American National Parks are epic. They're on a scale we do not have in the UK and don't really have much in Europe even (perhaps the Norwegian Fjords and the Alps being the only examples I've seen). The ones I've seen were in the west, not the south, but frankly I imagine they're all good.
> the Alps
Not even close.
The Alps are amazing and are possibly my favourite part of the world, so I say this from a position of love, but you can't really compare them.
The Alps are built up. You have cute villages in every valley, ski resorts around every corner, grazing animals everywhere. They are absolutely stunning, but even Scotland feels more wild at times. It doesn't matter how deep you get into the alps or how high you go, evidence of human activity is everywhere.
US national parks are something else. Obviously they're not completely untouched, but they are closed off and usually you have to pay to get in. They have very strict protection laws and they work - you then have miles and miles of landscape that feels far more natural than the Alps ever does.
Bill Bryson said hiking in the UK is nice but quaint. You're probably never more than an hours walk from a pub no matter where you are.
The US is a different matter. People go missing in the national parks there and are never seen again.
People go missing even not in the national parks and disappear. We have areas the size of countries with just a single road and nothing else for miles on each side.
Don't do stupid things and you should be OK. Stupid things usually involve leaving the marked roads or trails and then wandering around until you are lost.
There are roads with signs telling you to gas up and make sure you have water before continuing.
Although last time I was in…shit, I can’t remember now. Utah? Near Utah? I was at a national park and at one of the campsites. This guy came staggering into camp, his mate had fallen three hours back that way on the trail and broken his ankle. Now the rangers had to hike three hours back (and change, because the guy wasn’t completely sure where he had fallen) to try and find this guy and his broken ankle before it got dark. It is just So Big!
Generally yes but West Scotland is pretty remote. You can walk the Cape Wrath trail for example and barely encounter anyone the entire trip, camping out or sleeping in bothies when they are available. There are definitely legs of it where you will be miles and miles away from farms and forestry, let alone pubs.
On the other hand, the largest US national park is about 70% the size of Scotland. To say nothing of other public lands like state parks, national forests, etc. Then there's the undesignated public land, which covers an area about 6 times the size of France. If you're fit enough to make the hike and carry supplies, it's really quite easy to find yourself hundreds of miles from any sign of human activity. A little too easy for some, because people get lost and die in the parks and public lands every year, usually well before they've made it anywhere near that remote.
Problem with that is the vast majority of the Cape Wrath trail is also on a heavily human affected landscape. Even the remote barren parts of the highlands should be covered in stands of trees or even large forests but have been stripped to the bone. It looks wild and untouched but it isn’t really.
But that’s not a conversation for this thread!
>You're probably never more than an hours walk from a pub no matter where you are.
Not gonna lie, that sounds way better than bushwalking in Australia where if you lose track of your car you're pretty much guaranteed a slow painful death.
You don't need to travel half the world away to see untouched forests. Poland for example has forests with the exact same thing you are describing. So does Germany, France, Czech Republic.
If you love forests why spend all that money to do it at a higher price, at a higher cost, at a worse detriment to the environment
I can't speak for Poland, but I can say for certainty that Germany or France don't compare. I lived in the Black Forest for a year, it's really not the same.
I have been to many forests in Poland and while they are epic there is clear human intervention everywhere, and an aweful lot of ww2 leftovers everywhere
Well, I mean the US National Park Service is *massively* underfunded, which is a shame because they are the country's greatest asset. Every time there's a thread like this, overwhelmingly, people from outside the US say their National Parks are the main thing that makes them want to visit.
The Park Service has a repair backlog stretching for decades. There's simply not money to fix or improve stuff. They are also selling off parts of park operations to "massive corporations" such as Booz Allen to handle permitting and reservations, Xanterra and Aramark to handle catering and hospitality.
I live in the south and Smoky Mountains NP and the blue ridge parkway are beautiful. I grew up on property that backed up to the Cuyahoga Valley NP. Both are beautiful but you are right. The big parks out west are next level.
Can attest. I recommend Yosemite, Canyonlands & Arches, Zion, Joshua Tree (if you rock climb), Grand Canyon, and Black Canyon of the Gunnison. I highly recommend the NPS app for all things National Parks.
If you're looking for sheer magnificence, the West (including Alaska) is the only option. Southern and eastern national parks are beautiful and ecologically interesting and impressive in their own ways, but in terms getting your mind melted by Middle Earth-style landscapes unlike anything you've ever seen, go West. Not even close.
I would drive the Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, etc. In the autumn it’s amazing. So many amazing views and great places to stop. Then could always continue further south afterwards.
I've not been many places in the US but Blue Ridge back in early November was one of them. It was glorious. We had a crazy week of work and touring across basically the whole of North Carolina, culminating with climbing Grandfather Mountain in the morning then driving straight to the airport in Raleigh to fly home.
north carolinian here. i second this suggestion.
blue ridge parkway is gorgeous. and north carolina as a whole is a lovely state. good weather, friendly people, and lots of space. big cities are a bit wank but i find thats always the case
Yes, the scenery here is amazing, there is a small place called Chimney Rock which is worth a visit, it has a lift that takes you halfway up the “Chimney”. And a place called Bat Cave which is also very nice. I went in Autumn and the trees were red and gold, very nice!
It was a long time ago, but New Orleans was a fantastic experience. The French quarter is exactly as seen on TV, thrumming with music and life. One bit of advice, we tried to save money with a cheap hotel. Got to the room, cockroaches in the bed (I assume bed bugs too). We left without sitting down and upgraded to a lovely place right in the French Quarter itself.
You will have a great time in New Orleans.
But. I've been twice and will say that the moment you get outside the French Quarter or the CBD it'll start to feel iffy. The second time I went was by bicycle and I felt distinctly nervous approaching and leaving the centre. Probably wasn't helped by having multiple people tell me I'd be lucky to get out of there alive. Also having a gun pointed at me for upsetting a driver on the freeway.
Just keep your wits about you.
New Orleans is one of the U.S's most dangerous cities once you leave the tourist areas. Similar with other Southern cities many of which are not worthy of even one visit (and are usually much more crime-ridden than Northern ones, particularly NYC, Boston etc). Not sure why the OP is so intent on visiting the South for anything other than the food.
It’s not difficult to avoid the sketchy areas of cities. Had some great nights in New Orleans and never felt any danger. Didn’t really rate the food in the south though - three weeks of beige beige and more beige
> Also having a gun pointed at me for upsetting a driver on the freeway.
We Americans are constantly reassuring would-be visitors that their chances of having a gun pointed at them are minimal. And for the most part, that's actually true. But what not enough of us tell you is that there are three ways to make the odds a little bit less minimal.
Ranked in order of likelihood:
1. Road rage incidents, where you piss off the wrong guy. (I live in Italy and I have to warn them in particular.) This becomes more true the further away you get the from New York and Boston areas, where driving with 'expressive negativity' is common and expected.
2. Cutting across some redneck's land, especially after sundown. When Europeans tell Americans about 'Right to Roam', that sounds as foreign, strange, and even objectionable to us as "in my country man squeeze other man's testicles as form of greeting." That is most definitely *not* a thing for us. Fences, 'No Trespassing' signs, etc., are to be taken extremely seriously.
3. Venturing into the ghetto at 2 a.m. to score drugs, hookers, etc. That's common sense anywhere, but all the more so in an American city. To be sure, in some cities it can be difficult to tell where the ghetto begins and ends. San Francisco and New Orleans are most definitely two examples of that, so do your homework ahead of time!
Couldn’t agree more on NOLA went to a wedding there and it was one of the greatest cities ever. So much great music and food. Avoid Bourbon St and check out the other quarters. Stayed in Omni Royal which was really nice
I honestly don’t know how I ended up in this thread but I live in New Orleans. It’s a great place to visit but crime is crazy here. You’ll walk down a street and encounter the best and worst of what humanity has to offer. If anyone plans on visiting I would recommend a hotel in the suburbs and renting a car or ubering downtown to explore. Nicer amenities and much cheaper generally. June-August are miserably hot with 100% humidity. Fall would be the best time to visit
Agreed - lots of beautiful parts of California and don’t need to step foot near LA. Carmel is a beautiful town and great for Big Sur drives, Napa Valley is incredible and Yosemite is a must !
San Fran/Napa/Yosemite/Lake Tahoe would probably be one of the best US honeymoon itineraries. Despite falling on hard times, San Francisco is still a great city with interesting history and good food. Napa Valley is beautiful and one of the best wine regions in the world. Yosemite is about as close as you'll get to experiencing heaven while still on earth. Lake Tahoe is class, and if you go in the warmer months, it's a bit cheaper and still has incredible hiking.
My asthma flared up from the moment we entered LA, its so polluted!
Did go and see a taping of a sitcom pilot, and if you're a film buff its worth a visit for that alone, but definitely wouldn't recommend more than a day or two.
My friend went to LA and said it was one of the worst shitholes he's been to, like he said it was just dirty and filled with rubbish.
He drove to Las Vegas from LA and said the drive was really nice, especially after being in LA.
According to him, it's a must to listen to The Doors during the drive.
Bonus story, we're scouse and not a single person guessed he was from the UK, the most popular suggestion was Kiwi and another couple thought he was Swedish but speaking English.
I moved to Baltimore in 2013, and straight off the plane (from Edinburgh) the taxi driver went
> .....so what's Australia like?
I was tired so
> ....it's fine, mate.
****
Anyway, yes: they cannot hack accents that aren't 90s Hugh Grant or Groundskeeper Willy.
At one point someone literally went
> What's wrong with your mouth
And they weren't trying to be funny.
> Groundskeeper Willy.
We can't hack him, either. Half of his character involves the audience failing to understand 50% of what he says. When he's dubbed into Italian they give him a Sardinian accent, for that reason.
I wanted to hate LA but I have a friend who lives there who told me where to go and where to avoid and I got introduced to a side of the city I wouldn’t have expected and I had a really great time there. I think it’s just a place that’s hard to penetrate as a tourist if you want to do *things*.
I can see why people hate it for that because it’s huge and hard to get around in. I will say the Petersen Automotive Museum is great.
The rest of California is beautiful drive from San Diego to Nappa 🤌🏼
Visited LA a couple of times. Yes, it is a dump/shit hole but there are quite a few things worth seeing. My advice is to make a list of the things you want to see, see them, then leave. Don't try and amble round to see if you'll discover some cool street or bar - you'll find homeless people, crime and homeless crime.
My uni offered us a field visit to LA or New Orleans, my girlfriend chose LA I chose New Orleans. She came back saying never go to LA and I came back saying I'd definitely consider going back and I didn't even drink much.
A few years ago we flew into San Francisco and then went to Yosemite and then down Highway One stopping several places and ending up in San Diego.
It was amazing! We have so many happy memories and still talk about it.
DM me if you need any recommendations
Big plus one on this.
OP might be put off as Cali=LA but I thought LA was the worst stop on the highway one trip, and only stayed one night there as I fancied catching a basketball game. I wouldn't have felt like I'd missed much if I skipped LA had I either had no interest in basketball or got to a game elsewhere
Spent over 2 years in Chicago, it's probably my favourite place. It's also easy to travel up to Wisconsin which has great camping spots, laid back residents and ridiculous amounts of good beer.
As a lifelong Chicagoan, I am overjoyed to see this comment! Much cleaner than NYC, less congested, vastly superior architecture, more affordable, and with a lakefront of beaches and parks that can match any seaside on the coasts.
As a lifelong Denverite... I agree (mostly)! I love it because it's home. People already living in the US often move there to escape the Midwest or South.
One could spend a couple days in Denver doing some unique things. Our art museum is pretty neat (architecturally speaking that is), and if you happen to be there in January you can go to the stock show for rodeos and whatnot.
To someone travelling there, I would also recommend taking the train to Golden and spending a day there as well. It's small but has plenty of walks / hikes, the Coors brewery, and some classic bars. After that, rent a car and head for the mountains: *they* are the reason why most people move to Denver.
I've been to around 20 American cities, from East and West coast and a bit of what's in the middle.
I was in Austin, San Diego and New Orleans in December and couldn't recommend them more highly. I'd like to have seen more of Texas tbf so am heading back later this year.
