So we have finally booked all our hotels in the USA and figured out our route. I have to say, the US get more and more expensive from year to year. We will fly into Detroit and from there we will go to Toronto and the Niagara Falls in Canada. Back in the US we will visit Cleveland, Cedar Point and Columbus OH. In Ohio will spend most of the time with friends. On our way back to Detroit we will stop in Ann Arbor and Dearborn to see the Henry Ford Museum. Before flying back to Europe we will stay at the MGM Grand Detroit and lose our last Dollars at the Casino. All in all we will be for nearly three weeks in the US.
Sounds like a really fun trip! I visited Niagara Falls a few times as a kid and always enjoyed it; the boats and caves that take you right up to the falls are a lot of fun Cedar Point is definitely a must-do for coaster fans. Hopefully the crowds won't be too bad when you're there, but it's probably hard to avoid in the summer I've never done the Henry Ford Museum myself, but I've heard it has a lot of EPCOT (city, not park) qualities to it, and is really fascinating. I've read some stuff on Ford recently, and he seems like a very interesting (if somewhat unusual) person, and probably would have gotten along well with Walt, though they had slightly different approaches
We will be in Michigan next month. But way up on the NW side of the mitten. Sounds like so much fun. Hope it goes without a hitch.
We have already been to Cedar Point twice and always enjoyed it a lot. We will be there during the first Halloween Weekend in September. Last time we were also in September and the crowds were okay.. We have also been to Toronto and Niagara Falls before, but it was ten years ago during our study in Ohio. In fact we have already been to all the cities before we are going to visit this time. This trip is more about reliving the past than about discovering new things. The Henry Ford Museum sounds indeed very interesting and I'm so looking forward to it.
We loved Niagara and The Henry Ford - had an AP two years. We like Ann Arbor and Cedar Point (would love but discovered my drop height max is about 125/130ft.) Have fun!
Thank you. I'm pretty sure we will have fun. We have already been to Niagara Falls once and to Cedar Point twice and we always enjoyed it a lot.
I can't believe how fast time went by. We are back at Detroit airport and waiting for our flight back to Europe. We had a great time in the US and Canada.
So over a week ago we returned from our vacation to the US and Canada. While we had a lot of fun visiting old friends in Ohio, it is definitely a different kind of USA than New York or California. Staying for a couple of days with our friends I realized again how different the US are compared to Austria. It was also cool to see all the places again where we lived ten years ago, but we had the best time in Toronto, such a relaxed and modern city. Cedar Point was also a lot fun, so many fantastic coasters, but it is a very tacky park with very "interesting" visitors. Although we visited Cedar Point three times now, I would definitely go there again just because of the big coasters. Niagara Falls were also fantastic, but the American side looks very run down. We have been to the US four times during the last five years and it is crazy how expensive visiting became, especially when you take the quality of the hotels into account. For example we stayed at the MGM Grand Detroit, which is a very nice hotel, but even for the special rate we got, it was not worth it. For the same amount of money you can stay in really luxurious hotels over here with a much better quality. Even regular hotels like Holiday Inn are way too expensive for the quality they offer. Despite the terrible flight back home we had a great time and I'm pretty sure we will return to Canada and the US in two years. Next year it's time for Japan.
So happy that, for the most part, you had a good vacation. Cedar Point's Coasters sound awesome but I do not know if we will ever make it there. It is getting pretty expensive to live here too. Vacations cost so much. That is why we have taken to camping when we travel.
Glad you enjoyed your trip! As you said, it's definitely a different type of trip than visiting the big tourist cities, but I think it's a lot of fun to visit more 'normal' places some times And I completely agree that hotel (and travel in general) prices have gotten crazy recently. As best I can tell, they stopped building new hotels during the big recession, but never picked back up to match the industry's actual recovery, so prices have just grown without any rhyme or reason. I know Disney's price increases are worst than most, but I've watched their standard hotel prices grow 30-50% over the last 4-5 years (to say nothing of their high-end hotels, many of which have more than doubled in that period). As you said, hotels in Europe are much more reasonable, and international flights are actually pretty cheap right now, making many European destinations as affordable (or more) than some traditional US tourist sites
