1

Estimada Ariana:

The USA is a big country with many people. A fast trip like you're planning seems very superficial.

I have been many places in the USA. Some nice - some not so. In any event, I would visit just one section of the USA. Anyway, the USA may breakup, so choose one area to learn about.

I live in Las Vegas. It is probably the least expensive major city to enjoy. Also, it is safe - there are more security personnel there than in many small countries. Why? Because the casino owners want to encourage tourists. They do that with safety and special deals. Most of the lesser known casinos are least expensive $30 or so per night -- the big casino hotels can be very expensive. I'd look at rates on the internet.

There are cities that I wouldn't brother seeing. New Orleans is bad and dangerous; don't venture out at night. New York is impersonal., but very interesting. Washington DC is a good place to visit.

San Francisco is nice and expensive. Los Angeles is nice, but don't stay downtown; better to stay in the suburbs like Santa Monica or Hollywood area. San Diego is O.K. and pretty safe. Seattle and Portland are good, but I usually stay outside the city centers (near the airports). In fact most west coast cities are safe but some are expensive. Also, Vancouver Canada is listed as the best city in North America in which to live.

Southwest Airlines is a favorite. Good prices, good service. Also, Allegiant AIr is good.

Hope that gives you some idea. Just be aware that city centers (except New York and Las Vegas are not too good to stay. Most USA cities are not like Buenos Aires!

Saludos, Bud Wood

2

Hola, Ariana! I visited Buenos Aires, Patagonia, and Tierra del Fuego in January 2010.

I agree that New Orleans was a disappointment for me when I visited the city, so I also recommend that you spend more time in the other cities.

While you are in San Francisco, go on a tour of the wineries north of San Francisco in Napa and/or Sonoma Counties. Also, see the redwood grove at Muir Woods near Stinson Beach, in Marin County north of SF. If it is a clear day, take the ferry from the downtown terminal across the Bay to Sausalito -- close look at the Golden Gate Bridge. Eat at one of the seafood restaurants. Lots of artisan shops plus beautiful yachts and houseboats in the marina. Take the Golden Gate Transit bus from Sausalito over the Golden Gate Bridge back to SF.

I recommend that you drive along the Pacific Coast from San Francisco to Los Angeles -- gorgeous scenery. Drive through Silicon Valley then over the Coastal Mountain range to Santa Cruz and Highway #1. Spend the first night in Monterey/Carmel and check out the historic Cannery Row area and the Aquarium. Then drive south through Big Sur, Pismo Beach, Solvang (check out the nearby wineries), and Santa Barbara. Spend the night there and check out the beautiful, historic Santa Barbara Mission and its view. Tour around Montecito then continue driving toward Los Angeles, which is 100 miles, about 2 hours' drive.

You do need a car for transportation in the Los Angeles area. Venice Beach is not necessarily known to be "safe". Santa Monica Beach, nearby, may be a better site for a motel -- its hostel is frequently recommended. The Santa Monica Freeway makes it easy to access major sites in the area. The University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) is in nearby Westwood, which has a great shopping area. Highway #1 along the coast will take you to Anaheim and Disneyland, south of Los Angeles County. Las Vegas is only a 1/2-day drive from Disneyland.

Washington, D.C., is worth more than just one day, especially if you enjoy museums. The Smithsonian Museum alone is worth more than one day.

New York City is easy to sightsee if you pick up a street and subway map of Manhattan Island. Excellent transportation system, so you do not need a car. Be cautious about the neighborhoods and do not wander alone into Central Park too early or too late in the day. I enjoyed walking many blocks up 5th Avenue and Lexington Avenue. Also, check out the United Nations Building. There are great art galleries. Bloomingdale's is at Lexington and 59th Street, a subway stop. Hopefully, by September, the Hurricane Sandy damages will have been repaired.

By the way -- just as English is the 2nd language spoken in airport announcements and by shopkeepers in Argentina, Spanish is also the 2nd language here in the USA, especially in California and the western states.

Have a good trip!

