West Coast USA
- Thread starter Husssy
- Start date
Hoping to see both along, with Grand Canyon, Yosemite and San Diego. Like to take in the wine region too off course
. Heard that LA really not that great, so prob wont stay there too long. Really looking for info how best to get to these places and where to stay. All offers greatly appreciated.
. Heard that LA really not that great, so prob wont stay there too long. Really looking for info how best to get to these places and where to stay. All offers greatly appreciated.Plenty of info if you do a search including the following:
http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=67553
http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=48547
http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=41035
http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=67553
http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=48547
http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=41035
Hey husssy,
Just reading the question is bringing back all sorts of wonderful memories, so thanks for that!
My brother lived in San Fran for a couple of years, so I've taken two trips over in the last couple of years.
One trip took in San Fran for the majority with a quick trip to San Diego and an overnight down to Mexico (worth doing just to see the turnstyle border crossing alone). SF is a real nice city with plenty of the normal touristy things to do (visit the rock [book early for a night tour if possible], take the golden gate across to Sausilito [sp??], excellent restaurants at very good prices [I don't think we ate food from the same region more than once on the trip], plenty of shopping around [Union Sq has all the big/expensive stuff with bargain spots (SFO - shoe factory outlet, was a huge hit with the other half) to be found a few minutes walk in any direction). The public transport and street layout make it real easy to get around once you pick up one of the many free maps available.
There's a great sky diving place out in Sacramento, but a bit of a treck if you don't have a car (it's out in the desert so getting there by buses etc. prob wouldn't be suitable). The staff are excellent and they really helped one of our lot who was very nervous when jumping.
We had a big gang of people to meet up with every night for food/drinks, so I'm sure that helped make the holiday... but I enjoyed the city a lot on both visits and would jump at another trip out there.
San Diego is a real beach town with a great chilled out atmosphere. I didn't think I'd be a big fan, I'm not really the sit on a beach type, but after a 3 or 4 day trip I wanted to stay longer. The Zoo over there is a must see, but it's a heck of a walk if you do the whole thing in one day. It's actually big enough that by the end of going around we were kinda happy to be done.
We also took the trolly (tram thingy) down to Mexico as we were celebrating a birthday over there... TJ wouldn't be to everyones tastes, but as an experience we had a real laugh down there. I'd heard lots of stories about how dodgy/dangerous it was, but the worst we saw down there was drunken Irish J1 students (and we weren't much better than them).
On the second trip we took a few days stop off in Vegas. Again, really loved it. If most holidays are a break from the norm, Vegas is a break from real life! The heat is pretty intense, but the air con in every hotel (and a lot of hotels being so close or linked) makes it pretty irrevalent once you get there. Even if you've no interest in gambling, there's so much in Vegas it'll keep you entertained for days.
Lots of special offers around on the day trips (Grand Canyon etc.) so have a good look around before picking one up (one of the cheapest specials we spotted was actually from a spot beside the giant Coca Cola bottle on the middle of the strip so you shouldn't have a problem getting a good deal). Always lots of shows on worth seeing, so once you know your dates check out what shows are on as tickets can be tough to get (we were there for a big UFC fight, but it had been sold out for months in advance).
When picking your hotel, any of the large spots on the strip are fine. Be careful not to end up off the strip as the heat would be an issue and plenty of stories of it getting dodgy once you leave the main spots. Use the net to get specials, loads available. We stayed in the Luxor (fine, to be honest you don't see/use your room much, but nothing special) and in the Bellagio (stunning! it's normal rates are fairly pricey but if you can pick up a good deal it really is the place to go - again, even though it was stunning, didn't see it too often).
Each of the Casinos have a very different feel, so have a look at a few of them and you'll know the one that suits your tastes best. If your a Guinness drinker, check out the Irish bar that's part of the New York New York casino, it does excellent Guinness!
Never made the trip to LA so can't comment on that one. I've heard lots of bad stories about it, but never from anyone who has visited the city. Anyone I know who has been has loved it there. From what I remember when looking at flights, LAX will probably be up there with the cheapest routes so a couple of days at the start/end of the holiday might fit in nicely.
Apologies, most of that tended to ramble as things sprung back to me. Hopefully it'll be of some help. Most importantly, have a great holdiay!
Just reading the question is bringing back all sorts of wonderful memories, so thanks for that!
My brother lived in San Fran for a couple of years, so I've taken two trips over in the last couple of years.
