America first timers!

[ThirtysomethingMummy]

We are wanting to take DC to America in 2027. We need to be careful of budget and need to be able to book soon and pay it off.

None of us have been to America before. DC will be 12 and 11.

we don’t really know where would be good as first timers?!

one DC loves rides etc but the other hates it. Both like shopping and eating out.

can I have recommendations please?

We took DCs to Florida when they were 10 & 13. Did Disney and not-Disney on alternate days. Plenty in the Disney parks that are not rides - as there are 2 adults you could split into pairs, so that the ride-lover and ride-hater get to do different things for part of the day. The parks are quite varied anyway.

We went to the Kennedy Space Centre, an air-boat excursion, Daytona beach etc on non-park days.

Apart from the DC, where would YOU like to go, & what would YOU like to see ?

disney is £££££ if you’re on a budget. Universal is more affordable - I prefer it tbh. There’s only about 3 or 4 rollercoasters, there are a lot of cgi rides which are fun. It’s also more compact so if you want to do other stuff you aren’t tied to Disney in the same way.

florida generally is good for things to do outside of the parks. Space centre etc. there’s also some lovely beaches like Clearwater or cocoa beach if you want a few days chilling.

outside of Florida there are some great places. Vegas and Death Valley, Yosemite, san fransisco is a great road trip. Grand canyon. I enjoyed LA as well- stay somewhere like Santa Monica and enjoy the food/beach/surf/skate scene. Vegas is often good value for money as hotels are subsidised by the casino’s- as that is where people spend money. But plenty to do outside of the casinos.

then there’s New York and Philly, both great and near enough to do a dual city holiday.

it’s a massive country- do you want theme parks? Or hiking? Road trip? Coastal? Places of interest?

do you have to book soon? I find cheapest is the January before you go. British airways is my go to as they seem to have a partnership with a lot of hotels so booking the flight/hotel/car hire through them often works out very reasonable.

Are you going during the summer hols?

What kind of stuff do you enjoy doing? Do you want a single base or will you travel from place to place via rail/plane/car?

I think Florida has it all. You have the big theme parks but also amazing beaches, wildlife, cities, fun activities like swimming, indoor sky diving, segways, food tours etc.

Of you prefer museums & history then Washington DC is amazing. Many museums are free of charge, saving some money. Can be combined with somewhere like NYC.

If you are more outdoorsy then maybe you’d like California - Yosemite, Sequoia & Kings national parks, maybe a road trip from San Francisco to LA?

Get your ESTAs approved before you book your flight tickets. You have to give them all your social media usernames now, so they can let Grok decide if you hate Trump. It will probably be fine, but travel insurance will not cover your non-refundable flights if you are denied due to a screw-up.

From memory you have to state your "address in the US" on the ESTA application. This is silly for most tourists, who will move around, plus the ESTA is valid for multiple entries over two years, but that's bureaucracy for you. So just pick a hotel near the airport where you intend to land.

That’s quite a broad range.

we’ve done Florida but also did New York for a few days, then drove to Chicago, up to Milwaukee (family), a lake house for a few days, then a hotel in the Wisconsin Dells - massive hotel with rides inside. The Dells is where Americans go on holiday.

I don't think it is morally right to spend money contributing to the economy of a country whose voters have twice delivered an adjudicated rapist who is destroying the world.

“On a budget” is going to be difficult. Flights will be your biggest expense, only going to get more expensive due to fuel shortages. You need to hire a car pretty much anywhere you go except the very centre of big cities eg NYC, DC and Boston. Accommodation, eating out etc all much more expensive. Entry to national parks now $200 a head for non nationals (thanks Trump).

But apart from all that it’s a big place - are you looking for beaches, mountains, lakes, cities, forests, busy, quiet???

“On a budget” is going to be difficult. Flights will be your biggest expense, only going to get more expensive due to fuel shortages. You need to hire a car pretty much anywhere you go except the very centre of big cities eg NYC, DC and Boston. Accommodation, eating out etc all much more expensive. Entry to national parks now $200 a head for non nationals (thanks Trump).

But apart from all that it’s a big place - are you looking for beaches, mountains, lakes, cities, forests, busy, quiet???

