holiday to america.....
 

ive decided i want to go to the states this year but as i have never been i need some advice.

we (me and her) would like to go around october time-whats the weather generally like around that time?

2 places we want to visit is carlos bakery in hoboken and universal studios

i havent been abroad since 2000 so im a bit out of touch with it all,is it better to book online or just go to my local travel agents?

we would ideally like to keep the entire cost including spending dosh to around £3.5k but could stretch to £4k if needed

need as much info/advice as possible please

cheers alot

matt

Universal in Florida? Hoboken is in New Jersey...

Flights are the big cost - they have gone stupid in the last couple of years.
If you are doing multi trips on one way then the cost can be pretty high. UK - FL is £800 ppn ish.

Your cheapest way to do UK to FL and NYC is to fly into FL and then fly on an internal flight upto NY. A return FL-NY is about £300 ppn.

Accomodation is fairly cheap at both ends, you can easily find nice ish hotel for <$100/night. I stay at a place in FL which has nice condos (2 or 3 bedroom, full kitchen and 2 baths + shared pool) for £50 a night.

WX in October, NYC you are looking at 10c and wet / windy. FL you are looking at 23 - 28c and fairly dry on the whole.

Dont forget you will require to apply for a visa online..

Hoboken and Universal Studios (in LA) are about 3000 miles apart, so you're in for a lot of travelling.

Our last two holidays were to Florida and the big one is the flights.
Virgin Atlantic direct flights from Manchester to Orlando were best part of a thousand pounds each in August, going in October they will be cheaper. Check out their web site and you can put October dates in for an idea of likely costs.

Car hire is reasonable and fuel is dirt cheap.

Nik

In a parallel universe an American is posting

Thinking of going to Europe in October - what's the weather like?

No you don't, all you have to do is apply online for your travel authorisation. It is not a visa; it is simply authority to get on a plane bound for the states. On the plane you'll be given a visa waiver card to complete (it's green).

It's called an ETSA

https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/

An ESTA :thumb:
And make sure you apply through the correct website, not a middle man and will only cost around $15 each.

https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/esta.html

Nik

It's an tsea

And you apply by post

Bugger

Florida first week in October... Still the weather is brilliant but cheaper prices as just out of peak season. Do universal but defo do gator land. Absolutely wicked.. Oh another thing. First few weeks of oct miss the rain too.cant wait to go back!

We had a mustang last time and tbh the fuel isn't cheap in or near Disney as they know it's all tourists. I40 and the turn pike had cheaper fuel

Do you mean I4 :wonder:

I've done Virgin fly-drives a couple of times and these are fine but I recommend you ask for a sat-nav on your car.

I'm currently sat in our Irvine CA office, and even this time of year the weather is fine 60F today was a bit nippy although it got as high as 82F last week.

Fuel is relatively cheap compared to the UK, anywhere from $2.79 (Last weekend in southern AZ) to $3.89 (just down the road from here) a gallon.

The further out of season you go the cheaper your flight will be, I'm out here again in March and I think my flight from LHR was about £650

Yes, yes ESTA...you knew what I meant :p
Christ, you are worse than the TSA!! LOL

I have just got back from being at Orlando and we were there 10 days with a 3 day stay in Miami and I spent about £5400 for me my missus and my daughter and we didn't do any parks. If your hoping to do two resorts on £4k. I think your pushing it.

New Jersey is definitely an internal flight as that's a long journey to drive to waste your holiday on.

I booked online and saved a fortune as compared to walking into the travel agents. Every time I have walked into a travel agent they are always hundreds of pounds dearer than online.

cheers for the help everyone..........(well nearly everyone)

yeah i think i am expecting a bit much for my money really so think i will stop around new york then tackle universal next year.

who did you book with steve? i would love to rent a mustang or summat and go for a blast out there-would this be possible?

we dont want a really nice swanky hotel as its purely just a base for sleeping etc so we can sacrifice some comfort,as long as its dry and warm that will be fine.

whats the general prices like for food etc?

Food for me has been:
Low end - $13 Lunch at Five Guys for a bloody great burger, fries and a drink.
High end - $50 Dinner with a bottle of wine.

Managed to hit an Irish bar during happy hour and got a pint for $1.50 :D

And if you don't finish your meal, remember to ask for a box to go, remember it's a land of huge portions (Claim Jumper Motherlode Cake) ;)

I booked with Expedia as they were good value. If you look on google maps you can find all the restaurants near where you want to stay and view the menu.

I think New York will be expensive for food and drink. I was also at Boston and its not that far away fron New York and restaurants were charging $6 for a beer and a steak dish around $26 then there would be 7% tax and tip.

In Miami they added an 18% service charge to the bill so just hope they don't do that in New York ;)

boston is over 200 miles from new york according to google maps. whats the best way to get around new york? there is a path train isnt there,have you used it?