Touring holiday to Nevada, California & Arizona

malid

I've added on some bits to MTC's comments (green)

Quote:
Originally Posted by ESTEE
I did post a specific thread about my latest plans, but no responses to it.
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...ight=honeymoon

Anyway, I'll put it in here if that's okay with you and keep this thread going with updates and reports before and after like yourself as its a great help being able to read other people's experiences.
Fire away ESTEE, the more contributions on the thread, the better, IMO

I know that there have been various posts on here about Road Trips to the States etc, but thought I would post my own current plans and developments for a honeymoon trip in August and get some input from some of the vast experience that is on this forum as well as keep you all informed of what I've gone for etc. Here it go's with the plan at present as it stands.

August 10th - Flight from Heathrow to Las Vegas (via Detroit) with NWA Airlines.
Firstoff, enrol in the NWA frequent flyer programme, its called World Perks and you'll currently get 6000 free miles for signing up before 15th July.
Then, check all the flights from Detroit to Las Vegas (maybe with a connection) that you can suggest to NWA CS if your UK -Detroit flight is delayed and it mucks up your onward suggestion.
getting from the airport to the hotel - rather than taking the minivan transfer, consider a Limousine !!

Aug 10th - 14th (4 Nights) in Las Vegas - No accomodation booked at present as keeping an eye on all of the various promotions at the moment (trying to decide whether to go with something like the Luxor/MGM to keep funds for when there). Current plans for whilst there are to do a Helicopter trip to the Grand Canyon preferably being taken down onto the floor of the West side of the Canyon, along with visits to various casino's, Fremont Street and a trip up the Stratosphere since my "wife to be" loves the adrenaline rides and wants to check these out (not sure whether they will be for me mind at that height!).
Bearing in mind that in August it will be roasting in Las Vegas, the Luxor is quite a long way down the Strip BUT there is a totally airconditioned indoor walkway that links the Mandalay Bay with Luxor with Excalibur Hotel. So you could 'do' three casinos without ever going outdoors ! Or, book into the Excalibur (probably the cheapest hotel) and spend your time in the Mandalay Bay (one of the swankiest !) :beer:. As for the helicoptor trip to the GC (including a setdown) Yes, Yes, Yes & Yes. Just bear in mind that its not a cheap trip.

August 14th - Flight from Vegas to San Diego - Flights not booked at present, but Southwest Airlines currently have flights for two for a total of $148 one way. Book it, thats a cracking deal, plus Southwest don't (currently) charge for luggage.

August 14th - 17th (3 nights) in San Diego - Booked to stay at the Holiday Express on the Bay http://www.hisandiegoonthebay.com/ as have used Priority Club points for a free stay.
Think the "wife to be" is adamant that she wants to do the SeaWorld park, but primarily the plan will just be to explore the city, seeing the Bay, Balboa Park, La Jolla and of course the Gaslamp area (which is primarily why booked the hotel as close to that area).

During the stay in San Diego we will be hiring a car to use whilst there, and also to then continue on the rest of the Trip up the West Coast to end in San Francisco.

San Diego is a great city EVERYONE seems to enjoy it. I really enjoyed the tour of USS Midway, we all enjoyed the harbour cruise and Mrs Cat really enjoyed going down to Tijuana border (15 mins away) to do some Outlet Mall shopping ! Some other nice places to visit in SD are Seaport Village & Old Town. In short San Diego is a grand place to go.
I would go along with Seaworld - half a day

August 17th - 19th - At present these 3 nights are open as nothing confirmed other than we're needing to start heading North towards Monterey.

Looking around the internet at the moment there's deals at the likes of
Newport Beach - http://hotels.travelzoo.com/california-hotels/424282
Palm Springs - http://hotels.travelzoo.com/california-hotels/424238 which could be an idea for a night.
Palm Desert will be absolutely baking hot in August (it peaked at 114 deg in May when we were there) and TBH, we preferred Palm Desert which is only a few miles away. The downtown in Palm Desert was very, very upmarket and it was nice to see how t'other half live. If you do go there, you could visit Knotts Soak City for a cooldown, or try the Palm Springs ariel tramway.
If you do visit Palm Springs/Palm Desert, be sure to take the route via Temecula and over the mountains to Palm Desert - its one of the most scenic drives in California and the final 20 miles are simply specatualr.
Knotts Soak City is likley to be closed in August - too hot. We stayed at the Miramont Resprt and Spa in Indian Wells last August. Fabulous - recommended. We booked direct as it was the best deal


Think the "wife to be" would quite like to do a day in a park such as Knotts Berry Park or Six Flags Magic Mountain/Hurricane Harbour so might have to fit a visit in to one of those.
As you drive on I10 across to LA , you'll pass the Cabazon Outlet Mall. & Premier Outlet Mall. I would suggest staying here for a while and filling a spare piece of luggage. Absolutely top of the line branded goods at very silly prices.
We haven't been to Six Flags but go to Knotts everytime! Tip - Ralphs supermarket usually have an offer in teh Summer. If you sign up fpr membership (easy and at store) you get special rate Knotts tickets. Great deal!

