Budget Travel - 10 days vacation in september. where to go in USA??

Hi all

I am new here. I always read but never really post anything on the website
I have 10 days and I am planning my trip to usa, I live in Toronto so I am thinking to go down to Florida Sotuh beach and Orlando and drive up to Washington dc and NYC and end up in Boston.

Can we rent a car from Priceline or Hotwire from florida and return it in Boston? Do you think it will be expensive?

We like beautiful landscape and nature of course want to do some shopping and having a good time at the club in big city. can anyone give me suggestion?

I can fly cheap so we might fly to florida then do the road trip.

or should I go to Chicago and drive to east from there?

Need alot of suggestion and cheap place to stay and sightseeing etc etc etc

Thanks

B

Hi all

I am new here. I always read but never really post anything on the website
I have 10 days and I am planning my trip to usa, I live in Toronto so I am thinking to go down to Florida Sotuh beach and Orlando and drive up to Washington dc and NYC and end up in Boston.

Can we rent a car from Priceline or Hotwire from florida and return it in Boston? Do you think it will be expensive?

We like beautiful landscape and nature of course want to do some shopping and having a good time at the club in big city. can anyone give me suggestion?

I can fly cheap so we might fly to florida then do the road trip.

or should I go to Chicago and drive to east from there?

Need alot of suggestion and cheap place to stay and sightseeing etc etc etc

Thanks

B

Since this is the budget travel forum, I am assuming you are most interested on how to make this trip inexpensive. I should then start by saying that I will leave this to others as I am sure they can be more insightful than myself.

Now, on places to visit, here is a list (in no particular order):

1. Asheville, NC and Gatlinburg, TN: Nice area. The Biltmore Estate is there and it is the biggest mansion/castle in the US. While no Austrian palace, it is certainly an enjoyable visit. On the outdoors side, the Smoky Mountains Park is located between those two places and it has great views. You can even hike some of the Appalachian trail if you feel like it.

2. Newport, RI - one of my favorite places. Great atmosphere, nice place to visit both in and outdoors.

3. Chicago, IL - Also a great place, not much on the nature side of things, but still a nice place to visit. If you are there and have time, try to take a side trip to Milwaukee (although that might be a bit like Canada).

4. Do visit Washington, DC, NYC, and Boston. I can't speak to the nightlife at DC or Boston, but I do live in NYC. If you want to go to one of hot spots that is in vogue, go to the "meat packing" district. Those places tend to go in and out of fashion very quickly, so I won't give you a name. If you want a touristy nightlife experience, go to 230-fifth: nice place with a rooftop bar area that has great views to the Empire Estate.

Hope this helps. Enjoy the trip!

I'll second Asheville, but stay away from Gatlinburg. It's the Redneck Riviera. Think of Myrtle Beach in the mountains.

HTSC
Now, on places to visit, here is a list (in no particular order):

1. Asheville, NC and Gatlinburg, TN: Nice area. The Biltmore Estate is there and it is the biggest mansion/castle in the US. While no Austrian palace, it is certainly an enjoyable visit. On the outdoors side, the Smoky Mountains Park is located between those two places and it has great views. You can even hike some of the Appalachian trail if you feel like it.

I'll second Asheville, but stay away from Gatlinburg. It's the Redneck Riviera. Think of Myrtle Beach in the mountains.

HTSC

Agreed. Gatlinburg is only in there because that's where the Smoky Mountains lead you from Asheville, and that trip shouldn't be avoided because of Gatlinburg.

Can we rent a car from Priceline or Hotwire from florida and return it in Boston? Do you think it will be expensive?

Do either of those do one-way rentals?

I would keep an eye out in the car rental forums and search around the web a bit. Usually there are deals going on at the end of summer on 1 way rentals out of Florida. The only thing is they usually require you to return them to certain locations.

I would keep an eye out in the car rental forums and search around the web a bit. Usually there are deals going on at the end of summer on 1 way rentals out of Florida. The only thing is they usually require you to return them to certain locations.

I think your best hunting on the one-way "driveaway" deals is late fall INTO Florida from other places, and spring OUT FROM Florida to other places. Those are the seasonal repositionings that motivate the deals. Alamo has been running a good one at $10/day for a compact and, of course, no drop charge, expiring July 18. In past years the deals would sell out very quickly, but lately with higher gas prices and the recession, the availability has held out longer.

Re: The OP's question. I'd say unequivocally Alaska. In September you have the fall colors and some of the best sightseeing of the year, and about a 3-week window of opportunity with crowds gone and much lower lodging costs (ANC and FAI even being Priceline-able). Denali is out after Sept. 10 or so, but most everything else is still fine. You can also get there on FF awards at 25K miles. The landscape views from the highways, IMO, are the best of the year under the fall colors, even though many more people saw them a month or two earlier.

Thanks for the replies. hmmm so I dont need to book the reservation right now then, just wait till last minute on priceline or otherwebsite.

