[Zerforax]

So a few of us are going to go travel the East Coast of USA (part road trip). The idea is to go for 3 weeks. So far we're thinking:

Fly into NY (spend 4 or 5 days)
Bus/train to Philadelphia (day or two)
Bus/train to Baltimore (day or so)
Bus/train to Washington (couple of days)

At this point we'd hire a car.

Aim to spend a day or two at the following/via:
Richmond
Raleigh
Charleston
Savannah
Jacksonville
Orlando
Miami (spend about 4 days here and then fly back to London).

Anyone have any suggestions as to any places I may I missed which would be "must see"? Anything we should try to detour via? I'm thinking an evening in Atlantic City might not be too bad

Any ideas and suggestions are appreciated - from things to avoid, to places to stay/eat etc.

[No Man]

Nothing is special about Jacksonville. I'd also suggest going to Wilmington (North Carolina) instead of Raleigh if you want a more scenic route to Charleston.

Also, you missed out Boston, which could be a better starting point than New York (and it's better than Baltamore).

[Also Known As]

What are you interested in? Partying, history/culture, nature/outdoors, or just seeing the sights?

I've mostly traveled with family on the East Coast, so here's my advice.

In NYC, take the Staten Island ferry, it's for free, and you'll get the best views of the Statue of Liberty for free, but don't bother getting off the ferry there's absolutely nothing in SI tbh, lol. Canal Street, which is where Chinatown is at, is fun, loads of sketchy looking vendors coming up to you and trying to sell you Gucci bags for $20.

In Washington DC, the National Archives are a must if you love history, try to go in the afternoon the crowds are lighter, you'll see the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, and a copy of the Magna Carta. The Air and Space Museum, which is very popular, is a COMPLETE letdown, its rundown and ridiculously crowded, though I'll forever regret not buying some "astronaut ice-cream."

In certain large city's it may be worth it to buy a City Pass, you get admission to about 4-6 attractions for about $100-200, its worth to just be able to the long lines. The glares I got from a group of middle-aged women in Chicago when an attendant had me skip the line in front of them were absolutely hilarious.

Also, I'm surprised that Atlanta's not on your route, its a nice, big city most ppl stop by, though I've never been, but I'd certainly take it over Raleigh, NC.

Hope some of my advice is helpful, have a good trip!

[lelikins]

The blue ridge mountains are supposed to be beautiful if you're into scenery etc. I wouldn't know though as the fog was so thick when we went we couldn't see more than a metre in any direction
Also williamsburg is good for history and driving across the chesapeake bridge is pretty impressive!

[Colbert]

Hey Saf,

Check out Megabus for transfers between NYC, Philly, Baltimore and Washington. Absolutely ridiculous bargains to be had even if not booked far in advance. I think the most I paid was $8 and the buses are unbelievably plush. Think there is a company called Bolt Bus too which is also highly regarded, and then there is Greyhound which is fine.

Boston is a nice city but doesn't really fit into your plans unless you got a bus up and back from NYC but it's effort and probably not worth it.

Philly is a surprisingly good place to visit, two nights max are all that is required however as you can do everything in a day.

Washington another couple of days, everything is walkable easily within that time.

Didn't stop at Baltimore as I wasn't sure it was worthwhile so check there is actually something there before booking up.

Miami is actually pretty poor imo unless you just fancy some beach time. Do NOT stay in the actual city (in fact don't even go there) just stay in South Beach the entire time.

Don't know anything about Charleston except it's where the almighty Stephen Colbert grew up. Please track down his childhood house and send me a picture.

Try and catch a baseball game at some point if you are in one of the cities when the team is playing at home. It's way more fun that you imagine it would be.

If you want some hostels give me a shout

[Zerforax]

Thanks for all of the advice people! Tis much appreciated and +1'ed

We wanted to do Boston bit it becomes a bit of a stretch to do it all in 3 weeks. Appreciate the suggestions on the roadtrip section, we will probably adjust with those suggestions (we just plotted a basic A to B).

(Original post by Colbert)
Hey Saf,

Check out Megabus for transfers between NYC, Philly, Baltimore and Washington. Absolutely ridiculous bargains to be had even if not booked far in advance. I think the most I paid was $8 and the buses are unbelievably plush. Think there is a company called Bolt Bus too which is also highly regarded, and then there is Greyhound which is fine.

Boston is a nice city but doesn't really fit into your plans unless you got a bus up and back from NYC but it's effort and probably not worth it.

Philly is a surprisingly good place to visit, two nights max are all that is required however as you can do everything in a day.

Washington another couple of days, everything is walkable easily within that time.

Didn't stop at Baltimore as I wasn't sure it was worthwhile so check there is actually something there before booking up.

Miami is actually pretty poor imo unless you just fancy some beach time. Do NOT stay in the actual city (in fact don't even go there) just stay in South Beach the entire time.

Don't know anything about Charleston except it's where the almighty Stephen Colbert grew up. Please track down his childhood house and send me a picture.

Try and catch a baseball game at some point if you are in one of the cities when the team is playing at home. It's way more fun that you imagine it would be.

