Southwest USA & The West Coast (California, Arizona etc) - General Thread

realised

jackieblack wrote: »

I think you'll find those sealions are Elephant Seals
http://www.bigsurcalifornia.org/elephant-seals.html

Thank you for clearing that up. We unfortunately did not have time to see them during our trip so I was writing from memory. But I think if we go this year it will definately be on my list

Murphy_The_Cat

travellerboy wrote: »

I am off to SF/Vegus and all the NP in September, I have found the Rough Guide to Southwest USA book to be in valueable in all my planning together with Goggle Earth.

Highly recomend this Book.

I'll second that, and also pitch in with a recommendation for Fodors American Southwest. It was brand new when we went, but the publishing date would be worth checking on !

Vikki_74

For anyone looking for cheap internal flights, Southwest announced a sale yesterday with fares from $40 on many of their short distance routes, which as far as I can tell from a quick look covers most flights within California &/or to Las Vegas. I was gutted at the weekend as the particular flight we wanted to take from Anaheim to Vegas had gone up from $59 to $89 but just managed to bag 2 tickets at $40 each (plus taxes). The offers only on for the next couple of days though, so get in quick!

I don't have the T&C in front of me, but think the sale prices are for flights up to some time in November and exclude Fridays and Sundays.

red_pad

Thanks guys, think it'll be a Friday night so we'll just miss the market. I'll see if I can move things around. How long do people think it will take to drive from LA to San Fran staying on Highway 1 as much as possible. I did the same trip a few years a go but was in an RV so it took longer. Was thinking maybe 2 days driving 5 hours per day? Maybe a bit more.

jackieblack

From memory, that sounds about right.

realised

Yes it took us 2 days driving about 5 hours a day. Depends on how long you want to spend in the stopovers

Vikki_74

red_pad wrote: »

Thanks guys, think it'll be a Friday night so we'll just miss the market. I'll see if I can move things around. How long do people think it will take to drive from LA to San Fran staying on Highway 1 as much as possible. I did the same trip a few years a go but was in an RV so it took longer. Was thinking maybe 2 days driving 5 hours per day? Maybe a bit more.

Yeah something along those lines is about right for just the driving, although you should factor in some extra time for stopping along the way. Personally I would add in an extra night's stop somewhere to give you a bit more time in each place, but if you don't have the time to fit that in then 2 days with just one overnight midway is possible.

I was going to mention the fact that part of Hwy 1 is still closed off following the landslides, however it seems they have just about managed to get it re-opened in the last couple of weeks so no longer an issue (or at least not until it happens again!):

http://www.thebigsurblog.com/

tarkytarks

Just bumping this again

Vikki_74

After reading on the Vegas thread about Marriott's 'best price' guarantee (thanks to duchy who first pointed this out a few weeks back) and using it to bag us a bargain room in Palm Springs I thought I'd have a look around to see what else was on offer from the other hotel chains...turns out quite a bit!

Marriott - Look No Further Best Rate Guarantee - Matches the alternative price less a 25% discount
Hilton - Our Best Rates, Guaranteed - Matches the alternative price + gives you a $50 American Express Gift Cheque
Holiday Inn - Lowest Internet Rate Guarantee - Matches the alternative price less a 10% discount
Wyndham - Guaranteed Best Rate - Matches the alternative price less a 10% discount
Hyatt - Best Rate Guarantee - Matches the alternative price less a 20% discount

Sure there are others too but I'm still in the process of looking - will add any more to the list once I find them.

With the exception of Hyatt properties where you need to call them to make your 'claim', the rest are easily done using an online form. Used cleverly, this can result in some pretty decent savings - for example our Marriott hotel in Palm Springs would be $85 + tax booked normally on their website...we booked our room then used their price match policy against the same room type which could be booked at getaroom.com for $76 + tax so have ended up paying $76 - 25% = $57 + tax.

Plus, unlike bookings on some of the third party sites, in most cases when booking direct with the hotel you don't need to pay anything up front, just guarantee the booking on a credit card and everything is fully cancellable should a better deal come up later.

As kayak (my normal go-to site for hotel searches) allows results to be filtered by group and shows the direct price plus any cheaper alternatives, it makes it very easy to quickly check through and see whether any rooms are available where these guarantees can be *ahem* "manipulated"

I can't believe that with the amount I read this forum I haven't heard of this until so recently - it's fab!

realised

Having been keeping an eye on flights on Kayak and flight prices in October have finally come down! £477 to LAX. Will be booking real soon