Planning a Trip to Vegas, Grand Canyon or NY. Advices?

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m-jeri

m-jeri

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Hi All,

So holiday season is coming up. And I have some friends spread across US. 5 or 6 guys. We are planning to take a epic trip. 5 Day Trip

Options

1. Gold coast drive to Vegas to Grand Canyon
2. NY, Niagara or NY, Washington DC

Tips, Advice etc. Or any other places to be in our map?

Thanks.
 
Sounds like you are planning the plot for Hangover 4 :p

Anyways, on a serious note, when are you planning the trip? NY gets a bit cold and I don't think Niagara is worth the visit in the winter.
DC itself needs at least 2-3 days if you're planning to properly visit all the museums etc..

I'd personally prefer the first option - I haven't been there but I think any trip that includes Vegas will be better than NY/Niagara in winter

Edit:
If you want to visit the east coast, you should add Boston to your NY/DC plans. If you *have* to visit Niagara, then that's a 8 hour drive (one way) from NYC so that's 2 days of your 5 days right there!
 
Well. Thanks for the reply. I have to try for Hangover 4. :D

Niagara, one of my friends also told the same. And mostly is out. Planning to take the trip in Nov end to Dec end period. I also prefer the first ones.
What is there in Boston? We can drive. 4 guys have DL's. so no issues in driving.

More details to be checked please. Costs. what to do what not to do .:D
 
Been there done that....

I have done both trips, Las Vegas and Grand Canyon
And separately NYC, Niagara and Washington DC.

DId not take any tour, did all self booking and self planning. Pre purchased tickets for some NYC attractions.
Niagara in winter is a no go, maid of the mist and cave of the winds will be closed. It's too late now.

I strongly recommend the las Vegas and grand canyon.
Grand canyon can be done in one day from Vegas. I can suggest the tour guide for that. He is awesome and has the best rating on tripadvsior. But pricey but worth the experience.

Las Vegas stay at the strip only, not some hotel far off and not in downtown. Just visit the downtown. Do see some shows, Cirque De Solil Mystere is recommended and that is the only one I have seen. I think this show happens in Mirage hotel.
Have a buffet dinner in some hotel.
Beware of scams, don't take any free or less priced VIP passes to clubs.
Visit gentlemen's club (strip club) if interested.
Be ready to walk a lot on the strip. Visit many hotels and get impressed by them.
Do take a pic at the welcome to las Vegas sign without fail. It is on one extreme corner of the strip after Mandalay BAy hotel.
 
Thanks man..

More trip abt the LV trip please. Can i include a gold coast into that? We want a car drive. If not also ok. Let me know the details. How to start and where to start etc.
And yes details abt contacts. Thanks.
 
For grand canyon I went with these guys.. Check the reviews, very highly rated. I also have a review in this somewhere.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...dventures_Tours-Las_Vegas_Nevada.html#REVIEWS

I don't know what gold coast is so cannot comment on that.

Not sure about driving, I would suggest, fly to Vegas, take a hotel room for 4-5 days, one of these days go to canyon and come back by evening, you won't be able to do anything after the Canyon trip, it is full day trip.
Rest of the days spend in Vegas.
People do travel to Los Angeles but I had not gone there.
 
Boston has some of these historic things/places you may want to see.. MA as a state is pretty scenic so you get this history, nature kinda combo but then again, Dec may not be the right time for all of this. You're better off visiting Vegas, Canyon, LA etc etc.

I don't know if you're open to visiting something else- but I'd like to suggest creating a weird combo of Nashville - Smoky Mountains - Savannah - Charlseton/Myrtle Beach: Not that you've to visit all of them but I'm sure you can find a combo that interests you.. Its not the "traditional" places to visit, but it can get certainly interesting.
 
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^ I understand. I guess your safest bet (weatherwise) is Gold Coast-Canyon-Vegas .. unless you want to see the winter in NYC :D (I like NYC's winter but I don't know if I can suggest it as a group trip destination)
 
The second option is better. Try and see if you can get into a chopper or plane for grand canyon. You want to be up in the air seeing all of that. Make sure you video it.

NYC is the coldest around new years eve. Watching a ball drop in times square is meh.
 
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Most prolly wont go for chopper or plan in canyon. Just a normal trip with essential expenses.
 
Irrespective which city you reach/reside/revel; it is the road-time which is the greatest when traversing the States. Stop at small petrol pumps, and the local small town joints and see the real America. I did DC--Morgantown--Niagara--Atlanta City--Jersey City--NY/NY--Liberty--Morgantown--Pittsburg; on road. And honestly, I remember jack about the cities (ok: NY/NY is overwhelming), but the roads and interstates are awesome. Do the small innate things when visiting new places (eating a hot-dog near Brooklyn Bridge, having a coffee at a small McDonalds or eating mashed potatoes at a Jersey City restaurant), the most talked about, loudest places are the crappiest. The White House is sh** stupid (which all speak about); but the surrounding Smithsonian Museums are awesome (which hardly people know about). You will cherish and remember the former vs. the latter, and see the intrinsic flavor of the country..!
 
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Actually, the Washington DC i included, If going, it will be the museums exclusively. I heard abt it when i was a kid from my relatives here. at least 20 years back. From then I wanted to go. So also to Louvre & Italy one day soon.

I am a history whore. :D
 
m-jeri said:
Actually, the Washington DC i included, If going, it will be the museums exclusively. I heard abt it when i was a kid from my relatives here. at least 20 years back. From then I wanted to go. So also to Louvre & Italy one day soon.

I am a history whore. :D
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Then don't miss the Met and Natural History museums in NYC. The MoMA is brilliant as well, though it has more recent works.

Also catch a musical on Broadway. You may have to buy the tickets a few weeks in advance. Can definitely recommend Book of Mormon (hilariously irreverent take on the Mormon faith) and Wicked.
 
whatsinaname said:
Then don't miss the Met and Natural History museums in NYC. The MoMA is brilliant as well, though it has more recent works.

Also catch a musical on Broadway. You may have to buy the tickets a few weeks in advance. Can definitely recommend Book of Mormon (hilariously irreverent take on the Mormon faith) and Wicked.
Click to expand...

If it's musicals on Broadway, watch the "Jersey Boys" - its really good. People say Lion King is the best but I haven't tried that - those ticks are $hit expensive though and you may want to book them a month in advance..

If you are a history whore, the Natural History in NYC and DC are a must visit - as is the state of MA - This particular bit however depends on the kind of friends you have- if your friends are not into such stuff they are likely to show little enthusiasm and may even end up dragging you to the 'next' spot on your list (speaking from my personal exp here :D)
 
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+ 1 to the Museum of Natural History in NY and Book of Mormon (be aware that the ticket prices might be a little on the crazy side :-))

One option that I've not seen suggested yet is SF. I spent the summer of 2010 interning in the Bay Area. SFo is in another class altogether, especially if you are into museums. I spent pretty much every weekend visiting a different museum (some I had to visit multiple times, since there just wasn't enough time to cover everything).
 
@m-jeri

One souvenir I can suggest for Las Vegas is that each casino you visit, get a 1$ chip from the cashier (cage). I took such chips from several casinos.
This is apart from the fridge magnet and such stuff.
 
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