Soldato
Go and visit kwerk in his bunker. 
Travel Advice / Ideas *USA*
- Thread starter Nitefly
- Start date
[TW]Fox;21620975 said:
What's Jacksonville like? I get the impression that it's slightly hick-town? It's where Limp Bizkit are from anyway
I've done Disneyworld to death as a nipper and don't think I'll be going back until I have some mini-niteflys to take (terrifying thought), I think I'd rather see the north east than the south east.
Just to clarify, the round trip to Vegas from San Fran would be 10 days, then I expect I would travel to San Diego then back up north to San Fran by myself (I wasn't sure if that was clear that from your response) - so I assume you think the ten day road trip is a good amount of time for that leg of the trip?
correct, they are full of tramps and crackheads
Can't be as bad as the naples subway....
Always fancied this for traveling in the US , haven't got around to it yet though.
http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?c=Page&pagename=am/Layout&cid=1241305460725
http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?c=Page&pagename=am/Layout&cid=1241305460725
This sounds like a potentially very good idea
I'm currently planning to go from San Francisco to Vegas via Yosemite with a friend (hire car) for ~10 days, then go back round and do the coast line myself to complete the loop back in to SF. Does this sound a reasonable idea?
Have you done this Surfliner train yourself?
Again, thanks to all for your comments
I'd keep the hire car for the Vegas to San Diego journey. I think you can do it by Greyhound, but it'll be a long one. If you like the National Parks you can stop of at Joshua Tree, about half way between the two cities.
I took the Surfliner from San Diego to San Luis Obispo and it was fine. A much more pleasant experience than the Greyhounds.
Amtrak is a good option, they are cheap and comfortable, however they don't service everywhere. You can certainly get by as a "pedestrian", yes, the US should be explored by car but its not hard or particuarly scary to get around by bus/train.
I was thinking about keeping the car hire to get to San Diego but since I'll be sub-25 and with the faff of dropping the car off etc, I think it might be worth just flying to San Diego from Las Vegas - I had a look are fares and one stop flights appear to be £40-60, which seems very reasonable.
Skip the rail pass and buy individual tickets; unless you are going cross-country, it will be cheaper.
I like Amtrak, but using it outside the NE can be difficult. Amtrak don't own the tracks and lose priority to freight trains; I once had a 10 hour wait for a service from Virginia that was stuck in a siding somewhere. It wasn't that bad as everyone stuck in the station was quite friendly, but it'd be a nightmare if you were on a schedule.
Soldato
Having visited every place on your list I'd personally only suggest the above selection.
LA is just a boring dirty **** hole. Might be different if you have friends out there who know the local watering holes but we weren't impressed.
Vegas is exactly how you expect it to me.
I was a little underwhelmed by the Grand Canyon, it kind of looks like a theatre backdrop.
Yosemite it amazing! Saw a bear too!
San Fran, it's just a very laid back city. Pleasant place to visit but lots of con artist types by Pier 39. If anyone asks "Bet I can guess where you got your shoes" reply with "yeah, on my feet"
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
What's Jacksonville like? I get the impression that it's slightly hick-town? It's where Limp Bizkit are from anyway
It's ok but not worth seeking out. I purely used it as a gateway to Florida - got off the train, got a taxi to the airport and picked up a rental car and got out
Just to clarify, the round trip to Vegas from San Fran would be 10 days, then I expect I would travel to San Diego then back up north to San Fran by myself (I wasn't sure if that was clear that from your response) - so I assume you think the ten day road trip is a good amount of time for that leg of the trip?
10 days to SF > Vegas > SF via Highway 1 is fine, especially if you are wisely not bothering with LA and it doesnt include your time looking around SF.
I dont know when you are going but bear in mind that between about October and late May the Tioga Pass is closed. This is the only road which goes out of Yosemite towards the East - when its closed you have to go back out west and right the way around to get to Vegas. When it's open you can drop out of Yosemite and head through to Vegas via Death Valley, which is awesome.
Again, thank you for your replies. I'm thinking that one (or two if I arrive at night) nights in LA will be enough. I appreciate that it's a vast city and I'm only really interested in seeing some of the notable sights then getting out of there. I would however like to visit magic mountain but I doubt that'll happen 
With the 'road trip' (the section with my friend), we were planning on 3 nights in San Francisco, 3 nights in Vegas, then approximately 3 nights between the two. He is planning on flying back from Vegas. So in reality we probably won't have a car for the whole ten days.
That's interesting about the road fox, fortuantly we are going in July/ August - via Death Valley was the plan!
With the 'road trip' (the section with my friend), we were planning on 3 nights in San Francisco, 3 nights in Vegas, then approximately 3 nights between the two. He is planning on flying back from Vegas. So in reality we probably won't have a car for the whole ten days.
That's interesting about the road fox, fortuantly we are going in July/ August - via Death Valley was the plan!
It is a bit tight I know, but that's the time my friend has availible so that's what we are working with. We may take a day off Vegas if required. I may stay there after he's gone for an extra night but without supervision I imagine my chances of ending up in jail or worse are high
That is something I hadn't given much thought considering he would like to see San Fran himself and it's as much his trip as mine. Ideally I'd like to spend a good few days around yosemite but you can't have it all, at least not every time. 3 nights between SF and LV will have to suffice, give or take. I'll ask him what he thinks though.
I'm thinking I might skip the grand canyon and do it on a plane trip when I am rich enough to do so!
I'm thinking I might skip the grand canyon and do it on a plane trip when I am rich enough to do so!
You can do the Grand Canyon easily from Vegas. I drove to North las Vegas Airport for 11am, got onto a plane, few to the Canyon, had a tour around a few good viewpoints, got back on the plane and was back on the strip for 3pm that afternoon.
Don't let your mates idea that flying all the way to California and only staying for 10 days is a good idea compromise your enjoyment. Don't rush these things.
Don't let your mates idea that flying all the way to California and only staying for 10 days is a good idea compromise your enjoyment. Don't rush these things.
[TW]Fox;21622337 said:
I may have made it sound that way, but everything thus far has been my idea (and his limitation is due to other holidays he has made arrangements for) - we are good friends and although time is tight we are guaranteed to have a blast
Really excited, can't wait!