diff --git a/index.html b/index.html index 5e6dc38..3f7696d 100644 --- a/index.html +++ b/index.html @@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ ./france ./italy ./sweden +./united_states

Phyks’ travel notes

This is a compilation of some travel experiences I have, and would like to share, stuff I’d like to know before leaving.

If you want to add some extra informations, feel free to contact me.

diff --git a/index_head.html b/index_head.html index 9009566..ca67d89 100644 --- a/index_head.html +++ b/index_head.html @@ -4,3 +4,4 @@ ./france ./italy ./sweden +./united_states diff --git a/italy/index.html b/italy/index.html index b49f442..17c9b54 100644 --- a/italy/index.html +++ b/italy/index.html @@ -24,7 +24,7 @@

Go back

General information (mainly about northern Italy)

Italian people don’t speak much english (or are not really enclined to speak english).

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There are mainly two categories of train tickets in Italy : Frecce and others. When you go on [Trenitalia website](http://trenitalia.com/“) the search form is only for Frecce, by default, and Frecce are the most expensive trains (more comfortable, but not necessarily faster).

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There are mainly two categories of train tickets in Italy : Frecce and others. When you go on Trenitalia website the search form is only for Frecce, by default, and Frecce are the most expensive trains (more comfortable, but not necessarily faster).

Last trains between cities are usually at 10pm or 11pm, make sure not to miss the last one !

In Frecce trains, there are power plugs, even in 2nd class, but they are not european standard power plug. A small charger will

Regional trains are the equivalent of French TERs, they are not very fast (but depending on the journey, they are not necessarily much slower than Frecce) and don’t have any power plug or so. They are not very comfortable neither, with often a lot of people, but are quite cheap.

diff --git a/united_states/index.html b/united_states/index.html index 06790f5..f760327 100644 --- a/united_states/index.html +++ b/united_states/index.html @@ -12,12 +12,20 @@ @@ -26,8 +34,13 @@

General

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Rental cars

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Rental cars and gas is cheap in the US (especially when compared to France). If you are under 25, you will usually have to pay extra underage fees, which can almost double the price of the rent.

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One of the best option I found so far, if you are a student with a valid ISIC card, is renting through Alamo which has a package including everything which is quite cheap and offers peace of mine.

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If you are not from the US, ensure your rental car comes with the “liability insurance” (to cover damages you could do to others with the car), it seems it is not always included. If you have a premium credit card (Visa Premier for instance), your credit card insurances should cover damages to the car and you can then discard any “collision damage waiver” insurance. Just read your insurance policies first and make sure you are covered :)

Withdrawal fee

The fee to withdraw money is about 3$, no matter the amount you withdraw. There are some exceptions I could find, listed below.

With an LCL account, the following banks did not charge me the 3$ fee:

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New York JFK airport

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New York JFK Airport (JFK)

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Newark Airport (EWR)

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New Haven

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Boston Logan Airport (BOS)

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San Francisco Airport (SFO)

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Las Vegas area

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Driving in Las Vegas

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Mc Carran Airport (LAS)

