Hello, well that has put me off going there, What is the best place to visit as i like the sun and sightseeing, plenty of sightseeing in england but not much sun. Do not like amusements parks but used to watch miami vise a few years ago, that looks ok.
One thing to know is that Vegas offers pretty much anything you want to do except snow ski and hang out at the ocean. Though, there is a "beach" at one of the resorts. It also has some of the finest food and nightlife a city could offer. Are you traveling alone or with someone?
I know that you want to go in December, so if you like sun, then you're going to want to stick to the southwest United States or Miami in the Southeast. The major cities in the southwest are Las Vegas, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and San Diego. Depending on how long you will be here in the US, you could see most of those areas without spending much more money. For example you could do something like this.
Fly into Las Vegas for two nights (you won't need much more than that) and have a good time enjoying the nightlife and checking out all of the casinos. You could even do a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon from Las Vegas or go out and check out Hoover Dam. On your third day, you could either drive to Los Angeles, which is about 5 hours of driving, or you could fly for relatively cheap and it only takes 1 hour to fly. If you go to Vegas and want to stay in a high end place, go to the Wynn or Venitian. For a luxury without the price check out the Platinum Hotel. For a good value I like the Monte Carlo or Caesar's Palace.
Once in LA I recommend staying in Santa Monica. If you have some cash to spend then Shutters On The Beach or Viceroy are two great hotels with great locations right by the beach. Santa Monica is centrally located to the airport, Hollywood, and Malibu. It also has a TON of great restaurants and nightlife that you can walk to from the two hotels that I mentioned. There is also plenty of shopping if you're taking a lady or if you like to shop yourself. Plus, you can walk to the beach that you probably always see on TV. You know the one right by the pier with the ferris wheel in the background.
If you stay in Santa Monica, I recommend heading up to Malibu for a day. It actually borders Santa Monica and will take about 30 minutes to get to anywhere in Malibu from Santa Monica. There are some great beaches in Malibu and if you want some good seafood, go to Malibu Seafood for lunch. Or you can go hang out at Dukes for some good food and great scenery. If you're into seeing celebs, go to the Cross Creek area in Malibu. It's a little place with shops and dining that a lot of celebs hang out at. If you like Sushi, there's a place called Nobu that is great, but pretty expensive in that area. For Greek food, check out Taverna Tony's.
There's always the famous Sunset Strip to go check out. You can start out at Sunset Beach in Malibu and drive all the way up Sunset Blvd to the strip. It's pretty scenic drive and you'll see some amazing houses in Beverly Hills. If you're into nightlife, Sunset Blvd is where the action is.
For shopping there's the Beverly Center mall or you can cruise around Melrose Blvd in Hollywood for the more funky shops.
If you have some time and you want to visit some really cool places, drive north from Santa Monica for 1 hour and 30 minutes up the coast and you'll come to Santa Barbara. Probably one of my most favorite places in CA. If you head south about 1 hour, you'll end up in Newport Beach and Laguna Beach. Recently made famous by the show O.C. as these are both in Orange County. From there you're only 30 minutes west of Disneyland should you so desire to see Mickey.
San Diego is about a 3 hour drive from Santa Monica and also has some really cool things to see. Though, I'm not as familiar with San Diego as I am with Los Angeles.
Phoenix is a great city to visit also, especially if you just want to relax. They have some great resorts there and plenty of golf courses. Though, that is high season for Phoenix as it's one of the best times to play golf. If you do go, you'll want to stay in the Scottsdale area as it has most of the touristy stuff you'll want to see.
That's my take on things to visit in the Soutwest. Miami is a great city to visit, but I've only been there once and I'm not sure how it is during December. ChicoD may be able to fill you in on that place.