If you want some hostels give me a shout

Yes think we're looking at greyhound for the buses. We've got Met's tickets so far and will get some NFL tickets too

Flights have been booked!!

[Ambry]

I visited the East Coast in 2008, and it was a really memorable trip!
If you are heading down to Orlando, I don't think Clearwater is too far away. Clearwater is an absolutely beautiful place, I loved it. It has a lovely pier, a great beach, some really nice bars and people there are really friendly. It's beautiful

Miami is a really fun place and the beaches there are great too! Like most cities in some areas it gets a little... shady at night time o.o But if theres a few of you, you should be fine

Definitely go to baseball games if you can, it is one of those experiences you just don't forget. Quite fun, it feels really... American. I don't really have a better word for it.

I recommend a visit to the Kennedy space center if you are going near there? If you are interested in space and seeing some interesting things.

And a trip on a boat in the Florida Everglades is really cool, you'll see a lot of alligators!

[Baltimoron]

(Original post by Also Known As)
What are you interested in? Partying, history/culture, nature/outdoors, or just seeing the sights?

I've mostly traveled with family on the East Coast, so here's my advice.

In NYC, take the Staten Island ferry, it's for free, and you'll get the best views of the Statue of Liberty for free, but don't bother getting off the ferry there's absolutely nothing in SI tbh, lol. Canal Street, which is where Chinatown is at, is fun, loads of sketchy looking vendors coming up to you and trying to sell you Gucci bags for $20.

In Washington DC, the National Archives are a must if you love history, try to go in the afternoon the crowds are lighter, you'll see the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, and a copy of the Magna Carta. The Air and Space Museum, which is very popular, is a COMPLETE letdown, its rundown and ridiculously crowded, though I'll forever regret not buying some "astronaut ice-cream."

In certain large city's it may be worth it to buy a City Pass, you get admission to about 4-6 attractions for about $100-200, its worth to just be able to the long lines. The glares I got from a group of middle-aged women in Chicago when an attendant had me skip the line in front of them were absolutely hilarious.

Also, I'm surprised that Atlanta's not on your route, its a nice, big city most ppl stop by, though I've never been, but I'd certainly take it over Raleigh, NC.

Hope some of my advice is helpful, have a good trip!

Yeah, I'm going to have to completely disagree with this one. As a lifelong resident of the DC suburbs, the Air and Space Museum is one of the coolest things in DC. Absolutely worth the trip. I don't know when/where this person went, but it is definitely not run down. Although I will agree that it is very crowded. Be prepared for a lot of kids.

In addition to the Air and Space Museum on the National Mall, you should go to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia (it's right outside Washington DC). It's much newer and way bigger, plus I think it has cooler things. It has a lot of the things they couldn't fit into the original Air and Space Museum on the National Mall. Very cool place if you're into that sort of thing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udvar-Hazy_Center
http://airandspace.si.edu/udvarhazy/

[laseine]

hey, i go with my family so i can help from that side of things...


new york is great, i definitely suggest open top bussing it when you are there, it takes you to most places you will want to go. i also recommend massively seeing a broadway show while you're there! but you might not be into that. definitely take the staten island ferry, will give you great view of statue of liberty (no point actually going to where the statue is anyway) and then you see other things like columbia university... great view of different areas of the city... it's a great way to spend an afternoon. go to china town FOR SURE and little italy if you like italian food. ofc you have to go to time square, hit the shops there. what are you looking for? eating out is really easy.

the only other bit i know about is savannah, i have been there quite a lot... lovely town but not really much to do imo... except look around... there are islands right by it which are LOVELY with beaches etc. def worth a visit. also since you're near there, you might as well go to atlanta... i LOVE this city... check out the underground too, it is basically all these shops underground but it is really nice and there's something special about it... also the coca cola museum is SO worth going to... trust me

[Also Known As]

(Original post by Baltimoron)
Yeah, I'm going to have to completely disagree with this one. As a lifelong resident of the DC suburbs, the Air and Space Museum is one of the coolest things in DC. Absolutely worth the trip. I don't know when/where this person went, but it is definitely not run down. Although I will agree that it is very crowded. Be prepared for a lot of kids.

In addition to the Air and Space Museum on the National Mall, you should go to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia (it's right outside Washington DC). It's much newer and way bigger, plus I think it has cooler things. It has a lot of the things they couldn't fit into the original Air and Space Museum on the National Mall. Very cool place if you're into that sort of thing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udvar-Hazy_Center
http://airandspace.si.edu/udvarhazy/

I went about 2 yrs ago, in the middle of summer, it was jampacked and completely not worth the wait in line, imo. But I wish I had had the chance to go to the addition in Chantilly, I love space & sciencey stuff.

[Baltimoron]

(Original post by Also Known As)
I went about 2 yrs ago, in the middle of summer, it was jampacked and completely not worth the wait in line, imo. But I wish I had had the chance to go to the addition in Chantilly, I love space & sciencey stuff.

Fair enough. In the middle of summer there are going to be huge lines. No avoiding that. The crowds can be kind of annoying, but this person says they're going in September, so the summer crowds should be gone by then.

