First Trip to the USA: Help with Itinerary and FF Point Redemptions

[Baysider]

It was 3 nights for $410, back in January 2008. Booked only 2 weeks previous, but it was "off season".

 

[Dougo]

Thanks Baysider

 

[Baysider]

No problem.

PS: I always check Tripadvisor before booking a hotel:
Hotel Newton (New York City, NY) - Hotel Reviews - TripAdvisor

You'll find my review there in January 2008.

 

[karinab]

You will have a great time in the US!

You already have lots of great advice here from other members so I would just add that if you like shopping, add another day on in Vegas and get your retail hit there. The outlet malls are awesome in the States, you can pick up some real bargains there and whilst they have them all over the continent, Vegas is really central to 2 good sized one (one on each end of the strip (Las Vegas Premium Outlets North and South) as well as the Fashion Outlets (which are about 45 mins out of Vegas). I have been to the North and South ones many times and they are great. So I would recommend spending a few days in Vegas (including a day shopping) and then doing some little trips out of Vegas: Definitely do the Hoover Dam, it is amazing and they have just finished the new bridge linking Arizona and Nevada which you can walk across and have a really spectacular view over the dam. If you like nature then Grand Canyon is awesome (the South Rim entrance is right near Grand Canyon Village as Skyring mentioned) and in addition to that there is Zion National Park which is absolutely beautiful (around 3 hours away - stay in Springdale for a couple of nights), Red Rock Canyon Recreation Park (20 minutes out of Vegas), and Valley of Fire State Park (a couple of hours out from the city memory). There is also San Diego which you can drive to in 5 hours and see Seaworld if that's your thing (we liked it), or you can drive to LA from Vegas for around the same and do Disneyland/Getty Centre/Universal Studios and a raft of other touristy stuff which will keep you occupied for a week easily if you like that sort of thing.

As for food, if you have a car and like meat definitely try Texas de Brazil in Vegas - mouth wateringly good, and the Cheescake Factory (which is actually a restaurant with a half decent menu) not surprisingly has some great cakes.

NY is an amazing city - my advice would be to give yourself at least a week there and save your shopping for Vegas rather than waste your time there trawling through the shops.

Have fun!

 

[kiwitripper64]

Sounds like you have the plan well under way. The NY taxis used to be a set fare from the airport to anyware in Manhatten, buta metered rate back to the airports. We got taxi in and hotel organised town car ( set rate) back.
Universal studio was a fun day. We thought about getting VIP or front of line passes, but apart from the studio tour ( 15 min wait) there were no queues. If you can go midweek non-holidays you wont need front of line tickets. Even better we bought our tickets from the hotel $5 cheaper than Universal online prices. And finally, if there is a packed day you could go back to the Universal ticket office and upgrade to front of line.
Century city is also on the LA subway line that will get you to Hollywood and then on to downtown.
I would really recommend the Getty Museum.
Disneyland. Try to go midweek, use the free fastpasses and have lunch early or late so you are on the rides when everyone else is eating. Be scared of the MAGICAL prices for food and drink.
San Francisco will have you walking. Union Square-Chinatown-Embaradero-Fishermans wharf is a great walk. Ghirardelli chocolates is justifiably famous and just around corner from fishmarket. You will need to book to get onto Alcatraz Is, but well worth it. And we rented bikes from blazing saddles to go over the Golden gate bridge to Sausalito, had lunch then got ferry back to SF. The botanical gardens are huge and have a bison park.
If you have a spare day in LV try and fly to Grand Canyon. After LV its just so..........
Try to get to the popular tourist things early and beat the crowds.

 

[Dougo]

... The NY taxis used to be a set fare from the airport to anyware in Manhatten, buta metered rate back to the airports. We got taxi in and hotel organised town car ( set rate) back.

Must have changed since we were there in Sept / Oct 2009 - the taxis then from JFK to Manhattan and vice versa were a set rate of $45 (plus tip).

 

[drron]

With regard to NYC the taxis are definitely a fixed rate to and from JFK.They are metered to LGA.
Shopping.With all due respect the TA destination experts for NYC are not au fait with Aussie shoppers-and many have never been to Woodbury Commons.I have actually met a few of them.Century 21 can have bargains but it is a total shambles and you are lucky to find what you want.In NYC Union Square has a Filene's basement and a DSW(for shoes)that are more enjoyable shopping-plus a Farmer's Market on the weekend and the Strand bookstore not far away.We also enjoyed dinner at Olives at the W on Union Square 2 weeks ago.
As to the Outlets-The stuff you can buy are last seasons stuff for the New Yorkers but the current season's stuff for us so much better value.Woodbury has the most upmarket stores so if that is what you want it is very good.You can get a bus there but I would suggest hiring a car for the day and visit some of the Hudson Valley tourist sites as well.I can reccomend Kykuit(Rockefeller home),Hyde Park(FDR),the Vanderbuilt mansion or Phillipsburg.
However the best value outlet from NYC(and closer than Woodbury) is Jersey gardens right next to EWR.The reason-no sales tax on most clothing so a further discount cf Woodbury.Also a good range and there is a Lord & Taylors outlet which has a good range of stock.
In NYC everyone knows the Macy's 10% discount for foreign visitors but Lord & Taylors on 5th and ~40 you can get a 15% discount by going to the offices on the 7th floor-and their salespeople will often give you extra-eg I bought a shirt their 2 weeks ago,handed over the 15% discount voucher and the woman used her 20% staff discount card instead.

