Noob here who has never really done much travelling.
Wanting to head to the US for my first trip to get a taste for it. There are a few main things I'd like to see, but I'm struggling on finding things to fill in the gaps. I'll have about 3 weeks free in June where I'll be in the US east coast and I'd like to do as much as possible. Is this enough time? Any recommendations?
I've heard that Niagra Falls is best viewed from the Canadian side... How easy is it to go from the US into Canada and then back to the US?
Pic is my travel map so far
Can you clarify whether you are looking for additional cities/stops between the three you show or things to do at the three locations you are planning to visit?
I've only ever seen the falls from the US side, and an excursion boat in the middle, and they are pretty impressive whether or not you go into Canada. Since I've never crossed the border there, I have no info on how the process works. I would guess it is as easy there as anywhere, given the number f folks visiting the falls and wanting to see it from all sides.
How are you traveling around?
If you have citizenship in one of the right countries, it is pretty easy. The US allows citizens of the 38 visa waiver countries to make short trips to Canada or Mexico, counting the time spent as part of the allotted 90 days. Canada lets citizens of many countries visit without a visa, if visiting by land
On the other hand, if your citizenship is from, say India, things may be more difficult.
I last visited about 30 years ago.. At the time, the crossing was easy for a US citizen, and the view from Canada was superior. Things could have changed since then.
>>1055218
For the coastal portion of your trip, you could add Boston and/or Philadelphia fairly easily, and do it all by train (US rail service is insufficient-bordering-on-pathetic by UK or European standards, but Boston-to-DC is one of only a few corridors that are moderately well served in terms of speed and frequency, in this case by the Acela express train service, closest thing the US has to high-speed rail). Both Boston and Philly are medium-large cities with a lot of historical interest and moderate urban-life/entertainment interest. Philadelphia is bigger but Boston seems more popular with tourists.
For the Niagara portion of your trip, you are looking at a pretty long slog across either NY or PA. Buffalo, which is pretty dismal but starting to enjoy a bit of renaissance as more major cities get too expensive to live in, is about nine hours by train from NYC, shorter by private car, somewhat shorter but not much fun by bus. Buses in the US are cheap and can be fast, but they can also be sort of depressing--since private cars are so dominant here as a form of transport, buses largely serve people who are down on their luck, and bus stations tend to be in the scummiest parts of towns. There are some nice towns and natural settings in Central New York (I like the Finger Lakes region, with little university city Ithaca being a highlight), but it's not that well served by transit, and the region is also home to a lot of post-industrial poverty and ugliness. I don't know as much about Pennsylvania, but I've driven across it. Long dull highway.
OP here
>>1055252
>>1055248
Thanks for the information, I appreciate it.
>>1055238
>>1055240
Just read my post and it is a bit shit. I'm from the UK and travelling for my first time outside of the EU. A quick bit of Googling shows me that I can visit the US without a visa, so hopefully I should be able to cross into and out of Canada without too many issues.
I'm looking for sites to see in those places, things to fill in the gaps (such as the Philadelphia suggestion) or things that aren't in the map but are good to go see. Looking for anyone who has done this kind of trip before and what recommendations they would give.
>>1055474
How much time do you plan on spending here, what are you most interested in seeing and doing? Like the other anon said train service between Boston and D.C. is the only redeemable part of rail transit in America. Public transit in cities along the northeast corridor is decent and if you stick to the cities you really shouldn't need a car. However I would strongly suggest renting a car if you go to Niagra falls. Upstate new York can be beautiful geographically but the towns are extremely impoverished and depressed like others have said. Boston is must see IMHO and so is D.C., Philly is cool too but I imagine it will be quite a culture shock especially if you venture out of center city, and at some times can just be downright dangerous in many areas. NYC is a given.
Question: I've never driven a car I'm not planning to. Is it still good idea to go to US? I'm planning to go to Denver and do something in Colorado and some neighbor states too. Can I make do with the combination of train + bus + biking + possible hitchhiking?
>>1055494
The only intercity train that runs through Denver is the California zephyr which goes between Chicago and San Francisco. Denver has a decent light rail and commuter rail system (and a massive expansion will be complete in 2016) however I don't know how well some of the more nature attractions will be in terms of location to stations. You can take the CZ to Salt Lake City too which also has a decent light rail/streetcar system. You can take intercity buses like greyhound but service is limited in that part of country and the people who use tend to be a bit "unsavory." Would absolutely not recommend hitchhiking, it is a taboo practice in the US and potentially very dangerous.
>>1055494
If you want to visit national parks in the state and surrounding are you absolutely need a car. In general visiting the US outside of the northeast cities, its very difficult to do without a car. You can always bike but it is also more dangerous to bike in the U.S. because cagers here are bloodthirsty as fuck and the infra for bikes is non-existant.
>>1055494
Meh.
I've hitchhiked a lot in Europe and the Middle-East and don't know whether I'd try it here in America. While I doubt it'd be dangerous, provided you use your head, I don't think the culture is as accommodating of thumbing as on the other side of the pond.
Personally, I don't see the use in going to a place like Denver if you don't have a way to get around. American cities are not planned for pedestrians or other persons without reliable transportation. You might be able to get around the city using buses, but navigating a large national park is liable to be an issue. As other posters have said, it's easy to go up and down the Eastern Seaboard without a car, due to the heavy and developed infrastructure in the region. It's a big pain in the ass in other places.
For instance, I live in Michigan, which is one of the ten most populous states in the union. There's really no cheap or easy or public way to get around from city to city. You can do it, yeah, but you're going to be completely dependent on limited schedules and unconventional modes of transportation like intercity airport buses. Most of the country is like this once you get too far from either coast.
OP here,
about driving around... surely there must be schemes for travellers to drive together? organised from the hostel or something? I imagine that it's pretty common to want to visit the US east coast and lots of people would be in the same position
>>1055720
Craigslist has a ridesharing section (see https://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/rid for one example), as does Thorn Tree and a few other forums. Might be time-consuming and there are obviously risks, but I think it could be done pretty easily.
Hostels in more populous/touristed areas also sometimes have van services, but it's not as common in the US as in many other countries where hostels offer pretty comprehensive budget travel agency services--here they're mostly cheap rooms and not a lot else. But I'm sure that hostel guests band together to rent vehicles and share trips often enough.
Go to toledo ohio it's the best city in the usa