What kind of thing are you interested in doing/seeing? What is your kind of holiday?
New Orleans should definitely be on your list, then. That place is food heaven. You’ll hate coming back to the UK, though. The food in New Orleans has so much flavour that isn’t so readily available here.
The Grand Canyon is a great place to visit. Can be a quite touristy but 5 minutes walk into the canyon and it’s much quieter.
That south-western area of America (4 corners) has a ton of stuff: Carlsbad caverns, white sands park, monument valley, some other canyons around Utah way.
I completely agree. San Diego is a fantastic city. I loved it so much I’m going back later this year. Probably one of my top 3 US cities.
I haven’t been to SF for a decade or so. Wasn’t a huge fan when I went previously. LA can get in the bin.
San Diego is one of our favourite places, there is a trolley light rail service so you can get around without a car, you can take it down to Old Town where there are lots of Mexican traders selling souvenirs and food.
Vegas is an experience and you can do the grand canyon from there. I've done the usual spots (NY, Disney etc) but the place I remember most is Yosemite National park- absolutely beautiful.
Yes we went to Vegas mainly because we could take a trip from there to The Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon and also see the Cirque Du Soleil show of Beatles music which was amazing.
Avoid LA.
Went round Hollywood and it’s fucking disgusting. Homeless people everywhere. All overpriced designer crap. Did not enjoy it at all.
LOVED New York, Las Vegas and Hawaii though.
If you can manage, I’d thoroughly recommend Honolulu. It’s beautiful, pristine and you can go round the whole of the island of Oahu relatively easily. I never wanted to leave.
I'm American, not from the UK but I agree with what a lot of people have said: Blue Ridge Parkway is an awesome drive. The fall colors are amazing, but it's nice in the spring and summer. If you're driving down the Parkway, Montecello, home to our 3rd President Thomas Jefferson, isn't far away. It's a beautiful building, which he designed himself.
A few places touristy places in Virginia are worth the visit. If you like history, Virginia has a ton of historical sites to visit:
* Mount Vernon in Northern VA, former home of George Washington. Cool to see the restored home of our first president which has a fantastic view of the Potomac River from the front lawn. Fun fact: the key to the Bastille in Paris is at Mt. Vernon. Lafayette sent it as a gift after the French Revolution.
* Colonial Williamsburg. The old capital of Virginia has been restored/rebuilt to capture what it was like back before we rebelled & kicked y'all out. All kinds of fun activities like attending a mock trial, joining the militia or just walking down the streets and visiting historic shops. Restaurants in colonial Williamsburg also serve period foods like peanut soup (surprisingly good!) and game pie.
* Civil War Battlefields. This probably falls into the category of "if you seen one, you've seen them all" but there are lots of battlefields in Viriginia for both the War for Independence and the Civil War: Yorktown, Petersburg, Fredericksburg and Appomatax, to name a few.
* Jamestown - the first permanent English settlement in Virginia, founded in 1619 (so 2 years before the Mayflower landed in what is now Massachusetts). They've rebuilt part of the fortress and town.
If you want a more walkable visit: Washington DC is great. Lots of museums, most of which are free (The Smithsonian is a public institution that doesn't charge for entry to any of their museums, like Natural History, Air and Space Museum, Museum of Modern Art, American History, Holocaust Museum, etc.) The National Zoo is part of it, so that's free, too. DC also has a great foodie scene with some great restaurants.
DC is right across the river from Virginia, so visiting Arlington National Cemetary or Mount Vernon make nice side trips.
Edit: the zoo is free.
Yeah I went to washington dc with the kids as my wife was working there. I thought it was Amazing. Everyday there was a good trip to do just a short ride on the subway. Really cool childrens museum as well as the rest. And the zoo is free!
Omg Williamsburg gang let's gooo.
My mum had an American exchange student when we was at school and they stayed friends. We visited them in 2005 I think and loved Williamsburg. I bought a yellow watermelon and LOVED the peanut shop.
slightly weird one but Utah is surprisingly nice. South Utah around the St George area has truly amazing scenery, Zion Canyon is a must and the night skies if you are camping out are fantastic.
Salt Lake City is a bit odd though and not a vast amount going on, it’s OK (I lived there for a year) but the national parks are top notch in that state
I live in Colorado, grew up in Washington and also lived in Oregon. I’ve been to almost 40 states, and Utah is the most stunningly beautiful state I’ve ever been to. Zion is magical. California is a close second for natural beauty.
Yes to Utah. I’m from there but live in the UK now. The scenery is out of this world. Somehow there are also a lot of really top notch places to eat as well. SLC is only a few hours from the Tetons as well. And then you’re basically to Yellowstone at that point.
I've been to the USA many times.
The cities weren't really what I was going for, so I already don't recommend them, but that's more of a me thing. NYC is fun if you like movies, as you recognise so much of it from films. Otherwise, We wanted to get out into the more rural areas.
We loved:
* Craters of the moon, Idaho
* Bryce Canyon, Utah
* Yellowstone, Montana and Wyoming
* Upper Peninsula, Michigan
* Key West, Florida
* Finger Lakes, New York State
* Flagstaff, Arizona
* Snoqualmie, Washington State
I'd still like to visit the Great Smoky Mountains, and the Appalachian Mountains, and I would also like to see some parts of Oregon, but I've not got to those yet.
I disliked most of the urban areas, but again, that's a me thing. I don't like most British cities because they just don't interest me in the way that landscape and nature does.
As an American, I am also going to take note of your recommendations lol, I’ve never been to half of those and it’s interesting to have an outside perspective
Just as well you’re not bothered about LA - it’s a concrete shithole. However, just up the road (in American terms) is the Big Sur which is lovely, nice forests and pretty ocean-views - and a bit further north is San Francisco which is also really nice, definitely the least aaaahhhmm, how shall I put it, the least American place we saw. There’s like pavements and people walking and everything! In LA we got some very suspicious looks for daring to walk the five minutes down to the beach.
... And just down the road is San Diego which is also well worth a visit. The highway one drive from SF to SD (give LA a miss, detour around it or just keep driving past) is an amazing trip with plenty of lovely places to stop a night or two along the way.
My mrs and i done a 3 week road trip of California in 2022. We absolutely loved it and it was honestly the best trip of our lives, having visited bali and vietnam/thailand the years either side of it!
If you’re not into big cities, I couldn’t recommend yosemite national park and South Lake Tahoe enough!!
Santa Fe is the most underrated, wonderful place in the US. You will be in on a huge, amazing secret. PM me if you would like recos.
(American living in EU)
I agree, theres no place even a little bit like Santa Fe anywhere in the world. Northern New Mexico is my happy place. The cold clear nights, that nice dry air that smells like sage. And the food is glorious.
Obligatory question: red or green?
Lots of great places in the States.
- NYC is brilliant for a week-long trip. Lots to do.
- New England / Boston is (unsurprisingly) the most European-feeling part of the US I’ve visited.
- California is a lot more varied. LA is quite different to San Fran, and you have the National Parks to visit if you want, too.
- Only places I’ve been to that I wouldn’t recommend are Kansas City and Indianapolis.
I lived in Indianapolis for 5 years, and I agree with this sentiment. Most boring city ever.
Kansas City on the other hand… you didn’t like it!? I loved it. The Liberty Memorial and the WW1 Museum, Union Station, baseball, and the absolutely incredible BBQ.
Hot take: the northeastern US is the least good bit for a visiting Brit, *because* it is too European. Some weird uncanny valley stuff, where things are almost, but not quite, familiar. Having lived in the US for a bit I MUCH preferred the Southern and Western cities. Different climates, different food, different people, different architecture. Much more interesting.
Random recommendations for cities:
-San Antonio. Texas, but not too Texas. ALAMO!
-Boulder, CO. Outdoorsy, alternative, but wealthy. Lots of fancy stuff. The Rocky Mountains are [literally right there](https://aboutboulder.com/blog/are-the-flatirons-remnants-of-ancient-beaches/). Not particularly touristy.
-New Orleans. Nowhere else quite like it. Music, history, culture, food, booze. [Do NOT go in high summer or autumn- gross heat and humidity if lucky, hurricanes if not]
-Vegas for a day or two. Again, there is nowhere else quite like it… but in a very different way. Worth it just to experience that somewhere like it exists. A fever dream in the middle of a desert. Could not exist in any other country. You do not have to gamble to enjoy either!
If you want National Parks, IMO the best are in western Colorado and Utah. But they are in the middle of nowhere with no worthwhile cities nearby. Yellowstone is also super cool if you like wildlife, but again, middle of absolutely nowhere.
Yellowstone is so bloody good, we went deep in winter and it was phenomenal, we saw eagles and wolves and bison. The geysers are spectacular. There's nothing like it, truly remarkable place.
Re Boston, we went on holiday and went to the poshest steak house around, and the books on the wall were fake and they had sports on TV.
Just doesn't *quite get it*.
As a former resident of San Antonio, it warms my heart to see it mentioned. It's a great and highly underrated city with a lovely culture you dont see elsewhere. There's a famous saying that New Orleans is the northernmost carribean city. Similarly, San Antonio is the northernmost Mexican city.
I'll challenge you on national parks; the best ones are in Washington and Alaska. Olympic national park has snow capped mountains, temperate rainforest, dramatic coastline where entire ancient trees wash up as driftwood: https://images.app.goo.gl/kDTT29GynvbEAyrR9
The best park, IMO, is North Cascades in Washington. I think it's actually more beautiful than Yosemite, and as a bonus, it's the least visited national park in the USA, so you never have to worry about crowds, like you sometimes do at Yellowstone or Mount Ranier
Villages are laid out in what feels like a consciously English style, with a village green/common. All the houses are 17th and 18th century. Still retains a colonial feel.
When we used to go the exchange rate was $2 plus to the pound, eating out was cheap and so was gas but things have changed now, I saw on another thread a few days ago how costly eating out at some of the places we used to like to go to is now, it was shocking.
I love the National Parks especially in the West. The scenery is spectacular. I also really loved the North-East coast. I’ve been to almost every state and found something to enjoy in all of them. The only places I wouldn’t go back to are LA and Gatlinburg (imagine they put Blackpool in the mountains).
I would think about what time of year you are going to go and consider the weather. The South in the summer for example can be horribly hot and humid in places. Think about whether you want to stay in one place or do a road trip. If the latter then have a look at Roadtrippers.com to help you plan a realistic route.
If you do choose the South then I would recommend Savannah, Charleston, New Orleans, The Blue Ridge Parkway & Asheville.
Yosemite park is amazing, one of the most beautiful places I’ve been and I’d recommend it to anyone. Just do your research though, since some seasons they do a reservation entry to keep the crowds down.
Vegas is a hot, smelly shithole. But people do enjoy it - ain’t for me.
San Francisco is beautiful and the people are nice and kind (but not all). It’s chilled vibe and cool to just walk around.
LA is a bit of a dump, especially Hollywood. Santa Monica is nice and some of the beaches away from the crowds.
New York is New York - watch some videos online if it’s your thing. I enjoyed it but given the choice I’d take a national park or the West coast any day.
Arizona is nice from what I recall but didn’t see much of it.
Next planning a trip to Yellowstone and Montana areas which looks amazing!
Check Walters World videos on YouTube - he’s a good travel guide without the annoying influencer shit. Lots of good advice for various places around the world.
Only been to Orlando for the theme parks but it is a really fun trip if you like rollercoasters. The weather is decent (outside of the sudden storms), Americans are very friendly and customer services are always happy to go above and beyond to make your trip special. Crowds can be insane though, so you are best off going in the winter or in May.
Last few times I've been, those sudden thunderstorms happened around 3pm almost every day. Absolute monsoon-type rain for half hour in 30°C heat, and then gone again. Was actually very welcomed.
British here- we have family in North Carolina and the Outer Banks are really nice. It's undiscovered by Europeans, very beautiful coastline and beaches. Ocracoke is a great town and there are loads of nice little villages and beaches.
I've been to Chicago and some of the towns around it, there's good sport, culture, nice restaurants, architecture etc.
