California fly drive advice

ferf1223

Miles16v wrote: »

What about Vegas? Will a car be worth while there, and how easy is it to get from the strip to the airport?

It's very, very easy - you can see the strip from the airport - taxis are plentiful from the airport and the hotels and with only 3 days in Vegas, I wouldn't think a car would be necessary (though we always rent one)...but parking is free at the hotels, and you may find that you can pick a car up in CA and drop it off in Vegas (some companies have no one-way drop fee from CA to NV - but some do) and the savings of a couple of days at the end of the trip is small enough that you opt to keep the car and have the added freedom.

There's a sticky at the top of this forum with all kind of Vegas info - have a look and any questions the good folks over there will be happy to help.

Oh, and while I don't recommend it at all for Vegas, priceline can be a great resource for hotels in other parts of the US - we were very happy with our LA hotel booked through them at a significant discount - but you MUST be sure you know what you are getting into and what hotels you might end up with - and be happy with any of those you might get.

truman_sparks

"What's the score with day tripping into Mexico from San Diego, can you do it in your hire car, or would it need to be an organised trip?"


All the hire cars in the U.S forbid you taking them into mexico as far as i know.

ts

ferf1223

Miles16v wrote: »

What's the score with day tripping into Mexico from San Diego, can you do it in your hire car, or would it need to be an organised trip?

We took the tram - got on right outside our hotel room, got off in at the border crossing and walked in and had a look around Tijuana. Personally, we didn't stay very long - it wasn't really our thing, but we couldn't be that close to Mexico without going to Mexico.

old_motters

Miles16v wrote: »

Thanks for all the help and advice, its led me to book flights!

Into San Fran and out of Vegas 15 nights later. The other flights I was looking at shot up in price, so I thought it was time to get some booked!

I'll now have lots of questions as I fine tune the itinary!

So, roughly how much does it cost to park?

Parking in California varies hugely. Self park at a garage near the hotel can be $12 with no in/out privileges to $28 for hotel valet parking with in/out privileges. Of course if you want your car quickly from valet you need to tip so that also bumps up the cost a dollar or two each time.

Miles16v wrote: »

It seems like I wont need a car in San Francisco, so how far is it from the airport into the town?

I believe the BART goes from the airport to downtown, maybe that's Oakland airport, I can't remember. It would be far far cheaper than a taxi.

Miles16v wrote: »

What about Vegas? Will a car be worth while there, and how easy is it to get from the strip to the airport?

Valet parking was quite inexpensive in Vegas from what I recall. It might even have been free. Shuttle buses should run frequently and be inexpensive, limos and taxi are about $30 to $50 to strip based hotels. You will not need a car on the strip though.

Miles16v wrote: »

I thought I'd book decent hotels in San Fran, LA and Vegas. This will allow us a flexible journey from San Fran to LA and LA > San Diego > Vegas. But how available and cheap are acceptable quality motels / hotels?

You will probably not want to stop between LA and San Diego, it's a 2 hour drive and there's not a huge amount in between. If you want to slow it down a bit, rather than taking the interstate, there's the Pacific Coast Highway which runs along some nice scenery.

Between San Diego and Las Vegas and if you like wine, you might like to overnight in the Temecula wine country and while not as famous as Napa, is well known to Southern Californians. $10 or so will get you a tasting session and a vinyard wine glass to take home.

Also, at Barstow there's a pretty good outlet mall just off the highway. Just the otherside of the Nevada border is Primm where Bonnie and Clydes death car is. It's a long drive with not many good places to eat or buy fuel so do pay attention to the fuel gauge etc.

Alternatively you could ditch the car in San Diego and take a very cheap 45 minute flight to Vegas with Southwest Airlines. As it's you're last stop so to speak, it would be worth considering.

Miles16v wrote: »

I'll book the Alcatraz trip up front, but are their any other trips worth doing that I'll need to book ahead? What about Helicopter to the Grand Canyon? What's the score with day tripping into Mexico from San Diego, can you do it in your hire car, or would it need to be an organised trip?

Your hire company probably won't let you take the car into Mexico. You could leave it in the US and walk across the border. Besides, I'd skip it, there's so much to see and do in San Diego, you really won't want to.

