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North East US trip Fly to Washington Return from NYC .Country forums / United States of America / United States | ||
Firstly Thanks for looking at my post. My wife & I are travelling to the States in May , our first trip to the US , we have two weeks. We start by exploring Washington DC maybe 3 nights , then wish to hire a car from there and travel for 8 days or so by car exploring Virginia & West Virginia , North Carolina ,Pennsylvania, Delaware before spending last 2 nights in NYC . Looking for safe places, & authentic US we enjoy good bars and restaurants reasonably priced. Will appreciate any help or guidance ..Kind regards D M | ||
Skip Atlantic City and go a an hour south to Cape May. It has been called the oldest resort town in America and in its historic district it has the highest concentration of Victorian houses and buildings in America outside of San Francisco. Plenty of good restaurants (use Yelp). Niagara Falls is out of the way if you are exploring Mid-Atlantic states. In Virginia, check out Charlottesville which has the University of Virginia which was founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819. Visit the 1826 Rotunda and wander around the Fralin Museum of Art on campus. Nearby the town is Monticello, Jefferson's home. The 1784 Michie Tavern has ambience and Southern cuisine. | 1 | |
Years ago I went to the baseball stadium in New York City the day of a game and got a cheap ticket from a scalper, 15 USD or so. | 2 | |
A good start, although there is a lot in the Capital Region that could lead you to spend a little more time.
That is a lot to cover in 8 days. I'm not sure I would try to include NC unless you really want to squeeze in the beach.
I would think 3 nights would be better
The best eats are in cities, particularly less expensive cities than DC and NYC. Baltimore, Richmond, Philadephia are all great for food, at half the price of DC or NYC.
The last weekend of may is typically when the east coast beaches open. Before that the water and weather is a little cold. The further south you go, the better your chance of getting weather that is warm enough to dip into the ocean.
It's a long way on a short trip. Unless you want to make it and the area a focus of your trip, with a night or two in Toronto, I wouldnt include it.
What is reasonably priced? $100 a night? $150 a night? What kind of neighborhood do you want?
Games are cheaper if famous teams are not playing. For instance Mets games are always cheaper than Yankees games in NYC. Outside NY and DC games are cheaper still. Baltimore has one of the most attractive Ball Parks on the edge of it's downtown and the Orioles are good but the tickets are cheap. | 3 | |
Very helpful Thanks | 4 | |
Scalper ? The same as the "touts" we have outside UK stadiums / venues knocking out tickets ? Cheers for your help .. | 5 | |
I tend to recommend minor league sports for people who want a quirky Americana experience. The tickets are typically cheap, the promotions associated with the game are designed to engage people who aren't hard core fans, and that Rocket City Trash Pandas ball cap you bought at the gift shop is going to be a collector's item someday (https://trashpandas.milbstore.com/store.cfm?store_id=225) For the full 2019 minor league baseball schedule including multiple levels of leagues (AAA, AA, A and rookie) | 6 | |
Good evening Thanks for your time and advice very helpful ..... I'm struggling to find anywhere reasonably priced in DC to stay , and it will probably be the same in NYC. as you said NYC i have been told to try the Jersey city area ....and we will probably look into 3 nights as you suggested.. Cape May & the other beach areas you suggested sounds as if they are worth a visit . Cheers for your help | 7 | |
That's not as much time as you may think. And if you haven't been to NYC before, you may want to add a few more days. I would suggest a couple days out in Charlottesville for some mountains, then heading east to Chincoteague, across the Delaware ferry to Cape May, then up to NYC.
AC is the antithesis of "lovely beach resort."
Niagara Falls is very far out of the way. Skip it.
What is "reasonably priced," in numbers? My "reasonable" may be your "unLet's put it this way: $100 per night is considered "very cheap" in NYC.
You have three main options: basketball, baseball, and hockey.
Be aware that it is illegal to scalp/resell tickets outside of the NYC stadiums.