Can we drive in the USA? I mean with rental car and cross border/states. lets say nevada and california with budget/alamo in Lax and return it in Las with canadian driver license. do you think we will have a problem?

thanks again..

Thanks for the replies. hmmm so I dont need to book the reservation right now then, just wait till last minute on priceline or otherwebsite.

Can we drive in the USA? I mean with rental car and cross border/states. lets say nevada and california with budget/alamo in Lax and return it in Las with canadian driver license. do you think we will have a problem?

thanks again..

With one-ways anywhere you have to make absolutely sure you're getting all the charges disclosed upfront. Back in pre-Internet days the car-rent companies, and especially Alamo, were really bad about saying one thing on the phone and another at the counter. Regular rentals were bad, and one-ways were worse. It's better now with the Internet, but you still have to double-check and be paranoid about any "drop charges." If you don't see that as a line item you can't assume it's $0.

Clark Howard's usual advice is to send people to National first, as for years they've offered one-ways with no drop charges (but higher daily rates). Other companies aren't as hostile to the concept as they used to be and might even quote all the charges online. But assume nothing and call if in any doubt.

Another potential issue is "unlimited mileage" that only applies within particular states. If you roam outside those areas you likely won't be detected, but if you had an accident I can see getting extra hassles.

With one-ways anywhere you have to make absolutely sure you're getting all the charges disclosed upfront. Back in pre-Internet days the car-rent companies, and especially Alamo, were really bad about saying one thing on the phone and another at the counter. Regular rentals were bad, and one-ways were worse. It's better now with the Internet, but you still have to double-check and be paranoid about any "drop charges." If you don't see that as a line item you can't assume it's $0.

Clark Howard's usual advice is to send people to National first, as for years they've offered one-ways with no drop charges (but higher daily rates). Other companies aren't as hostile to the concept as they used to be and might even quote all the charges online. But assume nothing and call if in any doubt.

If you search through an online travel agent--I've had good luck with Travelocity's one way search--you'll usually get the full price displayed for comparison shopping. (Travelocity's contract with the rental companies requires them to disclose all charges up front.) Of course, it usually saves you a buck or two to then go to the website of the cheapest vendor and book it directly with them. Most car rental websites now do display any drop fees up front (if they apply).

National does not charge a drop fee, but as you indicated, their rates are higher. One of the other providers (especially Dollar and Thrifty) may be a better deal for a long rental, as they do not charge a higher rate, instead charging the same rate you'd get for a non-one-way rental but then adding a drop fee. National is usually a better deal for short rentals.

Hi all

I am new here. I always read but never really post anything on the website
I have 10 days and I am planning my trip to usa, I live in Toronto so I am thinking to go down to Florida Sotuh beach and Orlando and drive up to Washington dc and NYC and end up in Boston.

Can we rent a car from Priceline or Hotwire from florida and return it in Boston? Do you think it will be expensive?

We like beautiful landscape and nature of course want to do some shopping and having a good time at the club in big city. can anyone give me suggestion?

I can fly cheap so we might fly to florida then do the road trip.

or should I go to Chicago and drive to east from there?

Need alot of suggestion and cheap place to stay and sightseeing etc etc etc

Thanks

B

As you said in you post I think 10 days are not enough for your trip. Better to visit some of the place rather than all of them and enjoy lots. Remember you are not on any business trip. You make this trip for fun and enjoyment. The best way to getting more information about your trip plan, you have to contact local travel agent who will arrange everything as per your need so you can enjoy your trip without any hazard.

Have you contact local travel agent?

Have you contact local travel agent?
With all due respect, I have not found travel agents to be good sources of information. In fact, not only have I found they sometimes know very little about the destination (aside from what promotional brochures tell them), whenever someone's travel arrangements have gotten screwed up, it's usually the travel agent's fault.

With good research, I think it's possible to put together an itinerary that's much more interesting, comprehensive, and at a lower cost than anything a travel agent can do for you. There are lots of resources out there--both printed guidebooks (I'm a fan of the Lonely Planet series, but if you're looking for eye candy and/or something a bit more upscale, the Eyewitness Guides are OK) and online (online guides like Wikitravel (http://wikitravel.org) and establishment review sites like Tripadvisor (http://www.tripadvisor.com)), and sites like FT can help with ensuring you make good arrangements for flights, rental cars, and hotels (people here are a wealth of knowledge and are probably better sources of info on how to get to and get around any given area of the world than the vast majority of travel agents).

Travel agents may be a good option for those who lack the time or the skills (especially Internet searching skills) to do the necessary comprehensive research (or at least have the travel skillset to effectively wing it, though having a smartphone to do on-the-go research is a big plus!). And in some cases, travel agents do have access to special deals and discounted inventory (especially if they're affiliated with or have access to a network of consolidators), but for the most part, you're much more highly motivated to find a good deal on something or find lower-cost solutions than a travel agent--who only has a limited amount of time to research and work on your trip--does. (Remember, we're in the Budget Travel forum.) Creative thinking and a willingness to inconvenience yourself to save money helps keep costs down: budget travelers generally have no problem using public transportation, and clever tricks like avoiding airport access fees for rental cars by taking a courtesy shuttle to a hotel and then having an off-airport rental agency pick you up from the hotel are but a tiny amount of the tricks up a budget traveler's sleeve. Generally, these are things a travel agent (outside of perhaps the STA agents that focus on student travel) won't recommend, either because they don't know about them or because they're used to dealing with the majority of the general population, who are really (to be frank) too dumb to travel and need things made as simple as possible for them, even if it increases costs and results in a less-interesting trip.

