Deciding on Itinerary

[mindy32]

How do you do it?!

Last time we went to the US everything worked together well, we had a bigger budget and more time so could fly accross country etc. this time, I can't narrow it down at all lol!

We're looking at hopefully 3 weeks, not sure exactly when (depends on hubby's work, should find out in the next few months) but I'm hoping sometime between Sept-Nov next year.

This is the list of potential places we'd one day like to see, obviously we won't be doing all at once! It would make sense just to do the West Coast this time BUT Nashville is where I most want to go other than Disney. But flights accross country just for that is expensive. Especially since we'd only spend a few days there.

Nashville
Washington DC
San Fran
Lake Tahoe
Vegas
Disney (either WDW or DL depending on time etc)
Miami
Savannah
Memphis
LA

And Sierra Vista in Arizona is a must do to see friends

Some above are repeats (LA, Vegas, WDW) that we want to see more of or loved etc.

Im really just posting to see how you all decided on your itinerary and to get advice on any of the above you loved or other places we should add to our list!

 

[zanzibar138]

I say if Nashville is that high on your list, do it this time around. You never know what might happen that could prevent you from getting back to the US in the foreseeable future, and you could miss out. Definitely ditch the stuff you've already seen.

We generally pick one or two main destinations and plan the trip around those, finding interesting other things to do and see in the areas. It means that we don't necessarily tick everything off our list in one go (impossible anyway!), but it also means that we've discovered some really amazing, kind of out of the way places. You could definitely do both Nashville and Memphis to make it more worthwhile. Depending on how long you want at Disney/with your friends, you could even make it into an epic road trip taking in Vegas, Sierra Vista, Memphis, Nashville, and a whole of other interesting stuff!

We've never spent more than 2 1/2 weeks in the US, so we're used to squeezing a lot into a short trip! I have no idea what I'd do with myself for 6 weeks lol!

 

[zanzibar138]

Or otherwise you could do a road trip from the other direction - start of at WDW and drive to Memphis via Savannah and Nashville. You'd probably wouldn't have time to drive to Sierra Vista from there though.

 

[AussieNSW]

Sign up to get emails from Southwest Airlines they can have some really fantastic prices. You could also consider flying into NewYork catching a train to Washington DC and then hiring a car and doing a road trip to Orlando and catching a plane after WDW to Arizona and flying home from LAX. I think it's called an open jaw ticket. We have been to the states a number of times and have never flown into and out of the same airport to come home.

 

[mindy32]

I think you make a great point about things changing in future Zanzibar, thank you. Shorter trips are still relatively new to me, I've only done more local shorter trips, Europe we did for six weeks and us for 6 so it seems hard to fit a lot in lol! But we did do some shorter road trips last time so are semi used to fitting a lot in in certain places.

AussieNSW that's a great idea, I'll sign up, thank you. We flew in and out of different airports last time so will probably do that again.

I contemplated the road trip from NYC to Orlando taking in DC and Savannah but Nashville is out of the way so I'm not so sure, but it's definitely an option depending on time, thank you.

 

[Twilight Terror]

I would say you should focus on two or three locations. That way you will get to spend a decent amount of time at each location and have the chance to really explore and do all the things you want to do. If you can find two/three places that are closer together to reduce the traveling, then all the better.

We recently went back to the UK for a visit (we moved to Australia three years before and it was our first visit back), and we decided to go multiple places. Obviously, being the UK, it was much easier to drive between places. However, we spent more time driving around than we ever did visiting people. We also missed out on doing a lot of the things we planned to do because of all the traveling. Next time, people are coming to us!

I would suggest you pick two or three places to visit - your must dos (Nashville, Arizona) and then plan one more after that. Then you have the time to spend traveling, as well as having decent times in each location. I think that was something we missed out on most, as we never spent more than about four days in the same place! Never again!

 

[mindy32]

Thanks twilight terror. We're definitely See and do everything kind of people though so like to fit in a lot. When we went to Europe we only spent two nights in most cities and felt like we saw a lot. Some times it's tiring but for us personally, while we don't have kids, we enjoy travelling around and seeing lots. I appreciate that's not for everyone though, so thank you for the suggestion .

We'll probably go with 3 nights in each place so we have two full days, I'd prefer 4 nights but the idea of fitting more in appeals more than one extra day in each to us.

 

[Twilight Terror]

I here you. We are all adults with no children in toe. We also all work in industries that mean we are always rushing and never stopping (nurses and teacher). I don't think our issue was the fact that we were in so many places for so few days, but more that we didn't get to do everything we wanted to do in each of those places - we needed kinda of three days instead of two. We don't like to 'hang around' and 'do nothing' on holiday, hence why we stay away from beach holidays, staying still is just not for us! So I can totally understand the need to move from place to place. I guess really, it's about making sure you have enough time to do the things you want to do, and allow some contingency time in case you come across something else you want to cram in. We had no spare time, which hindered the process, as did all the traveling. We drove London to Edinburgh; on reflection, we should have just flown up! Pick your transportation options carefully. You may save a few $$s one way, but a few hours another.

 

[zanzibar138]

I'd like to weigh in on the 'days in each place' discussion

We have no kids and like to be on the go too, and generally find 3 nights to be a comfortable time to spend in places of interest. We often choose to drive or take the train, not because it's cheaper, but because we enjoy the stuff we come across on the way and find it to be a better way of 'getting to know' a country rather than just flying over the top of it. On our road trips, we will often only spend 1 or 2 nights in each place. If we do that for more than a week, we'll make sure to schedule a bit longer stay somewhere appealing (like 3 or maybe 4 nights if we've got plenty of time), just for a little bit of downtime. It does get a bit tiresome packing up and checking out every day!

 

[Twilight Terror]

It does get a bit tiresome packing up and checking out every day!

Yes, particularly if your accommodations have early check-out times!