 

[Dougo]

With regard to NYC the taxis are definitely a fixed rate to and from JFK.They are metered to LGA.
Shopping.With all due respect the TA destination experts for NYC are not au fait with Aussie shoppers-and many have never been to Woodbury Commons.I have actually met a few of them.Century 21 can have bargains but it is a total shambles and you are lucky to find what you want.In NYC Union Square has a Filene's basement and a DSW(for shoes)that are more enjoyable shopping-plus a Farmer's Market on the weekend and the Strand bookstore not far away.We also enjoyed dinner at Olives at the W on Union Square 2 weeks ago.
As to the Outlets-The stuff you can buy are last seasons stuff for the New Yorkers but the current season's stuff for us so much better value.Woodbury has the most upmarket stores so if that is what you want it is very good.You can get a bus there but I would suggest hiring a car for the day and visit some of the Hudson Valley tourist sites as well.I can reccomend Kykuit(Rockefeller home),Hyde Park(FDR),the Vanderbuilt mansion or Phillipsburg.
However the best value outlet from NYC(and closer than Woodbury) is Jersey gardens right next to EWR.The reason-no sales tax on most clothing so a further discount cf Woodbury.Also a good range and there is a Lord & Taylors outlet which has a good range of stock.
In NYC everyone knows the Macy's 10% discount for foreign visitors but Lord & Taylors on 5th and ~40 you can get a 15% discount by going to the offices on the 7th floor-and their salespeople will often give you extra-eg I bought a shirt their 2 weeks ago,handed over the 15% discount voucher and the woman used her 20% staff discount card instead.

Drron, I would disagree about your statement re NYC DE's not being au fait with Aussie shoppers (and I've met them too !) - I haunted the NYC boards and threads for quite a few months before and after our trip and read many threads and Trip Reports started / contributed to by Aussies and I found that Aussies weren't backwards in asking for advice about shopping and giving advice to others - I know because I asked questions and got the answers I wanted and then checked out the stores I could in the time we had, and there are some DEs who seem to "know" more about shopping and what's available than others - some seem to have their own specialties or things they know more about than others, such as dining, subways etc.

Re Century 21, we went there twice and found some absolute bargains - we were looking for specific items such as coats for cold weather. We didn't find it a shambles - we went late one afternoon just to check it out to see if there was anything of interest and then back when we had more time first thing when it opened late morning on Sunday. We had no problem getting served or finding sales assistants. I have read on TA about some people's poor experiences at Century 21 - maybe we got lucky as good customer service is "my thing" and I would be the first to complain if I found that lacking.

We also shopped at Filene's Basement which had a wide range of clothes (that's all we were interested in) and got some bargains there (eg a fully lined designer coat with an extra lining for winter that could zipped out for warmer months - $39 instead of $150+). And yes, the Farmer's Market at Union Square is great...I wish I had found it earlier. And the other thing, walking from Union Square to the Village was easy from here too.

As for Macy's - I wouldn't waste my time there again. There are conditions attached to the 10% discount (eg it's not off every item) and I found better deals elsewhere including better designs in some instances.

Althought I haven't been to Woodbury Common - we simply ran out of time ... but maybe we'll get there in 2012 ... I think the NYC DE's view is that if there are sales on in Manhattan - which there are frequently - why not buy this season's clothes rather than spend a whole day going out of the city to get last season's clothes? I can see the logic in that and if you like to be ahead of the game then why not be two season's ahead for perhaps not a great deal more? And you do bring up a valid point about sales tax in Jersey Gardens - and that's the thing in the States -there are different rates of tax applied in every State. But having said that, I would have to say that I did get the impression from NYC DEs that the world revolves around Manhattan so why go anywhere else ?

Drron - is sales tax now added to clothing items in NYC over $100 (I think that was the threshold in 2009)? When we were there we didn't pay sales tax on any of our clothing items as they were under the tax threshold, but there was some talk of a tax being applied to all items regardless of price.

 

[drron]

The under $100 exemption was temporary-all clothes now have sales tax in NYC.
Of course the stuff you pick up in Century 21,Filene's etc is also at least last season's stuff as is most of the sales items in NYC stores so somewhat diminishes the argument against Woodbury.As I said it can also be part of a very interestin day.

