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

Crispy_Ambulance

We are planning our itinerary for our West Coast trip later this year. We really want to go to Alcatraz & Monterey bay aquarium, but were going to give Hearst castle a miss - mainly as I don't want to be rushing from 1 attraction to another and also because some of the things we want to do in San Diego are expensive. Are we really missing out by not going to the castle?

blindman

Crispy_Ambulance wrote: »

We are planning our itinerary for our West Coast trip later this year. We really want to go to Alcatraz & Monterey bay aquarium, but were going to give Hearst castle a miss - mainly as I don't want to be rushing from 1 attraction to another and also because some of the things we want to do in San Diego are expensive. Are we really missing out by not going to the castle?

Really depends on you TBHO

Hearst castle is unique and has history, but it's not the Taj Mahall or Buckingham Palace.

If time and money is against you then miss it out and go back next year :cool:

Crispy_Ambulance

blindman wrote: »

Really depends on you TBHO

Hearst castle is unique and has history, but it's not the Taj Mahall or Buckingham Palace.

If time and money is against you then miss it out and go back next year :cool:

Tempting!

I keep reading that we "must see Hearst Castle" - but I'm not sure what we would get out of it that we can't get anywhere else. It's hard - there's so much to see in the area that we have to pick and choose rather than exhaust ourselves trying to do it all.

blindman

Crispy_Ambulance wrote: »

Tempting!

I keep reading that we "must see Hearst Castle" - but I'm not sure what we would get out of it that we can't get anywhere else. It's hard - there's so much to see in the area that we have to pick and choose rather than exhaust ourselves trying to do it all.

You can't get this anywhere else:cool:, which is why I mentioned the Taj and Buck palace. All unique, but not on my bucket list TBHO, but all places I have been to anyway.

However I would not go to an Aquarium and what's expensive in San Diego?
Zoo and theme parks? all can be done elsewhere in the world.

Crispy_Ambulance

blindman wrote: »

You can't get this anywhere else:cool:, which is why I mentioned the Taj and Buck palace. All unique, but not on my bucket list TBHO, but all places I have been to anyway.

However I would not go to an Aquarium and what's expensive in San Diego?
Zoo and theme parks? all can be done elsewhere in the world.

Fair point, but we do all want to go to the zoo and SeaWorld plus there's whale watching . . .

We only have 1 day to get from Carmel to SLO and I'm thinking that trying to fit Hearst castle into that could be too much - however, if we are fools to miss it, we could try to fit it in. So much to see and do on this trip!

blindman

Crispy_Ambulance wrote: »

Fair point, but we do all want to go to the zoo and SeaWorld plus there's whale watching . . .

We only have 1 day to get from Carmel to SLO and I'm thinking that trying to fit Hearst castle into that could be too much - however, if we are fools to miss it, we could try to fit it in. So much to see and do on this trip!

You will not be fools to miss it. It will still be there in 50 years time whilst your enthusiasm for aquatic life then may have wained;)

Have a good trip.

Crispy_Ambulance

blindman wrote: »

You will not be fools to miss it. It will still be there in 50 years time whilst your enthusiasm for aquatic life then may have wained;)

Have a good trip.

LOL - I am a huge fan of aquariums. Now wavering over Seaworld - having done :eek: at the prices! Plus I think it might seem a bit tacky compared to Monterey Bay. I know the whole trip is expensive but I hate to feel ripped off and I do worry that we might feel that way in Seaworld.

Ack, there is so much to do in this area, never mind the rest of the US. I'm very wary of overplanning as it has to feel like a holiday at some point!

jackieblack

We loved Seaworld, preferred the SD park to the Orlando one.
If you like marine wildlife don't forget to stop and see the Elephant seals on the drive down the PCH.
http://www.bigsurcalifornia.org/elephant-seals.html

joebob

We did San Diego zoo just like many others, nothing we haven't seen before.
The old town is worth seeing especially at the weekend good restaurants good atmosphere and a Mexican band playing in the square. Plenty of unusual gift shops as well. We had a guided tour round the san Padres baseball stadium which different and interesting $16 each I think.

Crispy_Ambulance

Thanks for that. We really fancied seeing a baseball game but looking at the fixtures, none of the major teams are playing at home on the dates that we'll be there!