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

Murphy_The_Cat

PeacefulWaters wrote: »

I assumed as much. Focus / Mondeo size is in my head. Probably the latter for comfort and range of fuel tank. Are there any odd refuelling rules or is it all self-service and credit card?

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Don't dismiss something that is larger, or more luxurious, or a SUV, or all 3 !

Larger is obvious, as it gives you mure room, luxurious to make those hours/miles more comfotrtable and SUV for height, so that you can see more. Something like a Ford Explorer, Ford Flex , Dodge Durango (all with 3 rows of seats0, or a Jeep Grand Cherokee would certainly enhnance the driving experience, whereas a Ford Fusion would diminish it ! (imo)

If you're doing a one way hire, be aware of POSSIBLY being stiffed for one way hire charges. Some companies are a lot more generous than others.

northwest1965

PeacefulWaters wrote: »

I assumed as much. Focus / Mondeo size is in my head. Probably the latter for comfort and range of fuel tank. Are there any odd refuelling rules or is it all self-service and credit card?

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I would say, get a better car if poss. We started with an Compact the 1st year. Now we have something like an Nissan Altimea

PeacefulWaters

Thanks for the comments on car choice. Looks like it would only cost an extra £10 a day or so for something smarter.

Route permitting I'm expecting to start and finish in the same place. Phoenix seems to be cheaper for flights which could, presumably change between now and booking.

BA economy return flights into Phoenix combined with car hire is coming in at c£2,200 for three of us. Nothing available via Avios though - would prefer to travel in Club and have the points to use! Hotels could be budgeted at £800 and then throw in food, fuel and attractions. We will all need new ESTAs too.

northwest1965

PeacefulWaters wrote: »

BA economy return flights into Phoenix combined with car hire is coming in at c£2,200 for three of us. .

Does it work out cheaper doing car hire with someone like dollar.co.uk?

PeacefulWaters

northwest1965 wrote: »

Does it work out cheaper doing car hire with someone like dollar.co.uk?

Nothing in it and get ATOL protection by booking with the airline.

My instinct is to pre-plan route / activities and pre-book accommodation and stick to that rigidly. Is this recommended?

blindman

PeacefulWaters wrote: »

Okay, I'm browsing through the rest of this wonderful thread but I'm open to any other ideas along the way.


3) Fly to San Francisco, Vegas, Phoenix, San Diego or LA (or any other airport I've overlooked) using Avios points and a first class flight.


6) Fly back to anywhere that can give me a flight back to the UK on Avios without BA taxes!

Quick thoughts:

Be very aware that "First Class" on US airlines is not that good compared to proper First on other ailrines

Look at Headforpoints re Avios use to\from USA
If you have Avios you can start from Dublin and fly proper first class for very low taxes and Avios

PeacefulWaters

Flights booked. Economy. Car booked. Type D.

Lots of family negotiation going on. I'm into scenery. Mrs PW is into things she's seen in movies. My instinct is to crack on with the drive and miss stuff. Mrs PW is more of a "got to see trivia" type!

Restricted time wise, so removed San Diego and the Mexican border from my initial plan.

Initial questions:

1. What food and drink would you suggest carrying around in the car (e.g. bottled water, snacks etc)? Three people for 9 days.

2. Is our current route reasonable? It's a little stretchier than I originally envisaged?

3. Any suggestions around "must do" stuff along the way?

4. Clothing. I'm assuming a good mix as temperatures could be anything from freezing point to 100F!

5. I've chosen the direction of travel to allow for being on the coast side of the Pacific Coast Highway. Would there be any benefits to reversing the schedule?

6. I'm assuming there are no issues with credit card acceptance or availability of fuel. I'm familiar with NYC and Washington DC tipping culture. Is there any change in Arizona, Nevada or California?

Day 1. Land in Phoenix. Immigration. Car. Hotel close by. Pizza. Supermarket. Sleep.

Day 2. Grand Canyon. Winslow. Stand on a corner in Winslow Arizona. Hotel.

Day 3. Barringer Crater. Peach Springs on Route 66. Hoover Dam. Drive Vegas Strip close to dark. Hotel at Pahrump Station.

Day 4. Death Valley, Ghost towns. Lone Pine hotel.

Day 5. Yosemite. Lake Tahoe hotel.

Day 6. San Francisco, Monterey hotel.

Day 7. 17 Mile Drive, Carmel, Pacific Highway, Morro Bay, Santa Barbara hotel.

Day 8. Ventura Highway, Malibu, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Sunset Blvd, Hollywood, Hollywood Hills, Hotel.

Day 9. LA Shopping Rodeo Drive Shopping and misc LA, Palm Desert hotel.

Day 10. Blythe Desert Giants, Phoenix Airport flight 8pm.

torbrex

PeacefulWaters wrote: »

My instinct is to pre-plan route / activities and pre-book accommodation and stick to that rigidly. Is this recommended?

The trouble (in my view) with pre-booked accommodation is that it ties you to a particular route, I like the flexibility of just going with the flow and stopping whenever and wherever I want to, there is always a hotel even in some of the more remote locations.

Murphy_The_Cat

PeacefulWaters wrote: »

Flights booked. Economy. Car booked. Type D.

Lots of family negotiation going on. I'm into scenery. Mrs PW is into things she's seen in movies. My instinct is to crack on with the drive and miss stuff. Mrs PW is more of a "got to see trivia" type!

Initial questions:

1. What food and drink would you suggest carrying around in the car (e.g. bottled water, snacks etc)? Three people for 9 days.

2. Is our current route reasonable? It's a little stretchier than I originally envisaged?

3. Any suggestions around "must do" stuff along the way?

Day 1. Land in Phoenix. Immigration. Car. Hotel close by. Pizza. Supermarket. Sleep.

Day 2. Grand Canyon. Winslow. Stand on a corner in Winslow Arizona. Hotel.

Day 3. Barringer Crater. Peach Springs on Route 66. Hoover Dam. Drive Vegas strip close to dark. Hotel at Pahrump Station.

Day 4. Death Valley, Ghost towns. Lone Pine.

Day 5. Yosemite. Lake Tahoe.

Day 6. San Francisco, Monterey hotel.

Day 7. 17 Mile Drive, Carmel, Pacific Highway, Morro Bay, Santa Barbara hotel.

Day 8. Ventura Highway, Malibu, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Hollywood Hills, Hotel.

Thats a heck of a lot of driving, in a relativbely short period. It reads like a whistlestop tour of places that you've passed, but haven't had time to explore !. You say that tere are 3 people in your group - how old is traveller # 3 ?

PeacefulWaters

Murphy_The_Cat wrote: »

Thats a heck of a lot of driving, in a relativbely short period. It reads like a whistlestop tour of places that you've passed, but haven't had time to explore !. You say that tere are 3 people in your group - how old is traveller # 3 ?

16.

We'd have preferred 3 extra days, but employers have blocked that. It's either defer, probably for a few years, or just crack on and do it. You only live once.

I'm guessing we will be up early most days and, with the exception of approaching LA (and possibly leaving San Francisco) won't have rush hours to consider.

The daily drives look to be between 4 and 6 hours (Google maps at busier times locally says) which will give a similar time for stops and attractions each day.

torbrex wrote: »

The trouble (in my view) with pre-booked accommodation is that it ties you to a particular route, I like the flexibility of just going with the flow and stopping whenever and wherever I want to, there is always a hotel even in some of the more remote locations.

Yes, I get this. I can also book cancellable tariffs and adjust same day I suppose.