So, as I'm turning 18 soon (Happy face ) I'm think of taking a trip to America for a week, but after long consideration and thoughts and so on, I can't agree to myself on a price I should save upto and whether I should get a loan or not, due to being crap and I mean massivly crap on saving money (If theres any methods you guys have for saving money it will be kindly appreciated if you could share them ). The price I'm set on is saving £2000 and thats not including the flight and accomandation (I can get all that for £1000) So onto the question which is; Have any of you been to America? And I hope not to delve into privacy matters but how much did it cost etc etc? All replies are welcome P.s If this is in the wrong thread; apologies.
When I was young, silly and still living at home the easiest way I found of saving was to set a standing order up with my bank to move £x from the account where my wages were paid into into a seperate savings account. Depending on how bad you are, you could like I did give the card to access the savings account to my parents so I had no access to it.
The amount you save will depend entirely on where you want to go and what you want to do. America is a really big place, and you can spend a bunch of money just as easily as you do things on the cheap.
you'll be best off picking 1 specific destination city ie NYC and go from there. so for example if you pick somewhere like NYC or LA you can estimate how much it would cost to spend a week in London. so in theory if that costs you £1000, then you would want a budget of $1000 (£617) for spending money as a rough guideline. i say this because as far as i can tell in my experiences traveling prices often seem to be on par. like a beverage is £1 is a $1, but then you factor in the exchange rate and its actually cheaper in USA at 60p.
£2000 for a week? you could go for a month with that. I also think a standing order into your savings account is the best way. Make sure you have no access to the account though, stops any spending.
Not going to talk about money. But my one piece of advice that I can give, and hope above all others that you follow. Just ****ing do it. If you don't, you will always regret it.
Hi Thats a nice amount of money and I am a travel agent for the last 15 years so maybe I can give some good advice. If its just for a week I take it your planning on one place to stay? if you need to move around a car is out as you are too young to drive. Accommodation will vary greatly depending on where you are. NYC is £150-£200 a night for 2-3* in Manhatton (something decent) theres cheaper but not so good. Avoid Days inn on broadway for instance or any of the hostel/hotels in north manhatton. Same goes for Miami with South Beach hotels asking £200 a night for 2-3*. I am happy to go through some options I work Sunday from 11. I am not sure about forum rules in advertising something but I am happy to offer any advice or help you out with flights etc. I have travelled extensibly in the US so feel free to pick my brains. Dont want to get spammed so pm me for my work email if you want,
yosemite glacier point should be open by now (usually mid may).. I think it's the most beautiful place on earth- have to see it at last once in the summer.. the sequoias are nice too pictures don't do the place justice.. the first time you see it is really cool we actually have a lifetime pass into the parks nowdays.. the winter sucks though- better have chains.. think it's better than the grand canyon if your thinking of going there cities.. chicago is really nice- good pizza there and moody is right downtown.. georgia has the okie, florida haven't seen much of there's lots to do in california though.. along the beach, bay area
@Sagman76 - Sure, I'll drop you a message sometime. Nice to get to knoow more prices. @Mucgoo - America has always appealed to me, my dad had the option to go work over there but chose not too, and I don't want to miss out on going there. @Wgy - I was thinking of 5000 for a month! XD @Cookiemonster - Looking at savings acccounts now (Y) @thehippoz - the name already has me interested! @Tarkadahl - Thanks, gotta get out and see the world And to be more specific, I want to go to LA, warm weather and that...: ) Thanks for all the replies! I really appreciate it!
If you're going to present yourself as a travel agent, and provide professional advice as such, the least you could do is spell Manhattan correctly. The original poster mentioned he planned for about £2,000. That's roughly $3,200, which would be more than enough for incidentals. For reference, according to the government per diem rates a one week trip to Las Vegas in April will allow for a travel advance of roughly $600 for meals (not including alcohol). Yes, you can eat for much less. I've never come close to the standard rate, but I prefer local burger places rather than fine dining. It is possible to rent a car here, but it will entirely depend on the company and location. For example, Budget Rental Car corporate-owned locations in New York may allow an 18 year old to rent a car, as long as he or she can provide a valid license and credit card. If you plan to rent a car, and if you can find a place willing to rent to an underage driver, be prepared to pay an extra fee since you are under 25 years old. If you don't want to rent a car, then you will have to rely on public transportation. Again, one very annoying thing about America is that public transportation is really hit or miss. Houston, for example, has terrible public transportation. If you don't have a car, you may as well spend the entire week downtown. A place like New York City or Washington D.C. will have more reliable transportation, so you will have better sightseeing options. As far as travel goes, another thing to consider is that as you migrate away from the northeast, cities get more spread out and there is greater space between cities (America is big, remember?). It's not hard to cross 3 cities in Massachusetts in one bus ride. Here in Texas you can drive for an hour and still be within the Houston city limits. If you plan to go anywhere other than the northeast, look into a destination that has good public transportation. Otherwise, plan to rent a car.
