Virgin Traveller to America

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  1. We have an overnight at Heathrow - can't risk home to check-in on same day. So, what's the recommended hotel for T3? - Anything near the airport that offers a shuttle would be fine
  2. Tips required for dealing with the culture of Boston - including, er, tipping. (Don't mention T***p) - Tip is 20%, avoid politics, be polite as people own guns here
  3. How can we avoid putting on stones of weight without appearing rude or skinflints? -you can't, just join a gym when you get back
  4. Our medium-sized car comes with sat-nav - trouble is, I've never worked one - yes we do exist. I still love paper maps - do any exist worth having? -Learn how to use a GPS
  5. Phones - bear the cost? Get another SIM? get another phone? - Just use your phone, avoid calls and stick to data
  6. Tell me your experiences of New England! - Pretty place, Boston Airport is a nightmare so get there early on your back haul
 
I did "New England in the Fall" some years ago, picking up a hire car at Logan airport and driving straight out onto freeway 93 and north up to New Hampshire. We didn't see much of Boston but it looked an awful place to drive in so if I was going to stay in Boston for a few days I'd use public transport and then pick up a hire car before heading out of the city. New Hampshire was glorious and mostly quiet to drive in although I found on the freeways if you drive at the speed limit, you are holding up the traffic. I'll 2nd the school bus thing, you just have to wait until it moves on.
 
A good American pal told me to NEVER get into any sort of 'argument' whilst driving, as the other man probably has a 'piece' in his glove box. Not too sure about the New England states, but in some US states, carrying a hidden gun is legal.
 
alabbasi said:
  1. We have an overnight at Heathrow - can't risk home to check-in on same day. So, what's the recommended hotel for T3? - Anything near the airport that offers a shuttle would be fine
  2. Tips required for dealing with the culture of Boston - including, er, tipping. (Don't mention T***p) - Tip is 20%, avoid politics, be polite as people own guns here
  3. How can we avoid putting on stones of weight without appearing rude or skinflints? -you can't, just join a gym when you get back
  4. Our medium-sized car comes with sat-nav - trouble is, I've never worked one - yes we do exist. I still love paper maps - do any exist worth having? -Learn how to use a GPS
  5. Phones - bear the cost? Get another SIM? get another phone? - Just use your phone, avoid calls and stick to data
  6. Tell me your experiences of New England! - Pretty place, Boston Airport is a nightmare so get there early on your back haul
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According to Trainline.com you can get train from Edinburgh to London Paddington, from there there’s a shuttle to airport every 6 min .

Weigh up ( not cheap ) cost of train against cost of fuel to go down , hotel , parking while you’re away . Bonus of relaxing on train vs all day driving ...
 
Or could you fly down to Heathrow and change ?
 
del320 said:
Never having been to the US of A - yes, we do exist - I'm hoping those well-travelled members of the Board can give me some pointers to ease my apprehension!
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^^^^What they have all said plus...

1) Expect the staff at arrivals (officials) to be loud, obnoxious and not really friendly but in general the people in the USA are very friendly and helpful. They enjoy talking to foreigners.

2) Don't stray off the beaten track as you could end up in a dangerous area. I worked in New Orleans and early on, got lost on my way to work one morning (before the days of Sat-Nav) and ended up in one of the so called "projects" notorious for the high crime rates (pre Katrina). I saw an old black lady and asked her for directions which, she kindly provided and then said....."white boy, get your ass out of here as quick as you can"......

3) I'd get some paper maps of the routes you are going to be driving and take a good look at your route before setting off each day - there are usually many interesting things to see (close to your route) that your sat-nav will not tell you about. There are also several good "road-trip' internet sites which detail all the things to see along a route.

4) Be careful with "left turns" i.e. crossing the traffic at an intersection - I've seen many places in the USA where it is not allowed (sat-nav has told you to turn left at next intersection). You have to drive through the intersection "u-turn" at a spot made for "u-turns", drive back to the intersection and then make a right turn.
 
[QUOTE="Pontoneer,]According to Trainline.com you can get train from Edinburgh to London Paddington, from there there’s a shuttle to airport every 6 min .

Weigh up (not cheap) cost of train against cost of fuel to go down, hotel, parking while you’re away. Bonus of relaxing on train vs all day driving ...[/QUOTE]

We're actually taking the train from Berwick (1st Class :p) for exactly the reasons you outline.

Again, all good info received - although some is not what I want to hear! :eek:

Isn't the MB Forum great? Thanks also for the PMs.

One thing I'm really looking forward to is the seafood - nom nom.
 
Take a 4 gang extension socket with a reasonably long cable (and some tape to hold the plug into the US adaptor) My socket has USB too, plus I have a US plug wired on

Will save you having to take lots of adaptors, plus sockets are never where you need them in hotel rooms!
 
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Gollom said:
Take a 4 gang extension socket with a reasonably long cable (and some tape to hold the plug into the US adaptor) My socket has USB too, plus I have a US plug wired on

Will save you having to take lots of adaptors, plus sockets are never where you need them in hotel rooms!
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Don't forget US voltage is different - 115 vs. 230 for Europe. You'll be OK doing this with most computer-type stuff as it's universal input (85-265 VAC) but do check. You won't have much luck trying to run a travel kettle, for example..

