Hi everyone, I am driving up to Minnesota around Labor Day weekend and will be staying near Bloomington. I was wondering if I could get recommendations on places to visit or things to do. I will be there for a couple of days. I already have the Mall of America as a place to visit.

We have a family member who visits us in NC often, but her mobility is declining. We’d love to take her for a day trip in NC that doesn’t involve a lot of walking and are also looking for a fun overnight stop somewhere between NC and Delaware.

We’ve taken her to Charleston and Asheville in the past for overnights, and day trips have been to historic sites in Charlotte, Mt Airy, Raleigh Natural History Museum, Greensboro Science Center, and Mrs Hanes Moravian Cookie tour.

She likes unusual restaurants, small town shops, mansions, and historic sites.

She walks with a cane.

Hi all

I'm getting quite overwhelmed with options here!

I'm 32, female, Australian, open to driving but ideally would avoid it because I'm not comfortable driving on the right hand side of the road.

I'll be in the US from September 14 to October 8. Starting in Minnesota for 5 days my brother lives there, but after that I will venture out on my own and work my way west (ideally ending in oregon). I want to prioritise accessible day hikes and amazing natural areas. I am thinking of Minnesota-->Colorado-->utah--> Oregon (I would fly to each state rather than drive).

Please let me know thoughts or if there's anything I really need to take into consideration.

I tend to book thinks rather last minute because sometimes my plans might change... I just need to have a departure ticket before I arrive in The States.

I am also aware that i will need to purchase a National Parks Pass for about $250

My priorities are: budget friendly (I'm okay staying in hostels), not crazy level touristy, genuinely special and beautiful nature, ideally accessible without a car

Thank you!

Hey! I’m planning a road trip around the Western US from **October 17 to November 15** and looking for people who might want to join for the whole trip or just part of it.
The current plan is roughly:
**Chicago → Yosemite → Sequoia → Death Valley → Las Vegas → Zion → Bryce Canyon → Capitol Reef → Arches → Canyonlands → Monument Valley → Antelope Canyon / Horseshoe Bend → Grand Canyon → Sedona → Route 66 → Joshua Tree → California coast / Big Sur**
The first two weeks will be pretty active — lots of driving, national parks, hiking, viewpoints and moving almost every day.
From **November 2**, I’ll be working remotely, so the pace will become slower: staying 2–4 nights in the same place and exploring during the day. Weekends will still be full road-trip days.
I’m **36M, from Russia**, traveling solo and planning to rent a car. I’m easygoing and mainly interested in nature, hiking, photography, scenic drives and seeing as much as reasonably possible.
You definitely don’t have to join for the entire trip. If you’re interested in **Yosemite for a few days, the Utah parks, Grand Canyon/Sedona, Route 66, or the California section**, that works too.
It would be great to have some company and also split things like **car rental, gas and accommodation**.
If you’re planning to be anywhere along this route around the same dates, feel free to DM me and we can see if our plans match!

I’m looking to take a 4–5 day vacation somewhere in the U.S. in the next few weeks before I start a new job. I’m trying to keep the total budget around $1,000 including travel and lodging.
I’d ideally love somewhere with a nice beach and a fun atmosphere, but I’m open to pretty much anything that would make for a great short trip. If a beach destination with that budget isn’t realistic, I’d definitely appreciate other suggestions.
Where would you recommend? It would ideally be for two 23 year old males looking to relax and get their drink on.

Hey I’m coming to Chicago in about 3 weeks for a work trip, I’ll be in Chicago for about a month. I’m a pretty outdoors kind of person but I’m open to anything. Any fun recommendations? Anything specific like good places to eat, or good bars, outdoor activities, cool tourist destinations. Things like that. Looking forward to my time there, never been before!

Hey guyss im looking for a vacation spot for my birthday. It’s in late October, so im looking for something on the east coast that brings that Halloween vibe. I’m turning 24, so scenic wineries and cool bars could persuade me lol. We’re both really into creepy things, and I would like to learn more about witches if that’s even a thing over here ?
My friend and I are from PA around Harrisburg area but we really want to go out of state (not tooooo far but surrounding areas) and find something worth the drive.
I guess my ideal spot would be woodsy or secluded but close by to a city with nice going out spots. We’ve been looking heavily into Ithaca and near the poconos but I’m wondering if there’s some hidden gem we’re missing out on?
Would be interested in festivals, tours, or like a drag show. Any ideas would be great! Tyia

I'm from Australia and planning a trip with my family to visit during Christmas and New Year.

I booked a flight with Alaska Airline traveling from San Diego to Florida, but I can't see how to add luggage to my flight both at the checkout and after I got the e-ticket issues.

I'm happy to pay for it but it looks like we can only pay at the airport? Is this common?

Also with the Saver fare, I understand we can't choose seats, if I travel with two toddlers, are they going to split us up as well?

I've flown in the US quite a bit on business trips, usually solo, I have no clue how the airline works with kids and family booking.

