Planning USA Trip

Bodders11

Help.


I have started planning a trip to USA but would very much like some assistance/advice. I am a 26 year old and will be flying from London ideally commencing my trip in the middle of September.


I would like to visit Las Vegas for 5 nights (two friends will be joining me) which is a certainty.


Following this, I have two options that I am weighing up: Hawaii for 7-10 nights for a bit of a sun/beach break and mostly relaxation/exploring. Alternatively, I would pick up a car in Vegas or fly to San Fransisco and commence a tour of California. I have always wanted to do this but I don't like the idea of living out of motels and doing a lot of driving. Is there a central location I could base myself (close to a beach - LA?) and then drive from there to various places I would like to visit or utilise tours/coaches/day trip providers? As you can tell, this element of the trip is very much undecided. I would look to spend up to 14 nights in California.


Following this, I'd head across to New York, flights from LA?, and spend 4 nights here before returning to London.


The two latter parts of the holiday after Vegas are likely to be alone, although ideally I would recruit a friend to share costs, etc.


I have had a look at a multi-city flight including all of the above and first quote was around £1259. I have not looked in to the cost of accommodation yet.


This is a trip instead of travelling the world as it is USA that appeals to me more than other countries and a place I need to tick off the list! Asia and Australia can wait

shaun_from_Africa

The first thing to do is to make sure that you qualify for an ESTA.
https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/
Without one of these, you will need a visa, something that can take an awful long time to get.

If you are only going to Vegas for the casinos and shows then you won't need a car there as there is very good public transport. (Monorail and busses).
San Francisco is another place where a car is more of a hindrance than a benefit due to the congestion and availability of parking. You will find that you have to pay for this everywhere including many hotels.

What I would suggest is travelling to SF by air or coach and staying there for a couple of days. If you are thinking of visiting Alcatraz, make sure you book this well in advance especially if you want to do an evening trip.
If you are feeling a bit energetic, you can rent a cycle for only a few $s and use this to look around.
A good ride to do is to cycle over the Golden Gate bridge to Sausalito. Once there you can lock up your bike and have a good look around and sample a few of the local bars and cafes.
There is a ferry that goes back to SF and you can take the bike on this.

Then pick up the hire car when you are ready to leave the city.
Some of the big rental companies have locations in the city or you can get a bus or coach to the airport and get it from there.
Yosemite isn't too far north of SF and is a very nice place, especially if you are into walking and photography.

restless6

I found it cheaper to book the transatlantic flights as a return and then book my internal US flights separatly

PeacefulWaters

Price up Dublin as a starting point.

lr1277

Hi

Some practical pointers for you:

1) Take a pen on the outward flight. You will need it to fill out the forms required for US officials. No pens provided in US airports.
2) The need for clear bags for liquids. In my experience, UK airports provide these for free. US airports charge quite a lot for them, especially a pain if you have run out of cash at the end of your trip.
3) You may have seen that if flying economy, you are only allowed to take 1 suitcase before having to pay excess baggage fees. So pack well.
4) When I went to the US as a student 25 years ago, you could get 1 month long passes for trains or planes. Possibly coaches as well. Trains are slower but take you into the heart of the city. Also pretty much guaranteed a seat and the views can be terrific, especially crossing the Rocky Mountains. If you get an unlimited plane ticket, you fly on standby and also the airports are way out of the city centre so factor in transport costs to the city.
5) You could stay in YMCA's and youth hostels. You will meet people who may be going in the same direction as you.
6) I got an international drivers licence, but not sure if that is necessary anymore. Have driven since and make sure you know the rules of the road. I didn't and nearly got arrested. 25 years ago I read in a US travel guide that if a school bus stopped, it would put out a stop sign from the side of the bus and you had to STOP! However in California about 15 years later, a school bus stopped but did not extend the sign to the side, so I proceeded slowly with caution. A few yards later, I was stopped by a police officer. The only reason he did not take it further was that he didn't want to deal with my normal UK driving licence. Don't take that as an indication as to how all police officers behave.
7) In some states/places you need photo ID to get into bars. I don't know if a current UK driving licence photocard will suffice otherwise a passport will definitely do. Because I was out there so long as a student (and I was over 21), I got a state ID from the state I was working in. This was good in all states as a form of valid photo ID. I don't know if you are going to be there long enough to justify that and also I think I gave the address as the summer camp I was working at.

