LA + Vegas, need tips and recommendations!

fatboyonadiet

pbright wrote:

What kind of rental car are you getting? Go for the Mustang if you can, much cooler than the sebring!quote]Got the sebring for LA as it's much more within our budget but the Mustang for Vegas .

I was alos thinking about taking enough extra cash with me to cover the hotels and car hire and convert it to dollars over there to get a better rate and hopefully save myself a few more £££s. Is this a good idea? How much could I save?

Murphy_The_Cat

fatboyonadiet wrote:

pbright wrote:

What kind of rental car are you getting? Go for the Mustang if you can, much cooler than the sebring!quote]Got the sebring for LA as it's much more within our budget but the Mustang for Vegas .

I was alos thinking about taking enough extra cash with me to cover the hotels and car hire and convert it to dollars over there to get a better rate and hopefully save myself a few more £££s. Is this a good idea? How much could I save?

save the time effort & trouble.

Take your credit card and use it for as much as you can.
If you want to take some dabs, the best deal I could find is getting a M & S &more card. Use their foreign exchange service, if you spend over £500 it's comission free, a cracking exchange rate and delivered to your door free of charge. They'll also take back your unspent dabs and you get upto 45 days credit to pay for it all (Oh and no credit card loading for cash advance/currency purchase either).
Travelex also offer a good service, but M&S pips them in my book.

MTC

fatboyonadiet

I've used Travelex online in the past and then got them to price-match the rate offered by the Thomas Global Exchange in London and then always exchanged a bit abroad as the strength of the £ means I get more buck for my bang as it were.

Murphy_The_Cat

pbright wrote:

Also Murphy the cats suggestions are taking you north...i disagree...its the south towards San diegio you should be taking in. The north is better suited to older people...the south...Laguna, Newport, La Jolla etc are more fast-paced/trendy and i feel you should def. visit. What kind of rental car are you getting? Go for the Mustang if you can, much cooler than the sebring! If you can get the Grafton for under $150 & can afford it i would go for it. Its an amazing hotel, really trndy and you will meet other young folk at the hotel...not many families and old folks here. + factor is the free parking and free chauffeur car to anywhere within 2miles anytime as much as you like, it could justify the $150 a night. Like i said though...I got it for just over $100, its down to timing.

Hi pbright

we flew San Diego - Las Vegas - LA so I missed all of the things on the road from San Diego to LA.

as for going North, its horses for courses. I really enjoyed the return to civilisation and Real America after the general crapness of LA.

I suppose its what lights your candle.

We were 34/35 when we did our California holiday (& great it was to), not everyone wants to do the trendy/fast paced thing.

But of course, your comments are as valid as mine.

MTC

pbright

fatboyonadiet wrote:

pbright wrote:

What kind of rental car are you getting? Go for the Mustang if you can, much cooler than the sebring!quote]Got the sebring for LA as it's much more within our budget but the Mustang for Vegas .

I was alos thinking about taking enough extra cash with me to cover the hotels and car hire and convert it to dollars over there to get a better rate and hopefully save myself a few more £££s. Is this a good idea? How much could I save?

Maybe you should do that. I booked my rental car whenover there, but it ws cheapr in dollars, its just the hassle, they bank of you not wanting the hassle of booking it there, but i would...save you some more money for the Grafton if yor aiming for it. Also, if you decide to go for the cheap end, go for http://www.supercheapcar.com/ whom are definetly the cheapest. I booked my Sebring(nice car but the coolness of a smimilar prices mustang aint there) with avis at an out of airport location with dollars...cheapest option for me. Seriously though, do a bit of reserach into the south, & what theme parks are you thinking of taking in. If you have two days for parks i would go for Universal Studios(much better than Florida's because its real) no matter what, & Six Flags if you like rollercoasters(it has the worlds second fastest coaster, the highest loop/corkscrew--its scary going upside down at that height, the world first suspended 3dimensional coaster...its called X and it will blow you mind, it has loads of other recordbreakers aswell), but if its quality, and traditon then hit disneyland &/or Disneys California Adventure(next door)...we did both in one day actually...it will take you all day and is an expensive tickets but i luckily got it for free....theres ways of getting real cheap tickets!! Then you should do the Hollywood day, but take in Beverly Hills, and Santa Monica Pier on the same day...you will see a ton of landmarks in one day and they are close. Then have an Orange County day....taking in Hunington, Newport and Laguna...take PCH (highway 1)...its long but great driving through all the famous beach cities...end in Laguna Beach at night for dinner...a place called http://www.lasbrisaslagunabeach.com/ it has a giant pation with the best view of laguna beach, and its off the tourist trail because they will all be down in the town below the cliff. Its easy to get to, and is busy with the young crowd (& stars of this show: http://www.mtv.com/onair/laguna_beach/season2/main.jhtml who shouldnt be there at their ages ).

