American Roadtrip - Help!

cubegame

I'm not saying anyone shouldn't book properly for their first and last nights, but you ruin the idea of a road trip if you book ahead otherwise. There are so many rooms in the US that it's plain silly to make advance bookings because you pay through the nose. Last year, we didn't even struggle on Labor Day weekend in busy resorts.

It really is no hassle whatsoever to choose your motel at the end of the day and because of the savings you will make (easily up to 50%) over booking in advance you will be able to stay in nicer parts of towns for the same money. Winging it also has the advantage of being able to see what an area looks like before you commit.

For your route, book San Diego, Vegas, San Francisco but nothing else unless you want to try to stay in Yosemite (which will almost certainly be booked up by now).

Murphy_The_Cat

cubegame wrote: »

I'm not saying anyone shouldn't book properly for their first and last nights, but you ruin the idea of a road trip if you book ahead otherwise. There are so many rooms in the US that it's plain silly to make advance bookings because you pay through the nose. Last year, we didn't even struggle on Labor Day weekend in busy resorts.

It really is no hassle whatsoever to choose your motel at the end of the day and because of the savings you will make (easily up to 50%) over booking in advance you will be able to stay in nicer parts of towns for the same money. Winging it also has the advantage of being able to see what an area looks like before you commit.

For your route, book San Diego, Vegas, San Francisco but nothing else unless you want to try to stay in Yosemite (which will almost certainly be booked up by now).

Then you were very fortunate.
In the past, I've 'winged it' only to find that there is no suitable accomodatioon available at ANY price. As there was only the two of us back then, a wasted half day looking for somewhere to stay (in the end, we got something dark and dingy in a less than ideal place) wasn't the end of the world.

However, if its a family holiday and possibly a once in a lifetime trip, IMO, you need to balance saving a few $$$'s (potentially a lot of $$$s) with making the most out of every day that you are away.

It all depends on your personality, your holiday criteria and your wallet.

BTW, OP, have you looked at the save 50% on Holiday Inns group hotels thread . If not have a shufty. YOu could get the ideal compromise of (much) cheaper hotel rates, AND the advantage of prebooking and knowing where you are going to be staying.:beer:

mysparrow

dassad wrote: »

We haven't been to USA before and may not get to return again, we are looking at a 3 week trip and would really like to visit Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, San Francisco, Death Valley, San Diego and probably Sedona and would like to have a week based in a holiday home somewhere so hubby has a bit of a break from driving!

We did this with our 2 boys (same ages) 2 years a go in July/ Aug. We flew into Las Vegas & stopped for 2 nights (more than enough if you have under 21s with you!). From there we headed North into Utah where we had booked a mountain cabin for 7 nights in a place called Duck Creek Village (http://www.vrbo.com/). It was perfectly placed for Bryce, Zion, North rim of Grand Canyon & others. On the way back to Vegas we did a longer road trip via Page AZ & GC south rim (stopping at motels - all pre-booked). It was fab. The cabins are usually cheaper in summer as they tend to mainly be for winter sports use. We got a 3 bed/ 2.5 bath HUGE cabin with all mod cons for $1200 for a week (the exchange rate was also in our favour back then!). It could have slept 10. Compared to holiday cottages in the UK it was incredible value. I would highly recommend it. I think if you're going for 3 weeks it'd be nice to stop longer 'somewhere' at some point. It's deciding on the somewhere that'll be difficult...
We have also done a road trip based purely in Arizona (motels only) just for 2 weeks.
Don't be scared of anything - I'm pretty sure you will love every minute. I've never met anyone who hasn't enjoyed a road trip of the US.
As you have 2 teenagers I'd recommend pre-booking some activities that will get you away from the car. We did horseback riding in Bryce (non of us had been on horses before!)/ float trip down the colorado river from Page (the opposite of white water!)/ toured antelope canyon/ Desert night tour in Phoenix (scorpions & tarantulas)/ Pink Jeep tour in Sedona. There are also tonnes of free things to do...

Be warned though if you go for the cabin option it's really hard to pick one from all the choice!

Dan_S_3

Congratulations for choosing the west coast.

We did a 3 week, 3000 mile tour in october and had an amazing time.

We started in San Diego and went to Las vegas via La, carmel, san fran, yosemite, death valley and grand canyon.

We pre booked every hotel and it worked out perfectly. The whole trip went to plan and the hotels picked were perfect.

