Backpacking the USA - the definitive guide! (USA)

Member Name: Jersey-Soph

Product:	USA
Date:	21/09/03 (117 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Friendly nation, So many different places, something to please everyone, Easy to travel

Disadvantages: Vast distances, Expensive at times, Not set up for backpackers like many other countries

Americans. You either love 'em or hate 'em ? apparently. After a few months backpacking around the US of A, I personally couldn?t fail to love them. They, and their country are "just awesome" (as many American would say!). No matter how many times I heard "Wow, I just lurve your accent" or "Have a nice day", the cynical side of me thinking it wasn't really meant did not win over, and I genuinely felt most American?s were delighted to have us visit and make sure we had an 'ace' time!

The beauty of the USA is the sheer vastness, variation and extremes of places to see and things to do. This, however, quickly becomes a down side, as to see it all in one go would require huge inputs of time, money and travelling willpower. Although I felt my travels took me around most of the 'must see' spots and I saw many fantastic cities and much more beyond, there is a whole host of American experiences that remain unchartered territory. This is part of the appeal of such a country; what I have seen I have loved (with the exception of LA!) and I know I can keep going back, even when I'm retired and doing granny coach tours and still see new things, different places and have fun.

The USA has something to offer everyone no matter what you're into?camping in the wilderness of a huge Redwood forest, frittering away vast amounts of money at the slot machines in Vegas, learning to surf in America?s surfing capitals, Santa Cruz or Hawaii, clubbing with the rich and famous or the young hip and funky in San Fran, skiing and snowboarding in the Rockies or simply shopping till you drop in New York. I could go on?.and on?!

Many a Round the World ticket has a customary stop off for the US in Los Angeles, and for way too many people this is the only America they see. Nooooooooo! There is SO much more beyond the 'walk of fame' and 'Hollywood' on the hill, I cannot begin to tell yo
u! I would urge you to venture out ? getting around the USA is easy. Greyhound bus goes everywhere (and is super cheap for the distance they go). Amtrak (the trains) are wicked and sooo comfortable ? why not go overnight on one of these and save paying for a hostel and get just as good a nights sleep?! Internal flights are a great option too for covering that huge expanse in the middle with not a whole lot in it.

These are my Top Spots to visit. I've put them in the order I visited, as in order of favourite is just too difficult ? they?re all great places for different reasons!

Seattle
The birthplace of Starbucks Coffee (and boy do you know it ? 2 per street corner at least!) and of course Jimi Hendrix. The whole city has a laid back, funky coffee shop, chilled out atmosphere to it. Not the same madness and 'go go go' feel as other US cities. Pike Place Market is great (as long as you avoid the flying fish!)

San Francisco
I love this place! Definitely up there in my 'Top 5 cities in the world' list. So much to do and such a beautiful, fun loving cool city to do it in. Don't miss the Golden Gate Bridge (if you can catch it without the mysterious line of fog that always seems to surround it!), the crookedest street in the world, the Ghiradelli chocolate factory (just check out those free samples!) Height Street for the young, funky and hippy shops, the sea lions at Pier 39 and of course Alcatraz.

Santa Cruz
On the Californian Coast?Sun, Sand, Surf and free pancake breakfasts at the hostel (cooked outside with surfboard as a table)?What more could you want?

Highway One and Big Sur
We hired a car and cruised down Highway 1 which is famed for some of the most spectacular coastline in the States. We were not disappointed. Monterey and Carmel are bustling seaside towns popular with middle-aged American tourists in their RVs?nice places to stop off though. The real treat ho
wever is the area of Big Sur?if you have ever dreamt of white sand, turquoise sea and the like, this is the place for you! Left wonderfully 'au naturale', somehow escaping the commercialism that has run riot in the rest of the country, this is stunning scenery at its best. With no hostels or even hotels, it's camping or nothing here, which does somehow add to the adventure and sensual feel of the place. Handy tip ? book a campsite before arriving?it's a popular area with restrictions on visitor numbers (but find out the name of the campsite you reserve to avoid driving around every single campsite asking if they recognise your name and being laughed at by the National Park officials!)

Las Vegas
Oh Yes! Unlike any other place I will ever visit ? just out of this world! Definitely worth the long haul bus trip through the desert! Las Vegas is glitzy, totally OTT, full of lights and verging on the ridiculous. Where else in the world can you walk down a street and pass exploding volcanoes, treasure island battle ships, 'Paris' (complete with Eiffel Tower and L'Arc de Triomphe), 'Egypt' (the hotel and casino being in a huge pyramid with the Sphinx as the entrance), 'Venice' (with gondolas taking you inside!), and of course 'New York'? Tack-o-rama?but great! Even if you're not into gambling, Vegas has so much to see with every hotel and casino trying to be more spectacular than the next. Make sure you come here midweek and you can stay in posh hotels, complete with swimming pools, roller coasters etc for outrageously cheap prices ? even compared to hostels! Don?t leave Vegas without experiencing at least one "buffet". Every hotel on the Strip offers them?the most food I have ever seen in one room in my life! To me, Las Vegas is a must?just remember not to get toooo hooked on the slot machines and not get toooo drunk so you end up accidentally making use of one of the many drive-thru
wedding parlours!

