Going the other way...

[Susanne]

This thread doesn't really fit on this web site, but considering that most of the users seem to live "over there", perhaps you could tell me if there's some similar website for travellers going to the US instead of to Europe? I know most of you are Canadian, but perhaps you have some good ideas where I might look to find similar good advices (of course not AS good as here!! ) for budget travelling to the US.

Thanks alot!!

And Kim and the rest of you, sorry if I'm "ruining" the theme of Europe by posing a question such as this, it won't happen again, promise!!

/Susanne

[Emma]

I don't know where you are planning on going, but I can give a little advice on Madison or Minneapolis/ St. Paul (although I can't say I know many tourists that want to head up here).

Unless you're interested in the Mall of America

[LHR02]

I can offer a bit of help on Florida, California, Ohio and New york. But a specific site....let me see what I can find for you.

And...harumph.....I don't think 'most' of us are Canadians! ;D

[MuvverRussia]

I'd be interested in this kind of thing as well tbh. Then again, each time I've been to the US (quite a few times now, both to visit family and to go on vacation) I've always felt as though budget travel (hostels etc) are far less common than in Europe or Asia/Australia.

[LHR02]

muvver, I have to agree with you. Being an American I am not in the market normally for budget travel, but given the abismal state of 'public' transportation here and the lack of backpacker type establishments it is not a viable option for those looking for cheap travel...as is possible in Europe and elsewhere. More's the pity as there really is a great deal to see and do here....but it's never going to be a cheap trip. But.....there are loads of us here on this site...many of us willing to welcome fellow GFE travelers! ;D

[WillTravel]

I've been to a bunch of hostels along the West Coast of the US and Canada. They were all pretty good. Most were YHA. I recommend Priceline in some, but not all instances, with excellent research in advance.

The thing about visiting the US and Canada is that for most, but not all, itineraries you would want a car for much of it. You can certainly see a lot without a car, but in certain areas it can be frustrating. Of course that doesn't mesh that well with budget travel, necessarily.

[me]

for cheap intercity transport, there's greyhound. and many cities have a bus service to get from place to place.

most of this stuff is on the web, so you can find out before the trip.

greyhound.com/

Dallas' transit is at www.DART.org

it can't compare to Europe, US just doen't have the population density to support the kind of transport infrastructure Europe has.

- d

[LHR02]

David! Not meaning to demean my own country, but I wouldn't ride Greyhound from here to ther for 20 miles! Tell the truth, would you? Last time I did that was -- some years ago when I was a 16 year old running away from home and dd not know better. I'm sorry, the general clientel of US buses is not the sort of population I would like foreigners to experience.

[Emma]

Keep in mind that this comes from a college student

I would not recommend Greyhound, simply because of the distance you usually need to travel to get from one place to another. Greyhound will stop at EVERY itsy-bisty little town along the way. It's just not comfortable or cheap enough to merit the time it takes.

If it is possible, I've heard that the trains (Amtrak) can be good, but they tend to be really incoveniently placed and the schedules are actually done around those of commecial trains, so you end up with departures at really strange times.

That said, Greyhound is probably the cheapest way around the US, and people on it tend to be fairly chatty (you can decide for yourself if that is a good or bad thing). I ended up in a four hour conversation with a really nice girl who was moving crosscountry (60 hour bus ride, if I remember correctly) to live with her fiance on an army base. But it really is luck of the draw.

Keep in mind that luggage limits are one large piece under the bus and one small carryon (but the carryon limit is not strictly enforced).

If you are going from one closely linked town to another, there may be a cheaper shuttle (for example, the Van Galder bus runs from Madison to OHare airport in Chicago for $20).

[WillTravel]

The Greyhound to/from Vancouver/Seattle/Portland seems to have reasonable clientele. I've been on that route several times in the past few years. However, I've heard that's not necessarily the case elsewhere.

[me]

last time i rode Greyhound was 15+ years ago. went from Dallas to Sherman, about 60 miles (100 Km), where i was a student.

Amtrak would be better, but it's so limited in it's schedule.

actually, don't know why i didn't think of this before, Southwest.com is the best way to go! that's how i took my recent jaunt to Houston

just book a week or two ahead to get better fares!

btw, www.Southwest.com offers better internet fares

- d

[Eagle]

I've wondered a couple of times recently whether a "reverse" section on the Board would be useful for those from Europe wanting to travel in North America. I didn't mention it as I figured it would be rejected as it doesn't fit with the theme.

With regard to Greyhound, I haven't travelled this way in a long time, however friends and relatives who travel by Coach / Bus in Western Canada have generally had good experiences. Often some of the "clientele" that congregate in Bus Depots are a bit on the rough side, however the the ride is generally good.

Suzanne, if you need any information on Western Canada, send me a PM and I'll provide whatever I can. I've also done quite a bit of travel down the west coast, well into Mexico so could provide some info on that. You could also check thorntree.lonelyplanet.com (America or Canada sections), as there's lots of travel stuff there.

Cheers!!!

[WillTravel]

What can be a problem with Greyhound is that the bus stations are sometimes in the worst part of town. So the whole scene around there can be quite unpleasant. This might be a good time for a taxi, as opposed to trying to figure out local public transit.

Trying to figure out "bad" areas in the US can be a bit of a challenge. Once we were on a family trip in southern California and my husband pulled off the road to a gas station and asked for directions. They told him right away that he was in a bad area and should get back on the freeway. I don't mean to oversensationalize the issue, but it's something to consider.

On the West Coast, Alaska Air is often competitive with Southwest. There are some other budget carriers too, although not as cheap as Europe.

[MuvverRussia]

WillTravel said:

Trying to figure out "bad" areas in the US can be a bit of a challenge. Once we were on a family trip in southern California and my husband pulled off the road to a gas station and asked for directions. They told him right away that he was in a bad area and should get back on the freeway. I don't mean to oversensationalize the issue, but it's something to consider.

On the West Coast, Alaska Air is often competitive with Southwest. There are some other budget carriers too, although not as cheap as Europe.

I remember about 5 years ago, I was with my parents trying to get back to Miami airport and we ended up driving through what can only be described as a Ghetto- there was gang related graffiti everywhere, it wasn't particularly nice.

You realise that Southwest was the model for Easyjet btw? Stelios copied their business strategy almost identically. In time other budget airlines copied Easyjet, so it could be said that Southwest started the budget airlines in Europe.

[WillTravel]

MuvverRussia said:

You realise that Southwest was the model for Easyjet btw? Stelios copied their business strategy almost identically. In time other budget airlines copied Easyjet, so it could be said that Southwest started the budget airlines in Europe.

I read an article a couple weeks ago about the Ryanair guy having copied Southwest, after a visit there. He had started the airline earlier, but it didn't get successful until after he started implementing the same principles. But it sounds as if EasyJet was first then?