What US states are doable without a car?

[VirgosNeedGoals]

Already done NYC, planning Chicago and Boston. Any others? Absolutely love America... but hate driving.

I know it's expensive and everyone hates Trump. I still want to go!

I think california would be OK.
We went to LA and got taxis everywhere. San Francisco we used buses and trams. Fairly certain you could travel between them on train, or fly?

Washington DC and Boston are doable without a car. In fact, you can take the train from DC to Boston. It’s about 4 hours I think to NYC and then a few hours more to Boston. Definitely worth looking at.

How do you feel about boats? Because Maine is fun to explore by sailing.

Many American cities are doable without a car. You’ll be hard pressed to see much outside them though. You could easily do San Diego, LA, and San Francisco by flying, taking a bus, or Amtrak between them. You can get coach tours from, say, SF to Napa or Yosemite. You will miss out on the small towns and rural areas though.

I’ve done loads without a car. Wouldn’t dream of driving over there as i’m not a very confident driver.

San Fran was very doable without a car, and we did a coach tour to Yosemite, stopping off at a few quaint towns which was lovely.

Washington DC - we went here via Amtrak from Boston.

Did coach trips to New Hampshire from Boston, saw so much, it was fabulous. Again, stopped off plenty of times.

Regular train from Boston to Salem, Marblehead, Manchester by the Sea etc… Car definitely not needed.

Big cities are doable without a car.
Whole states are not doable without a car.

What do you want to see or do?

I agree the Boston and surroundings are easy without a car as a PP said above. You can also get the train up to Portland Maine, which is a lovely town.

New Orleans can be done without a car. The streetcar track runs parallel to the the river and lots of things are walkable from it, there are buses in the centre and taxis also abound. It's the only southern city I know with any pretense at public transport. But I don't think you can go out to see the 'real' Louisiana without a car.

Atlanta has, I think, a 'metro/tram' system left over from the Olympics back in ... But historically, culturally, Charleston, Savannah and even Richmond are much richer...

Philadelphia might be ok without a car but you'd have to transit there from somewhere else (by train?) or fly in directly.

San Francisco was ok without a car also. But what about Dallas and Austin - public transport just cannot cover that breadth and there are no 'trains'. Also Miami or Denver - destinations but without any serious public connections ... You could go to Vegas but you'd be 'trapped' there.

I think the sprawl of LA might really need a car to see all the highlights: the fancy houses, the recording studios' front doors ... (Lincoln Lawyer... he realises how much time he's wasting driving back and forth to his office)
Plus, how do you visit the vinyards? Sonoma? Are there buses laid on for that? What if you want to go down to Tijuana?

As others mention, you are not visiting the states but rather the bigger cities. The cities are in such different areas that you are having a taste of the different regions but true Americana is in the small towns and there is not really any non-car connection between them.

Nevada (Las Vegas specifically)

We didn't use a car, took the odd taxi and helicopter (out to The Grand Canyon)

Loads to do and we didn't gamble for a moment.

Florida is pretty doable by train and coach. We flew into Tampa, spent a few days exploring Tampa, Clearwater and St Pete by bus, then took a train to Orlando for a few nights. From there we did a coach trip out to Cape Canaveral (NASA). After Orlando, we took the Brightline train to Miami (3.5 hours), did an excursion to Everglades and then flew home. We did have the option to take a Greyhound to Key West from Miami but didn’t have the time or budget.

I know people who’ve done California without a car, using buses and Ubers. Also, there are travel companies who will do 2/3 week coach tours, incorporating several states. DH and I nearly booked for an east coast one years ago, it’s still on my bucket list.

Seattle, although Washington is a glorious state and you need a car to make the most of it, sadly. You could visit Seattle and Vancouver (BC rather than WA) which is a great city, and travel between them by the Cascades train.

Portland, OR, has reasonable public transport and a compact downtown, and could also be combined with the above by train.

Yes I should probably have said "destinations" rather than entire states! Would definitely visit both Portland and Salem while based at Boston.

My absolute dream would be to explore Oregon but I know it's not doable without a car. It's just not an obstacle I can overcome unfortunately. I'll be alone and I just find the whole thing too intimidating.

I agree with @ReignOfError . Seattle was really easy by public transport, including going to Everett to the Boeing factory. We also took the train to Vancouver which was amazing.

It really depends on what you want to do and how many of you there are.

I've done the east coast by greyhound. And I did sf / Seattle/ van couver by greyhound.

BUT this gets expensive if you've got kids or you are travelling alone but don't want to do hostels.

LA wouldn't be on my list to do without a car for a variety of reasons.

If you can drive a manual car competently in the U.K., you can definitely drive in the US. In fact, it’s much easier than in this country. Automatics are easier than manuals. Driving on the right is fine after the first few miles. Car parks & parking spaces are much bigger. Outside major cities, the roads are much less crowded (with the possible exception of I-95, obv!). There are very few roundabouts. 4-way stops are simple : you just wait until it’s your turn to go.

I know you don't want to drive, but driving in the US is much easier than in some European countries or the UK. The speed limits are much lower, for one. Automatic driving is easy once you get the hang of it; I usually practice in a shopping mall parking area. As long as you ask for a small car. We rented an intermediate last October, but were given a Jeep Grand Cherokee!

Look up the California Zephyr.

I've been coast to coast on trains. Amazing trips. Solo.

New Orleans is definitely doable wo a car; we just picked the car up to carry on thro Louisiana and on to Texas where the car is king.

Also done DC to Quebec City via NYC & Montreal by train. Well worth it for the fall colours.

I'm starting to look at Seattle... I'm obsessed with orcas you see! But again the fecking car thing. I'll need one to get to the ferry terminal / San Juan Islands. Either that or £400 on an Uber...

I like shopping, museums, food, walking, nature, kayaking, being near water and just exploring. I am very, very active and can't sit on sun loungers. I also prefer crispy, clear weather over all. I do not like high temperatures. This comes in very handy when travelling as it's cheaper. February was the month I picked to go to New York and it was perfect.

Also looking at Washington DC

I lived in Boston. Easy train to Salem

You can actually travel around much of New York state by train, up to the Adirondack mountains, the finger lakes, even all the way to Niagara Falls. It's slow and unglamorous but absolutely beautiful countryside. The ride up the Hudson River is gorgeous.

Otherwise suggest flying to DC which you don't need a car for, and can take short train trip to Baltimore, a bit longer to Philly.

if you go with a small group tour, they will organise the transport for you. something like NatureTrek maybe, or i'm sure there are lots of others.

Is Amtrak safe for a solo female? I personally felt the subway in NYC was dodgy so I'm a little wary... also how's Greyhound? I would assume buses are safer than trains!