Grand Canyon
Simply breathtaking. Well deserving of its "Natural Wonder of the World" status. Words cannot do the Grand Canyon justice; you really should go and see for yourself. Make sure you catch a sunrise or sunset. The helicopter tours are great and give you some idea of the sheer enormity. For the experienced and fit hikers (not me!) you can walk right to the base of the Canyon and camp overnight. An amazing experience I am sure, just be well prepared ? it was over 40°c when I was there in August.

New Orleans
Impromptu jazz all over the city, a wonderfully atmospheric French quarter, delicious Creole food, chilled out cruises on the Mississippi, a fantastic 24 hour 'Café du Monde' where you must sample a beignet (the Louisiana doughnut!), and the 'Bourbon Street experience' in the evenings. Undoubtedly the highlight of the New Orleans year is the Mardi Gras, a raucous colourful carnival celebration which would be worth a huge detour off route to experience.

Washington DC
Great capital city? so clean, full of history and so much to do. Worth getting up at 4am for tickets inside the White House (just has to be done for the whole DC experience eh!). The Smithsonian have loads of free entry museums which really are excellent (not just dull glass cases) and the tour of the FBI is pretty cool too!

New York
Although I find NY hot, smelly and dirty and not top of my list of places to re-visit, it would be hard to leave it out of my 'Top Spots'. It's just one of those places you have to say you've been. Both times I have been it was 35°c+ and lugging a backpack around, fighting to get on the subway, queuing for the Statue of Liberty for 6 hours are all so far from being fun, that it has tainted my image of the city. The shops however are wicked and the Empire State and Liberty are great for typical tourist photos! Greenwich Village and Lit
tle Italy are funky and Central Park is just nice to escape the madness surrounding you. Check out the Central Park Roller Disco, on most weekends it really is a laugh, and get cheap tickets for a show on Broadway at Times Square.

Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket
Simply gorgeous islands off the New England coast. Well worth the visit. Martha?s Vineyard is the more touristy of the two, but still so quaint and 'lovely'. Ahhhhhh?I could have stayed here much longer. Beautiful beaches, pretty gingerbread-esque houses and vast amounts of green. The hostel in Nantucket is the old life saving station right on the beach?superb location and such a friendly place?everything here does tend to grind to a halt in winter though.

Boston
Wonderful US city?really is just as cool as it looks in Ally McBeal. Quincy Market is fab and I found myself going back nearly every day (enough different types of food to last you about 6 months!). The Cheers Bar, The Duck Tours, The Boston Team Party museum and Newbury Street are the places to while away your time. The people in Boston are so nice?.just the kind of city I could easily live in!

Chicago
Spectacular. One of the best. Great gritty blues-y city with some of the most stunning architecture you can hope to see. The most expensive youth hostel in the world though!


So there we have it?those were my top spots on my grand tour of the States. It might not be quite as geared up to the backpacking travellers as some countries like Australia, but that?s not always a bad thing. Getting around is easy, the hostels vary (the Pacific Tradewinds in San Fran (see my review) and the HI hostels in Santa Cruz, Boston, Nantucket are my gold medal winners), the only difficult part is deciding which places to leave out if you really are short on time. Allow as much time as possible for the USA though, you really won't get bored!

There is of course a lot more beyond
my Top Spots listed above. Some bonus places which if you are lucky enough to have time on your hands and the means to get around the vast country would be Yellowstone and Yosemite National Parks, The Oregon Coastline, Portland (complete with the biggest bookshop in the world and the 24 hour Church of Elvis!) and the lovely Vermont. Buying or hiring a car is a great option if you?re just doing the west or the east (and can cope with the crazy 7 lane freeways in LA!)?crossing the country is one hell of a drive. Maybe the 'real' America is best experienced by driving through the central small towns and getting friendly with the locals?believe me they?ll be only too happy to welcome you and exchange life stories!

Travelling the USA needs a bit of forward planning as you really want to have a sensible route organised to avoid more time than necessary on the road! It is perfectly feasible to travel around by yourself and most of the hostels have activities that you can get involved with as you wish. You may wish to incorporate a tour with a company such as Trek America into your itinerary if you want someone to take the stress and trouble out of planning your trip, but do try and travel independently as well, as the USA is a country where it is so easy to please yourself and come across hidden treasures. No matter how you see it, I am sure you will agree it is well worth the visit and you will be back many a time in the future!

Hope this has been useful, Thanks for reading : )

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