Spending money in USA

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My husband & I are going to America soon on a 16 day coach tour from LA to Grand Canyon, Las Vegas & San Fransisco. All travel & hotels are paid for but we are clueless how much money to take for meals etc. Can anyone give us a clue about prices of meals (in �GB please) and how much "touristy" things are such as Universal Studios, Helicopter Trip in the Grand Canyon & Alcatraz etc. Thanks

[SteveD]

Here are some comments: UNIVERSAL STUDIOS I have never been, but I guess it's the thing to do if you're in LA and I'm sure you will enjoy it. GRAND CANYON It is magnificent and you don't need to take a helicopter trip to appreciate it. However, it's probably something you will do only once in your life so go for the helicopter trip. Because the canyon is so big and certainly if your time is limited, it will probably be the best way of seeing the magnificent sights. One thing which surprised me about the Grand Canyon is that it rains there (at least it did on the south rim when my wife and I went there). I had imagined that it was all desert and dry. This was a July a few years ago. ALCATRAZ A must. Get headphones and do the tour. There were some bad guys in there but you will be moved. MEALS You can eat quite cheaply but allow for tips for everything (and Sales Tax if it's applicable where you will be).

[g-money]

I live in Florida so here goes, it will cost $54 U.S or about 30 quid per adult to enter universal.Eating should relativly cheap any where from 3-10 quid per head for casual dining most places provide unlimeted soft drink refills with food purchase .A word of warning- do not by theme park tickets from your travel agent in u.k. they bump the charge up alot ,also do not buy tickets from any of the 'discount tikcts' booths you will see outside shops an in shopping malls alot of people have been busted with fakes lately or they will trap you into looking at timeshares.Only buy them from your hotel lobby or at the gates.I hope this helps

[BenDToy]

Take credit cards and for everything using them. You will incur less charges for currency exchange, get a better rate, and not have to worry about how much to take. If you need cash you can get it from ATM machines using a PIN, which you can easily get from your card issuer. And no worries about security or not so many! If you must take "money" take travellers cheques in $US.