3k for trip to US

[UndertheCedartree]

I want to take my DC to the US for a special trip as they turn 13/18 this year.

I'm looking at travelling in September. On a tight budget of 3-3.5k for flights and accomodation.

I'm clueless as to where to take them. Not New York but aside to that I am open to anywhere but would need to be able to get about without a car.

Aer lingus from Heathrow to Chicago via Dublin for £450 return, 11 September. You can do Chicago/ozarks/michigan/wisconsin etc

Might be tricky without hiring a car

I visited Boston a few years ago on a solo trip, it's my favourite US city. I stayed in an Airbnb in Charlestown and got the subway into Boston each day, it was really easy, and Charlestown is lovely and full of history (as is the Boston itself).

The aquarium is great, loads of museums, boat trips to visit other towns and cities, and whale watching. I think it's great for kids and adults alike.

My DD has a list of stores she wants to go to! 😲

We won't come until all schools are back! (UK & US)

You have no idea how excited my DS gets about trying McDonald's in other countries! They all do different menu items! 😂 We're not big foodies though, would probably have one nice restaurant meal and sandwiches/fast food rest of the time while in Orlando (if we choose Florida). Then would look at an air bnb on the coast where we could cook for the rest of the trip.

And yes, I would make sure we have adequate holiday insurance - good point to include that in my budget.

No where seems to be cheap anymore, does it?

I think if we choose Florida we will definitely self cater for some of it.

won't they be in school in September? And won't the 18 year old be in y13?

We've been looking at skyscanner which throws up lots of options hence me asking for opinions on here!

I've been looking at transport links in a few places which definitely seems doable without a car.

And food wise we're used to doing that rather than lots of restaurant meals.

@UndertheCedartree

I cannot see how you could do it for that. I went October last year with two teens.

Spent 5.4k on flights and accommodation for 11 nights. That was split Boston / NY.

Probably about 1k maybe just over on food - that was mainly eating fast food with a couple of proper meals.

Plus then any entrance costs for activities etc.

The US is an extremely large country - it’s like saying I want to go to Europe. It would help if you had an idea of what you wanted to do - beach, site seeing , city etc.

Transport in North America is poor in comparison to the UK - not frequent, available or cheap because everyone drives.

Tourist attractions are very expensive. The beach if free for example.

Distances are mega so getting between places can be long.

Washington DC is a capital city and has siteseeing but not much else.

Maybe consider renting a house and buying groceries.

No frills airlines are great but charge for any bag including carryons, seat selection and meals.

Let us know why you are looking for to narrow t down.

Agreed dc or Chicago. Loads of free/cheap things to do. Great public transport.

No, my DS is in Y13 now (and is taking a gap year.) It is a trip for their birthdays but will actually come after their birthdays if you see what I mean! I had to take my DD out of school as she is autistic and not having her needs met. So might as well make the most of travel outside of school time!

That's the thing I posted to try and narrow things down as honestly we enjoy beaches, we enjoy cities, we enjoy hiking, we enjoy attractions...

I am thinking of perhaps either Florida or California. A week doing attractions and then a week by the beach.

@UndertheCedartree there is no way in hell you're taking 3 people to Florida for 2 weeks doing attractions on £3k. Likely not California either depending on the attractions you're considering.

You can absolutely do the US for 3 people on £3k, but it'll likely be around a week, and would involve motels, fast food, potentially road tripping with minimal spends on attractions, which I love doing, it'll be great fun, but it won't be theme parks.

Do you have a daily budget? Both of these states will be difficult but not impossible to navigate without a car. Disneyland or Epcot for example are about £150 each daily.

One tip for saving money on food on a trip to the US: See if there's a Whole Foods market nearby. They all have a reasonably large prepared foods section and an area where you sit and eat your meal. They usually have someone making sushi and there'll be plenty of healthier options.

It's not cheap (but even fast food isn't cheap!) and you can eat well at a reasonable price (plus no tipping).

The 3-3.5k is for flights and accomodation. I'll have more for attractions and food.

If we go to Florida or California - we don't want to do a full on Disney/Universal etc. holiday. Would probably do maybe 4 days of attractions. My DD wants to look at the shops and then we want to do beach/walks/nature etc.

Obviously if in a city we'd enjoy sightseeing/museums/parks etc.

Also...I have a home in Florida on the Gulf Coast and September is really hot and humid. I'm never here July thru September - God, the humidity! Lol.

I don't really have a daily budget. I can keep about 1k for attractions but I know those type of attractions are expensive so that wouldn't stretch too far!! I was thinking of suggesting to grandparents if they wanted to pay for an attraction. But we will also spend much of the holiday just relaxing at pool/beach/walks etc.

Can someone give me an idea how much you'd pay for a week of groceries in Florida or California?

That’s tough as it depends what you like to eat, how much, etc. Also different stores (think Aldi to M&S) will be different. I would say £300 as you won’t have ketchup for example.

I would have thought the flights would be cheaper to the east coast than the west.

you could maybe do Washington DC and then train up to NYC and then up to Boston. We did Washington DC and train up to NYC. In NYC we got a city pass thing which covered loads of attractions and saved a lot of money overall.

however like others have said, food is insanely priced. And then you have to tip on top. We ended up having a piece of fruit and a cereal bar for breakfast and then an ice cream or similar at lunch time and an early tea which was a proper meal because we were staying in hotel. Self catering would probably be a lot cheaper and easier.

Can you just go for shorter time / save up for longer. Not trying to be negative but it sounds as if the budget will be tight all round and tbh if you are having to watch the cash that tightly maybe it won't be as great for them as it could be. You say your DD wants to look in all the shops etc but if the budget is that tight you will be constantly saying you cannot afford anything.

Looking at Disney tickets it seems to say a 3 day single park per day pass is $300 - for 3 of you that's the majority of your attractions budget gone in 2 days.

I think you may be really underestimating how expensive those attractions are.
£1000 would not be enough to cover 4 days of theme park entry in Orlando sadly. Even if they were the only attractions you visited.

The average price of a 1 day ticket for Disneyworld is $160 per person. A two day ticket is about $280. They also make it really hard to find and buy those tickets. They want to funnel you towards the 14 day magic pass, which is much cheaper per day because they want you to spend as much time and money as possible in their parks.

Universal studios is over £100 for a 1 day pass, but a 14 day pass is only £350. Again, they want you in the parks spending money.

Doing a few days of theme parks is often nearly as expensive in terms of tickets as a 14 day park pass.

Forget Florida, seriously. Park tickets for just one day will cost you about £600, and there’s a chance you’ll lose days to a hurricane in September.

Grocery shopping at Albertson’s in California is a similar experience to Sainsbury’s with M&S prices. Trader Joe’s is more like Aldi with Sainsbury’s prices.

You could consider Toronto instead of the USA? A city on a lake with good public transport and loads to do might work for you.

I think you'd struggle. You’re looking at a city if you have no car, so accommodation would be in the region of £150 a night minimum. Eating out maybe £100 a day for budget places, so on top of flights you're talking around £3.5K.
Cabin luggage for such a long trip would be incredibly challenging! In reality, thats not the thing to make cuts on.