United States of America Travel Forum

Hi everyone My fiance and I are still trying to decide on a trip for late Dec 2008/Early Jan 2009. We initially were keen to see some of the West of Canada and Washington and Oregon but the weather kind of scares us sun loving Australians.

So my question is a very vague one that I am glad of any tips on. We are hoping to spend about 3 weeks in the USA. The final week would be at Anaheim (I love Disney and he loves the supercross their). So with the other two weeks we would like to see some states we haven't been too. Last trip we saw LA, San Diego, Las Vegas and The Grand Canyon.

We think that the East Coast might be better for another longer trip as it is a fairly big flight to get from LA over there or back. We aren't keen to drive but am happy to fly or train or bus or whatever. We are from a rural area here and would like to see some of your countryside and/or rural areas rather than just big cities. I was thinking maybe some sort of trip using flights and the amtrak system to see maybe Oklahoma, Texas or Arkansas? We can handle some cold but don't really want to be snowed in anywhere. We enjoyed the trip on the bus from Anaheim to Las Vegas and seeing the different views from back home. Also from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon was interesting for us.

Can anyone help me with any suggestions or links? Thanks in advance.

As this is midwinter, the best option would probably be Florida. A roundtrip, more Mickey Mouse (plus other great attractions in Orlando), the Florida Keys, and swimming in Miami Beach.

You definitely need to be thinking about the weather if you are coming at that time of year. Personally, I can't stand most of Florida--and considering that you are going to be at Disneyland in CA anyway, it doesn't seem worthwhile to do the same kind of typical tourist stuff on the other side of the country.

Your idea of OK, TX, AR is an interesting starting point. Although Oklahoma in winter will not be much fun--it gets very cold and blizzardy in that state--I think spending time in either the south central or southwest US would be a lot of fun, and would certainly meet your desire for seeing rural America. (I'm really glad you are into this--not many visitors get to see this side of our country!)

If you can handle some cold, dry weather, I would suggest New Mexico. If you can handle some chilly, damp weather, I would suggest the Gulf Coast--Louisiana springs to mind, in addition to southern Texas. There's a lot to do in all of those places. It's really fun to just rent a car and drive around. (That's pretty much when I did when I visited Australia!)

Our train system (www.amtrak.com) is not all that useful for general touring around a particular area, except in the Northeast. You'll be better off renting a car. But if there is a long-distance train that runs from wherever you are to Los Angeles, it will be fun (although SLOW) to take it. Like Australia, this country is quite big, and it takes days to get across!

If you wish to stick with the west, I would recommend Tucson, Arizona as a good place to visit. There are a number of things of interest to do there, and the weather is usually sunny and mild during that time of the year. You can visit Saguaro National Park where you will see huge cacti. Don't miss the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, a world-renowned zoo, natural history museum, and botanical garden. It is my favorite place to visit in Tucson. San Xavier Del Bac Mission, which is sometimes called the “White Dove” is a beautiful church to visit and is popular with tourists. The Pima Air and Space Museum is very impressive. I am not particularly into airplanes, but we spent a good part of a day here, and I really enjoyed it. There are a number of other museums to visit in Tucson.

I would also recommend going to Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico. Carlsbad Caverns is one of the deepest, largest, and most ornate caverns ever found. I love this cave; it is one of my very favorites. There are a number of tours you can take in the cave. If you decide to visit this National Park you should explore their different tours, as some of the offered tours should be reserved ahead of time to be sure you will be able to take them.

I do love the drive along highway 1 which hugs the Pacific Coast of California. It would take you past the Hearst San Simeon State Historical Monument, called the Hearst Castle. This sits on 127 protected acres of land, and was once the estate of newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst. The 165-room estate offers a variety of different tours. This drive is my favorite drive in our entire country for pure beauty, and if you drive to Monterey you will find a very nice aquarium, and other interesting things to do. The problem with this suggestion is that late December and early January can have unpleasant chilly weather, or if having above average temperatures be pleasantly mild. So it is hard to say what type of weather conditions you would have. Also if you are not use to driving fairly narrow, winding mountain roads you may feel nervous about this drive. In many places the side of the road drops off to the ocean far below. But the views are stunning, and well worth the drive if you are not afraid of the road.

I was born and raised in Oklahoma. Texas & Oklahoma are not good destinations for your travel time. I would honestly suggest Puerto Rico. If you want sun,rain forests, mountains, etc. Gary

Thanks everyone for your honest replies so far. I know the time and length of travel isn't ideal but both our occupations make it virtually the only time of year we can get away for any length of time.

I might have to cross Oklahoma off my list of possibilities. But I am still keen to see something of Texas and maybe New Mexico by the sounds of it and maybe even Lousiana.