But that's just my view.

Back to the OP's questions: 10 days in the U.S. with the whole U.S. to choose from is a hard decision. If you want pure scenery, stick to the West, either California (Hollywood, beaches, the Pacific coast, Yosemite, San Francisco), the Pacific Northwest (Portland, Seattle, perhaps Vancouver, and the Cascade mountains and Pacific coast) or a trip including perhaps the natural wonders of Arizona, Utah, and Colorado (the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, Arches, and the Rocky Mountains). If you want clubbing action in the big city (admittedly something I have no experience with and not much of a desire to get in to), the big cities of the East (Miami, NY, and probably at least some in DC and Boston) are probably good shots, as probably are the big cities of California and perhaps other large cities (I'm sure Chicago's got something, and you'll probably find things in other major cities anywhere in the country [Seattle, Denver, Kansas City, Atlanta, whatever]).

I think attempting to do the whole Eastern Seaboard (Miami all the way up to Boston) is trying to bite off too much for 10 days. I could (and have) spent 10 days just between DC and NY. 4 days wasn't enough for Boston and surrounds. You could probably do Florida up to DC (but no further north) in 10 days, but that would be pushing it unless you (like me) like to cram in as much stuff as possible and never stop moving. You honestly could do 10 days in Florida--between the Keys, the Everglades, Miami, Orlando (the parks are fun for people of all ages) and maybe a jaunt out to Cocoa Beach and/or up to St. Augustine, you'll have 10 days covered in no time. If you do want more, then plan for a couple days in Miami, a full day's drive up to Savannah and a full day there, leaving early in the morning for Charleston and at least a full day there (driving around late at night, there appeared to be some good club action there), then a day and a half to drive up to the DC area (optional stops along the NC coast, like Kitty Hawk, or the historic triangle of Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown in Virginia). That leaves you with about two days with which to cram whatever interests you in DC into. And once you start looking at the Smithsonian museums (worth a full day each, though most people probably do 2-3 per day), the monuments along the Mall, government buildings, Arlington cemetery, and all the rest, you'll quickly realize that 2 days (and less if you have to fly out on the 10th day) will barely scratch the surface.

I'd do some reading on regions of the country on Wikitravel (hey, it's free; start here (http://wikitravel.org/en/United_States_of_America)) and decide where you want to go. Then go to the appropriate sub-forum in the http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travel-dining-destination-united-states-437/ section of FlyerTalk and post your questions (preferably after reading and searching through previous posts to see if you find any obvious answers) about a specific itinerary. The folks who frequent those forums will be able to help you find good hotels/motels/hostels, navigate getting around the area (and perhaps even specific tips to travel on a budget within the city: for example, Portland's excellent MAX light rail system connects you right from the airport to downtown, avoiding the need to rent a car while you're in the city and/or giving you access to cheaper in-town locations), and making sure you don't miss any hidden treasures. This forum is simply too broad a place to give you specific answers to things like this. (Just make sure to ask educated questions by doing a bit of research before you post so that people will be able to better help you.)

Hope this helps! :)

I think attempting to do the whole Eastern Seaboard (Miami all the way up to Boston) is trying to bite off too much for 10 days. I could (and have) spent 10 days just between DC and NY. 4 days wasn't enough for Boston and surrounds. You could probably do Florida up to DC (but no further north) in 10 days, but that would be pushing it :)

Exactly, You could do:
Miami
Gainesville
Athens or Savannah GA
Charleston SC
Raliegh/Durham NC or Outer Banks
Hampton Roads or Charlottesville VA
Then up to D.C. and the nightlife there is great.

With good research, I think it's possible to put together an itinerary that's much more interesting, comprehensive, and at a lower cost than anything a travel agent can do for you. There are lots of resources out there--both printed guidebooks (I'm a fan of the Lonely Planet series, but if you're looking for eye candy and/or something a bit more upscale, the Eyewitness Guides are OK) and online (online guides like Wikitravel and establishment review sites like Tripadvisor), and sites like FT can help with ensuring you make good arrangements for flights, rental cars, and hotels (people here are a wealth of knowledge and are probably better sources of info on how to get to and get around any given area of the world than the vast majority of travel agents).

Travel agents may be a good option for those who lack the time or the skills (especially Internet searching skills) to do the necessary comprehensive research (or at least have the travel skillset to effectively wing it, though having a smartphone to do on-the-go research is a big plus!).

Hope this helps! :)

Excellent Reply....