+ diff --git a/united_states/index.md b/united_states/index.md index 37fedce..cbda0a3 100644 --- a/united_states/index.md +++ b/united_states/index.md @@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ Travel notes on United States hotspot. You can pay, or have a 30 minutes complimentary session upon signing up. Changing MAC address will let you have another complimentary session. +* Most US airports do not have any shops and facilities prior to the security + checkpoint. * Banks in the US will charge you a fee if you want to withdraw money with your european card. This fee is about 3$ (whatever the amount you withdraw) and is charged by the US bank, so your bank cannot waive it with specific @@ -16,6 +18,25 @@ Travel notes on United States for more infos. +## Rental cars + +Rental cars and gas is cheap in the US (especially when compared to France). +If you are under 25, you will usually have to pay extra underage fees, which +can almost double the price of the rent. + +One of the best option I found so far, if you are a student with a valid ISIC +card, is renting through +[Alamo](http://www.alamo-affiliate.de/isic/isic_eng.htm) which has a package +including everything which is quite cheap and offers peace of mine. + +If you are not from the US, ensure your rental car comes with the "liability +insurance" (to cover damages you could do to others with the car), it seems it +is not always included. If you have a premium credit card (Visa Premier for +instance), your credit card insurances should cover damages to the car and you +can then discard any "collision damage waiver" insurance. Just read your +insurance policies first and make sure you are covered :) + + ## Withdrawal fee The fee to withdraw money is about 3$, no matter the amount you withdraw. @@ -32,6 +53,7 @@ With an LCL account, the following banks did charge me with the 3$ fee: * Bank of America * Most ATMs in shops and groceries. + ## New York Area ### General @@ -43,12 +65,12 @@ With an LCL account, the following banks did charge me with the 3$ fee: if you have a foreign credit card, you will not be able to pay more than 50$ with it (then preventing you from buying most of the 10 tickets sets). -### New York JFK airport +### New York JFK Airport (JFK) * Customs at JFK have **very** long queues, especially if this is your first visit with an ESTA. Expect to wait at least one hour (my personal max was three hours) between the moment you leave the plane and the moment you can - actually leave the airpor. + actually leave the airport. * As a consequence, your luggage will likely arrive way ahead of you. Having a lock on your checked luggage seems to really be a necessity if it is going to wait for you for about one hour on the carousel. @@ -56,6 +78,14 @@ With an LCL account, the following banks did charge me with the 3$ fee: longer access. Changing MAC address will give you another complimentary session. +### Newark Airport (EWR) + +* If you are coming from a city along the [Northeast + Regional](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeast_Regional), trains make a + stop at EWR airport. This is super convenient as you just have to take the + Airtrain afterwards to get to your terminal. Plus Airtrain is free if you + show your Amtrak ticket to the booth. + ## New Haven @@ -67,3 +97,47 @@ With an LCL account, the following banks did charge me with the 3$ fee: lines](https://your.yale.edu/community/getting-around-yale/shuttle) are free of charge for everyone, no need to actually be part of Yale community to take it. + + +## Boston Logan Airport (BOS) + +* There is a free (bus) shuttle running continuously between the airport + terminals and the closest "T" (Boston public transit) station. Then, the + airport is connected to the main public transit at no extra cost (no special + ticket at extra price to get to the airport). + + +## San Francisco Airport (SFO) + +* I flew to and from SFO with Delta (domestic flight, terminal 1) in 2015. + Huge queue at the security checkpoint, more than one hour wait. +* I flew to and from SFO with United (domestic, terminal 3) and with Virgin + America (domestic, terminal 2) in 2017 and the queue at security checkpoint + was quite fast. +* One of the best option to eat at Terminal 2 seems to be [Napa Farms + Market](http://napafarmsmarket.com/napafarms/) offering decent food at + decent price. + + +## Las Vegas area + +### Driving in Las Vegas + +* There are basically two main roads near hotels in Las Vegas: the Interstate + 15 and the Las Vegas Boulevard (the Strip). The Strip is always busy and not + fast, so usually your GPS will guide you on the I15. Drivers tend to not + respect security distances, so be extra careful on the lanes on the right, + as traffic can stop in front of you suddenly at any time (happened to me, + the car behind me crashed into mine…). + +### Mc Carran Airport (LAS) + +* I flew to LAS with domestic flight and was renting a car afterwards. Note + that most of rental cars companies are located in [a common + place](https://www.mccarran.com/Transportation/RentalCars), few miles away + from the airport terminals. It was quite difficult to find signs indicating + which direction the rental car center was, and Las Vegas airport is really + big…. Note that you have to take a free shuttle to get to the rental car + center, it took around one hour for me between the moment I got off the + plane and the moment I got my car (Sunday evening, around 9pm so not in rush + hours).