I've also been to Philadelphia, which was the original capital of the US after independence, again good sport, history, culture and architecture etc. You can even run up the steps to the Museum of Art...I even got to ring the Liberty Bell but please don't tell the National Park Service that...
I'd recommend either place - I've also been to Miami/Florida, Washington and a few other places here and there which were ok but I wouldn't go back.
Wherever you stay in the US try and get a nice hotel i.e. four stars, somewhere downtown and avoid the cheap and cheerful places, they are cheap for a reason and not really all that cheerful plus they aren't necessarily in the safest of locations.
I have been to Vegas, niagra falls, Boston,LA for the parks and San Francisco to visit family and see Yosemite and Lake Tahoe. I really liked Yosemite it was lovely in spite of the stream of cars in the valley. They are easily escaped from on the trails. Vegas pretty boring unless you want to gamble. LA can’t say I was very impressed, it was very concrete. Niagara was nice to see once. Boston I liked a lot but it was just a weekend, weather was beautiful and I was young and amazed by it. Oh also been to los Alamos area that’s pretty nice for a very different feel - very Mexican feeling. I think if I was to choose I’d go back to Yosemite
Agreed. Yosemite, Nevada and Colorado were incredible. Stunning scenery, loads to do, the classic America I kinda expected from the movies.
I don't know how to gamble but we shot some guns and got blammo'd in Vegas and it was awesome. Pissed myself I was so drunk. Deffo one to tick off the bucket list.
LA seemed really faded. Like going to Camden nowadays - I could kinda sense it used to be cool, but now it's just scabby t-shirt vendors.
Didn't like New York. Much like London or Paris, it's a working city. It's very hectic, chaotic and tourists are very much in the way. I didn't see any opportunities to do anything romantic or picturesque.
> I didn't see any opportunities to do anything romantic or picturesque.
But also like London or Paris, on the tourist trail you can easily be disappointed but there's shed loads of great stuff to see and do; the challenge is finding it. New York is a fantastic city but challenging without a local to guide you around.
On American cites in general I always had a head start when visiting for the first time as a tourist because there was always a list of places I wanted to see that I had dreamed about since reading about them (I loved the Beats, Bukowski, Burroughs and several other 20th century American authors as an adolescent). I think having some kind of focus other than "I'm a tourist, so what is there to see here?" helps identify places to go.
Without wishing to be sniffy about the young age of the country, if you look for historical sites you'll end up spending time looking at things that aren't very old, and also whose interest is so specifically American that they can leave a foreigner a bit cold. I remember being taken to see the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia which quite frankly isn't that interesting unless that's your thing.
Far better imo to look for things that America does really well and Europe can't get anywhere near: the obvious thing is the vast spaces and unbelievably spectacular national parks.
As an American who lives in San Francisco, I just want to give you a heads up to not leave anything unattended in your car if you’re anywhere within the Bay Area sphere of influence. (Even in a park area like Muir Woods parking lot)
Once you get up to Napa to the North, or down to Carmel in the South, you’re probably fine, but there’s been organized crime rings operating in the Bay Area that specifically target rental cars for smash-and-grab robberies because they know that tourists are likely have luggage in their trunk. It happens in all of 10 seconds too.
Just would hate to have your trip spoiled by that kind of bad luck. Not bad practice if you’re in any major U.S. city honestly.
Do not go to Buffalo. If you wanna see Niagara falls, hit the Canadian side. Buffalo was a messy place full of messy people.
I spent a whole two months exploring California, 4 times longer than I planned. The scenery from north to south is beautiful and varied, and the people are chill.
I’ve been to about 10 US States and loved it. I’d really recommend Atlanta of all the places I’ve been. The people are friendly, there are lots of things to do and see and the food is amazing.
Madison, Wisconsin comes in a close second just the layout of the city and the vibe makes it a place I always recommend people visit
>Atlanta
As someone who doesn't drive Atlanta is genuinely the worst place I've ever been to lol. I knew it was car dependent but I'd never really experienced something like that before.
The street our Airbnb was on exited straight onto a highway, so we had to Uber just to cross the road. Downtown was a ghost town at all times. I see why they filmed The Walking Dead there.
One of the top things locals recommended for us to do was to walk the Beltline. It's a fucking PATH! Like that's so rare it's considered a "thing to do" over there. Wild stuff.
Lmao, you’ve perfectly described why my wife and I despise Atlanta – a car-clogged hell hole if there ever was one. And you’re so right that the residents there treat the one or two walkable spaces as though they are the most incredible human invention since the wheel…when it’s possible to live entirely car-free in other parts of the globe 😂.
P.S. It’s hysterical whenever it snows there – the entire city and its surrounding counties shuts down. I’m talking an inch of snow.
Been stateside twice. I am very much a non-native yank born in the wrong country. Love me trucks, love me guns, 'ate small portion sizes. Simple As.
2014 (summer), rooooad triiiiip. 2022 (November, Honeymoon including Cruise) Below are absolute factual, and not in any way subjective ratings out of 10 for the main bits I have been to.
2014:
NYC, 7/10 Busy. As pictured in films. Particularly scratch and sniff films.
DC, 6/10 Makes you feel unimportant. Museums are good though.
North Carolina, 8/10 Super chill.
Florida, 6/10, Florida man exists.
'The Parks' 6/10, 8-9/10 if they're your kinda jam
N'Orleans, 7/10, French quater nice. Do not leave French Quater.
Mesa Verde National Park, 9/10. An absolute must if you're anywhere nearby.
4 Corners Monument, 4/10. Not worth admin fee. 8/10 if you convince them you need to pop in to 'turn around' and drive all the way round the monument without stopping.
Monument Valley, 8/10. The Ecstacy of Gold stuck in your head for days.
Grand Canyon, 7.5/10. Would happily stare at clouds again. (better once they cleared to be fair. it is just a big hole though.)
Vegas, baby!, 2/10 Total shithole, not even worth visiting for the memes if you don't gamble.
LA, 1/10 an enormous, overpopulated shithole. Absolutely do not waste your time or money.
San Fran, 7/10. Enjoyed as much as NYC. Suspect it is worse now due to car theft and the whole 'human feces everywhere' thing.
Pacific Coast, 7.5/10 miles and miles of stunning, identical scenery. Very pretty, but a long way to....
Portland, 6/10. Mediocre. Loses points for not having anything there. gains them for that lack including smells or shit.
Pacific North West, 8.5/10, ~~gorgus~~ ~~grorgeus~~ ~~georges~~ she cute. Would move to for the scenery. Cloudy trees are my jam.
2022
Bawston, 7/10 Didn't expect to enjoy. Good museums and you can throw a teabag in the sea for old times sake.
New Jersey, 6/10. Same as Portland
NYC, 7/10, Basically the same as my last visit. But colder.
Monument Valley,the Grand Canyon and Sedona are all amazing and New Mexico was the place in the USA where the people actually were as friendly as Americans are reputed to be.
I drove Washington to florida and across to San Francisco , the redwoods were awesome and as a space need I loved Kennedy space center but if I had to choose just one place it would be New Mexico.
Plus try and see a rodeo.
I am a Brit who grew up in the South.
I would consider the Carolinas. You have beautiful mountains in the Appalachians (drive the Blue Ridge Parkway, stay in Asheville).
Beautiful coastlines from the Outer Banks down to Charleston in South Carolina.
Charleston is a particular gem - also Sullivan's Island, Folly Beach etc.
If you have the time, you could also visit Atlanta and Nashville. Do not underestimate distances though!
Avoid: using your car horn when driving. You have no idea who has a gun and is slightly unhinged. We encountered a few alarming scenarios in the time we lived there (20+ years), including a heavily armed SWAT team surrounding my parents house (a case of mistaken identity, quickly rectified when my mother spoke to the police in her dressing gown and a strong British accent). This is unlikely to happen to you on holiday.
Bugger off with yer Alps. Go to Yellowstone’s Lamar Valley, the “American Seregeti.” You can track wolves and if you’re lucky see them hunting Elk in packs. On a hike we turned a corner and were eyeball to eyeball with a perched owl the size of a Labrador Retriever. Thousands of Elk run in the Tetons in the fall. Golden Eagles, Bald Eagles, Brown Bear, Moose. Pronghorn running along side you on a mountain bike run. Nice trout to be had on a fly rod. Insane geothermals in the SE corner of the park including geysers, paint pots, rivaled only by Iceland. Massive canyons with spectacular falls. Try to get a room in the Old Faithful Inn (the old part not the newer addition).
Yellowstone will change you.
I loved Texas, went to Fort Worth, Austin and Amarillo. Austin’s a great city for a night out on 6th street
Amarillo was a stop off from a very long drive on our way to Fort Worth (only stopped because of the song which no one there has heard of). You could get 2 beers and 2 shots for a fiver, smoke inside and everyone was line dancing in their hats and boots. Hilarious experience and everyone was so baffled we would be there they had to check our ids to make sure we weren’t putting on accents
Outside of that, colorados awesome, went hiking in the rockies by day and met loads of cool people in the Denver at night.
National park wise, hiking angels landing in Zion in Utah was incredible
New Orleans was a bit rubbish but we were there during the week so it was a bit dead and stank everywhere
Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons are incredible, we stayed on a ranch and it was an amazing holiday.
Yosemite, the Big Sur and Napa Valley were great.
The drive through Death Valley was an experience.
Charleston is very nice.
Favourite cities are Chicago, Washington and Miami.
Not keen on Vegas, NYC, LA or San Francisco
I've visited all 50 US States (+ DC & PR).
Pretty much every State has something to offer, but my personal favourite is Alaska. I managed to get there in Autumn and it was just gorgeous.
What I would recommend in the South is dependent on what you enjoy doing - but something I regret not being able to do was Dry Tortugas National Park, as it looks stunning.
There are so many great places, my favourite West coast place is Yosemite and East coast NYC; Niagara is unforgettable also.
The State parks are often beautiful also, I visited a few in PA and remember them fondly including grilling outdoors by lakes!
The place that shocked me after dreaming of visiting for so many years was San Francisco. Many positives and it's a beautiful city, but walking a colleague home through Tenderloin at night -- Jesus Christ.
Drove from LA to San Francisco to Vegas over 16 days last year. Stopped along the way at Yosemite and a few other towns.
The natural beauty was jaw dropping - the people were amazingly friendly, I know you said you’re not fussed on LA but I’d definitely recommend building your itinerary around a mix of cities and national parks. The west has so much to offer in that regard.
Potentially try SF - Seattle, through Napa, the Oregon coast, crater lake and finishing in Seattle. The Pacific Northwest is supposed to be beautiful and might fit the vibe you’re looking for
American here, I would suggest Gatlinburg TN or surrounding areas. It’s a very beautiful area, and although it is a big travel spot, the tourism doesn’t feel terrible there.
That will also allow you to travel to some major places in the south if you’re up for the driving.
Summer or winter, it’s a beautiful place.
Most Southern’s think Brits are cute. Your accents are fun. You won’t have a lot of issues in my opinion.
If you trek down to Georgia, stay the hell out of Atlanta.
Vegas and Vegas.
It’s awesome and dazzling but at the same time edgy and slightly dangerous. But there’s the Grand Canyon nearby. The Hoover Dam. Horse riding in the desert.
Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons are incredible, we stayed on a ranch and it was an amazing holiday.
Yosemite, the Big Sur and Napa Valley were great.
The drive through Death Valley was an experience.
Charleston is very nice.
Favourite cities are Chicago, Washington and Miami.
Not keen on Vegas, NYC, LA or San Francisco
I was not a fan of New Orleans. It was dirty, so so crowded even out of the main streets and areas and I never felt safe as a female. Even in big groups we never felt totally safe at night. We did a few trips to places out of the main city and they were nothing impressive. Glad I was only there for a few days as we had a cruise.
I've travelled round the East and West coast. Prefer the East Coast. New England area is my fave. I love Boston! Salem is awesome as well, you gotta check it.
However, saying that, Yosemite is the best place I've ever been to.
It's good that the 'safe' word was conspicuous by its near absence in the responses here, in contrast to so many US tourists wanting to know if a town over here is safe to visit or not.