“On a budget” is going to be difficult. Flights will be your biggest expense, only going to get more expensive due to fuel shortages. You need to hire a car pretty much anywhere you go except the very centre of big cities eg NYC, DC and Boston. Accommodation, eating out etc all much more expensive. Entry to national parks now $200 a head for non nationals (thanks Trump).

But apart from all that it’s a big place - are you looking for beaches, mountains, lakes, cities, forests, busy, quiet???

“On a budget” is going to be difficult. Flights will be your biggest expense, only going to get more expensive due to fuel shortages. You need to hire a car pretty much anywhere you go except the very centre of big cities eg NYC, DC and Boston. Accommodation, eating out etc all much more expensive. Entry to national parks now $200 a head for non nationals (thanks Trump).

But apart from all that it’s a big place - are you looking for beaches, mountains, lakes, cities, forests, busy, quiet???

• What is your budget?
• What do YOU want to do?
• What time of year will you be going?
• How do you feel about very hot/humid weather?

We'll be much better able to advise you if we have this info. Liking shopping and eating out isn't enough information for us to suggest things. You could go absolutely anywhere for that!

Entry to national parks now $200 a head for non nationals

I was going to come on to suggest national parks as an alternative to WDW, depending on how outdoorsy you are as a family.

While the price for a pass is far more expensive now for non residents/citizens, it’s not nearly as bad as the above poster makes out. An annual pass for non residents/citizens is $250 and that covers everyone in your car (I think up to 4 people?).

We have family and made lots of friends in the USA. My cousin after 45 years has repatriated home bringing my aunt and her American husband with him.
He strongly is discouraging anyone who asks to travel and put into the American economy (he worked for a big USA banking company).

I started travelling to the States when I had my own income at 17, staying with family, then travelling with my husband, diverting if it was close to visit aunts (2) or cousins (4).
We didn’t actually take our children until our daughter was 14, son 11 and then to New York for 5 days. My daughter, we treated to a personal shopper in Macy’s, brilliant opportunity for her to become herself and guided by a young woman who kitted her out for her college years and well into her career.

They have travelled themselves, visiting family, New York, West Virginia (water sports) and yes, Florida.
My daughter said, the winter weekend to Paris Disney was the better experience, Florida Disney, was too hot, too busy and Florida is not visiting America, it’s visiting Fantasy. My cousin lives in Orlando and she recommends never to go during the school break in the summer, it’s cheap for a reason.

I've been over most of the USA as we lived there for a couple of years. Florida is the obvious place for children but the area my children liked best was New England. Beautiful beaches on Cape Cod, lots to do and see in Boston. Maine was our favourite state, hikes and seaside, especially Bar Harbour. Boston is a reasonable distance flight too.

The budget may be your biggest problem. Prices went up significantly not just the flights. Depending what you like to do, there are plenty of options.

When we booked Universal seven years ago, it was 6K for one week for three people (we never went, thanks to Covid). Okay, that was with Universal hotels but I somehow don't think it got any cheaper.

I personally think you need to have a very good look at prices for flights, car, hotels, you need to check the rules for each state you are going to about taxes as all prices in shops will be excluding tax and don't forget that you are expected to pay 20% tip.

Does it have to be a theme park? The US in summer is extremely hot, so take that into consideration as well if you are not very good with heat especially in the south you also have high humidity.
We went to Boston and surrounding areas three years ago. It's very interesting, you have the beaches in Cape Cod, if you want you even can take to the train or another internal flight to Washington on New York.

Apply first for the ESTA before you book a flight or anything else.

Bar Harbor and Acadia are our favourite part of the US too.

We’ve been several times. It has become very expensive on the last few years. Some airports are cheaper than others in the summer to fly to - certainly in the past we found Las Vegas and Washiglnton DC to be a little more economical.

Book your flights when the fares are first released - for BA that is 11 months in advance.