Still got enough points to use for another night in a Holiday Inn/Crowne Plaza hotel somewhere along the route so could stop off in somewhere such as Santa Barbara or San Luis Obispo prior to hitting the coast road up to Monterey.
Thursday night is THE night to stay in SLO, so maybe Santa Barbara would be a good choice. Besides which, you'll have driven 220 miles or so already today, including a goodly sized wedge as you drive past (& avoid) the smog ridden sprawl that is LA.


August 20th (1 night) in Monterey - Booked to stay in the new InterContinental Hotel "The Clement" Monterey which is another free night covered by Priority Club points.
Lovely, lovely hotel and really centrally located. The aquirium is a great place to spend a goodly amount of hours (its not cheap though) and you can go on whale spotting trips from Fishermans Wharf, or Sea Otter spotting trips on a harbour tour. Monterey is a nice, nice place.

August 21st - 24th (3 nights) in San Francisco - Currently booked to stay one night at The Prescott http://www.prescotthotel.com/ since I grabbed a Travelzoo offer for $110 a night room, then the final two nights will be at the InterContinental San Francisco http://www.intercontinentalsanfrancisco.com/welcome.php one night of which will be covered by a Priority Club Free night Voucher for Ambassador status (paid to upgrade to Ambassador membership as worked out cheaper than one night in the hotel anyway).
San Fran isn't my favourite place, so I'll let other people talk it up for you. Besides from visting the Golden Gate Bridge, we considered Alcatraz at night a 'must do' - if you do as well, you'll need to book in advance.
I quite like SF. A walk around Fisherman's Walk and a bowl of clam chowder is a must. As I recall, there's a fudge shop almost opposite boat to Alcatraz (other side of road). A must if you want to indulge. Definately do Alcatraz visit. We did the day trip.
August 24th - Its all over and fly back to Gatwick via Detroit.


Hope that wasn't too much detail for you all.
Not at all, it was grand

Please throw down any ideas or thoughts for me as I will take them all on board i.e. hotel in Vegas (I am following the Vegas thread already), Grand Canyon, San Diego things to do, ideas for the 3 nights spare at the moment etc etc.
Yep, hire a luxury class car. it'll cost you a few $$$'s more, but the comfort that you'll enjoy is worth every cent. Also, make sure you get a car with no one way hire charges.

I'll hopefully get this going and also post details of how its going (if I can get time to fit an internet cafe whilst there) or has gone when I come back.

Sounds like a fabulous honeymoon. Good luck and enjoy!!!!!:beer:

STSAVER

Thanks for the replies Murphy and Malid.

1 - NWA Frequent Flyer (World Perks) - sounds good if get 6000 miles straight away, but already signed up to the Flying Blue KLM Programme since I am off to Holland this weekend and registered that against both my KLM and NWA flights.
Could I register for World Perks still and use that instead of Flying Blue?

2 - I'll have to research the connecting flights nearer the time, especially given that we've only 2 hours outwards and then only 1 hour on return back so thanks for pointing out that that is worth having to hand.

3 - Vegas - have now booked a Bungalow Suite in the MGM Grand as it was cheaper than just a standard room in all other places including the Luxor. If the heat is so unbearable then at least there will be plenty to keep us busy in the MGM Grand given the size of the place!!!
Helicopter/Aeroplane trips to the Canyon aren't the cheapest, but can be done for around $250 per person - will have to leave until nearer the time and see what funds we've got available I think or maybe look to hire a car and drive out to it.

4 - San Diego - given that we're staying right on the bay then fair chance we'll have a look around the USS Midway at somepoint, and was also thinking that a little trip on a harbour cruise would be good. Think we'll certainly keep ourselves busy will all of the places to see in San Diego though.

5 - Starting to think that we will do a day at Knott's Berry Farm after leaving San Diego to do something a bit different aside from the sight seeing which we will do up the West Coast. Got enough Priority club points for another Holiday Inn night so easy enough to find somewhere to stay for that.
Will then most likely head up and stop in or around Santa Barbara for one night then maybe San Luis Obispo/Cambria before the drive up to Monterrey.

