First time in the USA!

This coming July I'll be making my first trip to the USA from Australia. Somehow, I've convinced my lady to let me add a few tiki bars to our itinerary, so I was looking for some advice for someone completely unfamiliar with these places.

We'll be spending time in Anaheim, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and New York before going to Vermont for a wedding.

First question: we plan on going to Trader Sam's and Frankie's Tiki Bar - is there anything I need to know before going? Best times to visit? Best days to visit?

Secondly: is there any easy way to get to any other tiki bars in LA without having access to a car?

Lastly: any good tiki spots in NYC? Or Vermont for that matter?

Thanks in advance!

Fantastic, congratulations!

In my observation, best bet at Trader Sam's is Monday - Thursday in the afternoon. That's if you just want to walk inside and sit down. But it usually doesn't take too long to sit inside even during busier times.

Same for Frankie's, I've never seen it so crowded that you couldn't sit down after too long, it's a much bigger place.

As for getting around in LA without a car, there's only one realistic option: Uber. I hope Tiki-Ti is on your must visit list too!

Don the Beachcomber is about a half hour drive from Disneyland. That wouldn't be too hard on cab fare, relative to flying to the USA from Australia :)

The nice thing about Frankie's Tiki Room is that it is open 24 hours, so you can go any time you want. I may or may not have been seen there at 9:30am on a Tuesday while on vacation once. It's a great place to hang out while waiting for other places to open.

Agreed on using Uber if you need to get around LA/OC without a car and trying to make Tiki Ti one of your LA stops. But I wouldn't Uber BETWEEN Orange County and LA unless you are okay paying quite a bit for it.

When you go to Trader Sam's if all the seats at the bar are taken, it's worth hanging around inside (start at a table if you have to) to wait for bar seats to open up. The bar has all the action and the best views see too all the "magic" are on the middle-to-right side of the middle section (backs to the main door).

I don't know of any tiki in Vermont, but if you like microbrews and are going to be in/near Burlington, there are some good breweries there. I went to Magic Hat and The Alchemist a few years ago (highly recommend The Alchemist), but there's also this brewery tour that might be of interest: https://burlingtonbrewtours.com/

Outstanding, thanks so much for all the advice.

Finky099, we'll be in Burlington for four days so I reckon there's a very good chance we'll be partaking in that brewery tour. Thanks fpr the heads up!

The only tiki in NYC is at Otto's Shrunken Head. And compared to California it pales. (I hate to say it since I'm from the East Coast!)

Enjoy your trip!