California & Vegas Fly Drive

dazanteney4

Hello All!

Me and my partner have now started to look at Honeymoon's (wedding in April) and we have played with the idea of a fly drive holiday around Cali and pop to Vegas. The companys that offer this seem to be a little bit more expensive than booking each hotel &flights through sites like expedia, hotels.com, Trivago etc.... The downside with this is that you have to pay for it all upfront. Rather than 10 weeks before like booking through a travel agent.

We were looking at flying into San Fran, driving down to LA then across to Vegas and finally to San Diego spending 2-3 days in each and stopping mid way.

Has anyone does this? And booked themselfs that can offer advice for us.

Thank you!
Darren

Moto2

I would never book anything other than first and last nights on a US roadtrip, it's so easy to find places that suit when you're there and it adds the flexibility a roadtrip demands.

dazanteney4

Here is an itinerary i found on american sky that shows what i'm looking do.

Day 1 Fly to San Francisco
Arrive at San Francisco International Airport, pick up your car and proceed to your hotel.

Day 2 San Francisco
Today discover the attractions of this beautiful city. See places like Union Square, The Presidio, Golden Gate Bridge, and Fisherman’s Wharf, where you can also take a short boat trip to tour notorious Alcatraz Island.

Day 3 San Francisco
A full day to explore the City by the Bay, beautiful San Francisco, or to enjoy the rolling hills of California’s Wine Country, Napa Valley, where famed wineries welcome you for tours and tastings. Established in 1828, this fertile area is considered the premier wine growing region in the United States.

Day 4 San Francisco – Monterey/Carmel (126 miles)
Drive south to Monterey where you can stroll along Fisherman’s Wharf and Cannery Row. The 17-Mile Drive toll road along the Peninsula Coast from Pacific Grove to Carmel boasts magnificent seaside scenery. Visit Carmel Mission, founded in 1770.

Day 5 Monterey/Carmel – California Gold Coast – San Luis Obispo/San Simeon (246 miles)
Continue by Big Sur to San Simeon and then Solvang, a unique town founded by Danish immigrants. Solvang is a quaint village in the Santa Ynez valley surrounded by local wineries and famous for its bakeries and specialty shops. Overnight in nearby San Luis Obispo or San Simeon.
Day 6 San Simeon / San Luis Obispo – Malibu – Los Angeles (97 miles)
Drive by Malibu and Santa Monica to Los Angeles. If you plan to arrive in Los Angeles early, we suggest a visit to Universal Studios this afternoon before continuing to your hotel in Los Angeles.
Day 7,8 Los Angeles
A full day at leisure. Today we suggest a full-day visit to Walt Disney’s Magic Kingdom of Disneyland. Known as one of the top tourist attractions in Southern California, Disneyland attracts millions of visitors from all over the world and offers pleasures for young and old alike. Or, simply discover Los Angeles, including Hollywood and Beverly Hills.
Day 9 Los Angeles – Las Vegas (280 miles)
Today drive east through the Mojave Desert and the ghost town of Calico en route to the glittering Entertainment Capital of the World, Las Vegas. Once an oasis on the route to California, Las Vegas began as a Mormon settlement and boomed fleetingly during the silver rush. Today Las Vegas is one of the great gambling capitals of the world, with great entertainment and famous shows.

Day 10,11 Las Vegas (Grand Canyon Optional)
A full day at leisure for you to either take a short drive to Lake Mead and Hoover Dam, or see one of the great natural wonders of the world, the spectacular Grand Canyon, on an optional day trip by air. In form, glowing color, and geological significance, the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River is unsurpassed. The canyon is 277 miles long, averages 10 miles in width from rim to rimand is 5,700 feet deep.

Day 12 Las Vegas – San Diego (336 miles)
Drive south past Lake Elsinore to the town of Temecula. Enjoy famed rolling hills and vineyards on your way to San Diego, popular for its year-round sparkling weather and relaxed living.

Day 13 San Diego
A full day to discover some of San Diego’s attractions such as: Balboa Park, Old Town, Sea World, which is the largest park in the world devoted to marine life, Coronado Beach, the San Diego Zoo, and Seaport Village.

