America for first timers

[Greenmayleaves]

So many destinations - what would you recommend for first timers?

We are 2 adults, 2 children. We love visiting tourist places and seeing architecture. We also love the beach. Not looking for night life.

Looking at multi destination trips which look really appealing, but so much choice still!

The obvious is California. Highway 1 if open! San Fran to start. Plenty to see and do. Go down to Carmel or Monterey. Go out to look for whales. Go on the beach at Carmel. Go further south to various beach resorts. Santa Barbara and Carmel have Missions. Then go to Santa Monica. Have a look at Malibu and Santa Monica Pier. Lots of beaches around too. Visit the Getty Villa and the fabulous Getty Centre. Take your time and don't cover too much each day.

I'd avoid very hot areas like Las Vegas in the summer. It's hot and horrible for DC anyway. You can also go north of San Fran for a quieter holiday. Or divert to Yosemite.

New York followed by New York State is lovely. Or go to Boston. They go out to Cape Cod and then go north into Maine. Work your way back to Boston. Again, cities and beaches to enjoy.

We have also visited. Washington and then Virginia. We didn't go to a beach, but it's possible.

Yes, to California. I would add the Huntington Museum and Gardens in San Marino (near Pasadena). BUT there have been a lot of reports of urban-type problems in San Francisco - crime, homelessness, etc., so be aware.

Architecture in the States will be mostly modern to ultra-modern, if that's your thing. I think the largest numbers of Frank Lloyd Wright houses are in Illinois and Wisconsin, which are not really tourist places (except Chicago, which can be interesting).

New York City is the obvious place - all the famous tourist spots, but mobbed and expensive. Some people love it, some people hate it.

Newport, Rhode Island has beaches, lots of history and stately-home type houses of the Gilded Age.

Acadia National Park in Maine is gorgeous.

What time of year?

For a first time trip I’d go for Boston and Cape Cod. Short flight, loads of history and culture, lovely beaches and delicious food!

NYC is great for being touristy! You can tie it in with a Hamptons trip or similar. Love Chicago for the architecture - the river boat tours will give such an incredible perspective. We also adored Boston, especially being able to pop to Salem.

What time of year are you thinking? Trip length? Budget?

Second @TizerorFizz and suggest Boston and travel up the coast to Maine, and if summer go to Provincetown in Cape Cod! Old historic New England plus beaches.

Time of year and age of children? I do love California. We’ve done south from San Francisco via Highway 1, visiting the usual suspects like Carmel, Monterey etc. The Madonna Inn is kitsch and fun, and Hearst Castle is terrific. Then we headed down to Anaheim for Disney, and also visited Universal Studios and the Queen Mary, as well as usual LA stuff like Santa Monica.

Our last trip we started south in San Diego and La Jolla, then went up to Burbank just for Universal, before heading across to my favourite place, Palm Springs (fab for pool, riding, architecture, shopping etc). We’ve also on a previous trip carried on over to Las Vegas via Joshua Tree.

East Coast, Miami will tick architecture and beach, then go via Everglades to the Keys. Or do Orlando and Tampa if you want theme parks.

Yes to Palm Springs for mid-century modern architecture, shopping and restaurants (and outdoor sports). BUT average daytime temperature during summer is 42 degrees, so you'll want to plan accordingly.

I think anywhere in a desert is too hot in summer. Palm Springs is definitely not a summer destination,

We absolutely adored the buildings in Chicago. Saw the Frank Lloyd Wright ones and I just stood in awe at those overhead railways! Iconic. The Apple building is pretty cool too. I guess Chicago could be linked to the Great Lakes. I've not visited that area though.

I have visited a few places in Florida, a few in California and New York. New York was my favourite destination by miles.

We've done quite a few road trips in the US.

North and South Dakota were lovely. So much to see. Crazy Horse, Mount Rushmore (wasn't as grand as I expected!)

Colorado was great, we flew into Denver and spent a few days there.

Yellowstone was another highlight.

Gatlinburg, Tennessee was a fun stop - moonshine and mountains. Pigeon Forge next door has Dollywood. We seen bears in on one of the scenic drives. A very special moment on Cades Cove Loop!

I personally love Vegas but DH isn't a fan. Pacific Coast Highway was a nice drive, we've done Route 66 as well, so many lovely people along the route.

It’s so big I wouldn’t overstretch. We did a 6 week trip starting in NYC with a week in Cape Cod then up to Maine, through New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. I wouldn’t bother with Boston or Salem. Salem is just a tat town. Boston is pretty dull . Weren’t that keen on NH either out of snow season.