If you need any San Diego tips, just shout, it's my favourite city in the US and I've spent a lot of time there!

bungrefurb

hi op.......just my opinion, we found a soft top useless in vegas, it was too hot to have down and not enough space for luggage. Yosemite was amazing. we done a similar trip in 2004 before children. We flew to vegas for a couple of nights and with various stops ended in san francisco. From there flew to atlanta to visit family and then home,
it will be amazing whatever you do. We only booked the accomadation for the nights in vegas and the last two nights in san francisco. Hope that helps. Sat nav was a must for us, and helped find hotels etc

ferf1223

old_motters wrote: »

Valet parking was quite inexpensive in Vegas from what I recall. It might even have been free. Shuttle buses should run frequently and be inexpensive, limos and taxi are about $30 to $50 to strip based hotels. You will not need a car on the strip though.

Valet is free - but a tip is customary - we give $2 or $3 when we pick up...self-park garages are free at all the strip hotels I can think of. A taxi to the strip should not be much more than $20 plus tip - though it can depend on traffic of course...in general if there are 2 or more people travelling, the hassle of waiting for a shuttle to load and then stop at a bunch of other hotels isn't worth the savings over a taxi I don't think.

Miles16v

Thanks for all the extra replies.

I've now booked a car from the 4th morning in San Francisco, returning to the airport in Vegas. I've gone for the convertible, £381 with 2 drivers and no different drop off charge. Will have to check the sizes of cases and make sure she doesn't pack too big!

I'll check out the Vegas thread.

Whats the BART?

Would love tips for things to do in San Diego, where to stay, eat, beaches to go to (out of town?) etc. The typical stuff is probably easy to find, but anything slightly off the beaten track or other gems would be great.

The wine region stop sounds good.

Zazie

Miles16v wrote: »

Thanks for all the extra replies.

I've now booked a car from the 4th morning in San Francisco, returning to the airport in Vegas. I've gone for the convertible, £381 with 2 drivers and no different drop off charge. Will have to check the sizes of cases and make sure she doesn't pack too big!

I'll check out the Vegas thread.

Whats the BART?

Would love tips for things to do in San Diego, where to stay, eat, beaches to go to (out of town?) etc. The typical stuff is probably easy to find, but anything slightly off the beaten track or other gems would be great.

The wine region stop sounds good.

Miles - who did you book your car with? We also need to pick up in San Fran. and drop off in LV, and need to avoid the one-way charge. Did you get it in writing that you won't be charged a drop-off fee??

I love San Diego. Sea World is greAT. Also, get the boat over to Coronado island and have a look at the famous hotel where Some Like it Hot (marilyn Monroe) was filmed. You can go in for a beer or coffee or whatever. There are photos/memorabilia showing the presidents/famous people who've stayed there. The beach behind it is also fab. We really liked the Wild Life Park - this is not the same as the zoo (more out of town and spaced out). Do take the trolley to San Ysidro and walk across the border into Mexico. As someone else said, Tijuana is a bit of a dump. My kids hated it but I thought it was very colourful - and such a contrast to the States. It's gotta be worth half a day.Have a great time!

Zazie

Miles16v wrote: »

Thanks for all the extra replies.


Whats the BART?

.

It stands for Bay Area Rapid Transit system. See http://www.bart.gov/guide/airport/inbound_sfo.aspx for using the trains to get from San Francisco airport to the centre of SF.

Miles16v

We booked the car with usrentacar.co.uk it said that you'll be charged a drop off fee, so I emailed them asking exactly what the fee is, and they replied saying they have contacted Alamo who said there is no one way fee for this route. I've printed the email out and will take it with me!

Another site, mentioned above I think, will price match minus £5, but they dont mention free second drivers and as I already had it in writing that there is no one way fee I booked this one.

Thanks for the San Diego info.

Do you think its worth booking San Diego accomodation in advance? What's the availability and cost of acceptable (well clean and safe!) motels / hotels in places like San Diego, Cambria, Monterey and Temecula?

I'd like to leave a few days a bit flexible (afterall there may be things that my other half wants to do!), but dont want to end up staying in expensive hell holes on my honeymoon....