Korean Job Discussion Forums

[craigmcc1982]

Hi All,

Well my 2nd year is coming to a close and I plan on heading to America from mid-October. I'm from the UK so this will be my first time visiting there.

I was wondering if anybody had ever used this during a tour of the US?? Details can be found at the following website:

http://www.westernair.co.uk/amtrak.html#rules

I plan on city-hopping over the course of a month and would also welcome any suggestions as to specific routes to take. I will be starting the journey from Los Angeles.

Thanks in advance for any help you guys can give

[Tiger Beer]

Not many choices looking at the map. On the other hand, it does hit everywhere you'd realistically want to go.

The most interesting cities on that map are San Diego, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, New Orleans, Miami, New York, Boston and of course L.A. where you'd start.

Personally I'd focus on those cities and try to spend at least a few days in each of them.

If I were to choose several where you'd definetley want to spend more time:

San Diego: California Beach Culture and Tijuana, Mexico.
New Orleans: French Quarter!
New York City: For just about everything.
San Francisco: Chinatown, LIttle Italy, North Beach.

Uhmm.. Las Vegas is a real interesting city that should be experienced as well. Doesn't look like Amtrack goes there, but you could rent a car from Los Angeles.

[PGF]

Stay out of LA. it's our armpit.

San Diego is great. San Francisco is better.

While you are on the west coast, go up to Seattle; it's beautiful-see the redwoods, etc. Between the west and east coasts there is a lot of dirt and some mountains. If you really like that sort of thing, go see the grand canyon or the mountains in colorado or something; Oh, and if you really like corn, go to Illinois. I heard there is a city called Chicago there.

If you want to be around people, go east to NYC. Manhattan is the greatest city in the world. From there, you can go to Maine=north or Miami=way south. Amtrack is actually a really really expensive way to travel in the US.

Most US citizens opt to fly or drive themselves.

It's a very very large country with a very very diverse population. Unless you are going for a long time ie., 3 months +, I'd stick to one coast. Otherwise you'll be rushing everywhere.

Ideally, you could rent a car for three months and tool around the country. but, again, it's going to be expensive.

good luck.

[Tiger Beer]

[dogshed]

If you are really into trains then I would suggest looking into the many tourist oriented train rides in various places around the US that have restored steam locomotives. Except for some cities on the east coast trains are not the way to travel in the US.

I remember hearing about an airpass for airplanes that can be bought outside the US. The downside there is transportation from the airport. Fortunately larger cities usually have a good bus or train from the airport and most of the tourist attractions are on bus or subway routes. Anywhere else you should rent a car.

For example when I was in Dallas there was a really nice bus that took you to the city for $3. Much less than the cab fare which I think was around $30. The thing is there were lots of cab and limo ads, but nothing
to tell you about the bus.

Years ago I met a pair of brothers from Belgium. They bought a used car in Kansas, used my address to get insurance, and drove it to Florida where they abandoned it. One of the brother's was an auto mechanic who
was able to keep the beast running.

[huffdaddy]

When I go back home, I take the train on occasion. They're nice in theory, but after a few trips you'll probably be wishing to return to the orderliness of airports.

My biggest complaint is the on-timeness. It seems like every train I've taken in the last few years has been late - except Philly to DC. I'm not talking short delays. Minimum 3 hours up to 12+ hours on one occasion. Which is okay, if you don't mind sitting around in a train station. But if you've actually got something scheduled, it'll really screw you up. So don't rely on Amtrak to get you in and out of town on time.

The second problem is arrival and departure times. Given the nature of the beast, it's unavoidable. But check the times of the routes you want to take. If you've got a lot of 3 am arrivals or 5 am departures it'll take away from some of the fun.

The scenery can be nice, but after 10 hours it kind of losses its appeal. Okay, after more like after 30 minutes. Then again, I usually travel in the midwest. Bring books. Lots of books.

Routewise, I'd imagine that just California, Oregon, Washington, and Arizona could keep you occupied for a month. Chicago and New Orleans would be good places to visit, but at a large cost of time.

I'd suggest opting for the Western Pass, as that'll still give you everything from Chicago-New Orleans west. That'll be plenty to see in one month. If you plan your route out and check prices, you may even find it cheaper to buy something like the California pass ($159) and individual train or airplane tickets.

Have you checked Amtrak's website for pricing? It's down for maintenance right now, but they may sell the passes cheaper.

[atomic42]

I too prefer the train but would suggest using this wherever possible:
http://www.megabus.com/

[waltjocketty]

[craigmcc1982]

Thanks for all the replies as the information provided is certainly food for thought!

Whilst it's unavoidable that there will be some delays I feel that this trip offers significant value for money and I intend to use buses here and there to break up the monotony.

I've been working on a schedule for the last two days and I've come up with a flexible route allowing me to visit:

LA (2 days)
Houston (2 days)
New Orleans (3 days)
Washington (3 days)
NYC (3.5 days)
Chicago (2 days)
Denver (1 day) Just to get off the train!!
Salt Lake City (1 day)
Las Vegas (3 days)
San Francisco (3.5 days)

Whilst it may seem rushed, I'm sure I can see most of the places I need to and relax on the overnight trains.

[dogshed]

http://www.discoverypass.com/

Here's a bus pass you can buy if you want to do that.

[elliemk]

Here's the itinerary you posted, with each place followed by my comments

LA (2 days) What do you want to do in L.A.? See Universal Studios, Disneyland, go on a tour of stars' homes by bus?

Houston (2 days) - Why Houston? You'd have a lot more fun if you just left this one off.

New Orleans (3 days) Three days in New Orleans? Well, the city is still such a mess in many ways that two days ought to suffice you just fine.

Washington (3 days) Washington, D.C., I assume? Heck, you could spend three days at the Smithsonian and not even begin to cover it all. If you're a history buff, plan on spending more time here.

NYC (3.5 days) Again, think about what you want to do here. See a Broadway show, ride by the Statue of Liberty, go to the top of the Empire State Buidling, visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art?

Chicago (2 days) - Why even bother?

Denver (1 day) Just to get off the train!! Forget the train! The scenery in Denver and surrounding area is absolutely gorgeous. There may even be snow by then, so you could do some great (though very expensive) skiing.

Salt Lake City (1 day) Why go here? To see the Mormon Tabernacle or the Great Salt Lake? Better still, arrange for a tour of the Grand Canyon and skip Salt Lake City.

Las Vegas (3 days) - You want to gamble? That's about all you'll find to do in Las Vegas. Why waste three days spending all your money - if you must go, go for one or two days at the most.

San Francisco (3.5 days) Ah, now here's your worst mistake. Plan on a week in the San Francisco Area - one night in Carmel and visit Monterey and Big Sur; one night going up the coast to see the huge Sequoia trees; one night or two (better) at Yosemite National Park; another night at a beautiful bed and breakfast on the Mendocino coast.

Anyway, are you going to look at colleges? It kind of sounds like it, because of all the variety of cities. But honestly, if you're going as a tourist, here's my recommendation:

San Francisco, New York, New Orleans - forget the rest. But that's just my recommendation. Whatever you do, have fun.

[Tiger Beer]

Elliemk - thanks for posting that, makes great discussion! I'm gonna add some comments on all your comments.

[waltjocketty]

[Jellypah]

[hari seldon]

Try to include the Grand Canyon on your itinerary.