Then take the freeway back from Laguna to Hollywood. Then your last day should be a chill day at the pool...go to the Grove(again off the mass tourist trail....its a new shopping trendy shopping centre http://www.thegrovela.com/) or the Beverly centre which is also close by. If you are staying at the Grafton just use your free chauffeur to take you there and dont worry bout time.cost of parking or even walk there. If you want to go out in Hollywood there is a ton of places...to say you have been there and to be guaanteed to see loads of stars any night go to http://www.mondrianhotel.com/mondrian_hotel_skybar.asp ....go late on a busy night it might be hard to get in. Your a couple right, that should help, i reckon i got in with the brit accent and when they see you arrive in the black mercedes car that the grafton chauffeur people around in if they are going out(again free.maybe just the driver $3). Also if you are staying at the Grafton and are goin to Universal Studios & enjoy a drink, i would get drunk(enjoy a drink ) the night before then because with all this driving you have to watch your evening drinking...but even though its 4miles-ish from the grafton they will still happily chauffeur you to Universal Studios in the morning if you are "over the limit".

Did i mention to you that the Grafton has a great pool & pool scene as well and the 2night i stayed there, a women came round and was giving every guest a bottle of grey goose vodka(expensive good stuff)...it was a pomotion, and apparently Grafton guests are their key target market . Apparently they do that often, give products away from near by events/product drives....its supposed to be the next best thing giving them away to hotel guests as opposed to celebrities who fit the target market and the Graftons the place they come. But dont go there on my word if its too expensive...keep an eye on it, and worst come to worst email/call them and say the cheapest price you have got is $150 or whatever and ask if they can beat that and mention how long you will be staying for.

Also dont do any tours if you have a car...you will save money and its even better doing it yourelf...buy a hollywood map and im sure people on here have directions for their reccommended sees's. Drive up to the sign viewpoint for a photo as well in your hollywood.beverly hills/santa monica day...its a very cool picture to have. Everyday you will see something there that you will orbably see on tv/films at least once a month. You will see that so much stuff is filmed in Los Angeles and notice it all the time, especially if you are the driver. Seriously 5days isnt enough in LA, i love the people who want to get out quiker...like i said...they are the traditional brit tourists(no car, stay in hollywood, used to New York..take tours, dont see much etc) usually.

Long post here...anything else you want to know???? :-)

Murphy_The_Cat

pbright wrote:

Maybe you should do that. I booked my rental car whenover there, but it ws cheapr in dollars, its just the hassle, they bank of you not wanting the hassle of booking it there, but i would..

Hi pbright, are you sure that this is good advice ?

Hiring a car in America usually means exactly that you hire the car only - WITH NO INSURANCE COVER, which you then need to take with them on the spot at a really high rate. The reason being that Americans when they take a hire car are covered by their own motor insurance.

I've always hunted around online and got the best deal that I can over here before travelling (& for something a little bit different, the sooner the better).

If I'm missing a trick, please let me know.

