More tips:
http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel...s-on-travelling-in-america-20091029-hmtw.html
I had discovered yelp.com, a site about all things American reviewed by Americans.
And I began to realise, there was a lot more to a DIY holiday in the US of A.
A) Airports. I was scheduled to fly into Dulles International Airport via San Francisco and what Yelpers had to say about Washington DC's international airport did not bode well for my trip.
Dulles is universally hated and avoided for being "industrial", "difficult to get around", "cold and impersonal" and last but not least for its "Nazi TSA officers".
TSA stands for Transportation Security Administration, otherwise known as customs officers in Australia.
If I had done my homework, I would have planned to arrive at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, a small, easy to navigate airport known for its friendly TSA staff and located on the Metro line.
"It's cheap, safe and quick... and can probably get you to your hotel," advises Yelper Martin B.
Dulles in comparison is a 60 minute, $US70 ($A76)) taxi ride away.
As it turned out, my arrival was not the complete nightmare I had expected.
This was because my contact with TSAs in Dulles was non-existent. My first stop in America was San Francisco, which has one of the best international airports in the country or as a Yelper says, "SFO is comfy, easy to get in and out of and relaxing".
It is all that and more. In SFO, the TSA staff were positively oozing friendliness and charm.
The Director of Customer Services had spotted me standing in the wrong line (I was the only person without luggage), pulled me out with a smile, brought me to a small table by the side and voila! in five seconds, gave me a boarding pass and sent me on my way.
Everyone at SFO was this nice.
Wherever you land first in the US, that's where you clear Customs. It doesn't matter how bad the TSA in Dulles is. If you land in San Francisco, you clear immigration there. At Dulles, all you need to do is collect your bags.
If it makes very little difference in airfare and travel time, it is worth picking the right airport.
B) Public transport rules in New York City and Washington DC.
Considering DC's cheap Metro ($US1.35 ($A1.45) - - off peak gets you almost everywhere), taking a cab is bordering on insanity.
More so when you consider the ridiculous extra charges - more than one passenger, luggage, extra large luggage, driver rendering "personal assistance" (if they so much as touch your bag) and so on.
In New York, there's a range of cheap subway fares but probably best value is a one-day fun pass for $US8.25 ($A8.95) that you can use all day.
Cabs are less prohibitive here but watch out for peak hour traffic.
Astonishingly, not a single cabbie took a longer route to hike up the fare, which is more than I can say for Sydney taxi drivers.
Public transport systems in both cities are easy to use.
New York's numerous train lines may seem daunting at first but it takes no more than a day or two to familiarise yourself with it.
C) One thing you don't have to worry about - friendliness and safety.
Friends who were in New York 10 to 20 years ago relate horror stories of a crime-ridden, grimy, dangerous city.
And who hasn't heard about the rudeness of New Yorkers?
Well, I'm not sure what happened between then and now. It was possibly a combination of Rudy Giuliani cleaning up the city and September 11.
But something's changed and for the better.
I had packed all my NYC caution in my luggage along with my clothes. As it turns out, I needn't have bothered.
The friendliness of the people blew me away. Just about anywhere, I could stop and ask for directions.
From the Wall St executive in a rush to his next million-dollar deal to the Upper East Side socialite walking her poodle in Central Park, they will all take a moment to direct you to Tiffany or wherever it is you're trying to get to.
At Times Square, where I stood outside the station peering at my map, a man handing out Pizza Hut coupons approached me to ask if I needed help. I felt guilty for eyeing him suspiciously.
In the more leisurely paced Washington DC, what they'll do is whip out their Blackberries and iPhones and try to aid you with an online map.
As for safety, I felt as safe in the US as I do right here in Australia.
Look at the way New York women carry their personal belongings.
In al fresco sidewalk cafes uptown and downtown, they place their bags on chairs and on the floor facing the street. Whatever crime problems the city has, snatch-and-run theft is clearly not one of them.
D) Before booking your accommodation, it's a good idea to check out TripAdvisor, which is a Godsend when it comes to avoiding hotel nightmares.
The site is reviewed by ordinary travellers just like yourself and it methodically lists the percentage of people who recommend a particular establishment. This is then broken down into five ratings, telling you exactly how many people found it "excellent", "very good" etc.
You can also learn how many reviews a certain traveller has done. Beware of hotels with raving reviews written mostly by one-time TripAdvisor users. They are often not genuine travellers but the hotel's management trying to boost their rating.
The site comes in handy especially for New York because two people staying in the same hotel can have vastly different experiences, depending on the room they end up in.
A week before you leave, confirm your reservation again via email. Low- to mid-range NYC accommodations overbook, and if they give away your room, that's just too bad. Unfortunately, this is where New York friendliness fails.
If you're headed to DC, don't worry about the final confirmation. I did it and everyone thought I was crazy and/or paranoid.
TripAdvisor will find you the cheapest online rate and save you a bundle. I stayed at the Holiday Inn, a 20-minute walk from the White House, for $US120 ($A130) a night.
Alternatively, try a hotel in Virginia. The Pentagon and surrounds are only a couple of train stops away from DC and rates there drop considerably. I spent a couple of nights at the Americana Hotel with a rack rate of $US90 ($A98).
As for saving money in a Manhattan hotel, that's pretty much impossible. Food and public transport in the Big Apple is cheap (much cheaper than Sydney) but accommodation, forget it. Short of staying in New Jersey, there's no way around it.
You can try a B&B which costs less than a hotel. But do so at a risk. Most rooms registered as B&Bs do not have to give a refund if you cancel.
Either make a good friend who has a spare couch or start saving now.
IF YOU GO:
www.yelp.com,
www.tripadvisor.com,
http://www.bedandbreakfast.com/
