Written by Jose Santamaria
The US is not precisely a small country, on the contrary, it is actually the World’s third biggest country. And, for what I have been able to see in the year and a half that I have already spent here, it is equally as diverse. From breathtaking national parks, to multicultural cities, amazing mountains and of course, and Californian worldwide known beaches, there is a spectacle around every corner.
Places to visit near Irvine
Unless you are a natural adventurer, maybe one of the first trips you will make after settling down will be near your new home, Irvine, or at least, that is what I did. The two major cities are, as you probably already know by now, Los Angeles to the North and San Diego to the South, both around 1h30min away by car.
There is very little I might be able to tell you about LA that you either do not already know, or can easily find on the Internet in an instant. It is a well-known city, with several famous spots, like Venice Beach, Malibu or Santa Monica Pier, as well as the Hollywood Sign or Griffith Observatory.
As for San Diego, it is another beautiful city with important places such as the USS Midway, Balboa Park, a bunch of sea lions taking a nap at La Jolla and if you are a meat-lover, you cannot miss Phil’s BBQ, San Diego’s best ribs.
1. Me at La Jolla, trying not to wake up the sleeping beauties
National Parks
To my mind, one of the wonders of the US are its National Parks. You have probably already heard of some of them, like Yosemite, Sequoia or the Grand Canyon. These are big preserved areas with simply astonishing views, an endless number of hikes, and definitely, an unbeatable scene for a bunch of new memories.
All of the information regarding National Parks can be found at their website. If you are into this type of adventures, the annual pass they offer is definitely worth it, it will grant you access to all of the parks in the network for 365 days.
A particular route that I personally did, and so has a lot of people that I know, is to do a road trip that follows a “loop” that allows you to visit in around a week the Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyon (where the iPhone cool wallpaper pictures were taken), Horseshoe Bend, Monument Valley, Arches, Bryce, Zion and before heading back home, a quick visit to Las Vegas to spend the money you might have left on your pockets.
2. Me at the Grand Canyon
Flying over to other cities
But not every beautiful place is as close to Irvine, sometimes, it is more convenient to fly over to get to know places, plus, national flights are not as expensive.
Before arriving to the US for the first time, I already had a list on my mind of the cities I wanted to visit, and if you also know there are places you want to visit for sure and want a piece of advice on that, do not postpone those trips. Start as soon as possible, because you might think you have a long time ahead to go and visit, but time flies.
So that is what I did, as soon as I had settled down and got my things in order, I headed to Denver, the mile-high city. I am not much of a fan of mountains, cold and hiking, but the Rocky Mountains left me speechless. Short after that, I also visited San Francisco, emblematic city, and that one you can actually go by car, enjoying Big Sur. The list of cities can go way longer, some examples are New Orleans and its swamps and voodoo, Miami and the keys, New York, Washington or Chicago.
But planning a visit to a city from scratch can be a bit stressful. A friend of mine once talked with me about a very interesting initiative, called free tours by foot. These are tours at the most important cities, in which certified locals guide you around the city and provide you with very interesting information in an extremely close way, almost like family. By the end of the tour you feel like an expert on the issue. And as the name says, they are free. Usually you will have to sign up for a particular tour, so that they have a head count on the number of visitors.
3. Me and The Bean in Chicago (it snowed that day)
You might think I have visited quite a lot of places in a year and a half, but trust me, I really wish I had been to more. There is so much to see, so many places to visit, and now that you also have the opportunity to visit them all, do not let it slip!