MTC

pbright

Just read your first post....i might also be going around then, we are looking into the first 2weeks in September to do LA for 10days and Vegas for 4...i would go in a shot...its just persuading my friends to justify all the money its going to cost. September is a great time. The weather is hot and sunny, but the sticky humidity has died down. All the kids are back at School so the parks are quiter. What i said about staying on the rollercoasters at 6flags at sunset continously should be OK in the month of September. Makes you a little sick but the view at the top of Colloses is amazing, seriously!!

pbright

Yeah that could be the best way. It was best for me because i was there a few weeks before i got my car. & my insurance was really cheap...this is because they want you to take their insurance...its more profit and thus they want you to take their so if you crash your insurance is intact..and to do this they offer low prices - or so was the case for me. But do not take my work. Its a gamble and stress, so if you want to feel confident and dontmind "MAYBE" paying a little more then bok before you go. Also, i read about a way that you get insurance for dirt cheap before you go, and then you can rent over there with no need for insurance...anyone know about this??

wdyw

Hi folks,

We try and get to Vegas at least once a year - going next week for the grand price of £130 pp.

If you book your flights now you will end up paying about double what the flights will be closer to the time. Airtours fly direct from Manchester to LV every Sunday and in the summer, every Wednesday as well. As you get closer to the flight date, prices drop dramatically, and as you are going in a school period, the prices will be low. (take a look at how their prices vary over the next 3 weeks to see the difference between booking in advance!).

We have never had a problem booking on this flight 1-2 weeks before flying out in August/September. A330, decent seat pitch- quite bearable.

As for cars - get one for Vegas as well as LA. toy don't want to miss the 40mins it takes to get to Hoover dam, or vist thew shopping outlets etc etc.

However, whoever suggested getting a convertible is obviously a night bird or never been to Vegas in September. Temps will be at or above 100F still and havingthe roof down in the day time will have all the locals laughing and pointing at the tourists. Great for the coast though, but why anyone would want to spend a week in LA beats me! A day or two for Universal studios etc and a trip to Venice/Laguna/Santa Monica and then get out ASAP!

Hotels - in Spetember you will be able to book a host of places from about $20 a night upwards. If you want to be on the strip, of the major hotels, Stratosphere, Circuc circus and Stardust will be the cheapest. All are at the north end and if you want to tour the strip, be prepared to do a lot of walking!

For about $80 a night we would recommend Treasure Island. Good central location, good rooms and a few freebies thrown in (2 for 1 cocktails etc). great overall value.

As you are only there for 3 days, don't count out the luxury hotels. I highly recommend the Venetian (suite deals from about $140 per night). MGM is just one notch down imho, and haven't tried the Bellagio.

Unlike others, I'd avoid Luxor, Mandalay Bay etc as they are all on the south end of the strip and require too much walking.

Monorail is ok to get to/from places like the Hilton but as far as the strip goes, walking will be needed!

Off the strip, places like the various Station hotels offer great value (rooms as little as $20 a night), free shuttles to/from the strip but
definitiely not as good as most of the strip hotels.

Downtown is also cheap. We found it seedy, but perfect for underage drinkers/gamblers!

so far this is a list of all the hotels we gave stayed in at Vegas to give you an idea of what we have compared.

Venetian, caesars, MGM, Stardust, Treasure Island, Palace Station, Fitzgeralds, Palms, Hilton.

Prices are a lot more at weekends compared to weekdays. If the prices are too hight, then also consider Primm on the border, Henerson (out towards Hoover dam), or Mesquite (on the way to St George).

Going back to flights, the one flight we have never used is UK - LA. Manchester - Vegas loads of times and normally if we are not going to Vegas first we end up flying to either San Francisco (drive down pacific highway the nacross to Vegas or via the National Parks) or Phoenix (watch a baseball game, drive up to Vegas, occasionally via Grand Canyon / Page). Always found the flights to SF and Phoenix better value at that time of year
(Virgin / BA / AA)

fatboyonadiet

pbright you're an absolute star, chears for all that gives me plenty to think about! I reckon we will hit Universal for sure and maybe a day at 6flags and the water park next door. Supercheapcar seems to be shut on the time we're there.

Also neither of us drink so having a drink isn't a problem at all. But you are swinging me round to the Grafton will have to keep checking prices.

Never thought about insurance - what do I need to do? How do I get it, just assumed I would be covered already through Dollar.

Maybe I'll see you there, being driven round by some chaffeur!