Trip to USA/Canada - suggestions/tips?

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Planning this in August, but never been out of Europe before, so any tips/info would be welcome.

I'm assuming our mobiles will work out there - although obviously no roaming. Apparently you can get pre-loaded sims for $10ish, even in places like Aldi. Although, we won't be making many calls, just using wi-fi in the hotel, etc.

Do UK chargers work over there? I know we'll need adaptor plugs, but what about the voltage/frequency being different - is this a problem, or do chargers magically cope with it?

Ditto for laptop chargers? My lad has a gaming laptop which has a charger the size of a brick! Can't believe that's going to work too well on half the voltage.

Any problems with credit debit cards out there? Can you withdraw money from ATMs with UK cards? I assume Google Pay works?

Any recommendations for hotels in New York, Boston and Toronto.

Anyone ever flown to Toronto, or back from Boston? Which transatlantic airlines are the best? Any recommendations for internal carriers?

Any tips re trips to Niagara Falls, Statue of Liberty, Empire State, Central Park, etc?

Who do we tip and how much?

I'm not being a lazy bugger, I've bought the books and watch the videos, but the books aren't up-to-date and the viedos are often contractdictory, so I thought personal tips and recommendations would probably be more useful.

Thanks in advance.

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Stick to Sheppey.😁

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Went to Boston with a New England fly drive last year and all our stuff here works over there with the usual adapter plugs. Flew with Virgin and as long as you are under 6' tall they are good, especially the staff. However, I am 6'3 and short haul seats are way better, even with a legroom upgrade.
Beware flying into Logan, immigration do all Americans first and make sure foreigners wait till last.
Enjoyed New York, but not done eastern Canada. The west coast is way, way better for scenery. New England doesn't have the wow factors - pleasant and still enjoyable, but nothing compared to the Rockies. Lovely country towns though and NO LITTER, ANYWHERE!
Eating out can be a trial, unless you like burgers and diners. We found it expensive, especially as tipping is regarded as mandatory with 20% (yes really), the benchmark. They are big on craft beers, with cloudy, knife and fork jobs popular last year. Waiters are insufferably cheerful, probably to get more tips. Hotel breakfasts were good, coffee is cheap, but weak, while one sandwich will easily do two people for lunch. Indeed, portions outside New York and Boston quickly explain why their are so many overweight people over there.
New York is easy to get around, both via the subways and on foot. Everywhere the car is king and folk drive everywhere - even just to cross the road! That said, Boston has good heritage walking trails.
Overall, it is definitely an adventure. They all speak English, though not always easily understood compared to ours. Most folk you meet are very nice, though remember many voted for Trump and think more guns are the way to combat gun crime. However, there will be many highlights to make up for a few unsavoury things and definitely loads to share afterwards, including hundreds of pictures of all things large and small.
Enjoy!

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If you’ve not done it yet, get your ESTAs sorted (electronic visa to get into the USA) - they cost $21 per person from the proper channels, if you’re being asked to pay more, you’re being scammed
Go to Martin Lewis’ MSE website for an excellent explanation of what to do and a link to the appropriate authority to apply for the ESTA

www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/esta-usa-visa/

Secondly, you’ve still got time to get the right credit card for overseas spending sorted out.
Most credit cards will work seemlessly over there, but equally most can work out expensive to use as they add 2-3% on each transaction by adjusting the rate of exchange, others also charge a fee per transaction too, both for purchases and ATM withdrawals

To avoid this, get yourself a credit card that is designed for overseas spending, eg Halifax Clarity Mastercard (there are others);
with this one, there’s no transaction fee, and better still, they apply the commercial rate of exchange (as opposed to the tourist rate) which as said above, will be 2-3% better in your favour.

You can also use it to make ATM withdrawals, fee free (though some ATM operators will apply a small fee, but these are hard to avoid) - the only downside is you’ll pay interest on ATM withdrawals from the moment of the withdrawal until you pay it off;
the APR is steep too, at 29%, but if you pay it off in a month, that’s about 2.5%, but it still better than getting cash from an airport bureau exchange - plus you can avoid the interest charge if you do mobile banking by simply paying off the amount you’ve withdrawn immediately

Again, go to Martin Lewis’ website for another excellent piece on taking the right card on your holidays

www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/travel-credit-cards/

Are you hiring a car over there?

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Colleague who went to Disneyland says need a UK to US plug adaptor.

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Tips are anything from 12 to 20 percent.

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Bar staff , bellboys, porters , restaurant employees and fast food delivery workers would expect these tips. Taxis would expect rounding up tips.

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Canadians are, on the whole, more easy going than their American neighbours and don't understand the popularity of Donald Trump any more than we do.
Toronto can be very hot and humid in the summer. Likewise New York, though you'll need a jumper for when you go into shops as the Aircon can be very chilly. The locals like it that way though and prefer to eat indoors.
A while since we went to New York, but all the sights were easy to access, including the Empire State, Brooklyn Bridge, Grand Central and so on. The Staten Island ferry is free and a nice way to see that iconic skyline. Easily the best place we've been in North America for decent restaurants, probably because it is so cosmopolitan.

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A monzo bank account with card (mastercard I think). Doesn't charge the fees just the mastercard rate.

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You can get a train from New York to Boston, which might be more scenic and relaxing than another airport to airport flight.

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And Grand Central Station is worth a visit anyway.

[jdh80]

Last time I was over in the states was 2007 and I remember when using my credit card they did not have chip and pin and you had to show ID so i either had my UK driving licence which they hated* or my passport, not sure if it's updated now.

The tipping culture over there is very different to over here, it's expected and varies from 15-20%, there is also various state taxes as well, so when you look in the store and think ooo I'll buy that when you get to the till you might not be asked for the same price.

