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.

Yes, I think you're right! 😂

@CulturalNomad

Agree. We were eating on a budget in NY and got a couple of meals from whole foods. One was salads and the other was their hot buffet selection.

Same price as fast food but was good to have some vegetables!

Philadelphia as a hub, and then could go anywhere via Amtrak (DC, Baltimore, NY, Boston) for a couple of days. Lots of other less common destinations on Amtrak that would be less expensive stays but offer some interesting experiences for a day or two. You could also go inland and see more ‘heartland’ America.

Philadelphia has a major airport, but as a city is less expensive to stay in and eat in than NY or Boston - flights might be marginally more expensive, but quickly recouped. it has loads of history, culture, nice parks and museums, and could easily spend a week there, while also being fairly centrally located for access to other destinations.

chicago might also be a good destination- major airport, easy public transit, and sooo much to do.

I'll check those out. I like the idea of seeing a few new places. And seeing Boston without the expense of staying there!

Without a car, Florida is definitely easier than most of California, especially around Orlando and excursions to the Everglades and Cape Canaveral are possible by booking tours, Cape Canaveral is especially good for your kids ages. See if there are any rocket launches too. Lake Buena Vista Hotel have suites with kitchens, they have washing and drying facilities and a pool and there are several walkable restaurants. They are attached to a Factory Outlet and are near a (long walk for Americans) to Publix (slightly more upmarket) and Walmart. They also do a shuttle to the parks. However as others say, Hurricaines can be pretty disruptive.
California, if you really want to go, La Jolla outside San Diego has a pretty walkable town centre or Mission Bay. In LA, the Garland (rooms are a bit tired)but the shuttle to Universal, service and movies in the pool, food, are worth it, very family friendly. I understand the 18 lane highways around LA are intimidating, but the wilderness in California if amazing, it wouldn't be quite the same without a car.
Allso remember that as soon as you throw American theme park into your plans, the budget becomes very tight, it's astonishing how much you can spend and how much you can feel dissappointed by not making it the "trip of a lifetime!" by not buying all the fast passes and all the rest. We have had better times in California and Florida when we didn't do theme parks tbh. The wildlife, the birding, the turtle rescue, the coral reefs the manatees the dolphins, the paddle boarding, much can be done at lower cost if you find the right place (and that's your family's thing). You could maybe tell us more about what you all like to do? And if a car is totally off the table!

You need a city with good public transportation if you don't want to rent a car.

This rules out much of the west.

What remains is Boston, Washington DC, Chicago, and Philadelphia. All of these are nice for a couple of weeks.

If I were you I'd go to Chicago. You can get around the city easily by train, and you can leave the city to explore interesting locations (for hiking, architecture, kayaking) away from the city by commuter train and longer distance rail. Local trains are the El (and there are buses too). Commuter trains are the Metra system, with several lines going to suburban destinations far from the city, and you can use the South Shore Line to travel to the Indiana Dunes or further, or take Amtrak to Milwaukee.

There is a lot to do in the city itself. Beaches are shut after the first week of September, but the entire lakefront is open to the public for walking, biking, skating, running, picnics... The city has lots of museums, art, music, attractions like the Shedd Aquarium, the Adler Planetarium, and the Field Museum. Architecture tours on the river, kayaking, gangster tours... Food is a highlight of Chicago. Lots of neighborhoods to explore too, and good shopping. You can also get to both airports by local train.

The other destination I'd suggest is DC. Entry to museums is free (though you need to book tickets well in advance for the Holocaust Museum and the Museum of African American history). Public transport is good. You can easily get to Baltimore / the ocean on the train or take a day trip to NYC by train.

September is a nice time to visit the US as kids are all back in school by the end of August (though Chicago public schools usually go back after Labour Day).

Is the no car thing because none of you can drive? Because if it's just because you're a bit scared too, it's SO easy over here! If you can drive, I'd fly into Vegas and do an Utah road trip, taking in Zion, Bryce, Canyonlands, before heading to the Grand Canyon and driving back to Vegas. Loads of affordable hotels, especially in September. Zion is one of my most favorite places on the planet and the hiking is hard but SO much fun.

If you really can't do cars, I'd do the DC, NYC and Boston route. Philly is a bit of a marmite city, more so than NYC tbh. Don't be put off of NYC if you just read terrible things about how dangerous it is. It's absolutely fine and great for teenagers.

Don’t forget the additional costs involved in flying. Taxis to and from the airport, food and drink at the airports. Those little extra things really add up and if you haven’t flown for a while you might get a shock at how pricey things are whichever country you’re in.

how does your autistic DD manage with travel? Can she manage busy and stressful places, for example?

The train from Boston to Philadelphia takes over 5 hours one way … not a day trip!

What stores does she have in mind?

Thank you for all the information.