One trip took in San Fran for the majority with a quick trip to San Diego and an overnight down to Mexico (worth doing just to see the turnstyle border crossing alone). SF is a real nice city with plenty of the normal touristy things to do (visit the rock [book early for a night tour if possible], take the golden gate across to Sausilito [sp??], excellent restaurants at very good prices [I don't think we ate food from the same region more than once on the trip], plenty of shopping around [Union Sq has all the big/expensive stuff with bargain spots (SFO - shoe factory outlet, was a huge hit with the other half) to be found a few minutes walk in any direction). The public transport and street layout make it real easy to get around once you pick up one of the many free maps available.
There's a great sky diving place out in Sacramento, but a bit of a treck if you don't have a car (it's out in the desert so getting there by buses etc. prob wouldn't be suitable). The staff are excellent and they really helped one of our lot who was very nervous when jumping.
We had a big gang of people to meet up with every night for food/drinks, so I'm sure that helped make the holiday... but I enjoyed the city a lot on both visits and would jump at another trip out there.
San Diego is a real beach town with a great chilled out atmosphere. I didn't think I'd be a big fan, I'm not really the sit on a beach type, but after a 3 or 4 day trip I wanted to stay longer. The Zoo over there is a must see, but it's a heck of a walk if you do the whole thing in one day. It's actually big enough that by the end of going around we were kinda happy to be done.
We also took the trolly (tram thingy) down to Mexico as we were celebrating a birthday over there... TJ wouldn't be to everyones tastes, but as an experience we had a real laugh down there. I'd heard lots of stories about how dodgy/dangerous it was, but the worst we saw down there was drunken Irish J1 students (and we weren't much better than them
). On the second trip we took a few days stop off in Vegas. Again, really loved it. If most holidays are a break from the norm, Vegas is a break from real life! The heat is pretty intense, but the air con in every hotel (and a lot of hotels being so close or linked) makes it pretty irrevalent once you get there. Even if you've no interest in gambling, there's so much in Vegas it'll keep you entertained for days.
Lots of special offers around on the day trips (Grand Canyon etc.) so have a good look around before picking one up (one of the cheapest specials we spotted was actually from a spot beside the giant Coca Cola bottle on the middle of the strip so you shouldn't have a problem getting a good deal). Always lots of shows on worth seeing, so once you know your dates check out what shows are on as tickets can be tough to get (we were there for a big UFC fight, but it had been sold out for months in advance).
When picking your hotel, any of the large spots on the strip are fine. Be careful not to end up off the strip as the heat would be an issue and plenty of stories of it getting dodgy once you leave the main spots. Use the net to get specials, loads available. We stayed in the Luxor (fine, to be honest you don't see/use your room much, but nothing special) and in the Bellagio (stunning! it's normal rates are fairly pricey but if you can pick up a good deal it really is the place to go - again, even though it was stunning, didn't see it too often).
Each of the Casinos have a very different feel, so have a look at a few of them and you'll know the one that suits your tastes best. If your a Guinness drinker, check out the Irish bar that's part of the New York New York casino, it does excellent Guinness!
Never made the trip to LA so can't comment on that one. I've heard lots of bad stories about it, but never from anyone who has visited the city. Anyone I know who has been has loved it there. From what I remember when looking at flights, LAX will probably be up there with the cheapest routes so a couple of days at the start/end of the holiday might fit in nicely.
Apologies, most of that tended to ramble as things sprung back to me. Hopefully it'll be of some help. Most importantly, have a great holdiay!
crazyhorse
Registered User
- Messages
- 44
Hello Husssy
Great spot of the world to visit, with 3 weeks you are sorted, only had 6 days myself but managed to cram a bit in. Started off in LA, spent one night there, I could take it or leave it to be honest, had a wander around Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive to relive Pretty Woman (a girl thing) - which was alright. Took the bus there which was an experience!! The beach area around Santa Monica is supposed to be nice through.
If you are up for it the drive up the coast from LA to SF is spectacular, some beautiful towns to pass through on the way - Carmel, Monterey etc.
We flew around using Southwest Airlines, which is a bit like the Ryanair of the States. They fly from LAX into Oakland airport which is a suburb of SF. San Fran is a great city, plenty to see and do, check out Alcatraz. If you are into sushi there is a great restaurant called blowfish, and tons of Italian restaurants in the North End. The Mission district has great nightlife and bars.