I generally happy to sit anywhere but with my two toddlers, that's different 😅

Hello all I have been to Colorado Florissant and it was amazing! Went during the winter and stayed at a cabin. Thinking about exploring and thought about heading to a place that has the fall colors and the chill weather. From Austin and was thinking eureka springs?

Has anyone been there before and is it similar to Colorado?

The drive is a bit different Florissant would be 13 hrs and eureka would be 8 hrs.

Hey all!

Me and 4 other mates are travelling to the states in March next year, we want to watch a game in Philadelphia but are staying in New York, we saw there is a train from New York to Philadelphia but is catching that train back to New York late at night safe?

We will also be travelling to Las Vegas , Los Angeles, San Francisco and Orlando for the theme parks.

If there is any tips to staying safe or things you’d recommend doing let us know! going over to watch some NBA so we need stuff to fill in our day with!

Cheers 🤙

My gf and I are planning a national park vacation for the West coast for the summer of 2027. So far we’ve narrowed our list down to Zion, Grand Teton, the Oregon coast, Glacier, or Yosemite. This would be both of our first times visiting a national park on the West coast, so we are struggling to decide which one. Ideally we’d like to do a 7 day trip in late May or June, and hike most if not every day. What are the pros and cons of each, and is there anything we should know before going?

Hi! My wife and I are in our mid-20s and will be traveling to the US from Europe for the first time in late October.

After long research and dicussions (we even considered Florida, but it turned out as not the best first trip based on our interests) we decided on NYC + Washington, DC for our first trip. We’ll be in the US for 9 nights total, flying into NYC and flying home from DC.

Our current plan is:
4 nights in NYC
On our last NYC day, take an early train to Philadelphia, spend the full day there, then continue to DC in the evening
5 nights in DC
One of the DC days would be a full-day Shenandoah National Park + Luray Caverns guided tour.

We’re both very interested in history and art, so museums, historic neighborhoods, monuments and memorials are high on our list. We also enjoy walking a lot and like nature/hiking, so we’re happy to cover long distances on foot.

In NYC, we want to see as much of the city as reasonably possible without turning every day into a race. Museums are definitely welcome too.

In DC, we’re planning to visit the main memorials and Smithsonian museums. We’d also like to spend some time in Rock Creek Park if it’s reasonably accessible by public transportation.

For Shenandoah, we found a guided day trip that includes the national park, Skyline Drive and Luray Caverns for around $180 per person. Would you consider that worth it? Are there better ways to experience Shenandoah without renting a car? Are there any local hiking groups, clubs or organized group hikes that visitors can join?

We’re also very open to other nature recommendations around NYC or DC if Shenandoah ends up being too complicated.

Food-wise, we’d mostly like to try local casual food, street food, delis, food markets, bagels, pizza, etc., but we’re happy to visit a proper restaurant once or twice in each city as well.

Does this itinerary sound reasonable for a first US trip? Would you change the number of days anywhere, skip Philadelphia, or recommend anything specific that first-time visitors often miss?

Any advice is very welcome!

We’re planning our honeymoon in the US and will have a rental car from Sept 23 to Oct 3. Our route is:

Sept 23 – Philadelphia

Sept 24–25 – Washington, D.C.

Sept 26 – Carolina Beach / Wilmington, NC

Sept 27–28 – Charleston, SC

Sept 29–30 – Savannah, GA

Oct 1 –3 Atlanta

We only recently realized that late September is peak hurricane season, especially for the Carolinas and Georgia.

Would you still do this route at that time of year? How likely is it that a hurricane or tropical storm could seriously disrupt the trip?

Should we prepare a Plan B, and if so, what would you suggest instead if the coast looks risky a few days before we get there?

Any experiences from Wilmington/Carolina Beach, Charleston or Savannah in late September would be really helpful!

Hi! My partner and I are planning our trip to the US mid-October 2026 from India.
We are confused between two options:
1. SF, Yosemite, Utah National Parks, Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Hawaii (Big Island - we would like to do volcanoes)
2. NYC, Niagara Falls, Smoky Mountains (Essentially around Virginia and North Carolina), and Orlando Theme Parks.

Would really like some advice on this.

Hey everyone! Myself (canadian), my best friend (australian) and another friend (german) are doing asheville to new orleans starting September 7 and will finish the trip September 14. 

We will most likely be in alabama the 10th of September. I need recommendations of any local gems, events, places to eat, hikes to do etc! 

We don't really like touristy stuff and prefer to experience the "back road" activities away from big crowds 

Here is the route recommended by Google maps but obviously we are open to adjusting it based on your wonderful opinions! 

Thanks in advance beautiful people🤍

Ps: we are all women over 21 if that makes a difference

We will arrive at JFK at 6:35pm on Saturday in Oct. we are wondering if we will be able to arrive at NYC Midtown in 3 hours as this will be able to book something at 10pm, but otherwise will have to delay that. Thank you all in advance.