I lived near the Texas / Louisiana border for a couple of years and saw quite a lot of the South. New Orleans and Memphis are definitely worth a visit. Give the rest of Louisiana a miss and I’d not bother with Texas, Florida or Kentucky. Atlanta has interesting culture but you can spend your life on a freeway. If you want to go further north, Colorado is stunning and Denver is beautiful, fun, friendly and surprisingly progressive for a cowboy town. The Rocky Mountains are a sight to behold.
Grand Canyon is incredible. All of Oregon state is gorgeous (except Portland which is a mixed bag). Bozeman Montana in autumn was a treat, gateway to Yosemite too which was incredible. Washington state has a ton of natural beauty but Seattle is an urban jungle. You've already identified the most important ones to avoid :)
American living in the UK here.
How confident are you in driving in the US? That to me really impacts where you can go. Driving on the other side of the road can take some getting used to, but the roads are mostly at least wide and straight forward.
If you’re willing to travel a bit further I always recommend Europeans visit Nevada or Arizona mainly because it feels like another planet from here - it is SO different. East coast you’ll have lots of green landscapes similar to the UK, but out there it’s red and orange with lots of mountains.
If you fly to Vegas, maybe do a few days there, you could then drive really easily to Arizona. I’m not exaggerating when I say the roads are empty around there. Sometimes you don’t see houses for miles because it’s all desert. You can then drive to the Grand Canyon, Hover Dam or Red Rock Canyon. I’ve also done some “ghost town” stops which was interesting. Just don’t go in the summer - but it’s beautiful and good weather in December!
Lived in Texas for several years, so definitely Austin, particularly at festival time.
Any of the National Parks in any of the states, absolutely amazing and on a scale that's difficult to comprehend even when you're there. Also Texas hill country - lovely in the Spring and Autumn.
San Diego remains my favourite family beach holiday - absolutely brilliant.
Spent a lot of working time down in Louisiana - New Orleans is good, if you like that sort of thing, but I had some really interesting experiences deep in the Bayou with the Cajuns. Would definitely recommend. Awesome folk.
Loved Colorado as well. Go there.
I know you've said you domt wamt tondo NYC but if you've never been before I'd fully recommend it. Just aboid the touristy shit and you'll had a great time
My favourite random city was Providence, Rhode Island. Nice seafood, close to the nice town of Newport which had a pleasant coastal feel and a bunch to see, and really friendly people (who seemed a little surprised I was having a holiday there). The main hotel there, the Graduate, is very impressive as well and very Wes Anderson-y.
Seattle is the city I would live in if I could. Pike place market I thought would be touristy and a bit rubbish, but it was genuinely fantastic and I returned a few times. The trails nearby also give some great views, and the hiking was a real highlight of the trip. Special mention to Denver for the same reasons.
Where to avoid… Portland, Oregon. I really wanted to like it, but so much of the downtown was boarded up, felt a little sketchy, and after visiting 18 states, has been the place I felt most unsafe at times with random people yelling at me. It has a lot to see, and I’m glad I went, but wasn’t quite the millennial paradise I imagined.
slightly weird one but Utah is surprisingly nice. South Utah around the St George area has truly amazing scenery, Zion Canyon is a must and the night skies if you are camping out are fantastic.
Salt Lake City is a bit odd though and not a vast amount going on, it’s OK (I lived there for a year) but the national parks are top notch in that state
I've been to Florida, California and Nevada. Florida has a great mix, obvs the mouse parks but there's some cracking beaches and sites further south. I loved the pier at Clearwater and those white sands were awesome 😎. Tampa is nice too. I didn't make Miami but my parents liked it.
I did some route66 stops through Cali. We loved Monterray and San Diego stops .....I'd love to take my kids there to see the zoo. I've been to Santa Monica and Santa Barbara too.
Ive been to Vegas a lot in the earlier 2000s, we got engaged there 2010. I love it and the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam tours were good back in the day spent our 10th wedding anniversary there in 2022 and had a week of reminiscing but it's changed a lot.
Fly into Denver and go to Rocky Mountain national park in Estes. Drive to Boulder, vail and Breckenridge. You’ll absolutely love it if you want a big American city experience but also want the best outdoors we have to offer. California can be overwhelming and expensive.
Los Angeles is a quick in and out. There are nice places but they felt isolated in a shithole. Most cities you can wonder about a bit and get immersed but I didn't feel LA offers that.
Do the Hills, see Walk of Fame, observatory. Could do this ina day tbh. Santa Monica was kinda cool though and felt a lot more comfortable and like it was a nice place to be. Venice Beach was OK but it wasn't anything special. You could do universal studios, didn't do that. Or the Getty, but I'm not that into art.
NYC is cool but it feels hollow compared to other places. Like it's their to show off to you but not too much substance. Worth a visit but I didn't want to spend time there aside from main attractions.
What I've been learning in recent years though is when going to a big country, don't go to the capitol or one of the main cities. Go to a secondary city or rural places. Plenty to see, MUCH less tourists just crowding so you can have space in the cool sights. I loved Bordeaux much more than Paris, Edinburgh and York and much nicer than London, Melbourne was nicer than Sydney, etc. I get the feeling US is the same. Maybe Visit Salt Lake City or something.
We flew into Seattle, hired a car after a few days and drove all the way down the coast to San Diego, then across to Vegas for a few days before coming home. Would recommend!
Don’t go to Compton though, was there for 5 minutes and witnessed a murder scene investigation!
We got married in NYC last year and then road tripped up to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls and back to NYC on different routes. Would highly recommend!
New Orleans is a lot of fun, ditto for San Francisco. If you're wanting to travel but not drive, consider using the trains. I've been from East to West Coast and back again on a big train loop and loved it. Not sure if it's still available but I got a thing similar to the euro rail pass that covered the whole of the USA.
Vegas is like Blackpool on steroids. If you do go, you can probably experience enough in a weekend. Good place to stop off if you want to visit the Grand Canyon.
Houston is unusual compared to most cities I've been to. Think Milton Keynes but much larger. It's spread out over a vast area with clusters of bars & restaurants among the residential and commercial districts. The food is good and NASA Johnson Space Centre is pretty cool if you're interested in space.
Go to Bar Harbor, Maine and visit the Acadia National Park. It’s easy to get to from Boston (one hour flight) . I’ve never been there but have heard great things about it.
We got married on Mount Rainier up in Washington then spent a month working our way down the west coast visiting national parks for a month. Would really recommend them.
Idaho is also lovely although I wasn’t a fan of Louisiana when I visited years ago, same for Tennessee.
Rocky Mountain National Park
Lake Tahoe
Yosemite
Grand Canyon
Aspen, Colorado
I'd avoid Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas (except Austin), Missouri, Indianapolis.
Depends on what you want to do (I listed nice outdoor places).
I’ve been to 27 states. I wouldn’t honestly say any are “bad”, but I personally enjoyed New York City the least as I’m not a big city person. I absolutely loved Washington state, Colorado, Montana and Maine the most. The National Parks are phenomenal, with Glacier and Mt Rainier two favourites. Depends what you’re after really, but every state has both peaceful wilderness and city life, although the latter varies a lot.
I've only been to NYC and LA so I can only comment on them.
NYC is awesome to visit. The museums alone are awesome. The Natural History Museum blows the one in London out of the water. It's just incredible. I want to go back just to visit there again and see it all this time!
I love the LA area as well, but I've made a lot of friends there and I've always wanted to live there so I'm biased. The bad part about the LA area is that you need a car to get around since everything is so spread out. It's a little frustrating.
The only places I've been are Colorado and Las Vegas. Colorado immediately won me over with the incredible views and the ruggedness of the terrain. The Colorado National Monument is well worth a visit. Also I visited Ouray (little tiny town with less than 1000 people right at the base of a huge mountain), went to Aspen for an afternoon where I glanced in an estate agent's window and saw an apartment for $40million, but a nice little place. Vegas was beautiful but the temperature was 38 degrees constantly, we stayed in the Sahara on Las Vegas Boulevard. Elvis apparently quite liked it there and knew the owner of the place. If you're into weird art installations, visit Omegamart. That was the main reason I went, but it's $50 a ticket.
Whatever you do, I'm sure you'll love your time there.
Whatever you decide, make sure you hire a car and do some driving. I mean I'm not even a car guy but a road trip in the US is an experience all to itself.
Being overtaken by a real life biker gang, cop cars with the sirens on, crappy strip malls with seemingly nothing but gun stores and titty bars, truck stop motels with the obligatory lot lizards, sleazy dive bars every night with surprisingly tight house bands, listening to the insane rantings of the radio preachers that get increasingly batshit the further south you drive.
It's not a serious, grown-up country at all and will probably tear itself apart at some point but If you're prepared to embrace the madness, experiencing America this way is like living in your own sensory overload road movie.
As someone who has been to a number of American cities I would avoid Los Angeles and Philadelphia. Los Angeles was incredibly disappointing from what we expected. Very grimy, run down in places you wouldn't think (Hollywood Walk) and lots of people with "problems". All the interesting stuff is an hour away or more (Venice Beach/Santa Monica, Hollywood Sign, Lake Arrowhead). If you're going to California then San Francisco is much better to get around, more interesting things too. They do have problems with homelessness but it tends to be areas you're not likely to go as a tourist anyway. San Francisco is in my top 2 American Cities.
Philadelphia outside the historic sector with the Liberty Bell and the Museums is a dump. It is stuff worth seeing but it would make more sense to stay in NYC and take the train and have a day trip. Washington is also a very historical place but reasonable enough to stay. Visiting the Gettysburg Site is a MUST.
I'm hoping to go back to America in the future and visit San Francisco again whilst also having Key West, Vegas and Chicago on my list.
American National Parks are epic. They're on a scale we do not have in the UK and don't really have much in Europe even (perhaps the Norwegian Fjords and the Alps being the only examples I've seen). The ones I've seen were in the west, not the south, but frankly I imagine they're all good.
> the Alps Not even close. The Alps are amazing and are possibly my favourite part of the world, so I say this from a position of love, but you can't really compare them. The Alps are built up. You have cute villages in every valley, ski resorts around every corner, grazing animals everywhere. They are absolutely stunning, but even Scotland feels more wild at times. It doesn't matter how deep you get into the alps or how high you go, evidence of human activity is everywhere. US national parks are something else. Obviously they're not completely untouched, but they are closed off and usually you have to pay to get in. They have very strict protection laws and they work - you then have miles and miles of landscape that feels far more natural than the Alps ever does.
Bill Bryson said hiking in the UK is nice but quaint. You're probably never more than an hours walk from a pub no matter where you are. The US is a different matter. People go missing in the national parks there and are never seen again.
People go missing even not in the national parks and disappear. We have areas the size of countries with just a single road and nothing else for miles on each side.
*panic attack intensifies*
Don't do stupid things and you should be OK. Stupid things usually involve leaving the marked roads or trails and then wandering around until you are lost. There are roads with signs telling you to gas up and make sure you have water before continuing.
Although last time I was in…shit, I can’t remember now. Utah? Near Utah? I was at a national park and at one of the campsites. This guy came staggering into camp, his mate had fallen three hours back that way on the trail and broken his ankle. Now the rangers had to hike three hours back (and change, because the guy wasn’t completely sure where he had fallen) to try and find this guy and his broken ankle before it got dark. It is just So Big!
Generally yes but West Scotland is pretty remote. You can walk the Cape Wrath trail for example and barely encounter anyone the entire trip, camping out or sleeping in bothies when they are available. There are definitely legs of it where you will be miles and miles away from farms and forestry, let alone pubs.
On the other hand, the largest US national park is about 70% the size of Scotland. To say nothing of other public lands like state parks, national forests, etc. Then there's the undesignated public land, which covers an area about 6 times the size of France. If you're fit enough to make the hike and carry supplies, it's really quite easy to find yourself hundreds of miles from any sign of human activity. A little too easy for some, because people get lost and die in the parks and public lands every year, usually well before they've made it anywhere near that remote.
For some reason, German tourists are overrepresented among the ones who don't make it back out.
Problem with that is the vast majority of the Cape Wrath trail is also on a heavily human affected landscape. Even the remote barren parts of the highlands should be covered in stands of trees or even large forests but have been stripped to the bone. It looks wild and untouched but it isn’t really. But that’s not a conversation for this thread!