Washington DC is amazing due to the Smithsonian - even the zoo is part of the Smithsonian and is free to go in. You can book a tour of the White House for free but it is difficult as a foreigner. After a lot of googling I found a senator who was willing to help foreigners with this.

if you are going to NYC, book tickets to go up to the crown of the Statue of Liberty many months (6? 9?) in advance. This is not expensive. Everything else in NYC is expensive. We stayed in a hotel in New Jersey that was more or less next to a bridge into Manhattan and had a good bus service - that saved $$$$.

One of the best things we did was go to the town of Williamsburg in Virginia. It is a museum and all the staff are actors and role play that they are in 1776.

Another absolutely brilliant thing was gold rush ghost town of Bodie (near Death Valley). Think it’s in Calfornia - the DCs loved that.

Alcatraz - also brilliant but book many months in advance

All national parks are absolutely brilliant and IMHO an absolute must in the USA. Their vastness and beauty is overwhelming. But again book many months in advance (I’d say book it when you book your flight). They are all expensive but so worth it.

Go to Chicago.

There's shopping, eating out, lakefront beaches, and a big Six Flags about 1 hr to 1.5 hrs from downtown depending on traffic. The DC who likes rides could do Six Flags while the other one could shop at Gurnee Mills mall.

You can take a train to the Indiana Dunes, or rent a car and explore the charming Michigan resort towns and lovely sandy beaches along the shore of Lake Michigan.

Chicago has a huge range of fun things to do.

As others have said, you need to decide what you want from the holiday. We much prefer Universal, primarily because it has Harry Potter, which is amazing for both adults and kids. We're not a theme park family, as we find one or max 2 days is enough for us.

We tend to do road trips; our last trip started off in Fort Myers, driving down the coast to Naples, on to the Florida Keys via the Everglades, and finishing in Miami South Beach. My 13 yo son was very chilled and happy. It's a fair bit of driving, but American cars are huge, comfy and driving is stress-free.

A previous trip started in San Diego, followed by La Jolla, LA Burbank (for Universal), Palm Springs and Santa Monica.

Most places there will be the huge designer discount malls. We always hit these en route.

My son's now 14, and has just returned from.his school trip to New York. He loved it. It's definitely a city to explore with older kids.

We don't stay in fancy hotels; motels and Best Western level are fine. Criteria are a free breakfast and a pool. We go to public beaches (Naples was gorgeous). Our holidays never cost the £000s that people quote on here!

Remember that food portions are huge. Get doggy bags and lunch next day is covered. Eat early for the early bird deals.

Agree 100% with @Oriunda

I live here and road trips always featured a motel with pool for accommodation and burger type fare.

Get a cooler for your car for leftovers and cool drinks. You can buy polystyrene coolers that work well. Buy bags of ice at a gas station. Your cheap hotel/ motel will likely have a microwave in the room.

Loved Washington DC. Most museums are free, but you have to book some things (Capitol). Stay out of town, it's cheaper. It is hot and humid though. x

Agreed.
Every person going on holiday to America is supporting the abuse of power which Trump is wreaking on the world as well as his own citizens.
Why would you want to support such a corrupt and morally bankrupt country?
We should boycott America just as we did South Africa years ago.
Plenty of other places to spend your money.

It's a huge pity people think this way.

If you go on holiday to America you go on holiday to a specific state, unless your plans include a very long road trip.

You are free to avoid states that voted for trump. You are free to avoid counties that voted for trump.

Equally, you are free to choose to go to states and counties that voted for Harris.

Be aware when you climb aboard your high horse that the hospitality industry tends to employ a lot of immigrants.

Also consider the fact that your point of sale taxes for goods and services stay within the city and county you are in. Sales taxes are divided up between municipalities and counties and pay for the services provided to the citizens of those counties and municipalities.

These services include public schools and SEN provision, police, fire, and EMS services, water/ sewage reclamation, county hospitals including psychiatric wards, county public health departments, city public health department, streets and sanitation department, homeless services, county sheriff and jails, municipal.police, county courts, emergency/ disaster response, city libraries, and much more. The people using the services of the county hospitals and benefiting from the services of the public health departments, libraries, and public schools in particular tend to be low income residents.

So go ahead, hurt the people who benefit the most from your tourist dollar, or do a little research into the meaning of 'The United States of America'. There are fifty of them.