How old is you son, if he is 21 or a couple of years older and wants a beer he will be asked to provide ID, even if you have been in the bar drinking for 3 hours they will still ask you for ID.

When you cross the roads remember to look both ways, in New York they do turn left on red lights although pedestrians have right of way as i've seen them a few times kicking cars.

New York
If you are into sports then Madison Square Garden in New York is worth a visit and if you can do a tour then I would jump at the chance.
There was a Pier 17 with some nice restaurants etc - there was also this massive sports bar somewhere we found that was awesome you had american football on one massive screen, 1 hockey game on the next another hockey game on the other a basketball game a college football game on another and lacrosse on another.
There is a monument area down by where the Twin towers were built after the 9/11 incident which is quite moving and it's intereseting walking around down by the new york stock exchange
If you are taking the trains etc make sure you don;t mess up like we did and end up in Harlem etc
Bronx area has got a Zoo (never been myself)
Empire State Building gives a nice view of the City (providing weather co-operates)
If you wife loves shopping leave her at the doors to Macy's
You've got a lot of Broadway and off Broadway shows and there is a ticket kiosk in times square that gives good discounts so always has queues so if you want to see a show get to that ticket kiosk early, or check with the hotel's concierge some have deals with some of the local attractions and you might get discounts etc that way.
The Statue of Liberty
You also got a few options to go around Manhatten island either by helicopter or boat both of which are quite good, used to be reasonably priced.
Grand Central Station is worth a visit as other have said
There is a Botanical gardens over in the Bronx which is very nice to walk through
Obviously Central Park
Trump Tower not sure if you can still go in there, but
Only major attraction i haven't gone and done is Ellis Island which i have been told is really good especially is you are a history buff


Boston
TD Northbank Garden - Home of the Boston Bruins Ice hockey team
You got the Boston Tea Party ships tour
There is a sealife centre in Boston well worth a visit (can't remember if it was the one there or the one in Atlanta that had the Batfish)
The Boston train station has got at least 13 irish bars between the station and the hotel I was staying (Granted i lost count and missed a few but even Swordy woudl have trouble doing a pub crawl in this city)
One of the days there a bunch of us went to Providence by train but my Dad stayed in the Boston area and had a tour of Harvard, not sure if it is a guided tour or he just walked over there and walked around
There was a building with a skydeck that you could go up and see the for miles as it is pretty flat in the area, can't remember the name of it, (Sears was chicago and the Archway is in St louis, but can't remember the one in Boston).
Nice City plenty of drinking establishments

Toronto
Beautiful city
Air Canada Centre - Home to the Toronto Maple Leafs Ice hockey team (Some basketball team play there as well)
They also got the Toronto blue Jays baseball team
They pronounce the city as "tronno"
You got the Cn Tower worth a visit up, lovely views of the city in all directions (As it's the summer you should be able to look down into the Blue jays stadium as I would guess they'll have the roof of that building open)
Yonge Street covers the downtown area and had a great sports gear shop (I regret not being able to figure out the exchange rate when i was last here, i could've bought a sh*t tonne more stuff).
You got a great sports bar called "Gretzky's" after the greatest ice hockey player of all time (Ah no that t has now shut down f&^%)
You got the Ice Hockey Hall of fame which for me is a must do in Toronto
You have to go to Timmy Horton's to get a coffee and a doughnut (Brand store like starbucks, Dunkin Donuts etc)


In terms of sport you might be catching some of the minor sports and the Baseball but the major sports NFL, NBA and NHL wont be on in August
In terms of food you will have a great selection in all three cities
In terms of getting around the cities are much easier to navigate as they are more or less in a grid type system, so you can only walk a block in the wrong direction
Never shy away from asking hotel concierge staff about places and best ways to get around they will gladly assist
We also found that hotel bar staff were really clued in on some of the decent restaurants that were a little quieter if you wanted to get out of the noise a little

Only warning would be to look at the money you are giving people especially tips, our notes are all different colours where in the US they are all the same and can easily be mixed up, you could end up tipping a waitress $100 for a $25 breakfast.

What we used to do was if the hotels where breakfast was included was have a decent breakfast and that would last us to the evening meal, or if the hotel did not have breakfast place like subway/ihop/or any other pancake/breakfast bar etc you get decent sized servings so might not need to stop for lunch.

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Worth adding that you need a warm jumper if you got into Macy's or any of the other big stores - the Aircon can be arctic!

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Take a fire extinguisher 🧯 🔥

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The West Coast of Canada is unreal if you follow a route similar to Seattle > Victoria > Vancouver > Whistler > Jasper > Lake Louise > Banff > Calgary (or the reverse, obviously). You'll literally get sick of beautiful scenery.

Been to New York twice and find it a bit meh. Busy, stressful big city that you'll pay out your arse to eat in. I am very much a country bumpkin, however.

I would definitely recommend a Monzo as someone mentioned before, not just for the US / Canada but when you travel in general - super handy!

Definitely make sure you also have at least one phone that has data. Any trip I've been on post covid it's been near enough impossible to do day to day stuff without one because everything obviously geared up towards it now. Will make getting tickets for transport, events, attractions, etc 10x easier and you'll be happy to have an accurate map to hand. Download Uber or an equivalent as well - the NY subway is a cesspit at the best of times, you don't want to be on it past a certain time and if it means paying $20 for an uber back to your hotel, it's often worth it.

Sports wise, I'd try and see Hockey / Basketball personally. Baseball and American football are incredibly long and hard to engage with in my experience. Hockey / Basketball flow quicker and I find the atmosphere is way better generally.

Beyond that, and I know it's difficult with kids, try and walk shorter journeys during the day. That's a rule of thumb I have where possible. You always see the best stuff when you're not on the tube / a bus.