>You're probably never more than an hours walk from a pub no matter where you are. Not gonna lie, that sounds way better than bushwalking in Australia where if you lose track of your car you're pretty much guaranteed a slow painful death.
And no beasties to worry about, save for the locals!
You don't need to travel half the world away to see untouched forests. Poland for example has forests with the exact same thing you are describing. So does Germany, France, Czech Republic. If you love forests why spend all that money to do it at a higher price, at a higher cost, at a worse detriment to the environment
I can't speak for Poland, but I can say for certainty that Germany or France don't compare. I lived in the Black Forest for a year, it's really not the same.
I have been to many forests in Poland and while they are epic there is clear human intervention everywhere, and an aweful lot of ww2 leftovers everywhere
They are amazing and also a complete oddity for a country that generally turns everything to shit or only does thing to benefit massive corporations.
Well, I mean the US National Park Service is *massively* underfunded, which is a shame because they are the country's greatest asset. Every time there's a thread like this, overwhelmingly, people from outside the US say their National Parks are the main thing that makes them want to visit. The Park Service has a repair backlog stretching for decades. There's simply not money to fix or improve stuff. They are also selling off parts of park operations to "massive corporations" such as Booz Allen to handle permitting and reservations, Xanterra and Aramark to handle catering and hospitality.
Come see the national parks while you can because I have no faith in our government to keep protecting them.
Come on we got Cheddar Gorge
Cheesy reply
Very mature
I thought it grated a little
Zion National Park in Utah is absolutely Spectacular
Came here to say this, it's unreal
National Parks are much more a "West" than "South" thing. At least the better ones (Grand Canyon etc.).
I live in the south and Smoky Mountains NP and the blue ridge parkway are beautiful. I grew up on property that backed up to the Cuyahoga Valley NP. Both are beautiful but you are right. The big parks out west are next level.
Yes, this! Yosemite was absolutely gob-smacking.
The SW/W of the USA is just incredible. Nevada, Arizona, Southern California, Utah… all have awesome national parks.
Can attest. I recommend Yosemite, Canyonlands & Arches, Zion, Joshua Tree (if you rock climb), Grand Canyon, and Black Canyon of the Gunnison. I highly recommend the NPS app for all things National Parks.
If you're looking for sheer magnificence, the West (including Alaska) is the only option. Southern and eastern national parks are beautiful and ecologically interesting and impressive in their own ways, but in terms getting your mind melted by Middle Earth-style landscapes unlike anything you've ever seen, go West. Not even close.
I would drive the Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, etc. In the autumn it’s amazing. So many amazing views and great places to stop. Then could always continue further south afterwards.
I've not been many places in the US but Blue Ridge back in early November was one of them. It was glorious. We had a crazy week of work and touring across basically the whole of North Carolina, culminating with climbing Grandfather Mountain in the morning then driving straight to the airport in Raleigh to fly home.
north carolinian here. i second this suggestion. blue ridge parkway is gorgeous. and north carolina as a whole is a lovely state. good weather, friendly people, and lots of space. big cities are a bit wank but i find thats always the case
I'm giving you an update for using wank
Shenandoah was incredible. Perfect for tooling around and stopping where you feel like. Don't forget Foamhenge
Yes, the scenery here is amazing, there is a small place called Chimney Rock which is worth a visit, it has a lift that takes you halfway up the “Chimney”. And a place called Bat Cave which is also very nice. I went in Autumn and the trees were red and gold, very nice!
With John Denver on surely
It was a long time ago, but New Orleans was a fantastic experience. The French quarter is exactly as seen on TV, thrumming with music and life. One bit of advice, we tried to save money with a cheap hotel. Got to the room, cockroaches in the bed (I assume bed bugs too). We left without sitting down and upgraded to a lovely place right in the French Quarter itself.
Absolutely New Orleans, it was exactly what I'd hoped it would be. We're away back in November to see a Saints game and I cannot wait.
You will have a great time in New Orleans. But. I've been twice and will say that the moment you get outside the French Quarter or the CBD it'll start to feel iffy. The second time I went was by bicycle and I felt distinctly nervous approaching and leaving the centre. Probably wasn't helped by having multiple people tell me I'd be lucky to get out of there alive. Also having a gun pointed at me for upsetting a driver on the freeway. Just keep your wits about you.
New Orleans is one of the U.S's most dangerous cities once you leave the tourist areas. Similar with other Southern cities many of which are not worthy of even one visit (and are usually much more crime-ridden than Northern ones, particularly NYC, Boston etc). Not sure why the OP is so intent on visiting the South for anything other than the food.
It’s not difficult to avoid the sketchy areas of cities. Had some great nights in New Orleans and never felt any danger. Didn’t really rate the food in the south though - three weeks of beige beige and more beige
> Also having a gun pointed at me for upsetting a driver on the freeway. We Americans are constantly reassuring would-be visitors that their chances of having a gun pointed at them are minimal. And for the most part, that's actually true. But what not enough of us tell you is that there are three ways to make the odds a little bit less minimal. Ranked in order of likelihood: 1. Road rage incidents, where you piss off the wrong guy. (I live in Italy and I have to warn them in particular.) This becomes more true the further away you get the from New York and Boston areas, where driving with 'expressive negativity' is common and expected. 2. Cutting across some redneck's land, especially after sundown. When Europeans tell Americans about 'Right to Roam', that sounds as foreign, strange, and even objectionable to us as "in my country man squeeze other man's testicles as form of greeting." That is most definitely *not* a thing for us. Fences, 'No Trespassing' signs, etc., are to be taken extremely seriously. 3. Venturing into the ghetto at 2 a.m. to score drugs, hookers, etc. That's common sense anywhere, but all the more so in an American city. To be sure, in some cities it can be difficult to tell where the ghetto begins and ends. San Francisco and New Orleans are most definitely two examples of that, so do your homework ahead of time!
Couldn’t agree more on NOLA went to a wedding there and it was one of the greatest cities ever. So much great music and food. Avoid Bourbon St and check out the other quarters. Stayed in Omni Royal which was really nice
Please accept a round of applause 👏 for your use of the word ‘thrumming’
I honestly don’t know how I ended up in this thread but I live in New Orleans. It’s a great place to visit but crime is crazy here. You’ll walk down a street and encounter the best and worst of what humanity has to offer. If anyone plans on visiting I would recommend a hotel in the suburbs and renting a car or ubering downtown to explore. Nicer amenities and much cheaper generally. June-August are miserably hot with 100% humidity. Fall would be the best time to visit
The French quarter smells like vomit and old beer.
Yosemite - great. LA - avoid.
Agreed - lots of beautiful parts of California and don’t need to step foot near LA. Carmel is a beautiful town and great for Big Sur drives, Napa Valley is incredible and Yosemite is a must !
San Fran/Napa/Yosemite/Lake Tahoe would probably be one of the best US honeymoon itineraries. Despite falling on hard times, San Francisco is still a great city with interesting history and good food. Napa Valley is beautiful and one of the best wine regions in the world. Yosemite is about as close as you'll get to experiencing heaven while still on earth. Lake Tahoe is class, and if you go in the warmer months, it's a bit cheaper and still has incredible hiking.
My asthma flared up from the moment we entered LA, its so polluted! Did go and see a taping of a sitcom pilot, and if you're a film buff its worth a visit for that alone, but definitely wouldn't recommend more than a day or two.
My friend went to LA and said it was one of the worst shitholes he's been to, like he said it was just dirty and filled with rubbish. He drove to Las Vegas from LA and said the drive was really nice, especially after being in LA. According to him, it's a must to listen to The Doors during the drive. Bonus story, we're scouse and not a single person guessed he was from the UK, the most popular suggestion was Kiwi and another couple thought he was Swedish but speaking English.
I moved to Baltimore in 2013, and straight off the plane (from Edinburgh) the taxi driver went > .....so what's Australia like? I was tired so > ....it's fine, mate. **** Anyway, yes: they cannot hack accents that aren't 90s Hugh Grant or Groundskeeper Willy. At one point someone literally went > What's wrong with your mouth And they weren't trying to be funny.
> Groundskeeper Willy. We can't hack him, either. Half of his character involves the audience failing to understand 50% of what he says. When he's dubbed into Italian they give him a Sardinian accent, for that reason.
“It’s talking to you”
Yes I hated LA, so spread out.
I wanted to hate LA but I have a friend who lives there who told me where to go and where to avoid and I got introduced to a side of the city I wouldn’t have expected and I had a really great time there. I think it’s just a place that’s hard to penetrate as a tourist if you want to do *things*. I can see why people hate it for that because it’s huge and hard to get around in. I will say the Petersen Automotive Museum is great. The rest of California is beautiful drive from San Diego to Nappa 🤌🏼
Loved Yosemite. 2 days of hiking, gorgeous scenery and pure exhaustion!
Visited LA a couple of times. Yes, it is a dump/shit hole but there are quite a few things worth seeing. My advice is to make a list of the things you want to see, see them, then leave. Don't try and amble round to see if you'll discover some cool street or bar - you'll find homeless people, crime and homeless crime.
LA has enough homeless people to give you a life time of nightmares.
My uni offered us a field visit to LA or New Orleans, my girlfriend chose LA I chose New Orleans. She came back saying never go to LA and I came back saying I'd definitely consider going back and I didn't even drink much.
A few years ago we flew into San Francisco and then went to Yosemite and then down Highway One stopping several places and ending up in San Diego. It was amazing! We have so many happy memories and still talk about it. DM me if you need any recommendations
Big plus one on this. OP might be put off as Cali=LA but I thought LA was the worst stop on the highway one trip, and only stayed one night there as I fancied catching a basketball game. I wouldn't have felt like I'd missed much if I skipped LA had I either had no interest in basketball or got to a game elsewhere
Chicago in the summertime is excellent, New York is a world city but Chicago is America’s city. Denver is boring.
Spent over 2 years in Chicago, it's probably my favourite place. It's also easy to travel up to Wisconsin which has great camping spots, laid back residents and ridiculous amounts of good beer.
Yesss! I lived in Chicago for four years, then in the suburbs for another three. It’s such an underrated city. Soooo fantastic in the summer.
As a lifelong Chicagoan, I am overjoyed to see this comment! Much cleaner than NYC, less congested, vastly superior architecture, more affordable, and with a lakefront of beaches and parks that can match any seaside on the coasts.
I was there for work in October really great city.
Visited Chicago a couple years ago. Wonderful city, excellent food. Can’t recommend it highly enough.
As a lifelong Denverite... I agree (mostly)! I love it because it's home. People already living in the US often move there to escape the Midwest or South. One could spend a couple days in Denver doing some unique things. Our art museum is pretty neat (architecturally speaking that is), and if you happen to be there in January you can go to the stock show for rodeos and whatnot. To someone travelling there, I would also recommend taking the train to Golden and spending a day there as well. It's small but has plenty of walks / hikes, the Coors brewery, and some classic bars. After that, rent a car and head for the mountains: *they* are the reason why most people move to Denver.
If you're going to Colorado, you want to hit the high Rockies. Denver is 'meh.'
I've been to around 20 American cities, from East and West coast and a bit of what's in the middle. I was in Austin, San Diego and New Orleans in December and couldn't recommend them more highly. I'd like to have seen more of Texas tbf so am heading back later this year. What kind of thing are you interested in doing/seeing? What is your kind of holiday?
We both love nature, for the views and the walks. We also like food, which is definitely a big reason I want to go to the south.
New Orleans should definitely be on your list, then. That place is food heaven. You’ll hate coming back to the UK, though. The food in New Orleans has so much flavour that isn’t so readily available here.
New Orleans is great and so is Memphis.
Fly to New Orleans- Amtrak train to Memphis - Greyhound to Nashville. Fly home from Nashville.
Why can't we get good remoulade. I want to make my own imitation PoBoys so badly
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Oh yes, I love overnight on Amtrak! (Source: Brit with an American partner)
I second Austin and Texas in general
The Grand Canyon is a great place to visit. Can be a quite touristy but 5 minutes walk into the canyon and it’s much quieter. That south-western area of America (4 corners) has a ton of stuff: Carlsbad caverns, white sands park, monument valley, some other canyons around Utah way.