Have to say Yosemite is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to, definitely shows that the US is not all about the cities but has some spectacular natural beauty as well. Spent a day up there, but there is accommodation to spend more time. Drove up there from Stockton and then went back to Sacramento and flew from there to Vegas, again with Southwest.
I think Satanta pretty much gave you all of the info about Vegas, would echo his opinion re staying on the strip and checking out websites for good hotel deals.
Hope you have a wonderful time.
Great spot of the world to visit, with 3 weeks you are sorted, only had 6 days myself but managed to cram a bit in. Started off in LA, spent one night there, I could take it or leave it to be honest, had a wander around Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive to relive Pretty Woman (a girl thing) - which was alright. Took the bus there which was an experience!! The beach area around Santa Monica is supposed to be nice through.
If you are up for it the drive up the coast from LA to SF is spectacular, some beautiful towns to pass through on the way - Carmel, Monterey etc.
We flew around using Southwest Airlines, which is a bit like the Ryanair of the States. They fly from LAX into Oakland airport which is a suburb of SF. San Fran is a great city, plenty to see and do, check out Alcatraz. If you are into sushi there is a great restaurant called blowfish, and tons of Italian restaurants in the North End. The Mission district has great nightlife and bars.
Have to say Yosemite is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to, definitely shows that the US is not all about the cities but has some spectacular natural beauty as well. Spent a day up there, but there is accommodation to spend more time. Drove up there from Stockton and then went back to Sacramento and flew from there to Vegas, again with Southwest.
I think Satanta pretty much gave you all of the info about Vegas, would echo his opinion re staying on the strip and checking out websites for good hotel deals.
Hope you have a wonderful time.
Would definitely second crazyhorse's comments about Yosemite, its spectacular. April would be a great time too as the melt waters mean the amazing waterfall's are at their peak. California really has it all and my tip would be rent a convertible and take to the open road, 3 weeks is the perfect amount of time.
S
Stephenkelly
Guest
Have you called yourself Crazyhorse after a chain of clubs in the general area?
I had a three week holiday on the west coast a few years ago. Hired a car in San Francisco - amazing city, would recommend taking a day trip to Napa Valley region to do winetasting. Yosemite was fantastic, spectacular waterfalls. Death valley has amazing scenery - roads that go straight for as far as the eye can see. Grand canyon is a lovely place to visit - we did a "sunrise walk" there one morning, I skipped down but the walk back up was very hardgoing! Las Vagas was great fun - a million things to do and see and it was probably the highlight of a holiday that was full of highlights. Then headed south to Phoenix (nice but not particularly memorable), Palm Springs, San Diego (cool zoo). Then back up to LA - I loved our few days there. Found people to be really friendly, but two days was enough there - gorgeous beaches and very beautiful people everywhere. The drive from LA back up to San Francisco is amazing... and very familiar as it is used a lot in films. We probably had too much car time in this holiday and so I would recommend doing the shorter "loop" of San Fran, Las Vegas and LA (and all that is in between!).
My husband and I did a two week trip up the west coast in June from San Diego to Monterey along the famous Pacific Coast Hwy (PCH). I don't want to repeat all the stuff everyone else has said, but just want to recommend some really cool highlights/places to stay.
San Diego - a sunset balloon ride is a spectacular way to see the amazing houses, topography, coast
Los Angeles - Lived there for 4 years. It has it's great spots, they're just hard to get to. Venice beach and Santa Monica are the best spots to stay. Look into self catering accomodation as there are some nice properties. I also love the Brentwood Inn - super nice owners, very attractive rooms in a really ncie part of town and not far from the motorway. Alternatively, The guest house at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) is open to anyone and is a great escape from the hussle of the city. The campus is fantastic! Getty Museum is worth a visit for the views along, the art is also some of the best in the world, and admission to the museum is free!
Santa Barbara - very expensive accomodation usually, but the University of California Santa Barbara has some reasonably priced accomodation on their sea front campus that most people don't know about. It's listed on the UCSB website under their faculty center.
If you go up the PCH, when you get to the Big Sur area, I highly recommend staying in a Yurt at Tree Bones Resort. It is a really unusual, relaxing experience!
Also stop into Hearst Castle for a half-day tour - pretty impressive, very historic.
If you get up as far as Monterey area, I recommend Asilomar Conference Center for fantastic accomodation right on the ocean. The aquarium in Monterey is one of the best in the world. Pebble Beach is also worth the $7 to take the drive along the coastline there.
