Well… Later in the year, my best mate and I turn 30 within 5 days of each other late Aug/early Sept. and have decided to go to Vegas to celebrate!
We plan on visiting the US for a month at this stage - possibly longer (funds permitting). And nothing is concrete at this stage.
Do any of you have any recommendations on things to do/places to see/where to stay etc? (I dont just want nightclub suggestions either people!). Apart from going to Nevada, we are kind of planning on mainly hitting up cali, and some of the southern states and possibly the big apple as well as Mexico.
I would love to do it all by car, but after reading some forums its prob not that advisable for the most part (high rental prices and/or issues with buying & selling a cheap car & insurance and the like).
We will definitely hit up a few of the major touristy spots (cos thats what you do ), and hope to visit some Man vs. Food-esque eating spots around the country.
I think driving is a great idea. I have rented a huge number of cars in the US and have driven them some distance and have also done “one ways” where you pick up and drop off at different locations. I guess the questions to ask are:
Where do you want to go while you are over here? I am talking major cities/states - not necessarily individual attractions.
book your flight car hotel all together and you’ll save, the only thing that will kill you is the gas prices and all of that driving.
You might be better off flying to cali and taking public transportation.
I turn 21 sept 9th, i should probly rally my friends together and do the same in Vegas!
Definitely go to San Fran, time permitting. The culture there is just different, good times all around AND the possibility of swinging by the DJTT Studio. If you really have time, drive down the coast from there, you’ll have a great time sightseeing.
I may get flamed for this, but look up Anthony Bourdain and what he has done in various cities in the US. All he does is travel and eats but has great suggestions. Served me well when I was out abroad.
I’ve got a few chef freinds out in Vegas that swear by this Teppan Yakki restaraunt called Musashi Japanese Steakhouse. If you stumble in there late night you might get the adults only show where the semi drunk chef will do a little raunchy stand up routine while he grills your fried rice in the shapes of dicks and cunts etc… Supposedly hilarious and my good freind claims he’s never had better lobster anywhere.
Driving is all part of the fun. My wife and I honeymooned over there early last year. Flew from Brissy to L.A then got a connecting flight to San Diego. San Diego is a must IMO. Beautiful place. you wont need a car there as it is easy to get around on public transport. grab a Hop on Hop of bus pass and you cant see the place well. Biking the golden gate bridge is fun and once you get across the bridge to Sausialito then this burger Joint is a must
also a night tour of Alcatraz is definitely something I would check out.
From there we hired a car and drove to Vegas with a stopover @ Yosemite National park the drive was just a lot lot of fun through some beautiful isolated landscapes. often stopping at all the small towns for a look around (although Yosemite park was closed due to snow for the first time in like 16 years) So instead we spend the night in Fresno to get some rest before continuing to Vegas. It is a bit of a drive, but if you have the time makes it that much more memorable.
If your looking for a place to stay in Vegas then save money and stay just off the strip, I will dig out the place we stayed and give you the info, which was at the top end by the convention centre. literally 100m from the strip. from memory we payed like $50 a night compared to the $100’s+ you will pay at the casino’s. after all its only a place to get an hours sleep in between partying hard. Vegas is just a great place to soak up the atmosphere. grab yourself a 4 pack of your drink of choice at the corner store for cheap as chips and wander around the streets enjoying a drink. not many place in the world you can walk in and out of a casino with a drink in hand and be welcomed with a smile. keeping it short a couple of things we done and would recommend, would be a helicopter ride to the grand canyon for a champagne brekkie, (is drivable but its a day trip and were talking a long day).
If you like food then the Rio http://www.riolasvegas.com/casinos/rio/restaurants-dining/carnival-world-buffet-detail.html has one of the best buffets on offer, this is just outside the strip and has nearly every food from around the world you can think of.
Once we had taken a few years off our life expectancy in Vegas we drove down to San Diego. I have been here a couple of times. And a highlight is the World Famous San Diego Zoo, + a day trip to Mexico (I wouldn’t recommend driving there though) and for a great place to eat in San Diego. try the Taste of Thai Restaurant on Hillcrest.
After a good few days in San Diego we headed up to Hollywood with a night stopover staying on the original Queen Mary in Long beach. and not to far from there is definatly a stop needed at the DJTT store
Hollywood/L.A has ya familiar tourist attractions. Venice beach on a good day is a must. But Im sure there are a few locals on the forum who could better recommend some activity’s and entertainment from a local perspective.