We don't mind a bit of cold but we are a bit wary about driving over there but we might have to get over that! Was hoping we could avoid it yet still see rural areas. Are there any rural areas that we could have a few nights in that anyone can think of that are welcoming to tourists and have a few things to do?
Here in Australia (well at least here in Queensland) even the most tiny little towns still aim to please tourists and have quite a bit to do.

If you like music, Austin is always a possibility. San Antonio also has a lot of interesting history. New Orleans would also be different. Amtrak is not an overly viable option as America has not really embraced train travel. Gary

I know what you are looking for in "charming" rural areas, such as some of the little towns in Queensland, like on the Atherton Tablelands. You would be fine coming out here to the Pacific Northwest, where we are loaded with these small towns, such as old mining communities in Idaho and Montana that have been flossied up to attract tourists. But, it is the wrong season to visit this area.

If you want to visit the outer rural areas anywhere, you will have to do it by rental car. When I visit Australia, I always get a rental car, and just brace myself for driving on the "wrong" side of the road. Driving here in rural areas is not too difficult.

If you consider areas more southerly in the US during Dec-Jan, you might consider the coastal drive between LA and San Francisco; Austin, Texas is a great university town; New Mexico is wonderful (Santa Fe and Taos), but note that some of this area is at high elevations, and snow falls. New Orleans would be fine for warm, humid weather, but it is still suffering from the effects of Hurricane Katrina.

My suggestion would be to fly into Hawaii, enjoy yourself there (very romantic), and then do the Southern California drive, ending at San Francisco. Good luck, and let us know what you decide!

I also wouldn't recommend OK or AR.

Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Montana, Northern California, Colorado, Vermont, New Hampshire are my favorite states to see the countryside. However, as you mentioned you want to avoid snow and severe cold.

Maybe Florida... I'd recommend Orlando, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Miami Beach, and finally Key West. The weather will be perfect during that time of the year. The Disney parks there are also a million times better and larger then in Los Angeles.

Another option, I just don't know if you want to focus your visit in California again, would be to fly to San Francisco and drive down the Pacific Coast Highway. The scenery is beautiful and there are many quaint rural towns along the way.

As others mentioned, we don't really do the "mass transit" thing well here in the U.S. And I drove in the UK, so driving on the wrong side of the road is only scary for a short period of time. As it's hard to find a rental car without an automatic transmission here, the whole gear shift on the wrong side is not an issue. Personally as you've been to Vegas and the Grand Canyon already, I would say to take a trip something along the lines of flying in to Albuquerque, head up to Taos for a day.
http://www.taosvacationguide.com/events/index/Jan/2009

I would then head back through Albuquerque and head south for Carlsbad caverns.
http://www.carlsbad.caverns.national-park.com/

From there head over to San Antonio, which is a great town.
http://www.visitsanantonio.com/index.aspx

And then either up to Austin or Houston.
http://www.google.com/aclk?sa=L&ai=BX64YmM8pSLHYOpm68gTs85DID4rp6TfK6sDGArS15RXQ6AwIABABGAE4AFCjrJf-BGDJlveM5KSsE8gBAYACAcgC7oXgA9kDxkonRUKWbcs&sig=AGiWqtwhQhemBaEGyB4oBz-izJDH_m__GA&q=http://www.visithoustontexas.com/visitors/

Then on to New Orleans and to Biloxi. If you want to finish up at a beach somewhere, you are on the Gulf Coast so you could just continue on to Pensacola or Panama City, Florida.

This trip would almost certainly fill your two weeks up without a problem and, of course, you could cut it shorter or make it longer as the mood strikes you. :-) I would plan, if doing this trip, to rent a car in NM and leave it at the airport in New Orleans, Mobile, Panama City or wherever your easternmost destination is. And then fly back to California for a day or two to rest up for the flight home.

I would agree with the suggestions for San Antonio, Texas. It is my favorite Texas town. Really pretty, with its River Walk Area, and its old missions. San Antonio is a middle size Texas town, that is famous for the Almo, a very historic mission, which you can visit in the down town area. Vist the Towers of the Americas, which is a 750 foot high structure built for the 1968 Worlds Fair. You will find an observation area and a revolving restaurant, which serves lunch and dinner in the tower. From here you will get great views of the city. There is also the Zoo, which among other things has the endangered whooping cranes and Komodo dragon, the Museum of Art, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, a 200-acre theme park, and Sea World. I am sure that the kids would love Six Flags and Sea World. I have been to a Sea World in both California and Florida, and they are so much fun.

Thanks for some more great ideas and practical tips. I now have a list of places I want to see a mile long! Thanks again.