Grand Canyon - spent a few nights there on March. Nearly froze to death one night camping on the plateau. If you have the energy to hike down to the bottom of the canyon, there's an amazing ranch (think it's call ghost-something) down there you can stay the night at but you need to book ahead. Then of course you have the trek up the canyon the next day, but it's worth it. We spent our last couple nights there in Sedona, Arizona - which is only a couple hours drive from the canyon - MUCH warmer and has those famous red rock formations which glow when the sun hits them. Definitely worth a visit if you are going to the Canyon anyway.
One of the posters recommended Mexico, you should be aware that you can't take rental cars into Mexico - they won't insure you. If you manage to get a lend of a private car while you're there, you'll need to take out extra insurance to be covered there.
Feel free to PM me if you want contact info for any of the things I mentioned.
Enjoy your trip!
CAA
San Diego - a sunset balloon ride is a spectacular way to see the amazing houses, topography, coast
Los Angeles - Lived there for 4 years. It has it's great spots, they're just hard to get to. Venice beach and Santa Monica are the best spots to stay. Look into self catering accomodation as there are some nice properties. I also love the Brentwood Inn - super nice owners, very attractive rooms in a really ncie part of town and not far from the motorway. Alternatively, The guest house at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) is open to anyone and is a great escape from the hussle of the city. The campus is fantastic! Getty Museum is worth a visit for the views along, the art is also some of the best in the world, and admission to the museum is free!
Santa Barbara - very expensive accomodation usually, but the University of California Santa Barbara has some reasonably priced accomodation on their sea front campus that most people don't know about. It's listed on the UCSB website under their faculty center.
If you go up the PCH, when you get to the Big Sur area, I highly recommend staying in a Yurt at Tree Bones Resort. It is a really unusual, relaxing experience!
Also stop into Hearst Castle for a half-day tour - pretty impressive, very historic.
If you get up as far as Monterey area, I recommend Asilomar Conference Center for fantastic accomodation right on the ocean. The aquarium in Monterey is one of the best in the world. Pebble Beach is also worth the $7 to take the drive along the coastline there.
Grand Canyon - spent a few nights there on March. Nearly froze to death one night camping on the plateau. If you have the energy to hike down to the bottom of the canyon, there's an amazing ranch (think it's call ghost-something) down there you can stay the night at but you need to book ahead. Then of course you have the trek up the canyon the next day, but it's worth it. We spent our last couple nights there in Sedona, Arizona - which is only a couple hours drive from the canyon - MUCH warmer and has those famous red rock formations which glow when the sun hits them. Definitely worth a visit if you are going to the Canyon anyway.
One of the posters recommended Mexico, you should be aware that you can't take rental cars into Mexico - they won't insure you. If you manage to get a lend of a private car while you're there, you'll need to take out extra insurance to be covered there.
Feel free to PM me if you want contact info for any of the things I mentioned.
Enjoy your trip!
CAA
R
rabbit
Guest
Mexico is only an hour or twos drive south of San Diego. Excellent roads. There is a car park on the US side of the border you can park in, within 5 or 10 minutes walk of the border. ( or at least there was several years ago ). You could then - I assume you still can - park the car, cross the border, sightsee in Tijuana ( I forget how to spell it ! ) and walk through security back in to the US again. Its ok to pass a few hours.
Enjoy the rest of the trip. For 2 or 3 weeks, we would recommend spending the time in San Francisco, Big Sur, Monteray, LA, Vegas, Grand Canyon, Carmel, etc etc ( all U.S. )more than Tijuano Mexico. Just our experience. Brilliant holiday overall. Enjoy.
No need to drive. There is a tram (trolly) from San Diego to Mexican border and it only takes about 1 hour
Did San fran , LA, Vegas afew years back, flew Dub to LA with aerlingus, then flew with AA to San fran for 5 days, flew back down to LA , stayed in holywood for 3 days (do not stay downtown), the ngot the greyhound to Vegas for 5 days, the nback to LA flew home.
In LA we went to Universal studios which was good, got the bus from holywood to Santa monica for the day .
Did the tour of the stars homes , had a look at man chinese . kodak theatre, holywood boulevard.
In LA we went to Universal studios which was good, got the bus from holywood to Santa monica for the day .
Did the tour of the stars homes , had a look at man chinese . kodak theatre, holywood boulevard.