Trip of a lifetime USA- CA or NYC?

we absolutely love California and have done a couple of road trips, latest when daughter was 7 and she had an amazing time, loved Santa Barbara, Yosemite and Sequoia, can’t wait to go back and see more.

Nothing would convince me to visit the US while Trump is in power.

But if I had to go with young kids, I would stay in Florida the whole time. There are so many lovely things to do there outside of the theme parks without all the travelling.

The other thing about New York is that it is horrifically expensive for hotels at the moment. DH went there for a funeral last December, and the cheapest hotel in Manhattan he could find was £500 a night. He ended up getting something in Brooklyn for £400.

We drove from Ohio to Key West when we were newly weds. Apart from falling asleep at the wheel in Miami rush hour, it was brilliant. The Keys are great (not the mosquitoes), but the character of the different islands is amazing.

I wouldn't do NYC now. I've been 8 times and it has changed so much. Much dirtier, drugs everywhere. I was so gutted as I love love love New York.

One of my dream trips would be to drive from Miami to the Keys and visit each island! Maybe a good option if youre looking for beaches and relaxation. It's more rustic and chilled than CA.

I would not be going to the USA at all at the moment. Not until they have a new president as I would not want to be there or spend money there.

My point was more that the pass has tripled in price for tourists only since January. It’s a Trump administration policy to allegedly boost NP funding, ignoring the fact that the administration has catastrophically slashed NP funding.

The US used to be much better value, even up to 2020, and that’s not all down to the poorer exchange rate - our US based friends have complained about how expensive hotels have become post Covid.

How well do you think it would go down if US tourists were charged 4 times as much as UK visitors for entry to the Tower of London or Edinburgh Castle?

Ok @SabrinaThwaite My point was if wasn’t per person. It’s not awful value just not as good as it was and the USA has never been brilliant value for tourists. Many other countries charge premium prices to overseas visitors, eg India.

One pass covers all the adults in a non-commercial vehicle, up to 4 adults on foot / bike / motorbike, and 4 adults on a commercial tour, depending on whether it’s a per vehicle fee or a per person fee (one adult must be the pass holder).

If you do this drive up the inland route for speed and then drive down the coast so you are on the ocean side of the road when you drive down. If you go February/March you'll catch some of the massive blooms in the central valley.

I have seen your latest comment so glad you're just doing florida. I've done florida twice, california twice, new york once. Your plans to mix florida with anywhere else within a fortnight would be too much
But, honestly, I would still delay until they are older. They will really enjoy it more including rides etc...

You do realise there’s an increasingly likely chance we are about to be at war with the US. If he invades Greenland the US is in military conflict with NATO (us).

I wouldn’t set foot in the country. There are other lovely places in the world which don’t have a dictator in charge dragging its own citizens off for spurious reasons and putting them in prison or shooting them in cold blood.

Don't waste time on Salem. It was a crushing disappointment. Boston is wonderful.

No way would I consider a trip to the US (and I could drive there in 15 minutes).

Couldn't you go to one of the many, many less shit countries?

We have done all of these a few times. Would not mix east and west coast or New England in one trip. I’d go for Florida or California with kids. Both are amazing.

The $250 pass is for up to 4 adults in a vehicle or everyone in a non commercial vehicle - depends how day fees are levied. Yes, it’s gone up a lot but it’s not awful if several parks are visited. Given the price of a USA holiday, it’s not huge. I’m glad ours was $80 last May.

The America the Beautiful pass is fabulous - pre Trump it was $80 for non residents, what a great idea to encourage foreign tourists to visit your national parks. Now it’s been bumped up to $250 for tourists, plus all the hassle of getting through immigration on landing, you do wonder whether the US actively wants foreign visitors.

Ah thank you, I hadn’t realised more than one person could use the same pass.. that makes it much more affordable.

I would say NY + New England. California is beautiful, but my personal preference is for the east coast.

You don’t have to do ‘full on’ NYC for the entire time there. From NY you can take the coastal route to Acadia national park Maine, and along the way you can see Providence, Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, Boston, and Salem. There’s also lots of quintessential New England fishing villages on that route. It’s not a long road trip either, about 500 miles in total.

We've done NYC and Orlando in one trip, Boston and Orlando in one trip and also a CA road trip including Yosemite.

At that age I'd say Cali as they won't get a lot out of the cities. Although would also say consider just doing Florida really if you're going to go back.

Enjoy!!

I’d consider going myself to visit family but I won’t take my kids to the US for the forseeable

If you're shortening the trip, go to St Pete or Sarasota from Orlando for some beach time with fairly short driving time. Longer drive, Key West.

honestly if you will never be able to afford a long haul 2 week trip again, there are just so many places in the world to see that are more amazing and memorable. Not to mention cheaper, you can holiday like a king in Thailand, Sri lanka or Vietnam for the same price you pay for just Disney passes.

No experience here, but I'd say NYC is a lot of walking and sightseeing, whereas CA might be more child-based.

Not helpful but I want to one day fly to Los Angeles and hire a car and do a road trip all the way through California up to the Redwoods via beaches, National Parks, the lot. I’d want to do it over about 10 days.
If you’re set on Florida I agree just do Florida now. Then a seperate trip a few years later to California and a shorter trip to NYC with a day trip Salem thrown in.