick another method.

Our trains are crap compared to UK trains. There might be one or two lines in the US with high speed rail.

Bite the bullet and fly.

Nashville might be better than New Orleans as a country music fan.

Enjoy the trip.

Oh yea we also stop for pedestrians here.

I tried it once and I panicked i gave up

 

[AbeBeta]

We are planning a trip to your amazing country for 2025 and I am after any tips or advice.
It will be a 2-3 week holiday and our daughter will be 10 so some time in some theme parks will be a definite.
I definitely want to visit the Kennedy Space Centre, all things Dallas Cowboys and Dealey Plaza.
My wife is massively into country music so experiencing this first hand would be a big thing.
We have relatives who live in Arizona so would be looking to spend time there as well (unless they meet us somewhere).

As a rough plan, without any real planning as yet I thought start at Florida, do some parks, space center then drive to Dallas stopping off at New Orleans (I've never drove in the USA before) then on to Dallas then Arizona by car.

Is this driveable or should we fly?
Any must see places or other suggestions?

Any advice would be welcome.

Thanks

You are going to kill a ton of time driving. And a lot of driving is just awful. It takes a full week to drive from the east coast to the west. Think Australia with some cities in between that are all concrete and full of Outback Steakhouses and other atrocities.

Theme parks in FL, sure. Great for a 10 year old. You know what else is good? Not being in the car for endless hours driving across boring and desolate terrain. At least if you are at an airport there is food and bathrooms.

Dallas and all things Cowboys. Probably not great at this time of the year. If you land in the South, New Orleans is the go to. Dallas and Houston are not great spots to visit.

Arizona? Have your family meet you in Los Angeles where you can do more than sit around in someone's house. Arizona is all about big houses and staying in.

Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago. I'd say NYC but that can be overwhelming. These are the places to see in the states. Dallas and Arizona do not even rate in the top 20.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

True but it was more for the museums, tourist spots and history of country music.

I bet I could spend days just going into guitar shops and or pawn shops and looking at guitars.

 

[Runwildboys]

You are going to kill a ton of time driving. And a lot of driving is just awful. It takes a full week to drive from the east coast to the west. Think Australia with some cities in between that are all concrete and full of Outback Steakhouses and other atrocities.

Theme parks in FL, sure. Great for a 10 year old. You know what else is good? Not being in the car for endless hours driving across boring and desolate terrain. At least if you are at an airport there is food and bathrooms.

Dallas and all things Cowboys. Probably not great at this time of the year. If you land in the South, New Orleans is the go to. Dallas and Houston are not great spots to visit.

Arizona? Have your family meet you in Los Angeles where you can do more than sit around in someone's house. Arizona is all about big houses and staying in.

Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago. I'd say NYC but that can be overwhelming. These are the places to see in the states. Dallas and Arizona do not even rate in the top 20.

For someone who enjoys cities, this is fair, but I don't think that's what he's looking for.

 

[1942willys]

You are going to kill a ton of time driving. And a lot of driving is just awful. It takes a full week to drive from the east coast to the west. Think Australia with some cities in between that are all concrete and full of Outback Steakhouses and other atrocities.

Theme parks in FL, sure. Great for a 10 year old. You know what else is good? Not being in the car for endless hours driving across boring and desolate terrain. At least if you are at an airport there is food and bathrooms.

Dallas and all things Cowboys. Probably not great at this time of the year. If you land in the South, New Orleans is the go to. Dallas and Houston are not great spots to visit.

Arizona? Have your family meet you in Los Angeles where you can do more than sit around in someone's house. Arizona is all about big houses and staying in.

Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago. I'd say NYC but that can be overwhelming. These are the places to see in the states. Dallas and Arizona do not even rate in the top 20.

IF you want to experience the US driving is the only way. visiting one airport after another is a waste

Now if you just want to experience things and such; then pick four or five spots and fly in and rent a car
driving around is really the only way; few cities have decent mass trans
It has never caught on here for two reasons: the size of the US and the people like their independence and able to be by themselves

and the elite disdain for fly over country is to be avoided

 

[Roadtrip635]

A San Antonio and area would be a fun side trip, you have the Alamo, the Riverwalk, Seaworld and Fiesta Texas Parks and less than 30 minute drive north is New Braunfels with a huge Water Park, Schlitterbahn, which is fun for the kids. There's also Gruene Hall, the oldest dance hall in Texas for the country music fix, they have free afternoon shows on the weekends and is very family friendly, there's been a bunch of movies and music videos filmed there.

