Fly-drive America

jess194

I am investigating the possibility of a two/three week holiday in the USA, travelling around the well-beaten track of Los Angeles, Las Vegas and San Fransisco. I have looked at packages offered by the tour operators but they all mean that you have to travel enormous distances each day and only stay anywhere for one night. I would be happier to put my own package together, but don't reall know where to start, as this seems to make it very expensive. Has anyone got any advice on buying tickets to the US, car hire once there, whether it's cheaper to book motels in advance etc, and how to go about this in general, or failing that, a good tour operator that is sensibly priced but allows you the time to breathe!

aerostar

Air fares try
http://www.netflights.com
http://www.expedia.co.uk
and others

Car hire most definately book and pay for in UK - you can get all in total insurance at about half the price you would pay in the US.

Depending on the date you are going - find the motels by using the net, make up your proposed itinery and then look for motels, many you can e-mail and many show terms and booking conditions.

WebDoll

I go back home to California once a year - last year I drove down the coast from San Francisco to Los Angeles last year - great fun and I highly recommend it. Remember that at the moment, the exchange rate does work in your favour - for this reason we've found that we've actually been able to afford nice convertibles for our travels (:.

I've been consistent in finding cheaper airfare back to California on lastminute.com.

My advice would be using hotels.com to find cheap hotels, it's true they are usually the cheapest - for some reason it feels that expedia doesn't give competitive prices anymore. Once you've found a hotel that looks good, check out tripadvisor.com and research the hotel further by reading customer reviews. This site is invalueable as it will key you in on if there is something wrong with the hotel that they don't actively advertise: Right next to a busy train track, no air conditioning, etc. If you stay at a Howard Johnson hotel, they have an advertised claim on their website that if you can find their rates cheaper on another website (ie. hotels.com) that they will drop your room cost to undercut the other published price.

Last year we rented a convertible via hertz which seemed to have the best prices available for what we wanted - but this year it will be budget rental car. I had to go to direct to their website though to get better prices.

I would recommend planning the trip yourself and not having to stick to a plan set forth by a travel agent - it takes a little more time on your behalf but you will get a custom package based on what you want.

There is plenty to see up and down the coast of California, Las Vegas is loads of fun - even though it sounds a bit boring, Hoover Dam and old indian ruins can be a fun day trip from Las Vegas. I highly recommend driving down highway 1 against the coast, it is truely a beautiful drive. Located between S.F. and L.A. is Hearst Castle which is fun to visit. Also in San Louis Obispo is the Madonna Inn - which is truely the tackiest hotel in the world - but a lot of fun to stay at (http://www.madonnainn.com). My boyfriend, who is British, thought that tackyness was hilarious and I think it ended up being one of the highlights of his trip - it really does have to be your thing though!

I hope that is helpful! Have a good time!

Cardew

Agree with much of the above - much cheaper to book car in UK. USA car rental prices can appear cheaper because many Americans have car insurance that covers rental. Compact car(Golf/Focus size) will cost approx £130 a week for full insurance from UK brokers(not direct from rental firms)

Try not to be too ambitious in distance covered. SF - LA - Las Vagas - and back to SF via Grand Canyon and Yosimite is fairly comfortable for 2/3 weeks.

Motels easy and cheap, although standards vary, and probably not worth booking ahead. Hotels worth looking on various internet sites for deals(especially for Las Vagas). You can access internet from hotels and public libraries.

yus786

I've done the states a few times and each time have had FREE car rentals.

You need to look for 'Driveaway' companies in the state your are in. These companies provide cars to be dropped off in another state. You leave a deposit and collect upon delivery - all you then pay for is fuel.

Article from google:

There are agencies in America that will give you a free car, a tank of gas, and a planned route to your destination In other words, a "driveaway." You must give the car back at the end, and you can't damage it or paint it psychedelic in an attempt to add "Beat" flavor to your road trip, but with some luck, your borrowed auto will have gotten you safely from point A to point B.

Hope this helps.

http://www.autodriveaway.com/

blindman

DIY.

Do a search on this forum, loads of info.

Best thing to do is plan the timing of your trip to avoid high peak airfares or USA holidays etc.

I would use priceline for accomodation in USA but this takes a little planning and can give you less freedom whilst on the road.

I did SF\LAX at Xmas very nice.

Hearst Castle is a MUST as is Highway 1

KK

I don't have experience of LA but my hubby does. We did the east coast a couple of years ago and booked everything from the UK. There was a brilliant state website that provided so much info.

We got our tickets 'buy one get one free' from an offer in the Guardian, so these are worth looking out for (3 of us flew for £500). We booked car hire through the airline as it was an extremely good price and all insurance was included.

We hired an RV (Recreational Vehicle - 30ft campervan) for a week which was fantastic - and gives you your transport and somewhere to stay (you just have to find campsites to 'hook up' which is easy enough) and is really flexible. We paid about $100 per day for the vehicle, but I believe the price of petrol has risen in the US in the last couple of years - worth considering as these things are thirsty (5-10 miles per gallon!). We booked a beach house for the last week through the web and that was great too. Hotels I think you can pretty much turn up to as long as you're not too fussy. International hotels like Comfort Inn are fine, inexpensive but not very interesting. B&Bs in the US are in my opinion the nicest places to stay. They are like small posh hotels with a few rooms and you normally get excellent service and beautiful furnishings.

My brother in Law lives in LA and my hubby went to see him a couple of years ago and they hired a convertible and drive to Yosemite and camped, then up to San Fran and stayed in a hotel - he had a wonderful time and can't wait to take me and my daughter, but at 4 I think she's too young to do such a long flight, maybe in a couple of years!

My brother in law lives in Venice Beach which is a suburb of LA and apparently is beautiful and not as expensive as downtown LA, but near enough to visit.

Food is cheap in the US and we barbecued most nights when we had the campervan. The campsites are really set up for barbecueing and self catering (with fire rings, picnic benches and shops). We had an incredibly luxurious camper and we just had to provide our own bedsheets (cheap enough in Wal Mart) and we bought paper plates and plastic cutlery! A friend of mine ahs done the Pacific Highway in an RV and loved it - have fun whatever you end up doing! We had an absolute holiday of a lifetime and it was fairly hassle free and they are so accommodating!