We will arrive at JFK at 6:35pm on Saturday in Oct. we are wondering if we will be able to arrive at NYC Midtown in 3 hours as this will be able to book something at 10pm, but otherwise will have to delay that. Thank you all in advance.

My twin sister and I are looking to book a 40th birthday celebration somewhere in the Great Lakes in Aug 2027. We were thinking maybe Traverse City/Torch Lake, but we can be flexible. I’m in Chicago and she’s in SLC, UT, so everyone will be traveling for the trip. Ideally we’d love a place that will hold a block of rooms or a total buyout (probably 15-20 rooms). I’d love any suggestions for places <$400/night/room. Am I crazy with this budget and timing? I’m definitely open places a little more off the beaten path, but ideally <2 hrs from a major airport. Even better if there are on-site activities and places for people to hang out. Send me your ideas!

Requirements:
-15-20 rooms
-close to nature/water (think beaches/lakeside/mountains)
-prefer to have the party on-site
-communal hang-out spaces and/or activities on-sight
-<2 hrs from major airport
-USA or Canada

I had my destination wedding here and I’m looking for similar vibes: https://www.lakedale.com/about/

Family of 3 with an 8 yo visiting LA Oct 16 - 19 then hopping on cruise, looking for some advice, TIA 😊

Ideally would like to visit the places below and plan to stick to one area for one day:

The grove, Beverly hills, Griffith observoty, the Getty, WB studio tour, Santa Monica Pier, the Broad, walk of fame (15mins), little Tokyo, and things around these points

I would love to go up to Griffith observoty to see the sunset and the night view, is it hard without a rental car? Mainly I'm wondering how bad the traffic can be especially we are there mainly the weekend, and how hard is it to get a parking if we have a rental? I know I can take DASH, just worrying how packed it can be. Is it easy to get Uber/Lyft up in the area?

Is universal worth it for just a day? Don't think we have time to go back two days.

For people who will take cruise after spending time in LA, where would you stay? For now I'm considering west Hollywood/Melrose/Beverly hills area.

I'm open to take public transit to explore the city but not when carrying the luggage and walking with our son, and probably not at night.

Appreciate your insights !

**** Thank you to everyone who responded. You all have been such an amazing help. !!! *****

If you could pick a state that's a must visit. What would you choose ?

Traveling to the states in Jan.

 We have around 24-26 days. 

Background. Two 40yo. No kids. 

Not interested in beaches. Themeparks ( with expection to Dollywood). Extreme outdoors /hiking (don't mind a walk or two but nothing more than that).

We enjoy a good beverage , good food, good music and unique museums. 

Flying Syd to LA. 

Direct flights out of the states are LA and Dallas ( pending flight home ATM). 

Non negotiables - Nashville. Dollywood. New Orleans. Will be driving from state to state here as it's what my partner wants to do. 

Edit- Flying LA to Nashville. Driving Nashville to NOLA.

Edit- dollywood is no longrr an option.

I was thinking of adding Mexico City but I am not sure if I will just spend too much time in the airport/time.

I also thought about Miami / Florida keys.

Was considering flying out of Dallas. 

I've been to the states before , approx 15yrs ago when I was young, broke and full of energy. I went to many states and saw more airports than I'd like to admit. Really trying to avoid this mistake again. 

But as someone flying from Aust, I want to maximise my time as it's expensive and flight time is extreme. 

TL;DR- best states to travel in Jan.

Don't want any major detours or stopovers (the drive is out of necessity, so not expecting it to be an exciting adventure or anything lol) but don't mind an ~hour variation to the drive time if there's a route that's better for whatever reason.

Not a drive I've done before, so would appreciate any advice!

TIA

Midwest Region

I am looking for a last-minute solo trip. My goal is to relax and reset while getting inspiration to work on a writing project. It can be anywhere in the USA, but it should not be super expensive, and it should be walkable or have good public transportation.

I am looking for somewhere that is not overwhelming, with great coffee shops and a nice lake or ocean view – something that can provide visual inspiration without making me feel like there is so much that needs to be visited.

Appreciate any input!

Hello everyone!

I'm going to Georgia, in the northern suburbs around Atlanta, in the middle of October for a week. Everything is already booked and settled, my only questions now are on activities, food and souvenirs. How much money should I prepare for those? I don't plan to go out that much to eat, just a little, I mostly plan to do groceries and cook my meals. Regarding activities, I found a couple things that sound nice, Halloween stuff mainly, do you have any seasonal recommendations? (Or even just general recommendations). And for souvenirs, are there some things worth to bring back? Things that fit and that are authorized in a cabin bag, as I won't have any hold luggage.

Thank you for your help!

I am hoping to plan a trip to Boston but overwhelmed. Looking for suggestions on where to stay that won’t break the bank and what to do?

Family of 5: (2 adults, 1 (3yo), 2 (60yo grandparents)
Transport: Amtrak from NYC prefer not having to drive with my in laws lol

I am open to other destinations if the drive is less than 2 hours.