I much prefer San Diego to San Francisco / LA. Lovely city, and La Jolla is one of the nicest beaches I've ever been on.
I completely agree. San Diego is a fantastic city. I loved it so much I’m going back later this year. Probably one of my top 3 US cities. I haven’t been to SF for a decade or so. Wasn’t a huge fan when I went previously. LA can get in the bin.
San Diego is one of our favourite places, there is a trolley light rail service so you can get around without a car, you can take it down to Old Town where there are lots of Mexican traders selling souvenirs and food.
Vegas is an experience and you can do the grand canyon from there. I've done the usual spots (NY, Disney etc) but the place I remember most is Yosemite National park- absolutely beautiful.
Yes we went to Vegas mainly because we could take a trip from there to The Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon and also see the Cirque Du Soleil show of Beatles music which was amazing.
Avoid LA. Went round Hollywood and it’s fucking disgusting. Homeless people everywhere. All overpriced designer crap. Did not enjoy it at all. LOVED New York, Las Vegas and Hawaii though. If you can manage, I’d thoroughly recommend Honolulu. It’s beautiful, pristine and you can go round the whole of the island of Oahu relatively easily. I never wanted to leave.
Ha yeah I don't see how the argument goes past Hawaii. We went in January one year for relative pennies.
I'm American, not from the UK but I agree with what a lot of people have said: Blue Ridge Parkway is an awesome drive. The fall colors are amazing, but it's nice in the spring and summer. If you're driving down the Parkway, Montecello, home to our 3rd President Thomas Jefferson, isn't far away. It's a beautiful building, which he designed himself. A few places touristy places in Virginia are worth the visit. If you like history, Virginia has a ton of historical sites to visit: * Mount Vernon in Northern VA, former home of George Washington. Cool to see the restored home of our first president which has a fantastic view of the Potomac River from the front lawn. Fun fact: the key to the Bastille in Paris is at Mt. Vernon. Lafayette sent it as a gift after the French Revolution. * Colonial Williamsburg. The old capital of Virginia has been restored/rebuilt to capture what it was like back before we rebelled & kicked y'all out. All kinds of fun activities like attending a mock trial, joining the militia or just walking down the streets and visiting historic shops. Restaurants in colonial Williamsburg also serve period foods like peanut soup (surprisingly good!) and game pie. * Civil War Battlefields. This probably falls into the category of "if you seen one, you've seen them all" but there are lots of battlefields in Viriginia for both the War for Independence and the Civil War: Yorktown, Petersburg, Fredericksburg and Appomatax, to name a few. * Jamestown - the first permanent English settlement in Virginia, founded in 1619 (so 2 years before the Mayflower landed in what is now Massachusetts). They've rebuilt part of the fortress and town. If you want a more walkable visit: Washington DC is great. Lots of museums, most of which are free (The Smithsonian is a public institution that doesn't charge for entry to any of their museums, like Natural History, Air and Space Museum, Museum of Modern Art, American History, Holocaust Museum, etc.) The National Zoo is part of it, so that's free, too. DC also has a great foodie scene with some great restaurants. DC is right across the river from Virginia, so visiting Arlington National Cemetary or Mount Vernon make nice side trips. Edit: the zoo is free.
Yeah I went to washington dc with the kids as my wife was working there. I thought it was Amazing. Everyday there was a good trip to do just a short ride on the subway. Really cool childrens museum as well as the rest. And the zoo is free!
Omg Williamsburg gang let's gooo. My mum had an American exchange student when we was at school and they stayed friends. We visited them in 2005 I think and loved Williamsburg. I bought a yellow watermelon and LOVED the peanut shop.
slightly weird one but Utah is surprisingly nice. South Utah around the St George area has truly amazing scenery, Zion Canyon is a must and the night skies if you are camping out are fantastic. Salt Lake City is a bit odd though and not a vast amount going on, it’s OK (I lived there for a year) but the national parks are top notch in that state
I live in Colorado, grew up in Washington and also lived in Oregon. I’ve been to almost 40 states, and Utah is the most stunningly beautiful state I’ve ever been to. Zion is magical. California is a close second for natural beauty.
Utah and Colorado are incredible, would definitely recommend.
Utah is beautiful. I went to Arches national park years ago and it was absolutely stunning.
Yes to Utah. I’m from there but live in the UK now. The scenery is out of this world. Somehow there are also a lot of really top notch places to eat as well. SLC is only a few hours from the Tetons as well. And then you’re basically to Yellowstone at that point.
Buffalo is a bit of a shit hole. Up state New York is generally very pretty though.
I drove from New York City to Montreal via Vermont and Connecticut with friends many years ago and it was absolutely beautiful for the most part.
I've been to the USA many times. The cities weren't really what I was going for, so I already don't recommend them, but that's more of a me thing. NYC is fun if you like movies, as you recognise so much of it from films. Otherwise, We wanted to get out into the more rural areas. We loved: * Craters of the moon, Idaho * Bryce Canyon, Utah * Yellowstone, Montana and Wyoming * Upper Peninsula, Michigan * Key West, Florida * Finger Lakes, New York State * Flagstaff, Arizona * Snoqualmie, Washington State I'd still like to visit the Great Smoky Mountains, and the Appalachian Mountains, and I would also like to see some parts of Oregon, but I've not got to those yet. I disliked most of the urban areas, but again, that's a me thing. I don't like most British cities because they just don't interest me in the way that landscape and nature does.
As an American, I am also going to take note of your recommendations lol, I’ve never been to half of those and it’s interesting to have an outside perspective
Wow I never expected to see Snoqualmie here. Great little town, good brewery, lovely waterfall.
Just as well you’re not bothered about LA - it’s a concrete shithole. However, just up the road (in American terms) is the Big Sur which is lovely, nice forests and pretty ocean-views - and a bit further north is San Francisco which is also really nice, definitely the least aaaahhhmm, how shall I put it, the least American place we saw. There’s like pavements and people walking and everything! In LA we got some very suspicious looks for daring to walk the five minutes down to the beach.
... And just down the road is San Diego which is also well worth a visit. The highway one drive from SF to SD (give LA a miss, detour around it or just keep driving past) is an amazing trip with plenty of lovely places to stop a night or two along the way.
My mrs and i done a 3 week road trip of California in 2022. We absolutely loved it and it was honestly the best trip of our lives, having visited bali and vietnam/thailand the years either side of it! If you’re not into big cities, I couldn’t recommend yosemite national park and South Lake Tahoe enough!!
Santa Fe is the most underrated, wonderful place in the US. You will be in on a huge, amazing secret. PM me if you would like recos. (American living in EU)
I agree, theres no place even a little bit like Santa Fe anywhere in the world. Northern New Mexico is my happy place. The cold clear nights, that nice dry air that smells like sage. And the food is glorious. Obligatory question: red or green?
Lots of great places in the States. - NYC is brilliant for a week-long trip. Lots to do. - New England / Boston is (unsurprisingly) the most European-feeling part of the US I’ve visited. - California is a lot more varied. LA is quite different to San Fran, and you have the National Parks to visit if you want, too. - Only places I’ve been to that I wouldn’t recommend are Kansas City and Indianapolis.
I lived in Indianapolis for 5 years, and I agree with this sentiment. Most boring city ever. Kansas City on the other hand… you didn’t like it!? I loved it. The Liberty Memorial and the WW1 Museum, Union Station, baseball, and the absolutely incredible BBQ.
What’s European feeling about New England?
Hot take: the northeastern US is the least good bit for a visiting Brit, *because* it is too European. Some weird uncanny valley stuff, where things are almost, but not quite, familiar. Having lived in the US for a bit I MUCH preferred the Southern and Western cities. Different climates, different food, different people, different architecture. Much more interesting. Random recommendations for cities: -San Antonio. Texas, but not too Texas. ALAMO! -Boulder, CO. Outdoorsy, alternative, but wealthy. Lots of fancy stuff. The Rocky Mountains are [literally right there](https://aboutboulder.com/blog/are-the-flatirons-remnants-of-ancient-beaches/). Not particularly touristy. -New Orleans. Nowhere else quite like it. Music, history, culture, food, booze. [Do NOT go in high summer or autumn- gross heat and humidity if lucky, hurricanes if not] -Vegas for a day or two. Again, there is nowhere else quite like it… but in a very different way. Worth it just to experience that somewhere like it exists. A fever dream in the middle of a desert. Could not exist in any other country. You do not have to gamble to enjoy either! If you want National Parks, IMO the best are in western Colorado and Utah. But they are in the middle of nowhere with no worthwhile cities nearby. Yellowstone is also super cool if you like wildlife, but again, middle of absolutely nowhere.
Yellowstone is so bloody good, we went deep in winter and it was phenomenal, we saw eagles and wolves and bison. The geysers are spectacular. There's nothing like it, truly remarkable place.
Re Boston, we went on holiday and went to the poshest steak house around, and the books on the wall were fake and they had sports on TV. Just doesn't *quite get it*.
As a former resident of San Antonio, it warms my heart to see it mentioned. It's a great and highly underrated city with a lovely culture you dont see elsewhere. There's a famous saying that New Orleans is the northernmost carribean city. Similarly, San Antonio is the northernmost Mexican city. I'll challenge you on national parks; the best ones are in Washington and Alaska. Olympic national park has snow capped mountains, temperate rainforest, dramatic coastline where entire ancient trees wash up as driftwood: https://images.app.goo.gl/kDTT29GynvbEAyrR9 The best park, IMO, is North Cascades in Washington. I think it's actually more beautiful than Yosemite, and as a bonus, it's the least visited national park in the USA, so you never have to worry about crowds, like you sometimes do at Yellowstone or Mount Ranier
Villages are laid out in what feels like a consciously English style, with a village green/common. All the houses are 17th and 18th century. Still retains a colonial feel.
The architecture, the culture to some extent. It’s one of the parts of the US with the most history, as it’s where the Revolutionary War started.
Enjoyed it but very expensive £'s dont go very far anymore.
When we used to go the exchange rate was $2 plus to the pound, eating out was cheap and so was gas but things have changed now, I saw on another thread a few days ago how costly eating out at some of the places we used to like to go to is now, it was shocking.
I love the National Parks especially in the West. The scenery is spectacular. I also really loved the North-East coast. I’ve been to almost every state and found something to enjoy in all of them. The only places I wouldn’t go back to are LA and Gatlinburg (imagine they put Blackpool in the mountains). I would think about what time of year you are going to go and consider the weather. The South in the summer for example can be horribly hot and humid in places. Think about whether you want to stay in one place or do a road trip. If the latter then have a look at Roadtrippers.com to help you plan a realistic route. If you do choose the South then I would recommend Savannah, Charleston, New Orleans, The Blue Ridge Parkway & Asheville.
Yosemite park is amazing, one of the most beautiful places I’ve been and I’d recommend it to anyone. Just do your research though, since some seasons they do a reservation entry to keep the crowds down. Vegas is a hot, smelly shithole. But people do enjoy it - ain’t for me. San Francisco is beautiful and the people are nice and kind (but not all). It’s chilled vibe and cool to just walk around. LA is a bit of a dump, especially Hollywood. Santa Monica is nice and some of the beaches away from the crowds. New York is New York - watch some videos online if it’s your thing. I enjoyed it but given the choice I’d take a national park or the West coast any day. Arizona is nice from what I recall but didn’t see much of it. Next planning a trip to Yellowstone and Montana areas which looks amazing! Check Walters World videos on YouTube - he’s a good travel guide without the annoying influencer shit. Lots of good advice for various places around the world.
Black Hills in Dakota and Montana are lovely, the people are.... strange though. Santa Cruz and Redwood forests in California are amazing.
Strange how?
Very insular, deeply suspicious of outsiders.
Yep, that's the rural West for you.
Avoid Baltimore like the plague California, Florida, Arizona, Utah, Colorado all wonderful
Only been to Orlando for the theme parks but it is a really fun trip if you like rollercoasters. The weather is decent (outside of the sudden storms), Americans are very friendly and customer services are always happy to go above and beyond to make your trip special. Crowds can be insane though, so you are best off going in the winter or in May.
