As the United States celebrates independence day, tourism numbers have never been higher. New York City alone is set to welcome in excess of 220,000 Irish visitors in 2015 - still not quite at the peak of 2010, when 225,000 of us wandered the streets of the Big Apple - but the numbers are growing steadily all the time.
Between 2010 and 2014, Dublin Airport’s transatlantic passenger traffic grew by 42%. This summer, there are 159 weekly departures to 15 separate destinations in North America, six of which are served by more than one airline. And all of this despite a punitive exchange rate against the dollar: €1 will get you a paltry $1.11, making the US more expensive for Irish visitors than at any time in the last decade.
As a result, getting bang for your buck is all the more important, and there are some excellent deals available to the most popular destinations for Irish visitors - New York City, Boston, Orlando, Las Vegas and California - as well as interesting options for destinations slightly off the beaten path.
Tour America sale
Tour America (touramerica.ie) is hosting a 48-hour sale from July 4th to celebrate Independence Day with deals for the big three US destinations, at least for Irish visitors.
You can get 7 nights in Orlando from €629 per person sharing (this is a family deal, based on two adults and two children, for a total of €2515) that includes flights (via Gatwick) and four-star hotel accommodation on International Drive, travelling out on November 3.
There's also a good deal for three nights' in New York, based on four adults travelling together and sharing two rooms in Fitzpatrick's Hotel on Lexington Ave. The cost works out at €639 per person, includes flights on Aer Lingus and is for travel on January 7, 2016 - just in time for the post-Christmas sales.
You'll need four adults to travel together to avail of their Las Vegas deal, which works out at €832 per person and includes flights with British Airways via Gatwick and four nights in a double deluxe queen room in the Hard Rock Hotel on the strip.
American Holidays’ sale
The other big player in the US market is holding its own July 4th sale. American Holidays' (americanholidays.com) has similar offers to Orlando for €649 per person sharing, while its New York deal (€859, for travel in November) is for three nights' at the Court Hotel on E39th St, but you can opt to upgrade to the Crowne Plaza on Lexington Ave for an extra €95 or your choices of Westin hotels, on 42nd St (add €198) or Times Square (add €266).
Budget Travel (budgettravel.ie) has a couple of good deals to South Florida, including 7 nights at the Bayside Inn in Key Largo, on the Florida Keys, from €906 per person sharing, travelling out on September 1. If you're ready to go now, they have a last-minute offer of 14 nights at the 3-star La Siesta Resort in Islamorada from €1595 - and both include flights from Dublin through Orlando with US Airways and American Airlines.
If you want to explore the South, there are some good deals to New Orleans for October (4 nights including flights for €1099; americanholidays.com), with the flights going via Nashville, the capital of country music. You can do four nights at the Hyatt Opryland, plus two nights at the Comfort Inn in Memphis (a four hour bus ride away) from €1279 per person sharing, also with American Holidays.
One of the most popular ways to explore the US is on a fly-drive holiday, where you fly into one destination and out of another, visiting the bits in between by rental car. The classic fly-drive is along California's Pacific Coast Highway, where you fly into San Francisco and out of either Los Angeles or Las Vegas, but there are plenty of other options. An increasingly popular option is exploring the Deep South: you fly into Atlanta and wend your way through Alabama, Northern Florida and Mississippi before finishing in New Orleans. A 10-day itinerary, including flights, car rental and accommodation, starts at €1399 per person with American Holidays.
They also offer a 15-day self-drive itinerary through Oklahoma and Kansas explores the American heartland: you'll visit Native American lodges and museums; the mansions of the early 20th century oil barons; visit an underground salt mine and an Amish village; and explore the "outsider" art of Lucas, Kansas. The price including flights, car rental and accommodation is €1928 per person.
Part of the above itinerary includes driving a stretch of Route 66, the ‘Mother Road,’ a 2400-mile route that begins in Chicago and ends in Los Angeles. Every travel agent will do a deal to Chicago - a typical four-night stay in a 3-star hotel including direct flights from Dublin will cost between €680 and €730 per person sharing.
You can do Route 66 by car, but what about on the back of a Harley Davidson? Celtic Horizon Tours (celtichorizontours.com) has a longstanding guided motorcyle tour of all 2400 miles that starts in Chicago, travels across eight states and three time zones before finishing 14 days later in downtown Los Angeles. The trip includes flights, motorcycle rental, all hotel accommodation (on a B&B basis) and all parking fees and costs €3274. The next tour is in October.
If you fancy exploring the American landscape with a little less effort, then a rail holiday might be the best bet. Also starting in Chicago, Grand American Adventures (grandamericanadventures.com) has a 14-day itinerary (September 2-15; €2269) aboard Amtrak's Southwest Chief that includes Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon in Arizona, Las Vegas and onto California, visiting San Francisco, Yosemite National Park before boarding the California Zephyr for the journey back to Chicago via Salt Lake City in Utah. The price includes all train fares, hotels, guided tours and meals (except lunch) are included; flights are extra.
If you prefer a more specific geographic focus, then the Travel Department's (traveldepartment.ie; from €2549) California & The Golden West by Rail 13-night itinerary takes in San Francisco and Yosemite by vintage train, a guided tour of Los Angeles and a visit to Las Vegas. The price includes flights, all accommodations, all train fares and coach transfers.
The America's Heritage independent rail tour (americansky.ie; from €2169) is a 13-night East Coast itinerary that starts in Boston travels through New York, Philadelphia, Williamsburg before finishing in Washington, DC.
American Sky also have a 10-day Grand New England Escorted Coach Tour that starts in Boston before visiting Portland (Maine), the White Mountains of New Hampshire, the Green Mountains of Vermont, the Connecticut River Valley and then finishing off with two nights in Cape Cod. Flights and B&B accommodation are included throughout along with porterage and a guide - and costs €2099 per person.