Edited by: trekker502

3

I guess you're going to attract a lot of odd opinions---c.f., "New Orleans is bad and dangerous," or "stay outside the city centers (near the airports)." I'm just chiming in to say that "daytrips" from L.A. to Las Vegas or New York to Washington D.C. would not be in any sense worth bothering with. Allow more time in those places, or don't go.

I'll leave the rest to others; #3 has some good suggestions.

You'll hear a lot of Spanish, but the accent and slang might throw you at first.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

4

I also agree with renting a car and driving Highway 1 between SF and LA, however it is a long drive between Monterey and Santa Barbara (beautiful city), I'd stay a bit further north, say in Cambria (Hearst Castle is nearby if that is of interest, book tours in advance, they can sell out) or Pismo Beach. Public transit, although better, is still pretty dismal in LA, can take one hour each way with a change of bus from Santa Monica to Hollywood for example.

Look at flight prices on a site like Kayak.com, but two of the discount airlines, Southwest and Jet Blue, do not show up on those search engines, you have to look at their prices and schedules on their web sites and book directly with them. SW allows two free checked bags, Jet Blue one, which is a good thing.

Loved Buenos Aires when I visited there, great people and great beef and wines. Have a great trip.

5

I completely agree with #3 on this. Do you have any sense of the distances in the US? LA to Las Vegas is about 5 hours each way, unless you fly. If that is what you had planned, then you could "sample" it. Same with Washington DC.

6

I will try to help you with the west coast cities/areas you mentioned as I am not as familiar with the eastern coast and have not been to New Orleans in a long time.

First of all, Southwest Airlines is probably the most popular and often cheapest airline for travel almost everywhere in the USA. It is easy to make reservations on line if you have a credit card you can use here in the USA. They also have an 1-800 number for reservations and are quite helpful.

San Francisco is, in my opinion, the most beautiful city in America. It is also one of the most expensive. I don't stay in hostels in San Franciso so I can't tell you about any, but there are many fine hotels all over the city. Prices vary. I used to always stay at the "Inn at Union Square" It is a very nice, tastefully decorated, B&B - not cheap, but not horribly expensive. Stay out of the "Tenderloin District" Cheap hotels and flophouses, but not such a safe area. San Fran is a good walking city, but hilly and you will get your exercise. Ride the trolly for fun and to get places. The bus system is pretty good too, and people will help you get the right bus to get where you want to go. Places to see include Chinatown, Fisherman's Wharf, Golden Gate Park with all its museums, etc. The park is nice place to walk or run. Might want to avoid wandering around in the park at night. North Beach area has good restaurants, there are fabulous old hotels to just go in and look at like the Mark Hopkins. Crookedest Street - all above are main tourist attractions and easily fill up a couple days at least. Muir woods with giant redwoods is across the bay, along with Sausalito and there is probably a tour there or you can rent a car. A trip to Alcatraz might interest you. A trip up to the wine country is a possibility too, but you'd need a couple days to go there, look around and come back. It would cut time out of seeing San Francisco. In San Francisco, I would just ask people you meet who are your age wherw to go at night for fun/dancing/music, whatever.

I agree that a road trip down Highway 1 would be beautiful, but I think you will have to choose whether to do that and skip your allotted time in Los Angeles or just fly to LA from San Francisco and see what there is to see and do in LA. and surrounds.

L.A, is a huge spread out city, but there is a lot to see and do. You should stay at least one night(day and a half) in the Hollywood/Sunset strip area. I can tell you that there are fun places to go for nightlife/dancing - some famous where many old and new bands got their start like the Whiskey a go go on Sunset. Grauman's Chinese Theatre is worth going to, just for a look or to see a movie. Fantastic, classical, old, theatre in Hollywood. Touristy things also include tour buses of the Hollywood area and Beverly hills to see movie star houses. Personally, I think it is a trip to walk Hollywood Blvd. for a while at night to see all the crazies, but stay together. If you can rent a car, it is easier to get around in L.A., but you can pretty easily get a bus to Santa Monica beach and there, you can check out the pier, look at all the little shops. September(earlier September) is my favorite time at the beach. There are big, wide beaches. Gladstones is a fun place to eat near Santa Monica on the beach where Sunset Blvd. ends. Venice beach is a must to see, during the day. Kind of a funky place, a lot going on - But the gangs have moved in so stay away at night. You can rent bicycles and ride a loooong bike path along the beach from Santa Monica to Venice.