One thing for sure mate is with the Australian dollar being strong it is definitely more affordable than you think as the prices for us are insanely cheaper considering what we pay here.
well we’ve finally made a rough plan of where we’re gonna be going. We fly out of Australia 27th aug, spending a few days in LA, then drive to Vegas for labor day weekend, then drive to SF and oakland… then fly to texas and prob drive louisianna, mississippi, alabama, tennessee, arkansas back to texas (or the other way around) possibly fly to miami while in that region to break up the driving a little then fly home on the 24th sept.
Red Rock state park is a nice afternoon drive for something that isn’t casino and booze oriented while in Vegas. It is going to be really hot while you are there, I went in July think it was over 105°F daily. What I like about Vegas is I can go alone or with friends, have just as much fun, but I love playing poker and don’t mind doing things solo, sometimes prefer it.
Whats with the whole louisianna, mississippi, alabama, tennessee, arkansas segment? Unless you are visiting N’Orelans, Chris, Barry and some of the other guys I couldn’t imagine why you would want spend so much time driving around that areas. No disrespect mean’t, I’d tell you you’d be mad to visit most of the states around me!
I’d so be doing PCH1 and then burning across the dessert to Vegas before flying to the East Coast and heading from top to bottom.
why are you going to Oakland and all those redneck states? No NYC?
After driving through the USA for a couple of months a year or so ago I say drive along the west coast as much as you can. Also make sure you at least have a look at the grand canyon while you are in the vicinity of nevada/arizona.
Redneck states? Rednecks are all over the US. But for the states mentioned Mississippi and Alabama have more than their fair share.
In Louisianna it’s coon asses. Hillbillies in Tennessee. Arkansas is just country folk.
For the states mentioned in the south I would probably skip Arkansas. The Ozark mountains are nice, but that’s about it.
In Tennessee, Memphis is worth a visit on the west end, and the Blue Ridge Mountains on the east end. Nashville if you like country music.
Natchez Mississippi is nice if you want to see some old southern plantation mansions, but there are plenty of those in Louisianna as well.
Of course New Orleans is a must see.
I live in Mobile, Alabama and there isn’t a whole lot to see. some old southern homes, a battleship, Bellingrath Gardens, and that’s about it. The beaches on the border with Florida are nice. In the rest of the state the only major thing I can think of is the NASA Space Center in Huntsville in the northern part of the state.
For Texas, Dallas and Austin are nice places to visit. Photojojo lives in Texas and can probably steer you to some good places.
Guess it all depends on what you are interested in seeing/doing.
arkansas was only gonna be a cut through from dallas to memphis and not a stop over… oakland - i have a buddy that lives there, and we were gonna see steelers @ raiders as my mate im travelling with is a steelers fan and tickets to see steelers at home arent as easy to get. we arent travelling to the states specifically to go clubbing or see the sights, we are going to see some football and sample some great southern foods (somewhat of a research trip - im travelling with a chef).
we will see some of the touristy things along the way for sure - but they arent our priority
we’re only going for a month’s holiday, not for work… and as far as aussie’s working in the states you can get a green card if you get sponsored by a business for i think a term of 4 years- and theres also a program the US offer for aussies that have done a minimum of 1 year’s tertiary education.
Are you going to see a Cowboys game? If you’re not in Dallas when they’re playing they still do tours of the stadium. We have two places in Sherman to eat. One is a BBQ place that was voted one of the top 10 in Texas a few years back. They have no dining room, just a single bench under a tree out back. He’s got a for sale sign up so it may not be worth it by the time you get here. The other is a soul food cafe called Slap Yo Momma’s. I haven’t eaten at this one, but it’s run by the same guy that had a soul food restaurant called Gory to God that was pretty good.
Renting cars in USA is cheap. But beware the distances, they look short on map but take time when you are on the road, due to stopping, eating and otherwise maintaining the proper speed on highways. You could easily spend two weeks in California and just see a fraction of the place.
). Apart from going to Nevada, we are kind of planning on mainly hitting up cali, and some of the southern states and possibly the big apple as well as Mexico.
Best holiday I’ve ever had though