Spending money for Roadtrip SF-LA-LV

misa.blue

Oki, booking in advance it is then. I prefer that anyway. Husband thought we might get cheaper rates on day. But as you all say, not worth wasting loads of time looking! Rather be sure that we have decent place to stay :-)
you are all so helpfull!! Thank you so much! :T

cubegame

misa.blue wrote: »

Oki, booking in advance it is then. I prefer that anyway. Husband thought we might get cheaper rates on day. But as you all say, not worth wasting loads of time looking! Rather be sure that we have decent place to stay :-)
you are all so helpfull!! Thank you so much! :T

I think you should reconsider. There is so much accomodation in the USA that it's very unlikely that you won't find somewhere quickly.

You can save massive amounts by walking in and haggling so unless you really value staying in plush little B&Bs or interesting places you won't trouble yourself finding motels.

It also gives you the flexibility on your roadtrip. It will really cut you up if you end up missing something to rush to your booked evening stay or vice versa if you have to sit around twiddling thumbs because you reach your evening's stop at 11am because something you had planned was closed.

I've heard the argument about choosing places you can cancel at short notice but to be fair how much of your hoilday are you going to waste doing that anyway?

Carrying a laptop is handy for getting prices but you should still be able to grab coupon books which list motels and prices in an area. Use these as a guide line for haggling.

blindman

Gloomendoom wrote: »

Two of us only spent about $1200 over 16 days on a proper road trip roughly following your route. That was food, drink, accommodation, petrol, trips, entry fees etc.

We didn't go hungry.

Why don't you give us a TR so the OP can gauge how easy it was to

1. Find a motel (and where she can look if she doesn't pre-book)

2. How much you paid and saved?

Excactly when did you go (high season or what?)

kittykarate

I usually don't pre-book accommodation when I visit the US, apart from the initial night to keep immigration happy , and apart from one really scummy place in Vermont (Labor Day) and having to pay through the nose once in Santa Cruz (Surfing Championships) and Boston (Harvard Graduation week) I haven't had any problems. Some of the best places I've stayed have been spur of the moment places that weren't pre-planned.
BUT! Be aware of american national holidays and big events that may be going on at the time of your trip. Have a quick look at the dates that you will be away at hotels in expedia or similar to see if there are any spikes in price.

Gloomendoom

blindman wrote: »

Why don't you give us a TR so the OP can gauge how easy it was to

1. Find a motel (and where she can look if she doesn't pre-book)

2. How much you paid and saved?

Excactly when did you go (high season or what?)

I'm not really sure what aTR is. :huh:

I think I've given a fair bit of info on how the OP can save a bit of money. Essentially, take a laptop and book as you along or just walk in. A satnav will save you a whole load of hassle and wasted petrol (we bought one specially for the trip and it was the first time we'd ever used one.)

I know what we paid in total... but didn't keep any records of individual costs or savings. I could go through my credit card and bank statements but I really can't be @rsed (sorry OP.)

We went in early September 2008.

blindman

Gloomendoom wrote: »

I'm not really sure what aTR is. :huh:

We went in early September 2008.

Trip Report

Motels you stayed at.

What discounts you got by just walking up as opposed to booking?

Nice picture :cool:

misa.blue

wow gloom, that is superb photo :-)

sorry,I'm here quite new what is OP?

I would like to ask you for information about Hollywood and film studios.
We are planning to fly to LA and stay for one day to see Hollywood and studios.What is best thing to do? Do we need to book in advance on line to see studios?
Do we turn up at some gate and buy tour ticket? Should we drive there from hotel is it easy to park?

Gloomendoom

misa.blue wrote: »

wow gloom, that is superb photo :-)

sorry,I'm here quite new what is OP?

I would like to ask you for information about Hollywood and film studios.
We are planning to fly to LA and stay for one day to see Hollywood and studios.What is best thing to do? Do we need to book in advance on line to see studios?
Do we turn up at some gate and buy tour ticket? Should we drive there from hotel is it easy to park?

OP means 'original poster' (I think!)

I can only speak for Universal Studios as it was the only one my wife managed to drag me around. Parking is ample and very well organised. We just turned up at the gate on the day with no problems. They say you can't take your own food inside so that you have to buy theirs but we managed to take ours in. You can get a daily food/drink pass which is good value if you are a glutton.

At the last minute on the last day, my wife decided she wanted a photo of the Hollywood sign on the hill and, again, Google Streetview proved invaluable as we could work out the best place to see the sign without driving all over the place. We then put the nearest address in the satnav and off we went. Have I convinced you yet?

Death Valley (49°C on that day)



Middle of nowhere Nevada



Las Vegas



Universal Studios LA

misa.blue

gloom: Seeing your photos I really can't wait to go there!!:j Can I just ask how much is the ticket to go to Universal studios?I have no idea..is it £20 or £200?
BTW your photo from Vegas is really brilliant!You must have good camera to get such great clear photo with low light!:)

misa.blue

It's ok, found it on internet there are 3 different tickets to Universal studios:
Normal 1 day +2nd day free if bought online: $75
Front of line ticket $129
VIP experinece $239
http://www.universalstudioshollywood.com/tickets.html