Planning a trip to the Americas

[kandrathe]

Angel' date='Jan 5 2009, 06:04 PM' post='159298']
Hi all

A friend of mine and I decided to plan a trip somewhere in the Americas this summer. It'll be a limited stay of 2 weeks, so we really need to plan this well in order to get the most out of it. Also, we recognise our limitations as Scandinavians. Although we know of certain popular places to visit, we hardly possess the vast knowledge of your lands as Americans do, hence the thread.

Do you have any suggestions? We thought about New York, but assumed it'd be too hot during the summer. I don't know why we believe Miami will be any cooler, but that is the destination to beat for the moment. We thought about spending a week there and maybe get on a plane to one of the carribean islands to experience something a bit different.

We have not decided on anything yet, and we're still considering our options. We also talked about touring the west coast and seeing San Fransisco, Vegas, the Grand Canyon and San Diego. My friend also mentioned in passing that she'd like to visit a texan ranch and do like a packaged tour of ranchy stuff.

We also talked about Machu Pichu in Peru, but decided that we'd rather save the backpacker-thing for another time. This holiday is for relaxing, partying and a wee bit of shopping. Oooh! And also, we want to do stuff and see places.

Do you know of any places we could visit, any places you think of as ideal places to visit in the Americas? We thought about Canada, but it just seems like a bland version of the US (no offence intended, this view of is purely prejudicial.)

Also, are there any places that are particularly cheap? If we do stay a week in Miami, I expect we'll spend a good deal of money there. It would be nice to counter that with a more affordable place... not cheap as in tacky, but cheap as in "more for the dollar" (or pesos, or whatever the local currency is). I heard beer in Argentina is cheaper than water. Can anyone confirm that?

Much obliged, gents and pretty ladies!:)

You can't go wrong with California. San Francisco area is great, especially north of it in the redwood forests. Actually, Santa Barbara(north of LA) or Orange County (South of LA, like Corona Del Mar) are nice places near enough to LA to fit in many options. Inland from Santa Barbara you have vineyard country, and on the coast you have white sand beaches, and moderate temps year around. I have relatives in San Diego, which has its plenty to see and do on the coast or in town or you can head south to Rosarito, Baja for lunch, drive up to Mammoth to go skiing or drive into the desert to Borrego Springs (more of a winter activity though).

The old west was actually idealized from cattle drives from Texas up through Kansas, and from Wyoming, and Montana. Everyone needed to drive their cattle to a cow town on the limited number of towns on the early railroads. That said, the Denver area is very "cowboy" and might be a great option, but for me its better in March or April when you can still get some skiing done in the morning before the snow melts by noon. Then, go for an afternoon horse back ride, then warm up by a open fire watching the sunset. When you come from Norway, the Rockies are the closest thing we've got to the vistas and beauty there. I've been to Steamboat Springs, and Aspen. I prefer Steamboat, since it is less expensive and you have the natural hot springs to bathe in too. If you wanted to drive a bit north from Denver, Cheyenne Wyoming is just 200 Km north of Denver (flying is pretty cheap too ~$220 RT). Cheyenne Frontier days is the last week in July and has the largest outdoor rodeo in the world.

The (l)east coast (yes, I'm with Occhi on that one) has the whole colonial thing going, and unfortunately most of the high art. Although, slowly, begrudgingly other areas of the USA are becoming known for arts and culture as well. I've spent time in NY(Manhattan) and DC area (Georgetown) and either would offer you much more than you could see in two weeks. I would avoid Miami anytime of year, but Florida can be pleasant in the winter months. I stay more in the Sarasota, Tampa area.

Well, that's just off the top of my head. Hope some of that might sound interesting.