I hadn't thought of Florida precisely because I thought a car was needed but my research seems to show many people manage fine without a car. As you say there are trips to the space centre - which I agree I would really like them to see.

Driving is completely off the table for me due to a health issue. My DS is learning to drive but wouldn't want any pressure on him to drive as would be so new to it.

We enjoy being outdoors - walks, wildlife, beaches. Swimming and pedalos etc. Equally we like sightseeing and museums. We enjoy a theme park but not too much! My DD wants to go to Hot Topic and Target and my DS wants to go to 7/11 and fast food places!

How much are you factoring for food and activities?
You could potentially do Orlando with that budget. Last August (DDs school went past uncharacteristically late so we flew out on like the 23rd, had 2 weeks and arrived home a day before term started)
It was £2300 for the 4 of us.
If you do go to Orlando- I drive for universal
W irlo bronson/ highway 192 for Disney. A lot of the hotels do shuttles to and from the attractions.
There are some inexpensive places to eat around too.

Oh, yes airports are so expensive! I avoid buying any food in them.

We can get the train to the airport this end and then get a coach transfer on the US.

I always make sure my DD wears her sunflower lanyard at the airport as they're always good at minimising crowds and queues for her.

@UndertheCedartree we brought a portable kettle , noodles, cereal bars for breakfast and coffees that we had in the room for breakfast. Everything still cost 2k per person for 1 week away.

Hotel taxes are payable locally. The hotel tact in Vegas cost more than the taxes in San Francisco and New York.

We probably spent £70 a day on food , that included skipping breakfast and having pre-drinks in the bedroom.

I have a sneaking feeling your DS will be pretty disappointed by both Target and 7-11. However, I know Americans who raved about Dunnes Stores in Dublin...

Hot Topic is a suburban mall type of shop. If you're willing to study a map, check bus/train networks, and take a train or bus to a mall, you'll be fine.

The weather all over the US (well, in the places you're considering anyway) would be nice enough in September for you to pack light. Nobody would bat an eyelid at tourists wandering around in shorts and Tshirts. You can use local laundromats to wash and dry your clothes so you don't need to pack a different outfit for every day of your holiday.

I don’t think it’s doable for 2 weeks. Sorry 😔

It was £2300 for the 4 of us. If you do go to Orlando- I drive for universal W irlo bronson/ highway 192 for Disney. A lot of the hotels do shuttles to and from the attractions. There are some inexpensive places to eat around too.

It's so disingenuous to narrow a holiday down to just flights and accommodation though, people do this with Florida all the time but this bit is often one of the cheaper areas of the holiday. How much did you spend on food, attraction tickets, airport transfers both ends, airport parking if needed?

I find it weird OP is saying she has £3k then saying that's just for flights and accommodation, surely when sorting a holiday you have an overall figure in mind? And you factor your food budget alongside flights etc?

Let people plan and budget their holidays however they want to @nopdhhd

I personally like getting accommodation and flights sorted first because you can book these in advance in a sale. And then figure the rest out later / closer to the time while saving.

@Tommytoronto people can plan and budget how they want but how are strangers on the internet meant to help if they are given half the budget?! No good saying I've got £3k to go to anywhere in the USA with no inclination as to what is then spare for attractions or food, no good spending £3k on Orlando and getting there with a few pennies left, or being sent to South Dakota because that covers everything but then nothing to do despite having another £2k squirrelled away for "attractions".

And people who say they do Orlando on £3000 with a family of 4 are lying, unless your only attraction is the mall.

But yes obviously you book accommodation and flights first, but surely you have some idea how much you have left over for the other aspects of the holiday? Unless it is an AI resort type break.

I agree with @nopdhhd that it matters how much extra money there is for everything else. If it’s less than £2k then I think D.C. is a far better option as attraction costs and local transport will be cheaper. I don’t think Orlando would work in that budget. If there is another another £3-4k for food, attractions, spending money and local transport then I think Orlando is more realistic.

In some places flights and accommodation are a much bigger proportion of total holiday cost than others. In some places you could get by with £1000 spending money over 2 weeks and have a nice time, in other places you’d have a pretty miserable time if that was all you could afford.

Chicago. Have been to the US quite a bit with my teens and Chicago was our favourite city.

I agree with you RE factoring in costs separately. I tend to do an all in cost of well, everything and would be too anxious if I were to leave anything not planned for to the penny.

We spent 2k on food. A mixture of slightly more expensive restaurants and also cheaper.

Attractions were around 500 each, but if you're wanting attractions for each person to cover 2 weeks, I think £500 is on the low end of a budget. Universal is/was cheaper but I know there's an imminent opening of a new park in Orlando.. I'm a bit more Disney.

I haven't factored in the cost of transfers to and from hotel areas, as I've never used them.

Hang on what attraction costs 500 each? And is that per day?

wth