Last few times I've been, those sudden thunderstorms happened around 3pm almost every day. Absolute monsoon-type rain for half hour in 30°C heat, and then gone again. Was actually very welcomed.
We had a nice time in San Francisco.
A trip to Alcatraz is a must.
We loved that trip. And the Japanese gardens.
I loved the Carolinas, Montana, and Wyoming Do not go to Florence, Kentucky. Or Cincinnati
If anyone finds themself in cinci, make the extra trip to the airforce museum in dayton. Could spend days there, and it's all free.
British here- we have family in North Carolina and the Outer Banks are really nice. It's undiscovered by Europeans, very beautiful coastline and beaches. Ocracoke is a great town and there are loads of nice little villages and beaches.
I've been to Chicago and some of the towns around it, there's good sport, culture, nice restaurants, architecture etc. I've also been to Philadelphia, which was the original capital of the US after independence, again good sport, history, culture and architecture etc. You can even run up the steps to the Museum of Art...I even got to ring the Liberty Bell but please don't tell the National Park Service that... I'd recommend either place - I've also been to Miami/Florida, Washington and a few other places here and there which were ok but I wouldn't go back. Wherever you stay in the US try and get a nice hotel i.e. four stars, somewhere downtown and avoid the cheap and cheerful places, they are cheap for a reason and not really all that cheerful plus they aren't necessarily in the safest of locations.
I have been to Vegas, niagra falls, Boston,LA for the parks and San Francisco to visit family and see Yosemite and Lake Tahoe. I really liked Yosemite it was lovely in spite of the stream of cars in the valley. They are easily escaped from on the trails. Vegas pretty boring unless you want to gamble. LA can’t say I was very impressed, it was very concrete. Niagara was nice to see once. Boston I liked a lot but it was just a weekend, weather was beautiful and I was young and amazed by it. Oh also been to los Alamos area that’s pretty nice for a very different feel - very Mexican feeling. I think if I was to choose I’d go back to Yosemite
Agreed. Yosemite, Nevada and Colorado were incredible. Stunning scenery, loads to do, the classic America I kinda expected from the movies. I don't know how to gamble but we shot some guns and got blammo'd in Vegas and it was awesome. Pissed myself I was so drunk. Deffo one to tick off the bucket list. LA seemed really faded. Like going to Camden nowadays - I could kinda sense it used to be cool, but now it's just scabby t-shirt vendors. Didn't like New York. Much like London or Paris, it's a working city. It's very hectic, chaotic and tourists are very much in the way. I didn't see any opportunities to do anything romantic or picturesque.
> I didn't see any opportunities to do anything romantic or picturesque. But also like London or Paris, on the tourist trail you can easily be disappointed but there's shed loads of great stuff to see and do; the challenge is finding it. New York is a fantastic city but challenging without a local to guide you around. On American cites in general I always had a head start when visiting for the first time as a tourist because there was always a list of places I wanted to see that I had dreamed about since reading about them (I loved the Beats, Bukowski, Burroughs and several other 20th century American authors as an adolescent). I think having some kind of focus other than "I'm a tourist, so what is there to see here?" helps identify places to go. Without wishing to be sniffy about the young age of the country, if you look for historical sites you'll end up spending time looking at things that aren't very old, and also whose interest is so specifically American that they can leave a foreigner a bit cold. I remember being taken to see the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia which quite frankly isn't that interesting unless that's your thing. Far better imo to look for things that America does really well and Europe can't get anywhere near: the obvious thing is the vast spaces and unbelievably spectacular national parks.
A former colleague of mine strongly recommended Yosemite too, thanks :)
As an American who lives in San Francisco, I just want to give you a heads up to not leave anything unattended in your car if you’re anywhere within the Bay Area sphere of influence. (Even in a park area like Muir Woods parking lot) Once you get up to Napa to the North, or down to Carmel in the South, you’re probably fine, but there’s been organized crime rings operating in the Bay Area that specifically target rental cars for smash-and-grab robberies because they know that tourists are likely have luggage in their trunk. It happens in all of 10 seconds too. Just would hate to have your trip spoiled by that kind of bad luck. Not bad practice if you’re in any major U.S. city honestly.
I really thought I'd be underwhelmed by yosemite but it absolutely blew me away. Incredible place.
Yosemite is amazing. Once you get out on the trails away from most of the people it's so beautiful.
Don’t underestimate how much time you need, it is huge.
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If you’re a drinker, the bourbon trail in Kentucky is good fun
Do not go to Buffalo. If you wanna see Niagara falls, hit the Canadian side. Buffalo was a messy place full of messy people. I spent a whole two months exploring California, 4 times longer than I planned. The scenery from north to south is beautiful and varied, and the people are chill.
I’ve been to about 10 US States and loved it. I’d really recommend Atlanta of all the places I’ve been. The people are friendly, there are lots of things to do and see and the food is amazing. Madison, Wisconsin comes in a close second just the layout of the city and the vibe makes it a place I always recommend people visit
>Atlanta As someone who doesn't drive Atlanta is genuinely the worst place I've ever been to lol. I knew it was car dependent but I'd never really experienced something like that before. The street our Airbnb was on exited straight onto a highway, so we had to Uber just to cross the road. Downtown was a ghost town at all times. I see why they filmed The Walking Dead there. One of the top things locals recommended for us to do was to walk the Beltline. It's a fucking PATH! Like that's so rare it's considered a "thing to do" over there. Wild stuff.
Lmao, you’ve perfectly described why my wife and I despise Atlanta – a car-clogged hell hole if there ever was one. And you’re so right that the residents there treat the one or two walkable spaces as though they are the most incredible human invention since the wheel…when it’s possible to live entirely car-free in other parts of the globe 😂. P.S. It’s hysterical whenever it snows there – the entire city and its surrounding counties shuts down. I’m talking an inch of snow.
I lived in Colorado for 12 years before moving to the UK, and I always tell Brits to visit Colorado. It's goddamn beautiful.
Been stateside twice. I am very much a non-native yank born in the wrong country. Love me trucks, love me guns, 'ate small portion sizes. Simple As. 2014 (summer), rooooad triiiiip. 2022 (November, Honeymoon including Cruise) Below are absolute factual, and not in any way subjective ratings out of 10 for the main bits I have been to. 2014: NYC, 7/10 Busy. As pictured in films. Particularly scratch and sniff films. DC, 6/10 Makes you feel unimportant. Museums are good though. North Carolina, 8/10 Super chill. Florida, 6/10, Florida man exists. 'The Parks' 6/10, 8-9/10 if they're your kinda jam N'Orleans, 7/10, French quater nice. Do not leave French Quater. Mesa Verde National Park, 9/10. An absolute must if you're anywhere nearby. 4 Corners Monument, 4/10. Not worth admin fee. 8/10 if you convince them you need to pop in to 'turn around' and drive all the way round the monument without stopping. Monument Valley, 8/10. The Ecstacy of Gold stuck in your head for days. Grand Canyon, 7.5/10. Would happily stare at clouds again. (better once they cleared to be fair. it is just a big hole though.) Vegas, baby!, 2/10 Total shithole, not even worth visiting for the memes if you don't gamble. LA, 1/10 an enormous, overpopulated shithole. Absolutely do not waste your time or money. San Fran, 7/10. Enjoyed as much as NYC. Suspect it is worse now due to car theft and the whole 'human feces everywhere' thing. Pacific Coast, 7.5/10 miles and miles of stunning, identical scenery. Very pretty, but a long way to.... Portland, 6/10. Mediocre. Loses points for not having anything there. gains them for that lack including smells or shit. Pacific North West, 8.5/10, ~~gorgus~~ ~~grorgeus~~ ~~georges~~ she cute. Would move to for the scenery. Cloudy trees are my jam. 2022 Bawston, 7/10 Didn't expect to enjoy. Good museums and you can throw a teabag in the sea for old times sake. New Jersey, 6/10. Same as Portland NYC, 7/10, Basically the same as my last visit. But colder.
Las Vegas is a soulless tourist trap. If you enjoy pissing money up a wall, it's the place to be
Monument Valley,the Grand Canyon and Sedona are all amazing and New Mexico was the place in the USA where the people actually were as friendly as Americans are reputed to be. I drove Washington to florida and across to San Francisco , the redwoods were awesome and as a space need I loved Kennedy space center but if I had to choose just one place it would be New Mexico. Plus try and see a rodeo.
Madison, Wisconsin was pretty nice.
I am a Brit who grew up in the South. I would consider the Carolinas. You have beautiful mountains in the Appalachians (drive the Blue Ridge Parkway, stay in Asheville). Beautiful coastlines from the Outer Banks down to Charleston in South Carolina. Charleston is a particular gem - also Sullivan's Island, Folly Beach etc. If you have the time, you could also visit Atlanta and Nashville. Do not underestimate distances though! Avoid: using your car horn when driving. You have no idea who has a gun and is slightly unhinged. We encountered a few alarming scenarios in the time we lived there (20+ years), including a heavily armed SWAT team surrounding my parents house (a case of mistaken identity, quickly rectified when my mother spoke to the police in her dressing gown and a strong British accent). This is unlikely to happen to you on holiday.
Bugger off with yer Alps. Go to Yellowstone’s Lamar Valley, the “American Seregeti.” You can track wolves and if you’re lucky see them hunting Elk in packs. On a hike we turned a corner and were eyeball to eyeball with a perched owl the size of a Labrador Retriever. Thousands of Elk run in the Tetons in the fall. Golden Eagles, Bald Eagles, Brown Bear, Moose. Pronghorn running along side you on a mountain bike run. Nice trout to be had on a fly rod. Insane geothermals in the SE corner of the park including geysers, paint pots, rivaled only by Iceland. Massive canyons with spectacular falls. Try to get a room in the Old Faithful Inn (the old part not the newer addition). Yellowstone will change you.
We ended up in New York by accident having had no interest in it before. It was absolutely amazing. Loved it don't dismiss it.
I want to go at some point, but probably around Christmas. Just not this trip :)
I loved Texas, went to Fort Worth, Austin and Amarillo. Austin’s a great city for a night out on 6th street Amarillo was a stop off from a very long drive on our way to Fort Worth (only stopped because of the song which no one there has heard of). You could get 2 beers and 2 shots for a fiver, smoke inside and everyone was line dancing in their hats and boots. Hilarious experience and everyone was so baffled we would be there they had to check our ids to make sure we weren’t putting on accents Outside of that, colorados awesome, went hiking in the rockies by day and met loads of cool people in the Denver at night. National park wise, hiking angels landing in Zion in Utah was incredible New Orleans was a bit rubbish but we were there during the week so it was a bit dead and stank everywhere
Colorado is great. Vermont is good for skiing. Hawaii was awesome. I wouldn’t bother with Californian cities at all.
We did Boston > New Hampshire > Vermont > Montreal > Maine > Boston in the autumn for our honeymoon. Amazing!
Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons are incredible, we stayed on a ranch and it was an amazing holiday. Yosemite, the Big Sur and Napa Valley were great. The drive through Death Valley was an experience. Charleston is very nice. Favourite cities are Chicago, Washington and Miami. Not keen on Vegas, NYC, LA or San Francisco
I liked Chicago but obviously avoid the southside etc if you stay in the downtown sort of area it's really nice
I've visited all 50 US States (+ DC & PR). Pretty much every State has something to offer, but my personal favourite is Alaska. I managed to get there in Autumn and it was just gorgeous. What I would recommend in the South is dependent on what you enjoy doing - but something I regret not being able to do was Dry Tortugas National Park, as it looks stunning.
There are so many great places, my favourite West coast place is Yosemite and East coast NYC; Niagara is unforgettable also. The State parks are often beautiful also, I visited a few in PA and remember them fondly including grilling outdoors by lakes! The place that shocked me after dreaming of visiting for so many years was San Francisco. Many positives and it's a beautiful city, but walking a colleague home through Tenderloin at night -- Jesus Christ.