 

[Creeper]

If you are coming from the UK, I suggest you also plan to taste the many cuisines the US has to offer. You can mix sightseeing with good restaurant stops. No one does food the way we do it in the US. I am not talking about fast food chain restaurants either. Just prepare to bring clothes a size or 2 larger for your return home!

 

[DFWJC]

Dollywood would kills two birds with one stone (Theme park/ Country music), assuming it's still there and that it's not a crappy place to go.

Pretty countryside there too

 

[DFWJC]

Hi all
We are planning a trip to your amazing country for 2025 and I am after any tips or advice.
It will be a 2-3 week holiday and our daughter will be 10 so some time in some theme parks will be a definite.
I definitely want to visit the Kennedy Space Centre, all things Dallas Cowboys and Dealey Plaza.
My wife is massively into country music so experiencing this first hand would be a big thing.
We have relatives who live in Arizona so would be looking to spend time there as well (unless they meet us somewhere).

As a rough plan, without any real planning as yet I thought start at Florida, do some parks, space center then drive to Dallas stopping off at New Orleans (I've never drove in the USA before) then on to Dallas then Arizona by car.

Is this driveable or should we fly?
Any must see places or other suggestions?

Any advice would be welcome.

Thanks

Fun
So much to see and such a vast area.
Is this during the summer?
The weather will affect the quality of your visit. Just saying..

That southern trek from Florida to Louisiana to Texas To Arizona is not a very scenic highway. And it will be flat-out cooking if its the middle of the summer.

The beautiful country, of course, includes the mountains and beaches. Other than some of your Florida trip, it sounds like you might be skipping that this time around.

I guess if you are for sure doing the Kennedy Center, and you want to do a theme park, may as well go to Disney while you are down there.

 

[Runwildboys]

I bet his family would love to see a rodeo. Anyone know where to go for one?

 

[Roadtrip635]

I bet his family would love to see a rodeo. Anyone know where to go for one?

Depending on when they come, the State Fair of Texas would pretty awesome, it's a huge event. They could get their rodeo, country music and pretty much anything you can imagine fried and/or on a stick, all in one place........lol

 

[VaqueroTD]

I bet his family would love to see a rodeo. Anyone know where to go for one?

I suggested Fort Worth more than Dallas in my list for him because sounds like they want more cowboy stuff. If you’re leaving soon, Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo still going on. But also most of the big cities in Texas have their own annual stock show and rodeos. Just have to google the dates. Second the State Fair of Texas Stockshow and Rodeo suggestion from RT. Arizona is also known for some of the best rodeos in the USA.

 

[Skullmiester]

Few things:

