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The durations for almost everywhere are very exaggerated, 28 days in Boston, 21 in DC... really?
I know you don't hate Philadelphia, but you sure do underscore the city and metro very often. But there is no reason why Philadelphia city/metro deserves significantly less days than Boston, Atlanta, Vegas, DC, etc.
Philadelphia is a very large unique city anchored by a very large unique metro area. A destination like Longwood Gardens in suburban Philadelphia is an example of that.
Much more realistic. I don't know any travelers who come to the US to spend 28 days in Boston or 14 days in the Atlanta metro area Unless there is a job or family involved, its usually 2-5 days in each major spot before moving on to the next.
I know a few people who anchored in New York and traveled, to DC, Philadelphia, etc.
The Metro includes a lot. New York has the Catskills (3-4 days alone there), Hudson Valley Towns, Asbury Park NJ, Shore Points, Some Li Places, the Palisades.. Boston has Gloucester, Rockport, the Cape, the whole Norrh Shore, Coastal NH. SF I can't even begin to pick at the metro. To hit everything you need a lot of time
Also I really do like Philadelphia, I like the metro better than the city too. I gave it a fairly high mark. Atlantic City, Lancaster County, the Suburban towns, Cape May and Wildwood among a. Few others.
You’re insane if you think Southeast Asia, the Mediterranean, or the Caribbean, are equal to, or better than Hawaii. All have attributes that may equal Hawaii, like surfing in Bali, but none have the total package. Sorry.
I know Honolulu well, in fact I was born and raised there
I also currently live in Asia and have been to numerous places in Southeast Asia like Bali, Boracay, Pattaya, Maldives, etc. and I'd say a lot of those places have more to offer than Honolulu. Frankly a lot of Honolulu's infrastructure and its hotels are pretty run down and a lot haven't been renovated in decades. The airport is a disaster, and aside from Ala Moana and a few areas in Waikiki I'd say entertainment, shopping and dining aren't that amazing. If this were 1995 I may agree with you but these days there are some really luxurious and breathtaking places in the developing world that offer a lot more bang for your buck.
If you go to the neighbor islands that's somewhat of a different story, as the natural beauty is really on another level.
The Metro includes a lot. New York has the Catskills (3-4 days alone there), Hudson Valley Towns, Asbury Park NJ, Shore Points, Some Li Places, the Palisades.. Boston has Gloucester, Rockport, the Cape, the whole Norrh Shore, Coastal NH. SF I can't even begin to pick at the metro. To hit everything you need a lot of time
Also I really do like Philadelphia, I like the metro better than the city too. I gave it a fairly high mark. Atlantic City, Lancaster County, the Suburban towns, Cape May and Wildwood among a. Few others.
Okay...But I don't think the average traveler wants to or needs to visit every single town in the New York or Boston metro, unless they are doing some sort of social experiment maybe? And if that is your logic, then you could spend a month in every major city/metro. Your Boston favoritism is coming out with the 1-month trip to Boston too...
Another example...
Philadelphia 5, metro 12. (not sure if its 5+12, or 5+7 = 12).
Atlanta 5, metro 14.
What constitutes an equal amount of time in Philadelphia and Atlanta? (cities), and an extra 2 entire days in metro Atlanta... Philadelphia is a much larger city that needs more time to thoroughly explore.
21 days in DC and 14 in Vegas are other odd ones...
In summary, you can enjoy a thorough visit of every major American city/metro in 3-10 days each. Anything longer must be for some specific outside reason.
Last edited by cpomp; 07-13-2020 at 09:51 AM..
Reason: edit
Okay...But I don't think the average traveler wants to or needs to visit every single town in the New York or Boston metro, unless they are doing some sort of social experiment maybe? And if that is your logic, then you could spend a month in every major city/metro. Your Boston favoritism is coming out with the 1-month trip to Boston too...
Another example...
Philadelphia 5, metro 12. (not sure if its 5+12, or 5+7 = 12).
Atlanta 5, metro 14.
What constitutes an equal amount of time in Philadelphia and Atlanta? (cities), and an extra 2 entire days in metro Atlanta... Philadelphia is a much larger city that needs more time to thoroughly explore.
21 days in DC and 14 in Vegas are other odd ones...
In summary, you can enjoy a thorough visit of every major American city/metro in 3-10 days each. Anything longer must be for some specific outside reason.
Depending on your definition of the Boston area it’s teally not uncommon for the wealthy from New York to have summer homes on the Cape or South Shore that the wife and kids spend literally the whole summer and the father visits on weekends. So people can certainly spend months on “vacation” although you’d stop doing new things rather quickly
The durations for almost everywhere are very exaggerated, 28 days in Boston, 21 in DC... really?
I know you don't hate Philadelphia, but you sure do underscore the city and metro very often. But there is no reason why Philadelphia city/metro deserves significantly less days than Boston, Atlanta, Vegas, DC, etc.
Philadelphia is a very large unique city anchored by a very large unique metro area. A destination like Longwood Gardens in suburban Philadelphia is an example of that.
Much more realistic. I don't know any travelers who come to the US to spend 28 days in Boston or 14 days in the Atlanta metro area Unless there is a job or family involved, its usually 2-5 days in each major spot before moving on to the next.
I know a few people who anchored in New York and traveled, to DC, Philadelphia, etc.
