So...we have traveled quite a lot through Italy and a bit through France and Spain. This next summer we are thinking of traveling the east coast of the United States (which we have never done). When we travel in Europe, we rely heavily on our Rick Steve's community. For those of you that travel within the U.S., what forums do you use to get quality information? We plan on starting in Massachusetts and driving to Florida.
Posted by
Chicago
8126 posts
Posted by
New York, NY
4044 posts
This is Flyertalk territory.
Scroll down a bit until you see ALL of the US destinations.
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8304 posts
Rick Steve's is one of a kind. And the East Coast is absolutely huge.
You might want to check your local library for U S travel guidebooks. I am big on roadmaps.
We once picked up a Hertz rental car in Orlando in May for $7.50 a day and turned it in at Baltimore Airport. It was a bargain trip as rental companies often need to move the Florida fleets elsewhere.
Posted by
Washington
920 posts
You can also post in the Beyond Europe section of this forum. Quite a few of us here from the East Coast, and I think we're happy to answer questions.
For ideas, I'd check out regional magazines such as Southern Living, Yankee, and the Mid-Atlantic AAA magazine.
Posted by
362 posts
Depends on where you want to go. I have scoped out a lot of travel forums, but very few are as active as the RS boards. If you find a good forum with frequent posting for the US, please share it with us!
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17244 posts
I like the TripAdvisor forums. They have separate ones for each state, and they can vary in quality, depending on who posts there. The Alaska forum is my favorite, very welcoming and helpful. Washington, Oregon, California, and Arizona are also great. I haven't used the east coast state forums much so cannot compare, although I did find the Florida forum somewhat clique-ish when I was looking for information on the drive to Key West last March.
Here is the Massachusetts forum to get you started:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g28942-i47-Massachusetts.html
Posted by
Corvallis OR
7123 posts
I'm not the biggest fan of Trip Advisor but they can be very helpful for USA travel, especially for specific locations and what to do, where to eat, and how to get around there. They have location 'experts' for darned near every city/town/tourist spot.
You can also use the Beyond Europe forum here on RS. There have been quite a few questions lately about travel around the US. We may travel to Europe a lot, but most of us live right here and know our local areas pretty well.
EDIT just noticed that Rachel said this same thing, sorry for the duplication.
Posted by
Aurora, Il, USA
198 posts
Check for local food blogs too. We are lucky to have lth forum in Chicago. There is a section for other destinations so do look at it. Also check newspaper travel sections. The NY times has a 36 hours column that has featured lots of US cities.
Posted by
Aurora, Il, USA
198 posts
Check for local food blogs too. We are lucky to have lth forum in Chicago. There is a section for other destinations so do look at it. Also check newspaper travel sections. The NY times has a 36 hours column that has featured lots of US cities.
Posted by
Chicago
2021 posts
TripAdvisors forums are the best for US cities.
Posted by
Frankfurt, Germany
9149 posts
Trip Advisor is the place to go. Forums with destination experts and you can get detailed questions answered quickly. Plus, you have lists of tourist attractions, museums, churches, and read their reviews. You can also find tours and restaurants with up to date reviews. The hotel reviews are handy to read too. I used this extensively when I went to San Francisco last year and will use it again for this year. All the websites are there for the tours, hotels, and attractions as well as maps for how to find them.
I get tired of hearing about the fake reviews both good and bad. Do they exist? Yes, but they are not nearly as common as people seem to think and they are easy to pick out. At least 99% of the reviews are from people like you and me and they are up to date. I trust them more than I do then some of the recommendations in the RS book. There is no way that everything listed in all of these books is checked out each and every year. This is an impossibility. That and the recommendations are incomplete. If the editor hasn't heard of a restaurant, tour, church, etc. than it simply does not appear in the book.
Posted by
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
4085 posts
Lonely Planet also has a US section in its Thorn Tree forums.
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
14582 posts
I’m a TA forum fan as well. In addition to the MA forum there is a Road Trips forum that’s slightly hard to find but gives very good advice
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g1-i12567-Road_Trips.html
In addition to State/city forums, each National Park has a separate forum under the state where it is located.