Don't worry about driving out there, its easy and you soon get used to it.

If you want to know anymore info let me know. Its an amazing place and one I hope to revisit next year.

Zazie

We did a similar trip in April. I pre-booked all the hotels, either direct or via www.hotels.com. In all cases I would have been able to cancel up until 24 hours before check-in day (check individual hotel's terms and conditions).

I kept an eye on www.travelzoo.com Hotels secton for better deals than I already had. Best offers came about 6 weeks before departure. All you have to do then is book the better deal and cancel your original hotel.

Be aware there are only really a couple of places to stay in the whole of Death Valley (Stovepipe Wells and Furnace Creek). Book as far ahead as possible. Same goes for the Grand Canyon (I booked a cabin on the South Rim at Bright Angel Lodge 9 months ahead). Also, if you are driving Highway 1 (the road that goes down the west coast - and it is really spectacular), accommodation there often gets booked out, especially at weekends.

cubegame

Zazie wrote: »

Also, if you are driving Highway 1 (the road that goes down the west coast - and it is really spectacular), accommodation there often gets booked out, especially at weekends.

Often quoted by not true. We did massive sections of coast between Seattle to San Diego last year without any worries.

Search availability on Kayak for a few places on your intended route (ie. search on a saturday lunchtime for that evening) and you will see there is a ridiculous surplus of rooms nearly everywhere.

Sorry to harp on about it, but this is a money saving site and walk-in rates will offer big enough savings over pre-booking to pay for your daily food in most cases.

isplumm

Hi,

We did something similar for our honeymoon back in 2000 ...

Flew into LA, had 5 days there, then drove to Las Vegas, had about 4 days there, then drove to Yosemite, spending 3 nights there, then on to Carmel (Clint Eastwood), then a week in San Fran - about three weeks in total - we flew by helicopter to Grand Canyon - it was our honeymoon after all - but you could easily drive there in about 6 hours.

I would advise that if you go to Yosemite, try & stay in the place - although as we found you need to book way in advance - but you book places outside & drive in .... be aware that it doesn't look far, but the roads are very twisty, so driving through Yosemite can take time.

Remember that you will be driving an automatic - just stick it in drive & leave - but keep foot on brake, otherwise car will move!!

As to booking ahead, well it makes things easier, but then you don't get the flexibility - but I suppose if this is your first time, then it might be worth booking ahead for peace of mind.

Have fun.

Mark

Murphy_The_Cat

cubegame wrote: »

Often quoted by not true. We did massive sections of coast between Seattle to San Diego last year without any worries.

Sorry to harp on about it, but this is a money saving site and walk-in rates will offer big enough savings over pre-booking to pay for your daily food in most cases.

Perhaps you were very fortunate to have always found room at the Inn !

It does happen (it happened to me and my BiL) and it does absolutely nothing to add to the value or enjoyment of your holiday.
Of course walk in rates will be cheaper, but only if their is a bed for your head. If not you're stuffed and you have to carry on searching, or possibly make a huge compromise on where you are going to stay.

Or you could be lucky and get to stay everywhere that you want to stay, and save yourself a fistfull of $$$s. :beer:

mysparrow

Regarding whether to pre-book or not...
If it was just me & partner I may not worry too much about just rolling up on the day & seeing what's available. However as the OP has 2 kids travelling I would definitely pre-book (imagine having 2 teenagers tired & irritable in the back of your car while trying to find a bed for the night!). I have always got excellent deals online & with most hotels you can cancel with no fee 24hrs before - plenty of time to change your mind if you find a better deal/hotel/route change etc. Researching before you go will give you a better picture of good & not-so-good areas of town.
There are some places where you would have to pre-book to get the location you want e.g. Grand Canyon (in the park), Yosemite (in the park & some of the better surrounding towns), San Francisco & Las Vegas (terrible 'walk-in' rates), Zion, Bryce. Others not so much.
I understand the thrill of arriving somewhere & seeing what's available - I have done it but I think in this case I'd recommend pre-booking for peace of mind if nothing else!

Zazie

cubegame wrote: »

Often quoted by not true. .

Well, my brother and his family wasted an afternoon and most of an evening before they found a place (expensive!) they could walk into along that road - so it is SOMETIMES true. Just best to be aware - fair enough if you're prepared to risk it.