6 - San Francisco - definitely going to do the trip to Alcatraz as love the old gangster stories and movies so seeing where Al Capone was housed is a must. Will generally just look to chill and see the various sights here before heading home again.


7 - Car - any advice on what car type and which company to hire through given that we'll be needing a one way drop off as well? Thinking that I will just drop the car at SFO before going into centre of San Francisco as don't want the car there really. Will mean we probably only need to hire a car for about 5 days or so.



NB - This is the same person as "ESTEE" - but logged in from work and had to re-register as couldn't remember the log in details!! ;-)

Murphy_The_Cat

Hi STSAVER/ESTEE

STSAVER wrote: »

Thanks for the replies Murphy and Malid.

1 - NWA Frequent Flyer (World Perks) - sounds good if get 6000 miles straight away, but already signed up to the Flying Blue KLM Programme since I am off to Holland this weekend and registered that against both my KLM and NWA flights.
Could I register for World Perks still and use that instead of Flying Blue?
hmmm, unsure on this

2 - I'll have to research the connecting flights nearer the time, especially given that we've only 2 hours outwards and then only 1 hour on return back so thanks for pointing out that that is worth having to hand.
2 hours is tight/really tight. Its maybe time to do some Belt & Brace work for if you miss your connection.

3 - Vegas - have now booked a Bungalow Suite in the MGM Grand as it was cheaper than just a standard room in all other places including the Luxor. If the heat is so unbearable then at least there will be plenty to keep us busy in the MGM Grand given the size of the place!!!
Sounds like a great plan
Helicopter/Aeroplane trips to the Canyon aren't the cheapest, but can be done for around $250 per person - will have to leave until nearer the time and see what funds we've got available I think or maybe look to hire a car and drive out to it.
If the funds will go that far, its a great thing to do - as regards taking a car, its an awful long way through the boring desert, although some people swear by it. You'll love the Hoover Dam though.:beer:

4 - San Diego - given that we're staying right on the bay then fair chance we'll have a look around the USS Midway at somepoint, and was also thinking that a little trip on a harbour cruise would be good. Think we'll certainly keep ourselves busy will all of the places to see in San Diego though. If you buy a combined ticket for a Harbour Cruise and a the USS Midway (they're nearly next door to each other) you'll save a few $$'s. BTW, San Diego Zoo is a great place to visit as well.

5 - Starting to think that we will do a day at Knott's Berry Farm after leaving San Diego to do something a bit different aside from the sight seeing which we will do up the West Coast. Got enough Priority club points for another Holiday Inn night so easy enough to find somewhere to stay for that.
Will then most likely head up and stop in or around Santa Barbara for one night then maybe San Luis Obispo/Cambria before the drive up to Monterrey.

6 - San Francisco - definitely going to do the trip to Alcatraz as love the old gangster stories and movies so seeing where Al Capone was housed is a must. Will generally just look to chill and see the various sights here before heading home again.Just bear in mind that San Fran is a real car hating place - car parking is extortionate (if you can find it), but Public Transport is cheap an plentiful & well used by the weirdos.:eek:


7 - Car - any advice on what car type and which company to hire through given that we'll be needing a one way drop off as well? Thinking that I will just drop the car at SFO before going into centre of San Francisco as don't want the car there really. Will mean we probably only need to hire a car for about 5 days or so.
try these people, very well priced, one way hire in California there is no charge if you use Alamo, Budget or Dollar, PLUS, if you book Dollar with them, you automatically get an extra driver for nothing in the hire/insurance. They also give you quite a large choice of Drop Off locations in San Fran.


NB - This is the same person as "ESTEE" - but logged in from work and had to re-register as couldn't remember the log in details!! ;-)

have fun

malid

Have a look at this for my post on car hire options - http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/....html?t=764567. Last year we used www.goamerica.co.uk and got a car with Dollar.

Agree re San Diego Zoo. Good day out - well not whole day probably. :rotfl:

STSAVER

Murphy/Malid,

Thanks for the detailed responses and apologies for the lack of replies but snowed under with stag do, wedding planning and then work on top which is manic at the moment.

Quick update though.

Booked another free Priority Club night at Buena Vista and we're going to have a day at Knott's Berry Farm.
It was fewer points than I expected to have to use as well, and just got a 5000 points bonus as well which means that I have enough points for a night at a Holiday Inn Express at Ventura on the Harbour which I am now thinking of booking for the Monday night.