The Orioles are absolutely terrible. Worst in the league last year, and not even close. | 8 | |
I would disagree about restaurants in Philly, et al. being 1/2 what they are in DC or NYC. You can still find a good meal at a decent price in DC (where I live) or NYC. You also can find overpriced mediocrity w/o difficulty in Philadelphia, Richmond, or Baltimore---0-places I have visited often. There is a string of resort towns from Southern New Jersey to Maryland, all with different personalities---Wildwood which is rather working class with a large boardwalk, Cape May is relative upmarket, quaint but stuffy, Rehoboth (which actually includes Dewey Beach and upscale Bethany Beach) is more mid-market and Ocean City is a little less so and more noisy. Rehoboth has a state park and some varied scenery/things to do. You might base yourself in one of these towns and explore the others. There are numerous beach towns along the barrier islands in NC, but I'd agree an 8 day trip including NC seems a bit too much. May is a big season for student groups in DC which will book up hotels that regularly host that trade. It's a prime month for meetings which affects DC & NYC. You will probably do better in DC and NYC if you stay there on the weekends. There are hotels near metro stations in DC's near suburbs--Crystal City in Arlington being close-in. There are others near the end of the Yellow Line at Huntington. Parking often costs money in suburban locations, but is sometimes waived on weekends. You really do not need a car in DC and certainly not in NYC. What do you want to see in NC?----I'll be candid and say that it's one of my least favorite states to drive and I've never found any of the major centers particularly interesting. Lots of kudzu (a native weed) and strip malls which makes it boring. The view along the skyline drive/Blue Ridge Parkway tends to be a lot of the same thing--people often follow this to Asheville which is a sortof artsy place that's become a mix of upscale retirement and tourist trap. West Virginia tends to be under asked about here---Monongehela National Forest has many things to see--Highland Drive/Cranberry area, Spruce Knob, Seneca Rocks (an easy if uphill climb). What are you looking for in Pennsylvania---it tends to be ignored by people her but really you have to have specific interests to get something out of it? Delaware? other than Rehoboth, not much to see. The Eastern Shore in Maryland and nearby Annapolis make for nice places to drive--Annapolis is a old, concentrated town--a bit of a tourist trap but it has character and a little bit of night life. Eastern Shore has many quaint towns. | 9 | |
Well I'm certainly pleased i posted on here , some great advice thanks to you all ....Buckguy you certainly given me a lot to look into... cheers | 10 | |
Atlantic City, no. As buckguy says the best beach places starting from DC are the places in MD and Delaware, Rehobeth, Bethany Beach, Ocean City. From those places you can easily do a daytrip to visit Assateauge island, which is one of the best wilderness beaches on the USA east coast. No way do you have time to visit North Carolina. If you want to stick to the coastal route, you can take the Lewes - Cape May ferry to go between Delaware and New Jersey. | 11 | |
If you go to SE Penn. you can easily go to Penn Dutch Country. Stay in historic Strasburg and see the Amish Village and ride the Stasburg Railroad steam train. | 12 | |
Many thanks for your help.... | 13 | |
I have finally got round to booking digs for DC and NYC ...any advice on whether it's best to pre book in advance accommodation when visiting towns cities or is it possible to roll up and find somewhere if we like the feel of a place ? Thanks in advance to you all for any help you can offer ... regards David | 14 | |
Six Flags in Maryland (outside DC) and New Jersey. Hershey Park. I'm sure there are others I don't feel like looking for.
Do you realize how far an "hour away" is?
In the major cities, you will always find something. It may not be "cheap," but you'll find it. In small towns, rural areas, you may or may not find something. And it may not be "cheap," either. | 15 | |
Very helpful thank you ,with us coming from the UK the US will seem huge I'm sure , hence some of these silly questions ! | 16 | |
#12's suggestion to drop off at EWR maximizes convenience, but not an attractive place to spend the evening and morning. If you rent from Enterprise, you can drop off in Princeton NJ, with its hotels, campus, museums, restaurants, and train shuttle to the NJ Transit line into NY Penn Station all in walking distance from there. You could also drop off in Philadelphia and take the Amtrak from there, not much more than an hour. | 17 | |
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Cheers for the recommendations will look into these ....very helpful regards | 19 | |
Six Flags is a generic chain. Hereshey has a lot of product placement for their crappy chocolate. More unique would be Kennywood in Pittsburgh, which is a bit outside your route. Coeny island still has a few amusement rides, but is a long way from Manhattan. EWR has numerous motels nearby from a whole range or reliable franchises that often are relatively cheap. You also often can find good deals at the Hilton in downtown Newark, which is next to Penn Station and accessible via NJ Transit from EWR. The Ironbound neighborhood with Portugese and otehr restaurants is a short taxi ride from the Hilton. | 20 | |
Well, the assumption, which I implied above (in #15, not #12), would not be that they stay in Newark, but drop off the car and head immediately into the city. | 21 | |
Thank you for your help , is it worth spending a night in Princeton ? | 22 | |
Thanks for all your help... I think i have finally realised how large the US is and maybe I was being a little ambitious with my first suggestions. So the rough route we would like to take after spending 3 nights in DC - then have 8 spare days where i need a little more help with suggestions of nice places to stay .....before we fly home from NYC ... So When we leave DC im thinking of heading south west taking a scenic drive (suggestions pls) towards Charlottesville staying somewhere nice between ?? ? We would then head east towards Jamestown Yorktown, Williamsburg , Virginia beach area then drive up through Delaware Ocean city maybe then taking Cape may ferry then stay in Philadelphia and use this as a base to visit Amish region Lancaster ..then head back to NYC from Philadelphia by train , however Princeton has been suggested. Hoping that this itinerary is more achievable .... So i'm looking really for any nice places to visit on route and any helpful advice to make our trip the best we can make it. ... Going back to my earlier postings , we would like some good scenic road routes, some interesting and odd sights not to be missed and maybe taking in a theme park on route ... also any sporting events during May ....Me being an old Punk rocker i would also be interested in good live music events and the best websites for info on such .. I appreciate I'm asking a lot here and no doubt i will not get all my answers but any little snippets would be greatly received.. Cheers | 23 | |
Now you're overestimating the distances. DC to Charlottesville is roughly two hours. There is absolutely no need to stay somewhere along the way.
I stand by the earlier suggestions of Chincoteague and Assateague Island. | 24 | |
Thanks , I may need to check Google for times etc , cheers ...!! | 25 | |
It's going to be more than 3 hours with traffic, but as above no need to stay overnight enroute.
There is the Six Flags theme park, just outside of Washington DC in Largo, MD. Also there's Busch Gardens just outside of Williamsburg, which is sort of a faux old Europe theme park. Oh, and if you're going to PA Dutch country, you could detour to Hershey, PA and take the chocolate tour, and visit Hershey Park (theme park). | 26 | |
Ty Mstep good suggestions ..... | 27 | |
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