LA, San Fran & Vegas + poss NY stopover - 10 day trip

dealhunter

Hi Guys,

The missus and I are thinking of going away sometime in Sept/Oct to the US.

This is what I'd like to do/see..

- LA: hollywood tour, universal studios, disneyland
- Drive Route 6 to SF
- SF: Golden Gate Bridge/general SF tour/Monster Pk (big NFL fan)
- Vegas: 2 nights max - just see the strip/hotels
*poss* NY stopover for 2 nights

Wondering if any MSErs have done the above, on a budget, and can give any advice/tips on :
- what to see & how long to spend in each place (e.g. In city, and per venue)
- how much to budget for such a trip.

Ideally, less than £1.5k per person all in.

Accomm: Cheap and cheerful
I don't like theme parks so don't need to consider them.

Many thanks!

DH
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isplumm

WOW ... :eek:
That is a heck of a lot of driving .... we did similar (but no stop off in NY) ... but took 3 weeks .... still not enough time ....

We spoke to a couple of girls who had done similar .... by coach & had 12 days ... were knackered ...

If it was me, I be tempted to drop one of the major cities ... maybe do Vegas & San Fran .... you can still cover a lot of the ocean road upto Santa Barbara .... maybe include Palm Springs ....

Didn't think much of LA .... wouldn't go back ...

Mark

omelette451

The LA/SF/Vegas itinerary is do-able, though I'd say definitely drop the NY stopover. You need more than 2 days there, and unless you do it at the start you'll be knackered by the time you get there. Your budget should be ok, though if you really wanted to include NY I'd say you're probably looking at a bit extra too.

richardw

I'd drop LA: hollywood tour, universal studios, disneyland, and do NYC instead.

littlefeet_2

That's a very crowded itinerary!

Personally, I preferred New York to LA but I love cities and architecture, if you're a fun in the sun type person maybe LA is more you. I though LA wasn't that good, I did Universal Studios which was ok, but the actual city is really not worth staying in as it felt a bit scruffy. On the drive from LA to SF I really liked Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz (like Blackpool with more surfing) and Monterey. Both Monterey and Santa Cruz are driveable as day trips from SF.

You can get tickets to see either the Raiders or 49'ers via Ticketmaster, for collection at the site if you plan far ahead enough. Beware the many add ons that Ticketmaster add to the cost of tickets (amenity charges, collection charges, charges for being charged....) and I don't think you can buy tickets from the fan exchange unless you have a US address. I went to see the Raiders last time I was over in the Bay Area, you can catch the BART from city centre to right next to the stadium. Good atmosphere (despite the Raiders completely sucking on the day I watched them) and it was definitely worth the effort.

nw_man

I am the opposite of RichardW...... I would drop New York and do LA.

One thing puzzles me though and that the OP says they dont like theme parks, then mentions Universal and Disneyland

San Fran and Vegas are both fab. Mega deals can be had at Vegas hotels if you hold your nerve and wait til about a month or 2 before you go and also if you look in the right places ( https://www.smartervegas.com ).

SF is unmissable, Fishermans Wharf / Alcatraz etc etc....

I realise I am flying in the face of a lot of people, but New York just didnt do it for me. If you like shopping then maybe. Personally I dont !

omelette451

nw_man wrote: »

I realise I am flying in the face of a lot of people, but New York just didnt do it for me. If you like shopping then maybe. Personally I dont !

Perhaps, but the reason many of us suggested dropping it here is much simpler than that: it's about as far away from California as you can get in the US and therefore there's really little point trying to do both in a single trip, especially if the OP's only thinking of allowing two days for it. My advice would be to stick with California/Vegas this time, and go back to do the northeast properly another time.

nw_man

Agreed Omlette.

dmg24

Agreed again omelette451, NY is close enough to the UK to be a nice short break. California is a long way!

I'm also doing San Fran, Vegas and LA this summer - two nights in SF, 2 in Vegas, and 3 in LA. I'm spending longer in LA because I just want to lounge by the pool for a few days ... and I got a fab deal on a hotel I really want to stay at.

In Vegas, the MGM Grand has a v good deal on - rooms start at $49 (plus tax) including unlimited buffet. I think there is a link on the Vegas thread, but if not give me a shout and I'll find it for you.

littlefeet_2

This may not be very MSE, but I've been to Alcatraz on both the day and the night tours - I really enjoyed the night tour more, despite the premium price. It was much more atmospheric and creepy. On a crowded itinerary it also frees up your day for much more sightseeing.

If you're going to be traveling a lot on the cable cars in SF (or just catching buses around the city centre rather than dragging your car around) you can get 3 day MUNI passports which work out much cheaper than paying by journey on the cable cars ($5 single! where a 3 day MUNI passport costs about $18). You can only buy the passport in limited places as they are for tourists only, at the airport I think or at the ticket booth at the bottom of Market Street. You can catch the bus to Golden Gate Bridge - but it is a bit of a faff, and took about 50 minutes with 3 changes of bus from Market Street.

Geek that I am, I really like going to the Cable car museum, where you can see the cables being 'moved'. Coit Tower *should* give good views across the city, but the top is enclosed by scratched plexi glass, and so is no good if you want to take panoramic photos. You used to be able to go up Transamerica Tower to look at the views, but since 9/11 they no longer allow that.

nw_man

dmg24 wrote: »

Agreed again omelette451, NY is close enough to the UK to be a nice short break. California is a long way!

I'm also doing San Fran, Vegas and LA this summer - two nights in SF, 2 in Vegas, and 3 in LA. I'm spending longer in LA because I just want to lounge by the pool for a few days ... and I got a fab deal on a hotel I really want to stay at.

In Vegas, the MGM Grand has a v good deal on - rooms start at $49 (plus tax) including unlimited buffet. I think there is a link on the Vegas thread, but if not give me a shout and I'll find it for you.

What is your Vegas budget and how long can you hold your nerve before you simply HAVE to book ?

MEGA deals to be had in Vegas if you know where to look and when to bite.