That would have us with 3 free nights in San Diego Thurs-Sun, followed by a free night in Buena Vista on Sunday for Knotts (probably go there first thing the Monday morning, although could set off early Sunday to get to Knotts), a free night in Ventura on the Monday night then with a spare night the Tuesday before arriving in Monterrey for another Free night at a Crowne Plaza.

The priority club is going to have done me very good from the last six months of working away as its going to have covered 6 nights of the trip leaving us more money to spend in the various places which is great!!

Anyway, better crack on with work and will check back later in the week for update.

vivatifosi

Hi STSAVER,

Not sure if this has been mentioned in one of the many previous posts, but Alcatraz sells out in advance in the Summer months. I went all the way to San Francisco to see it (among other attractions of course) and then couldn't book tickets for the days I was there. Well worth spending some time checking availability and booking in advance.

STSAVER

vivatifosi wrote: »

Hi STSAVER,

Not sure if this has been mentioned in one of the many previous posts, but Alcatraz sells out in advance in the Summer months. I went all the way to San Francisco to see it (among other attractions of course) and then couldn't book tickets for the days I was there. Well worth spending some time checking availability and booking in advance.

thanks for reminding me as I'd forgot about doing that.

Will have to try and get onto doing that later today.

Have now booked a King Bed Suite in the Holiday Inn at Ventura Harbor so the trip is almost all planned out now with just the one spare night left to decide on between Ventura Harbor and Monterey.

STSAVER

Knotts Berry Park Advice


We're booked to stay in Buena Park on Sunday 17th August. We will be leaving San Diego on that Sunday morning to head up to Buena Park.

Would we be best off seeing the sights North of San Diego with a slow drive to finish in Buena Park ready for an early monday morning start at Knotts Berry Park?

Or Would it be best to leave San Diego very early morning and get to Knotts Berry Farm on the Sunday to stay there all day since we can get back to the hotel nearby late that night then look to move on come the Monday as we head to Ventura Harbor for the Monday night?

Murphy_The_Cat

STSAVER wrote: »

Knotts Berry Park Advice


We're booked to stay in Buena Park on Sunday 17th August. We will be leaving San Diego on that Sunday morning to head up to Buena Park.

Would we be best off seeing the sights North of San Diego with a slow drive to finish in Buena Park ready for an early monday morning start at Knotts Berry Park?

Or Would it be best to leave San Diego very early morning and get to Knotts Berry Farm on the Sunday to stay there all day since we can get back to the hotel nearby late that night then look to move on come the Monday as we head to Ventura Harbor for the Monday night?

Sorry STS, but without knowing what you're 'into', I couldn't really offer any advice.

But

seeing as how you are packing in an awful lot, in such a short length of time, it may be a refreshing change to take it easy for one day and perhaps explore some of the towns/cities & beaches that you'll be passing on your way up the coast. Especially if you take Old Highway 101 you'll have a really scenic route, go through some really nice (& way, way plush) towns, plus get the chance to dip your toe into the Pacific in a few nice places. IIRC Mission bay, Del Mar, La Jolla, Cardiff By The Sea, Encinitas were all worth a small detour - if time isn't important.

STSAVER

Murphy_The_Cat wrote: »

Sorry STS, but without knowing what you're 'into', I couldn't really offer any advice.

But

seeing as how you are packing in an awful lot, in such a short length of time, it may be a refreshing change to take it easy for one day and perhaps explore some of the towns/cities & beaches that you'll be passing on your way up the coast. Especially if you take Old Highway 101 you'll have a really scenic route, go through some really nice (& way, way plush) towns, plus get the chance to dip your toe into the Pacific in a few nice places. IIRC Mission bay, Del Mar, La Jolla, Cardiff By The Sea, Encinitas were all worth a small detour - if time isn't important.

Hi Murphy,

We both like to see towns and cities, good restaurants, bars etc, as well as seeing sights etc (museums not really our thing). The other half enjoys the Theme Parks as well though hence me saying I would fit that in one day.

I've read up on Del Mar, La Jolla, Cardiff by the Sea etc and I do quite fancy getting to see these places and my plan was originally to take it easy once leaving San Diego to spend the day sightseeing as we start to meander up the coast and just stop in Buena Park on the Sunday night to go to Knotts on the Monday morning.

Now booked into Ventura Harbor on the Monday night though and just a little concerned with getting from Knotts to Ventura on a late monday afternoon or monday night.

Ideally wouldn't want to get to Ventura too late in the day as would like to sample some of the local fare.