OP, just about any of the Smithsonian Museums will be great. And they're all free, which is always a plus.

[GodAtum]

I went on the train from NYC to DC and loved it, see some pics here: http://godatum.blogspot.co.uk/2011/0...1-journey.html

[Colbert]

Surprised that a couple of people suggest not hopping off the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. It's not overly exciting but it's pretty cool and as the boat comes every 20 minutes you can have a nice stroll around for a while before heading back. Especially as you'll have been queuing for hours to get on the boat in the first place it seems a shame not to hang out for a while

[gateshipone]

(Original post by Baltimoron)
Yeah, I'm going to have to completely disagree with this one. As a lifelong resident of the DC suburbs, the Air and Space Museum is one of the coolest things in DC. Absolutely worth the trip. I don't know when/where this person went, but it is definitely not run down. Although I will agree that it is very crowded. Be prepared for a lot of kids.

Agreed. I loved the Air and Space Museum on the Mall. It's pretty awesome to see that stuff. Haven't been to the other location but I will be next time I'm in DC.

Side note, while I was looking at the Apollo 11 capsule I got to meet a guy who worked on the Saturn V's. So my advice to anyone would be to go, you never know what/who you might see!

(Original post by Colbert)
x

Sounds like you've been to NYC, did you go see Colbert live? I've seen The Daily show but each time I've been to the city Colbert didn't have any available tickets.

[Veneta]

Even though I don't think I'd do that well living there, I fall a little more in love with NYC every time I visit. Definitely go to Times Square just for the kicks of it, because no matter how the locals feel, it is extremely fun to be a tourist (we have tons of family in NYC, so I rarely get the chance to be a tourist). Check out Chinatown and Little Italy. The Museum of Natural History is great, and I really love their animal exhibits. It hasn't gotten boring for me yet! :') Also, the Statue of Liberty is not all that. I remember going for a school trip. Unless you've never heard of it, you may not want to actually go in. I heard a few too many superlatives for me to really enjoy it. If you get a chance, check out the Bronx Zoo, too! I'm not the kind of person who enjoys snapping a million pictures and spending ten minutes at each exhibit, so I didn't spend all that long there, but I still enjoyed it.

And I almost forgot! Try to see a Broadway show if you can. They can be pretty expensive, but if you go down to the ticketseller in Times Square, you can get huge discounts. I actually haven't been a lot (twice, actually), but last time we got our tickets for around seventy dollars apiece.

*edit: since you mentioned Orlando, if you haven't already, make plans to go to HPLand. It only takes around four or five hours since there aren't that many shops open there, but it's really fun. Epcot at Disney is one of my continually favorite places to be too.

...Meh. I just realized that I've pretty much listed all the tourist attractions. But I'm not a local to any of these glorious cities, so these are just the places I can remember I liked. XD

[Emma_B]

(Original post by Colbert)
Surprised that a couple of people suggest not hopping off the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. It's not overly exciting but it's pretty cool and as the boat comes every 20 minutes you can have a nice stroll around for a while before heading back. Especially as you'll have been queuing for hours to get on the boat in the first place it seems a shame not to hang out for a while

I think people have been referring to the free Staten Island ferry, which doesn't stop at Liberty Island. There is only a paid ferry (as far as I know) which actually takes you to the island.

[Colbert]

(Original post by gateshipone)
Sounds like you've been to NYC, did you go see Colbert live? I've seen The Daily show but each time I've been to the city Colbert didn't have any available tickets.

They were on hiatus the week I went

I did however pop down to the studios just out of curiosity as on the map they looked minutes from broadway but that was a major error

Would love to see one or both of them. No surprise that liberal nonsense Stewart spews being easier to get tickets for though

(Original post by Emma_B)
I think people have been referring to the free Staten Island ferry, which doesn't stop at Liberty Island. There is only a paid ferry (as far as I know) which actually takes you to the island.

Oh yeah, one said don't get off at Staten Island and the other said Liberty. Just reread... For some reason I didnt bother doing the Staten Island ferry despite going into the terminal on a couple of different days intending to

[Zerforax]

Thanks again for all of the advice and suggestions! Tis much appreciated and keep them coming.

We've booked an apartment in South Beach, Miami now. Still got 7 weeks to sort the holiday but at least we've organised the first and last parts of the holiday!

[Colbert]

(Original post by Zerforax)
Thanks again for all of the advice and suggestions! Tis much appreciated and keep them coming.

We've booked an apartment in South Beach, Miami now. Still got 7 weeks to sort the holiday but at least we've organised the first and last parts of the holiday!

Just because you mentioned Miami, this isn't something I experienced as I'm not a clubber, but those in my hostel who did want to go out found that turning up in shorts and flipflops was a sure fire way of getting turned away at the door. Maybe worth taking some decent shoes if you plan on nights out.

Beachfront bars and stuff along South Beach were absolutely fine with casual stuff at night though, much more pleasant.

[Shaun D]

I've found in Miami that my normal club clothes were not even close to the hot miami styles so I bought cheap fashionable "hooker" clothes in Miami. Miami has it's own style (even the beach and day wear are different!)