USA 30th birthday?!

[berkshirecat]

Looking for some advice!

DP is turning 30 in Feb. I'm looking to take him on a surprise trip to the US, but I can't decide where to go! I've toyed with everywhere from Vegas to Orlando to NYC to Texas!

We have about 10 days. We would probably like to find some interesting places to explore, shopping, eating out, and then some more fun stuff, maybe even a theme park trip. Ideally I'd like to stay in an apartment so we can go self cater some of the time. I'm also happy to hire a car and drive around a bit.

Does anyone have any great ideas?! They would be HUGELY appreciated. I haven't been able to book anything yet as I'm being so indecisive

Personally, I wouldn't go to NYC in Feb. You could get lucky and it could be chilly and bright, but you run the risk of it being bitterly cold and actually not that enjoyable and a big part of the fun of NYC is in wandering the streets and taking in the ambience, browsing the shops, etc. Worst case scenario a big winter storm could blow through and you could either not get there at all or be stranded and not able to get home. Large dumps of snow are not uncommon in Feb.

With regard to Orlando or Vegas, they are both likely to be a good deal more clement weather-wise. Do you and your DP like theme parks? If so, then Orlando could be a good bet. If you don't then I would recommend Miami over Orlando as Orlando is a soulless, ugly city beset currently with huge amounts of road works and without a great deal going for it unless you want to gorge yourself on theme parks (IMO).

Vegas is also a bit of a marmite place, but it is at least situated within some stunning scenery, if you fancy hiring a car and visiting say Red Rock Canyon, the Hoover Dam or even a NP or two (be aware that these can also be cold and snowy in winter, so you may have to play that by ear). As for Vegas itself, it's tacky and neon, but if it's just the two of you you could have a great time taking in some of the amazing shows they have there (www.vegas.com/shows/), and enjoying some seriously fine dining (many of the top NYC restaurants have outposts in Vegas). There is also a world-renowned bar/lounge/club scene there that attracts some of the best DJs in the world, if that's your thing.

My recommendation in Feb would be Vegas or Miami (although I haven't been to Miami so if you want recommendations on what to do there perhaps someone else can help).

P.S. with 10 days you could do a two centre thing with Orlando + beach, or Miami + the Keys, Vegas + LA/San Diego?

Thanks @zafferana - that's really useful. Yes, my big fear with NY is the cold - I went when I was about 18 and it was bitterly cold, so that's putting me off a bit.

We do enjoy theme parks (basically big kids!) so universal would be good - but we would also want to do some other stuff too. Similarly Vegas I think could be fun for a few days but not sure if we would get bored quickly?

I have thought about maybe doing Vegas and LA, but have heard bad things about LA. If we did do it, do you have recommendations about where to stay/how easy it is to drive between etc? I've heard traffic can be horrendous in LA... is there decent public transport?

Yes, I think the traffic is horrendous in LA, but I haven't been there for years so I really can't comment on it from any recent experience. I'd think about what you want to do and base yourselves close to that. For instance, Disneyland in LA is an area called Anaheim - if you want to go there (and it has the new Star Wars ride!) then you definitely want to stay at least the nights you'll be visiting Disney in a hotel in Anaheim. If you also wanted to go to Universal Studios, then you should move to a hotel in that area - I've read several positive reviews about The Garland. That's also a good area for visiting Hollywood.

Fantastic, I'll take a look. Thank you @zafferana