Cheers,

Gaz
 
Gollom said:
Take a 4 gang extension socket with a reasonably long cable (and some tape to hold the plug into the US adaptor) My socket has USB too, plus I have a US plug wired on

Will save you having to take lots of adaptors, plus sockets are never where you need them in hotel rooms!
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Good Idea - maybe even replace the UK plug on the (UK) extension with a USA plug.
 
Rorywquin said:
Good Idea - maybe even replace the UK plug on the (UK) extension with a USA plug.
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Yup, that's what I have done. Travelled a lot in the past, so always put the relevant countries plug on which makes it a lot easier!
 
Don't expect tea making facility in the room, if you are very lucky it might have one, but more likely just a filter coffee machine. Therefore if taking a travel kettle, get one that switches between 115V and 240V, otherwise it'll take 30 mins or more to boil a 240V kettle using 115V mains. Just remember to switch it back to 240V on return, otherwise you'll fry it. Nearly everything else that has a charger/adapter will work on 115V, you just need a plug adaptor. However that DOESN'T apply to hairdryer, although you'll be unlucky if your room doesn't have one.

Prices in the shops don't include city/state taxes. So the price at the til will be bigger than the price tag.

Don't assume that stuff in the in-room safe is covered by the hotel if it gets stolen, it's not.

Totally agree about sharing 1 main between 2 people, we do that all the time in the states

Someone up thread said things will appear expensive due to the exchange rate, they won't appear to be expensive, they WILL be expensive.

Unless New England is different from the rest of the states, EVERYONE is big on politics and aren't shy of giving you their opinion.

Tipping is a real con-job in the states, to the point it gets uber annoying. The person who cleans you room needs to get a daily tip, get your bags carried into the hotel...tip, get bags delivered to the room....tip, doorman flags you down a cab....tip, cab driver...tip.
 
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Resist the temptation to enter a restaurant in those parts and proudly announce in a loud voice that you are Trump's greatest fan.

(and see others' advice about folk carrying guns).

edit, I see some of those states are Trump-friendly - you have to choose!
 
Some thoughts, not read every response. We go pretty much every year.

No need to get a US SIM card for your phone these days unless you plan to do a lot of calling to US phones. Check with your provider as to what they offer, Three for example has feel at home roaming which provides your UK allowance in the US free of charge. Other offer similar, or an add on for a few pounds extra. If your provider can't offer something suitable, then get a Three Pay as you go SIM card and use that for the time you are out there.

On tipping, the norm for restaurants and similar is 20%, and this is on the pre-tax total of the bill, not the total. It is also customary to tip the hotel cleaners with $1-2 per day per occupant. Concierge, bell boys etc is $5 or more depending what it is that they have done for you (just taken your bags up, or got you sort after theatre tickets deserve different tips). Valet parking is usually around a $5 tip. Saw someone mention its a con job, its not, its a culture that has been adopted for years in the US, they are paid a very low basic salary and it is the tips that make it a living wage. Good for the companies you could say, but it is also part of the reason some things are cheaper than the UK pre tip.

Car wise, their roads are wider than ours which makes things easier. Freeways around the major cities can be like the M25, but they do drive even closer together for fear that someone may get in front of them. As such you need to plan getting across lanes for your exit early (usually aim to be no more than 2 lanes in at the junction before the one you want). Also be aware the far right lane often turns into a left turn only lane (on both freeways and city roads) so keep an eye out for that. Be aware of 4 way stops, you have to come to a complete stop regardless if there is anything else around. If there is you each go in turn of of order you arrived at a junction regardless of the direction you are going. You can also turn right at a traffic light unless it is signed that you can't. You have to safely filter into traffic and watch for pedestrians on the crossings as they have right of way. Saying all of that its pretty easy to drive over there.

Weight wise, most restaurants in the US these days do reasonably normal sized plates. But basically stop eating when you have eaten what you would normally. No one will care if you don't finish the plate.

A good tip for power, is take a 4 way gang lead and a US adapter if you have multiple phones to charge, or get a 4 way usb charger.

Most states price things pre-tax which gets added at the till so consider this in your pricing comparison.

On politics, "We've got Boris Johnson" is usually a pretty good defuser to get out of a conversation on Trump.

Navigation wise, if you have data on your phone then you could use Waze or Google maps and put lots of your planned locations into that as favourites before you go. Will save lots of hassle and give real time planning based on accidents, congestion etc.
 
Rorywquin said:
Good Idea - maybe even replace the UK plug on the (UK) extension with a USA plug.
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Yep , I still have an 8 way one with Euro plug on it , great for charging phones , cameras computers etc
 
E55BOF said:
Holy sh*t! They have flying BUFFALO in America? Now I'm really impressed.:D
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Don't knock it till you tried it - those girls work hard for their tips;)......I worked in New Orleans and Hooters was our first stop on a Friday to grease line our stomachs before hitting the French Quarter:confused:.
 
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