Maine however is stunning, particularly Acadia. We loved Cape Cod too( it’s actually quite big, you can’t swim on a lot of the beaches due to sharks but there are fresh water lakes).Vermont is lovely and NYC amazing.

6 weeks and we barely scratched the surface.

I have recently been to Boston as a first time US visitor (Mr Mlnkey ran the marathon) and would recommend. It is a beautiful and walkable city with a lot of bhstory. The flight is short for the US (6.5 hours from London). The weather and culture is fairly similar to ours so that may be a good one to ease you in!

Ww also went to New York - which is amazing but a bit of a head fuck - it is very extra! I am a Londoner of over 20 years and though I knew my way round busy cities but NYC is something else!

I have done a lot of trips in the US many of them with my teen. How old are the kids?

It's a balance between seeing as much as possible whilst not spending hours in the car depending on age.

The two trips that they have enjoyed the most were both two weeks.

New York 2 days, then Cali for 5, up to Flagstaff then Sedona. (We have also done Big Sur)

Florida, universal Studios for 4 days, Cocobeach for 2 (Kennedy space station) then across to Everglades for a night and the rest in the keys (gulf keys)

One of the great things about the USA is not needing to rush everywhere. You can get the train from Boston to NY and we have. To see friends. However there's so much to see by going into New England and staying there or up the coast it's a no brainer. Just ticking off places leaves so much out.

2 days in NY is far too short in my view. It's got so much to see that's scraping the surface. It's better to go to NY and see the best of it. Take time to get to know it a bit. I agree the underground has its peculiarities and it's very old fashioned.

Peculiarities is a polite way to put it!

Don't get me wrong - the subway was great for us - it got us where we needed to go, quickly and affordably and it is admirably extensive as a network. The fact it finally takes contactless payments was definitely a bonus for visitors.

But it was complex (I resorted to city mapper to try and work out what trains to get) , the stations were dingy and many stank of urine, the trains themselves were often ancient bone rattlers driven at a slightly alarming speed in to the stations.

Getting on to the Elizabeth line and then the Overground to get back from Heathrow was a stark contrast.

@Ginmonkeyagain
Totally agree about subway. The station near our hotel had no live info and we managed to get on a train that went under the East River. To this day I don't know how that happened looking at the map! I guess I was being polite and we have used Uber. DD lived in NY for a bit and said she never fully understood the subway. Trains in Chicago have worrying passengers too. Not my favourite train journeys!

Ha ha! You should see the "tube" in Boston. Cleaner and fewer crazy people but it looks like it belongs in a museum and you could walk it quicker!

Don’t forget Washington, DC and the Delaware\New Jersey beaches. Great architecture and the crab cakes are divine.

I love the California coast but as an alternative you could go along the gulf coast.

I have used the underground in Washington. Much better. There's also great places to see inland from Washington.

We’ve done a week in NYC with kids, lots to do, Also 2 weeks in Florida at Disney/Universal. Heading to California this summer and really looking forward to it. Mix of cities, beach, national park, theme parks. Trailfinders do lots of American itineraries, it’s worth getting some of their brochures for a bit of inspiration.

Don’t come to New York at the height of Summer, it is miserable.

California is lovely weather all year round, as is Hawaii.

We loved doing NY, Philadelphia and DC. All great places with so much to see. Can get the Amtrak pretty cheap on that route if you book in advance. Another trip we loved was Florida - Naples, Everglades, down to the Keys and back up to Miami. Still desperate to go to California so that's going to be my next US trip

I would do New York as everyone should visit once, then tag on short flight to Miami Beach afterwards for some sun/pool time...

I love California and have tagged it o.to the end of long US trips but I think it stands alone as a destination...avoid LA and go to Orange County, especially Laguna Beach. Absolutely stunning, great food and art scene and wow see how the other half live.

Unfortunately I wouldn't return to Portland Oregon or Seattle, the homeless camps there were so sad to see and I'll be honest a bit scary. A lot of mental illness on the streets. Also the weather in the Pacific North West can be a little gloomy.

Loved New Orleans and would return, not sure it's great for kids though. It's boozy and foodie and cultural, but I imagine kids would be bored.

Boston definitely felt the most chilled and was less of a culture shock and I would love to visit New England.

Based on your requirements and that it is a first trip, I would do New York and Miami Beach personally but Miami Beach isn't the safest and is not to everyone's taste so its hard to say. Maybe a New England road trip would be a bit more family friendly to be honest.

Vegas is good fun but 0 culture. Still could be a great holiday. But nightlife obviously does play a big part.

Can you tell i am passionate about this subject :-)