Which is what I normally do when I travel up there in the summer... Anchor in NYC, and drive to: Montreal, Philly, DC, Jersey Beaches, etc.
I can't imagine any scenario where I'd want to spend 10+ days in any city as a visitor, unless some sort of mega resort is involved (think Disney Resorts, with 4-day park pass packages and whatnot... Add another 3 days after to visit the actual city, explore nearby places (space coast, springs, etc.) and that's it: 7 days to do it all.)
But yeah, 10+ days in NYC? For what? What are you going to do there? Boston??? DC?? DC is a 2-3 day trip, IMO. As are most cities that don't have massive tourist attractions.
The Metro includes a lot. New York has the Catskills (3-4 days alone there), Hudson Valley Towns, Asbury Park NJ, Shore Points, Some Li Places, the Palisades.. Boston has Gloucester, Rockport, the Cape, the whole Norrh Shore, Coastal NH. SF I can't even begin to pick at the metro. To hit everything you need a lot of time
Also I really do like Philadelphia, I like the metro better than the city too. I gave it a fairly high mark. Atlantic City, Lancaster County, the Suburban towns, Cape May and Wildwood among a. Few others.
Quote:
Originally Posted by btownboss4
Depending on your definition of the Boston area it’s teally not uncommon for the wealthy from New York to have summer homes on the Cape or South Shore that the wife and kids spend literally the whole summer and the father visits on weekends. So people can certainly spend months on “vacation” although you’d stop doing new things rather quickly
Yes, I get that logic, but that is different.
I viewed it as, if you took a plane or drove to City/Metro X, what is a reasonable amount of time to explore that region. I say 3-10 days for virtually everywhere.
Renting a summer house for 1-month in Cape Cod or parking on the beach for 1-month anywhere does not fall under that general scenario. You may spend 1-month enjoying your summer home, but you don't need 1-month to explore the Boston area.
Last edited by cpomp; 07-13-2020 at 10:12 AM..
Reason: edit
I think the only A cities (7 days or more) would be NYC, Chicago, probably LA, perhaps DC and SF. No other cities. Of course, this is a broad brush and dependent on what a tourist is visiting a particular city for in the first place, day trips. etc. My opinion of course.
Location: Miami (prev. NY, Atlanta, SF, OC and San Diego)
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I'm with you.....funny, but when I grew up in NY (technically was a resident up until age 24) I never went to Philadelphia and spent 2-3 days in DC and Boston and did not feel shortchanged (though I was not an adult at the time)....when I go back now to visit it is usually for a 5 night trip to NYC (not longer, only because I lived and been there so often) and would consider a 4 day/3 night trip to Philly only because I've never been there. Yeah, I could also see NYC as the anchor with a side visit to any one or maybe 2 of the other 3 big cities in the region on the same visit.
when I visited out West prior to moving there, LA was the anchor city with a same day or overnight trip to San Diego....I imagine some might do as short as a 3-4 night trip each to SF and LA with a possible 2 night visit to Vegas or SD nowadays--though, frankly that would not be enough for each of the CA cities and would feel rushed to me--but, then again, look at how many Americans cram 3 European cities into a 10 day itinerary. Such crammed vacations can often be an exploratory trip with visitors returning to 1 of the cities and spending a full week or more there at a future date.
Outside of the US, I have spent 10 days - 2 weeks in Rio multiple times and never get bored--urban, beach and forest are all in the same area....I would like to spend a month+ in Barcelona, Madrid, or Milan when we get over this Covid thing and use it as my base for multiple day or 2 night trips within a 2-3 hour radius.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Arcenal352
Which is what I normally do when I travel up there in the summer... Anchor in NYC, and drive to: Montreal, Philly, DC, Jersey Beaches, etc.
I can't imagine any scenario where I'd want to spend 10+ days in any city as a visitor, unless some sort of mega resort is involved (think Disney Resorts, with 4-day park pass packages and whatnot... Add another 3 days after to visit the actual city, explore nearby places (space coast, springs, etc.) and that's it: 7 days to do it all.)
But yeah, 10+ days in NYC? For what? What are you going to do there? Boston??? DC?? DC is a 2-3 day trip, IMO. As are most cities that don't have massive tourist attractions.
Last edited by elchevere; 07-13-2020 at 10:58 AM..
I couldn't give two farts about Billy Graham, don't whitewater raft and couldn't tell you what NASCAR stands for. Why would it be surprising that I wouldn't want to visit?
Isn't this thread about what cities have to offer tourists in general and not you personally? Even Greensboro and Dayton got D's here but Charlotte gets an F? That's pretty laughable.
Baked and Wired is the only one I'd recommend (and the only one I usually stop at when I'm in Georgetown). The cupcakes are much bigger and the frosting is fluffier.
The others are rip-offs. Ironically, those are the ones with the biggest crowds.
Also, to correct, DC Cupcakes and Georgetown Cupcake are the same thing. The third "famous" one is Sprinkles. That's the one I meant.
From what I've heard, they're all the rage with the Instagram crowd and the rich Karens that live here. I'll never understand the appeal, but it is what it is I suppose.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Keyser S
There's alot of Sprinkles here, and that's my go to. I didn't realize it's from DC. interesting.
I moved out before this whole craze hit.
Sprinkles is a LA company. Sprinkles and Magnolia in NYC really popularized the cupcake bakery trend.
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Unless there is a job or family involved, its usually 2-5 days in each major spot before moving on to the next. 