• If you're looking to drive cross country, IMO, only places worth doing that are mountain range areas. Either Rockies in West which is scenic all over through many states, or Appalachians in East with places like the Blue Ridge Parkway... everything else is boring including that drive from Florida to Dallas which is mostly on I-10. Nothing but swamps, worn down towns, and hurricane damaged forests with maybe the highlight driving by the USS Alabama in Mobile and that's about it.
• I second the people who suggest visiting Nashville to get your Country Music fix. Spend a weekend. Stay near Broadway Street which is famous for its music bars. Visit Country Music Hall of Fame, Johnny Cash Museum, and more... Hardest part here though will be your 10-year-old. She can come with you during day, and Broadway Street is still going on, but if you want to see all the live bands at night and the festivities, definitely not for kids. Treat yourself out to some authentic Southern or Soul Food. Memphis Fried Chicken!
• Theme Parks, you'll need AT LEAST 3 days in Disney, 2 days in Universal to get a somewhat fulfilling experience, and I would recommend 4 for Disney, 3 for Universal if never been before. If going in summer, very hot, add a day or two for recovery. Daughter will probably like Magic Kingdom at Disney the best, and the Harry Potter Worlds at Universal, but tons of stuff to do in both parks. Get your daughter the Disney Princess outfits, and treat her out. She's only a kid once. I would skip the rest of the tourist parks unless your daughter is a lego fanatic, she might enjoy LegoLand. Seaworld only worth it if you go to their specialty parks where you can swim with dolphins and do other cool things that generally would take an ocean/beach trip to experience.
• Space Center. Easy one hour rental car drive from Orlando to the Space Coast. Think it's worth seeing at least once. If you want to experience some cool Beach Life stuff, that is not the place to go. Go down South towards Fort Lauderdale or Miami, but probably only worth it if was only you and the miss.
• New Orleans. Always worth a visit. But again.. not very kid friendly. Things to do in the day, but like Nashville, adults only in evening. Mardi Gras time right now if you're going soon, and always worth attending, but book a hotel NOW. FYI, a lot of crime and drugs in that area. Treat yourself out to a great Cajun Food place. Of all the cities on this list, this one is by far the most unique.
• Dallas.. for sure the Cowboys and JFK experiences are two things worth doing and city is known for. Generic metroplex, but will have everything a large metro should.... good museums, a lot of rodeo and country music stuff since it's down South, good sports teams, big amusement parks, etc... Fort Worth probably has better rodeo, country music tourist stuff if that's what your wife is looking for. The entire DFW metro is huge so make sure you look at attractions in all surrounding cities. You're in Tex-Mex territory so look for some great Mexican Food joints.
• Arizona, now you're starting to get to an area worth driving. You're where the Rockies start to begin. I'd probably fly out to Phoenix or a big city in the state and get a rental and plan it out from there. All types of sites. Grand Canyon is the big one, and that is a large area, so make sure you go the main Southern Station. That's the real Grand Canyon. Monument Valley which extends into Utah, you'll recognize if you saw any old school westerns. The famous Meteor Crater is in Arizona. Hoover Dam in Las Vegas along with Red Rock Canyon and of course.... VEGAS baby! Montezuma Castle, Vermilion Cliffs, etc.... Just search a list, and pick what you want to see and how it will work out logistically with the driving. Sedona is a great looking city both natural and manmade, and cool place to shop. Of all the places on this agenda, this is where you'll get the most impressive photographs.

Long write-up, sorry, but love to travel, and been to all these places more than once. So only way to make it work if you want these places and only have 3 weeks would be...

9 days Orlando, Central Florida.. flying
2 days Nashville.. flying (not on your original list but you specifically want to see country music culture, and no better place)
2 days New Orleans.. flying
2 days Dallas.. flying
6 days Arizona.. driving

I'd probably cut off Nashville, New Orleans or Dallas and spend more time in the 2 of 3 you don't cut. Hope this helps.

Wow, absolutely fantastic
Thank you so much for the detailed advice which is going to be so useful.

 

[1942willys]

Fun
So much to see and such a vast area.
Is this during the summer?
The weather will affect the quality of your visit. Just saying..

That southern trek from Florida to Louisiana to Texas To Arizona is not a very scenic highway. And it will be flat-out cooking if its the middle of the summer.

The beautiful country, of course, includes the mountains and beaches. Other than some of your Florida trip, it sounds like you might be skipping that this time around.

I guess if you are for sure doing the Kennedy Center, and you want to do a theme park, may as well go to Disney while you are down there.

so only mountains and beaches are worth a look?
how snobbish
I guess it comes down to whether the person wants to learn more about America or just see things
Walking is the absolute best way to see anything but of course only if you have a year or so to do it
driving down roads NOT INTERSTATES gives you the best option there
comes down to how much time do you have as well

 

[Reverend Conehead]

If you're interested in JFK, his Presidential library is in Boston, Massachusetts. I've been there, and it's well worth seeing. Of course, if you want to work that in, you'll absolutely need to fly. Boston is way, way far away from Nashville, New Orleans, and Dallas.

 

[Reverend Conehead]

You can use google maps https://www.google.com/maps
You can put in a starting point and a destination point and it will give you instructions of how to get there
and the basic amount of driving time it will take.

Just to give you an idea of driving time between spots.