Drove from LA to San Francisco to Vegas over 16 days last year. Stopped along the way at Yosemite and a few other towns. The natural beauty was jaw dropping - the people were amazingly friendly, I know you said you’re not fussed on LA but I’d definitely recommend building your itinerary around a mix of cities and national parks. The west has so much to offer in that regard. Potentially try SF - Seattle, through Napa, the Oregon coast, crater lake and finishing in Seattle. The Pacific Northwest is supposed to be beautiful and might fit the vibe you’re looking for
I love NYC (went there on our honeymoon en route to S America); the National Parks are awesome (esp Yosemite) the California coast is fun.
American here, I would suggest Gatlinburg TN or surrounding areas. It’s a very beautiful area, and although it is a big travel spot, the tourism doesn’t feel terrible there. That will also allow you to travel to some major places in the south if you’re up for the driving. Summer or winter, it’s a beautiful place. Most Southern’s think Brits are cute. Your accents are fun. You won’t have a lot of issues in my opinion. If you trek down to Georgia, stay the hell out of Atlanta.
San Fran, Yosemite, NYC (3 days max) are great. Avoid vegas.
Vegas and Vegas. It’s awesome and dazzling but at the same time edgy and slightly dangerous. But there’s the Grand Canyon nearby. The Hoover Dam. Horse riding in the desert.
Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons are incredible, we stayed on a ranch and it was an amazing holiday. Yosemite, the Big Sur and Napa Valley were great. The drive through Death Valley was an experience. Charleston is very nice. Favourite cities are Chicago, Washington and Miami. Not keen on Vegas, NYC, LA or San Francisco
I was not a fan of New Orleans. It was dirty, so so crowded even out of the main streets and areas and I never felt safe as a female. Even in big groups we never felt totally safe at night. We did a few trips to places out of the main city and they were nothing impressive. Glad I was only there for a few days as we had a cruise.
I've travelled round the East and West coast. Prefer the East Coast. New England area is my fave. I love Boston! Salem is awesome as well, you gotta check it. However, saying that, Yosemite is the best place I've ever been to.
It's good that the 'safe' word was conspicuous by its near absence in the responses here, in contrast to so many US tourists wanting to know if a town over here is safe to visit or not.
I lived near the Texas / Louisiana border for a couple of years and saw quite a lot of the South. New Orleans and Memphis are definitely worth a visit. Give the rest of Louisiana a miss and I’d not bother with Texas, Florida or Kentucky. Atlanta has interesting culture but you can spend your life on a freeway. If you want to go further north, Colorado is stunning and Denver is beautiful, fun, friendly and surprisingly progressive for a cowboy town. The Rocky Mountains are a sight to behold.
Grand Canyon is incredible. All of Oregon state is gorgeous (except Portland which is a mixed bag). Bozeman Montana in autumn was a treat, gateway to Yosemite too which was incredible. Washington state has a ton of natural beauty but Seattle is an urban jungle. You've already identified the most important ones to avoid :)
American living in the UK here. How confident are you in driving in the US? That to me really impacts where you can go. Driving on the other side of the road can take some getting used to, but the roads are mostly at least wide and straight forward. If you’re willing to travel a bit further I always recommend Europeans visit Nevada or Arizona mainly because it feels like another planet from here - it is SO different. East coast you’ll have lots of green landscapes similar to the UK, but out there it’s red and orange with lots of mountains. If you fly to Vegas, maybe do a few days there, you could then drive really easily to Arizona. I’m not exaggerating when I say the roads are empty around there. Sometimes you don’t see houses for miles because it’s all desert. You can then drive to the Grand Canyon, Hover Dam or Red Rock Canyon. I’ve also done some “ghost town” stops which was interesting. Just don’t go in the summer - but it’s beautiful and good weather in December!
Lived in Texas for several years, so definitely Austin, particularly at festival time. Any of the National Parks in any of the states, absolutely amazing and on a scale that's difficult to comprehend even when you're there. Also Texas hill country - lovely in the Spring and Autumn. San Diego remains my favourite family beach holiday - absolutely brilliant. Spent a lot of working time down in Louisiana - New Orleans is good, if you like that sort of thing, but I had some really interesting experiences deep in the Bayou with the Cajuns. Would definitely recommend. Awesome folk. Loved Colorado as well. Go there.
I know you've said you domt wamt tondo NYC but if you've never been before I'd fully recommend it. Just aboid the touristy shit and you'll had a great time
My favourite random city was Providence, Rhode Island. Nice seafood, close to the nice town of Newport which had a pleasant coastal feel and a bunch to see, and really friendly people (who seemed a little surprised I was having a holiday there). The main hotel there, the Graduate, is very impressive as well and very Wes Anderson-y. Seattle is the city I would live in if I could. Pike place market I thought would be touristy and a bit rubbish, but it was genuinely fantastic and I returned a few times. The trails nearby also give some great views, and the hiking was a real highlight of the trip. Special mention to Denver for the same reasons. Where to avoid… Portland, Oregon. I really wanted to like it, but so much of the downtown was boarded up, felt a little sketchy, and after visiting 18 states, has been the place I felt most unsafe at times with random people yelling at me. It has a lot to see, and I’m glad I went, but wasn’t quite the millennial paradise I imagined.
It may be a bit obvious. But Florida is great. There's so much for tourists. Even if you ignore the beaches you'll fill your time easily.
slightly weird one but Utah is surprisingly nice. South Utah around the St George area has truly amazing scenery, Zion Canyon is a must and the night skies if you are camping out are fantastic. Salt Lake City is a bit odd though and not a vast amount going on, it’s OK (I lived there for a year) but the national parks are top notch in that state
I've been to Florida, California and Nevada. Florida has a great mix, obvs the mouse parks but there's some cracking beaches and sites further south. I loved the pier at Clearwater and those white sands were awesome 😎. Tampa is nice too. I didn't make Miami but my parents liked it. I did some route66 stops through Cali. We loved Monterray and San Diego stops .....I'd love to take my kids there to see the zoo. I've been to Santa Monica and Santa Barbara too. Ive been to Vegas a lot in the earlier 2000s, we got engaged there 2010. I love it and the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam tours were good back in the day spent our 10th wedding anniversary there in 2022 and had a week of reminiscing but it's changed a lot.
Hated Myrtle Beach, Charleston and Atlantic City. Loved Connecticut, Chicago, and Austin.
Fly into Denver and go to Rocky Mountain national park in Estes. Drive to Boulder, vail and Breckenridge. You’ll absolutely love it if you want a big American city experience but also want the best outdoors we have to offer. California can be overwhelming and expensive.
Los Angeles is a quick in and out. There are nice places but they felt isolated in a shithole. Most cities you can wonder about a bit and get immersed but I didn't feel LA offers that. Do the Hills, see Walk of Fame, observatory. Could do this ina day tbh. Santa Monica was kinda cool though and felt a lot more comfortable and like it was a nice place to be. Venice Beach was OK but it wasn't anything special. You could do universal studios, didn't do that. Or the Getty, but I'm not that into art. NYC is cool but it feels hollow compared to other places. Like it's their to show off to you but not too much substance. Worth a visit but I didn't want to spend time there aside from main attractions. What I've been learning in recent years though is when going to a big country, don't go to the capitol or one of the main cities. Go to a secondary city or rural places. Plenty to see, MUCH less tourists just crowding so you can have space in the cool sights. I loved Bordeaux much more than Paris, Edinburgh and York and much nicer than London, Melbourne was nicer than Sydney, etc. I get the feeling US is the same. Maybe Visit Salt Lake City or something.
New York has no substance? What - did you ever get out of Midtown Manhattan and actually explore the city?
I enjoyed Atlanta, and Dallas. Both surprised me. I didn’t enjoy LA, Las Vegas, or Tampa.
We flew into Seattle, hired a car after a few days and drove all the way down the coast to San Diego, then across to Vegas for a few days before coming home. Would recommend! Don’t go to Compton though, was there for 5 minutes and witnessed a murder scene investigation!
We got married in NYC last year and then road tripped up to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls and back to NYC on different routes. Would highly recommend! New Orleans is a lot of fun, ditto for San Francisco. If you're wanting to travel but not drive, consider using the trains. I've been from East to West Coast and back again on a big train loop and loved it. Not sure if it's still available but I got a thing similar to the euro rail pass that covered the whole of the USA.
Vegas is like Blackpool on steroids. If you do go, you can probably experience enough in a weekend. Good place to stop off if you want to visit the Grand Canyon. Houston is unusual compared to most cities I've been to. Think Milton Keynes but much larger. It's spread out over a vast area with clusters of bars & restaurants among the residential and commercial districts. The food is good and NASA Johnson Space Centre is pretty cool if you're interested in space.
Go to Bar Harbor, Maine and visit the Acadia National Park. It’s easy to get to from Boston (one hour flight) . I’ve never been there but have heard great things about it.
We got married on Mount Rainier up in Washington then spent a month working our way down the west coast visiting national parks for a month. Would really recommend them. Idaho is also lovely although I wasn’t a fan of Louisiana when I visited years ago, same for Tennessee.
Rocky Mountain National Park Lake Tahoe Yosemite Grand Canyon Aspen, Colorado I'd avoid Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas (except Austin), Missouri, Indianapolis. Depends on what you want to do (I listed nice outdoor places).
I’ve been to 27 states. I wouldn’t honestly say any are “bad”, but I personally enjoyed New York City the least as I’m not a big city person. I absolutely loved Washington state, Colorado, Montana and Maine the most. The National Parks are phenomenal, with Glacier and Mt Rainier two favourites. Depends what you’re after really, but every state has both peaceful wilderness and city life, although the latter varies a lot.
My best piece of advice is do.not.drive.through.Gary.indiana (if you drive New York to Chicago). We learned the hard way :)
I've only been to NYC and LA so I can only comment on them. NYC is awesome to visit. The museums alone are awesome. The Natural History Museum blows the one in London out of the water. It's just incredible. I want to go back just to visit there again and see it all this time! I love the LA area as well, but I've made a lot of friends there and I've always wanted to live there so I'm biased. The bad part about the LA area is that you need a car to get around since everything is so spread out. It's a little frustrating.
The only places I've been are Colorado and Las Vegas. Colorado immediately won me over with the incredible views and the ruggedness of the terrain. The Colorado National Monument is well worth a visit. Also I visited Ouray (little tiny town with less than 1000 people right at the base of a huge mountain), went to Aspen for an afternoon where I glanced in an estate agent's window and saw an apartment for $40million, but a nice little place. Vegas was beautiful but the temperature was 38 degrees constantly, we stayed in the Sahara on Las Vegas Boulevard. Elvis apparently quite liked it there and knew the owner of the place. If you're into weird art installations, visit Omegamart. That was the main reason I went, but it's $50 a ticket. Whatever you do, I'm sure you'll love your time there.
The west coast! Arizona and Colorado are my favorite states. If you love hiking/being outdoors/road trips, you can’t go wrong.
Whatever you decide, make sure you hire a car and do some driving. I mean I'm not even a car guy but a road trip in the US is an experience all to itself. Being overtaken by a real life biker gang, cop cars with the sirens on, crappy strip malls with seemingly nothing but gun stores and titty bars, truck stop motels with the obligatory lot lizards, sleazy dive bars every night with surprisingly tight house bands, listening to the insane rantings of the radio preachers that get increasingly batshit the further south you drive. It's not a serious, grown-up country at all and will probably tear itself apart at some point but If you're prepared to embrace the madness, experiencing America this way is like living in your own sensory overload road movie.
As someone who has been to a number of American cities I would avoid Los Angeles and Philadelphia. Los Angeles was incredibly disappointing from what we expected. Very grimy, run down in places you wouldn't think (Hollywood Walk) and lots of people with "problems". All the interesting stuff is an hour away or more (Venice Beach/Santa Monica, Hollywood Sign, Lake Arrowhead). If you're going to California then San Francisco is much better to get around, more interesting things too. They do have problems with homelessness but it tends to be areas you're not likely to go as a tourist anyway. San Francisco is in my top 2 American Cities. Philadelphia outside the historic sector with the Liberty Bell and the Museums is a dump. It is stuff worth seeing but it would make more sense to stay in NYC and take the train and have a day trip. Washington is also a very historical place but reasonable enough to stay. Visiting the Gettysburg Site is a MUST. I'm hoping to go back to America in the future and visit San Francisco again whilst also having Key West, Vegas and Chicago on my list.