San Diego is only a couple hours drive south if you are on the road at around 9:30am - 11:30am, or say 1:30PM -4:00PM to avoid rush hours. San Diego (North County) is really a nice area. The beaches and water will still be relatively warm yet not so crowded. There are still a couple funky beach towns like Encinitas, Leukadia. Good beach Surfer bar with music called Belly Up in Solana Beach and so much to see in SanDiego(Gaslight District, Balboa Park, Sea world, the Zoo, etc. You can also fly from L.A. to San Diego and use buses and the Coaster to get to places, even up the coast on the Coaster to beach towns I mentioned like Encinitas and Solano beach and Carlsbad(also a nice little town with a nice beach)

You can fly to Vegas from L.A. or San Diego. Have fun. Hopes this helps some.

7

Here is my standard answer:

There is no set "cheapest airline." We don't have "low cost" airlines like in Europe or Asia--any airline may be the cheapest at any time, dependent on dates, routes, etc.
kayak.com, itamatrix, cheapoair, farecompare, mobissimo, vayama, priceline, expedia, travelocity, orbitz, hotwire, the individual airlines, etc., etc., etc.
Make sure you compare prices like for like (some show subtotals, others totals).
It will take a lot of effort on your part.
And don't expect cheap last minute fares. Prices go up as you get close to departure.

And don't get suckered into the "Southwest is cheapest" myth that is repeatedly pushed here. They aren't any cheaper or more expensive on a regular basis than any other airline.

8

bzookaj is right about airlines, but do include Southwest in your airlines check. They often have good deals that are cheaper than other airlines.

9

Thank you all for your suggestions!
Our problem is that we have little time, money is fair and we want to know the cities that I mentioned because they are the cities we like most and we dont know if we can return to USA sooner.
I´m very pleased you liked Argentina. I'm not from Buenos Aires, my city is called Rosario and it's inside of Argentina. Is a beautiful city (much prettier than Buenos Aires) bordered by the Parana River. I hope that one day some of you can travel and know my city.
Oh, and I'm learning english so the languague it won't be a problem for us (my friend and I).
Lots of hugs.
Ariana.-

10

Just as a bit of help:
One would say "in the interior," not "inside." Saying "inside" simply means within the borders. "In the interior" means "within, but not near a border" (and usually quite far from a border).

11

That's not a bad plan overall, assuming you want to focus on cities and nightlife rather than natural wonders like the GrandCanyon, but I would definitely drop LasVegas, shorten NewOrleans, and shift those days to WashDC. And if you need to trim the budget, cutting NewOrleans out entirely (thus saving a flight) would be a place to look.

To clarify what #5 said re D.C: Unlike mosf of your other city pairs, NY-DC has good and low-priced bus and train connections. Covered in the FAQ.

12

Neew Orelans is a fabulous place to visit - my favorite. If you go as a tourist, it might disappoint, but if you love music (especially jazz) (especially New Orleans Jazz), and horn ensembles (seccion de vientos) in the street, then you should go to New Orleans. It is safe if you are in the French Quarter or Garden District.

My guess is most people are disappointed in New Orleans because they go to Bourbon Street. There is no need to go to Bourbon Street other than to see it once (it is famous), but it has degraded into a college dance-party vomit-in-the-street club scene. You can do that in NY or LA.

But! Find Frenchman Street for genuine New Orleans time. Top-class musicians play the streets and the clubs in their plain clothes.

http://www.frenchmenstreetmusic.com/
http://www.spottedcatmusicclub.com/

---

my favorite jazz club/tavern in NO

Listen to the music here to see if you like it:
http://www.wwoz.org/

3 days is probably enough - there is music every night, but maybe look online at the music schedules. NO would be a good middle of the week visit. Also:

-Visit cemetaries
-Eat a PoBoy sandwich on Magazine street, and eat shrimp.
-See the muddy waters of the mississippi, it is like the muddy delta of Rio Plata.