 

[Baysider]

This might be helpful:
http://view.e.tripadvisor.com/?j=fe...71071&ju=fe1f1677736c0d7e771679&jb=ffcb10&r=0

 

[Dougo]

Thanks for the info about the Sales Tax changes drron

 

[drron]

This might be helpful:
http://view.e.tripadvisor.com/?j=fe...71071&ju=fe1f1677736c0d7e771679&jb=ffcb10&r=0

Now I dare you to post on the NYC forum that you are thinking of staying at one of the rental places in your link.You will be crucified by the DEs and for good reason-most short term rentals in NYC are illegal and glowing testimonials will not help if you are the bunny there when the authorities make a move.

 

[Pumbaa]

Hi guys,

Now that the accommodation and flights are booked, I am starting to work on shuttle transfers to and from the airport. I have read all the helpful suggestions with what to do in each city. Such good stuff there, and will probably take me a few weeks just to look through all the suggestions in detail.

I was wondering if anyone can help me with their own personal experiences in regards to airport transfers.

Frankfurt Airport - Intercontinental Frankfurt (Return)
JFK - Intercontinental Times Square (Return)
LAX - Intercontinental Century City (1 Way)
Intercontinental Century City - Ayres Hotel Anaheim (1 Way)
Ares Hotel Anaheim - LAX (1 Way)
SFO - Intercontinental Mark Hopkins (Return)
LAS - Venetian Resort Hotel Casino (Return)
JFK - Intercontinental Times Square (Return)

Those are all the transfers I need to organise. When will it be cheaper to go via a cab Vs a shuttle? I will be traveling with my partner so there will only be two of us to cover the cab charges. BTW: how much do we tip cab drivers?

I have looked up Supershuttle from other members suggestions and I have come up with this:
JFK - Hotel - $38 each return
LAX - Hotel - $15 each 1 way
Anaheim - LAX - $16 each 1 way
SFO - Hotel - $34 each return

SuperShuttle doesn't do Vegas - Hotel and I don't know how to transfer from Intercontinental Century City to Ayres Hotel Anaheim. Any suggestions?
Thanks for your help in advance guys!

 

[cove]

You can get PrimeTime to take the 2 of you direct from Century City to Ayres in Katella and maybe save about 90 minutes in not going into LAX then out again on a second shuttle. You can get them to quote the price.
You should be hiring a car in Los Angeles as the Ayres did not charge for parking the last time I was there.
I have only used taxis in Las Vegas and with 2 of you a shuttle charges per person so you would not save much

 

[Alanslegal]

In Las Vegas, do not even bother with a shuttle if you are travelling with someone else. The cost for two in a shuttle will be the same as catching a cab, and for what is really a 5-10 minute drive to the Strip, a shuttle can at times based on waiting for others and hotel drop offs can take up to 40 minutes or more.

 

[drron]

Also from JFK-taxi will cost $60 with tolls + tip.Shuttle for 2 from your figures $76-then there will be a tip expected on top of that.

 

[Blackadder]

Times Square - JFK, either subway E line to Jamaica Station and change for Airportlink, or Subway to Penn Station and then Long Island Rail Road to Jamaica..Subway is the cheaper option but also the longest (approx 40mins)

 

[Pumbaa]

Also from JFK-taxi will cost $60 with tolls + tip.Shuttle for 2 from your figures $76-then there will be a tip expected on top of that.

Hi Drron,
I don't think I was very clear with my post above.
It was $38 each return or $19 one way.
So your $60 estimate for a cab is compared to $38 with a shuttle.

If it is significantly faster to go with a cab and is less than double the price of a shuttle I think I might do it that way.
My only concern with cabs are because they will see me as a unseasoned traveler, they might have the tendency to take the long route and rip me off a few more dollars!

So would I be correct to assume that cabs with be 2x as fast as shuttles?

 

[cove]

In America you can check out of your booked hotel by simply saying "our plans have changed and we will be checking out tomorrow". So if some place does not suit you just move on. It is more difficult if you prepay to get a hot deal.Talking about shuttles you could be the first or last drop off...you will remember when you are the last and you will see a bit of the city but if time is at a premium and there are two of you we would often go taxi.Today I was in a shuttle with 5 passengers where I got picked up second last and got off first in Marina Del Rey as the others were going to Santa Monica. Home in 12 minutes for $14 and $2 bag tip worked great.

 

[Dougo]

Hi Drron,
I don't think I was very clear with my post above.
It was $38 each return or $19 one way.
So your $60 estimate for a cab is compared to $38 with a shuttle.

If it is significantly faster to go with a cab and is less than double the price of a shuttle I think I might do it that way.
My only concern with cabs are because they will see me as a unseasoned traveler, they might have the tendency to take the long route and rip me off a few more dollars!

So would I be correct to assume that cabs with be 2x as fast as shuttles?

Taxis are a fixed price to Manhattan from JFK and vice versa so you won't be taken the long way around

With shuttles, the time taken to reach your destination depends on how many other passengers there are in the shuttle and the drop off order presumably determined by the driver and where the hotels are