I was full into a bottle of wine typing on iPhone so apologies my spelling wasn't up to your high standard. You think you know it all mr travel man but actually you don't. He cannot pre book a car in the UK to hire in the USA until he's 21 then he pays a supplement. get your facts right. I doubt he wants to be chasing round with only a week looking for car hire. I didn't want to write a long winded post hence why I offered my email. Well done on advising that Texas is a big place but most educated British people know that it's a big place and learn this from an early age but I'm sure he's grateful you pointed that out lol. Pretty sure Texas is off his map first time to USA with only a week. He may get unlucky and run into rude and arrogant person like you feeding him mis information My offer still stands and I promise to spell correctly just like the Americans as do.
And you should stay away from public forums... Good way of making bells and whistles pop about you being a good fraud... I would never trust my money to someone who poses on a forum, but then again, I would never go out for a loan just to go on vacation... Starting your post with "Thats a nice amount of money" just smells like you are ripping of someone...
As much as I value your advice, I think that was unreasonable to say that to supermonkey. Sorry, I'm just stating whats true. But thank you for the advice supermonkey, I'm planning on staying in and around on the borderlines of LA, luckily I do have a friend who can drive over there, so if it comes to it, I'll get a free taxi, shes also told me of this hostel for international students (I can still pass off as one I think ) so I'm gonna try there for my hotel which is alot cheaper than the ones I found, I''m just more worried about the money, how much will it cost me to do fun things and eat and that, cause I get the feeling 2k won't be enough
I'm not a fraud and work for rtwexperts a division of flightcentre.comwho just bought liberty travel in the USA. Certainly not wanting to rip him off and if you read my post I was offering help and advice but as we have a price beat guarantee I'm sure if he did want to book it would be a great deal. I was shot down for spelling which is silly and was it really called for? I may not be a prolific poster here but when your treated with mis trust and been rude too is it any wonder.
Fair enough apologies if I offended just not been picked up on my spelling since school just found it a bit rude that's all. And car hire thing Is wrong 21 is the age for booking in UK . Whatever you do I'm sure you will have an amazing time. 2k is Plenty you will be able to do a lot. Don't forget to do your ESTA visa online.
Well its all kicking off in here isnt it?! Massive edit: i just read this Definitely go for the hostel. Much cheaper than hotels, also filled with other travelers, great place to make a few mates to travel on with. Jake, in regards to your allotted time and budget; i can give 2 examples i feel most relevant of what can be (what i) achieved with various sums of money, all under £2000 Canada(Vancouver) > USA (Seattle) > Portland, over a period of a month. £1600 flights inc. Norway>Sweden>Denmark>Germany>Austria>Slovakia>Hungary > Poland> Czech Republic, 5 weeks £900 inc flights and trains. Please dont worry about money, you will have more than enough for a week. Your flights will be the most expensive thing unless develop a gambling habit.
Quote Dont go into a travel agents, they sell holidays to Corfu and rental cars. The best place to ask for travel advice is from someone who's done it, of which i assume a lot of bit tech have. Another misguided comment that's an absolute load of rubbish. I am a longhaul specialist and have travelled to over 50 countries. We don't even sell europe in our brand. There would be many agents around if that's all they sold. I sell it I have done It first hand. I agree you can't beat local first hand knowledge and hostel world is good for on a budget. There are too many people giving this guy false information.
Do NOT rely on public transport in LA. I've lived here (as a student) for just over 3 years and it's a bloody mess. LA is a city that can and must be seen by car. Rent or be driven around. Don't cab, it's criminally expensive. Live cheap. Spend most of your time outdoors, spend only on a room, bed and loo. No better way to do it. Prepare for a few drives up and down the coast (Santa Barbara, Malibu, San Diego are a daytrip away) because the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) is beautiful. If you fancy longer drives, it's a lot of fun to drive up to San Francisco or inland (New Mexico seems to be inhabited by the nicest people on earth). Don't go to Vegas unless you're 21, really not worth it. Unless you REALLY want to see the sights and not much more. Also, you're from the UK, so go to a firearms range, present your passport and blow $100 on all sorts of loony weapons. So. Much. Fun.