Day 14 San Diego – Los Angeles Departure
Return your car at the airport before your departure flight.
Day 15 Arrival back home.

dazanteney4

Moto2 wrote: »

I would never book anything other than first and last nights on a US roadtrip, it's so easy to find places that suit when you're there and it adds the flexibility a roadtrip demands.

Would you just turn up and book? Wouldn't it more expensive for hotels etc? I've never been to the US other than when i was 10 so i had no idea about pricing.

duchy

There's a middle path- you could cost it yourself -and design a trip that does exactly what YOU want to do.

Use a price comparison site for the flights like Kayak.co.uk and get the flights using their multi city search - eg LON to SFO returning LAX to LON- same with the carhire and the hotels. There's plenty of suggested routes online .

It will take planning which could be fun to do together ....or could be a complete pain if you are up to your ears with wedding planning too

For what is essentially a first time US trip I'd probably not do the book as you go route but keep it a bit more structured -plenty of time for something more go with the flow next time. It's far easier to budget if you book ahead -and often hotels have a cancel for free at least 24 hours ahead policy so if you found you really loved a particular spot and wanted to stay longer and change your plans on the hoof it is often possible.

Murphy the cat's trip planning for his west coat adventures will probably give you some good ideas of what is possible

Moto2

dazanteney4 wrote: »

Would you just turn up and book? Wouldn't it more expensive for hotels etc? I've never been to the US other than when i was 10 so i had no idea about pricing.

Sometimes I'd just turn up but mostly it'd be book online earlier in the day or phone.

dazanteney4

duchy wrote: »

There's a middle path- you could cost it yourself -and design a trip that does exactly what YOU want to do.

Use a price comparison site for the flights like Kayak.co.uk and get the flights using their multi city search - eg LON to SFO returning LAX to LON- same with the carhire and the hotels. There's plenty of suggested routes online .

It will take planning which could be fun to do together ....or could be a complete pain if you are up to your ears with wedding planning too

For what is essentially a first time US trip I'd probably not do the book as you go route but keep it a bit more structured -plenty of time for something more go with the flow next time. It's far easier to budget if you book ahead -

The wedding is done! Joys of having plenty of time! lol Thanks, i was thinking about doing it myself but sticking to a itinerary and i budget.

blindman

dazanteney4 wrote: »

The wedding is done! Joys of having plenty of time! lol Thanks, i was thinking about doing it myself but sticking to a itinerary and i budget.

And for next time the are loads of good threads about DIY USA

Southwest is a good one

Gloomendoom

Moto2 wrote: »

I would never book anything other than first and last nights on a US roadtrip, it's so easy to find places that suit when you're there and it adds the flexibility a roadtrip demands.

We have done this too but it can be quite stressful. We always found somewhere but we came close to sleeping in the car a couple of times.

dazanteney4

Gloomendoom wrote: »

We have done this too but it can be quite stressful. We always found somewhere but we came close to sleeping in the car a couple of times.

That's what i'd be worried about. What's the cost of food like?

glentoran99

dazanteney4 wrote: »

Hello All!

Me and my partner have now started to look at Honeymoon's (wedding in April) and we have played with the idea of a fly drive holiday around Cali and pop to Vegas. The companys that offer this seem to be a little bit more expensive than booking each hotel &flights through sites like expedia, hotels.com, Trivago etc.... The downside with this is that you have to pay for it all upfront. Rather than 10 weeks before like booking through a travel agent.

We were looking at flying into San Fran, driving down to LA then across to Vegas and finally to San Diego spending 2-3 days in each and stopping mid way.

Has anyone does this? And booked themselfs that can offer advice for us.

Thank you!
Darren

Pretty much did the same trip myself a few years ago, We booked it all ourselves, one hotel each payday, We did it slightly differently


San Fran for 5 nights
Hollywood for 3 nights
Santa Barbara 1 night (hadn't booked this one before we left was a last minute)
San Diego 2 nights
Vegas for 6 nights



We flew into San Francisco and out of Vegas, Picked up the car after we checked out in San Francisco and kept it for one day in Vegas so we could go to the outlet, Dropped it off on the strip in vegas

No need to pay someone to do it for you when you can do it yourself and you don't have to book all your hotels at the same time, and you don't have to pay for them up front, you can pay on checkout