I second this. However, you'll need to add time for stopping to rest, refuel, and eat. Most people can't drive nonstop, and even then there's the need to stop for fuel. Bing Maps will also do it. I have a slight preference for it.

 

[DFWJC]

so only mountains and beaches are worth a look?
how snobbish
I guess it comes down to whether the person wants to learn more about America or just see things
Walking is the absolute best way to see anything but of course only if you have a year or so to do it
driving down roads NOT INTERSTATES gives you the best option there
comes down to how much time do you have as well

I didn't say that.
I said the beautiful country INCLUDES the mountains and the beaches.

Jeez
Do you just come on this site just to start arguments?

 

[DZSierra]

Any theme park in Florida associated with Disney, pay the extra money for a "fast pass".

I was complaining to my wife about the ticket prices to begin with and then more for a fast pass??? When we were there (and it wasn't extremely busy but still crowded) that fast pass is worth EVERY penny. Instead of waiting an hour in line, perhaps 5-10 minutes max. We only did Universal Studios, got there when they opened and left when they closed. Very LONG day, but we pretty much got on every ride we wanted to.

 

[VaqueroTD]

Wow, absolutely fantastic
Thank you so much for the detailed advice which is going to be so useful.

No problem, hope it helps.

Few more things on all those areas on your list:

• Get the Fast Pass or whatever it's called these days in Disney and Universal. Bumps you to front of line. If they haven't changed, the Universal one has to be purchased, and Disney is more of a freebie system where you can only select a certain amount of rides each day. But both give you extra fast pass perks for staying in their official theme park hotels. Absolutely vital if you go in summer, not as much around now when cooler and less crowded.
• All big resorts on your list, but especially in Orlando, have a lot of vans and buses to shuttle guests to these attractions if you want to save hassle on rentals. For example, you mentioned Space Center, and there are trips you can purchase on tourist buses from Orlando. Grand Canyon is another big one like this. Especially taking off from Vegas which is located next to the Arizona border, but takes off from major Arizona locations too.
• NBA Season still in gear and IMO the next best pro sport to watch live after NFL. I believe every city on your list with an NBA team is winning this year. I personally think Dallas Mavs are most exciting team to watch on that list.
• Go to a ticket site and check out music concerts and stand-up comedians in the cities and dates you are visiting. Places like Dallas, Nashville, Vegas, New Orleans, Phoenix are always a destination for big names. Especially if I'm living in a small town, I always take advantage of vacations in metros to see if I get lucky and it happens to be same dates as my favorite comedian or band. Since you're coming from overseas, might get chance to see some new gigs.
• If you're REALLY up for it, I second RT's suggestion to even considering a drive a few hours from Nashville to Memphis, birthplace of The King and other country music, R&B, BBQ, Southern icons. FYI, that can be a rough city at times too. I believe that's also close to the original Jack Daniels Distillery where you can even see the water spring they've been using to dilute the stuff since the late 1800's and give its a unique taste? Visit some of the local Whiskey/Bourbon places at the original source. Some very cool tours in those distilleries.
• And one last one for your daughter. IF she is a Harry Potter fan, take her to the Wand Shop, and try to get her to be the one they single out with the light and wind on her head like the movies as she picks a wand. The two things I see the kids get a huge kick out of in those theme parks, one was suggestion from first reply -- girls wearing their selected Disney Princess outfit -- and the other one would be kids who get into the Harry Potter robe and wand setups.

 

[AbeBeta]

IF you want to experience the US driving is the only way. visiting one airport after another is a waste

Now if you just want to experience things and such; then pick four or five spots and fly in and rent a car
driving around is really the only way; few cities have decent mass trans
It has never caught on here for two reasons: the size of the US and the people like their independence and able to be by themselves

and the elite disdain for fly over country is to be avoided

Driving across the country is freaking stupid. There is only so much corn and flat roads that a tourist can take.

Also, in many cities mass transit is pretty outstanding. Have you actually experienced the U.S.?

And let's not bash the "elites" for hating fly-over country. If I'm visiting a country for the first time in a limited amount of time, I want to visit locations that have a concentration of attractions and things to do -- But yeah. Let's hit West Virginia. That's a good use of our limited vacation time.