I don't know if any of this is helpful, but enjoy your trip.

John259

Bodders11 wrote: »

Is there a central location I could base myself (close to a beach - LA?) and then drive from there to various places I would like to visit

California is about 770 miles north to south, and about 250 miles east to west. So to see various places you will in general have to move around and stay in different towns.

Except in the big cities driving in the USA is very easy, on high quality well signposted roads with low traffic levels.

Using motels is extremely convenient. All but the smallest of towns in the USA have motels so you're not limited to the major cities for places to stay.

Here are a few possibilities if you want to stay in one place, but most of them are outside California and some involve a long drive to get to them:

(1) Stay near Fresno (California) and visit Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.

(2) Stay in St George or Cedar City (Utah) and visit Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks, Cedar Breaks National Monument, and Snow Canyon State Park.

(3) Stay in Moab (Utah) and visit Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, Dead Horse State Park, and drive the Upper Colorado River Scenic Byway.

(4) Stay in Cortez or Durango (Colorado) and visit Mesa Verde National Park, drive US550 (the Million Dollar Highway) and ride the Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad.

If you want to follow up any of those ideas then you can use Google Maps to check where the places are, and distances.
https://maps.google.com

Wikipedia has articles (often with photographs) about each of the places and roads.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

The US National Park Service web site has lots of practical information about visiting each of the wonderful national parks and the numerous other similar areas that they administer such as the national monuments.
http://www.nps.gov

Each state also has its own state parks, some of which are superb. You can use Google to find the web site for each state's parks.
California State Parks http://www.parks.ca.gov

Here's some recommended YouTube videos, playlists and creators that you might like to sample:

Traveling Robert (trips by plane, car and RV in the USA and elsewhere):
https://www.youtube.com/user/TravelingRobert

Cheap Family Travel (informative videos made by the children of a US family):
https://www.youtube.com/user/cheapfamilytravel

A British family's California road trip:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLb-8Gy55ZLXaVGaWY3_O_KUo2H5cgmb7P

The Grand Circle around the Grand Canyon in Utah, Colorado and Arizona:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_6z7C5ecTk
(The people who made this video did some extreme hikes, but nearly all the US national parks also offer easy walking paths and hiking trails.)

A dashcam video of the beautiful Big Sur section of the Pacific Coast Highway in California:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypfy7XHjRl4

Bodders11

Wow - thank you all, some really helpful advice.


I like the idea of picking up a hire car in San Fransisco after I have spent a few days there. I have been to Orlando before and experienced driving so this isn't a concern for me, although ideally I want to keep driving to a minimum if possible.


Thanks for the tip on Dublin flights - this has shaved a huge amount of money off the costs I was looking at for flights from London. I just need to make sure I allow myself enough time to check in, etc. when arriving at Dublin to and from UK. All flights are with United Airlines, an airline I have no experience with and a simple Google search provides cautious reviews. Any thoughts or experiences with this airline?


Thanks for the advice John259. I'll take a thorough look through the links you have provided.


It looks as though I am already nearing a decision on flights. It will then just be a case of filling the itinerary and securing accommodation where possible prior to the trip!

blindman

Bodders11 wrote: »

Wow - thank you all, some really helpful advice.


I like the idea of picking up a hire car in San Fransisco after I have spent a few days there. I have been to Orlando before and experienced driving so this isn't a concern for me, although ideally I want to keep driving to a minimum if possible.


Thanks for the tip on Dublin flights - this has shaved a huge amount of money off the costs I was looking at for flights from London. I just need to make sure I allow myself enough time to check in, etc. when arriving at Dublin to and from UK. All flights are with United Airlines, an airline I have no experience with and a simple Google search provides cautious reviews. Any thoughts or experiences with this airline?


Thanks for the advice John259. I'll take a thorough look through the links you have provided.


It looks as though I am already nearing a decision on flights. It will then just be a case of filling the itinerary and securing accommodation where possible prior to the trip!

Any Airline in economy is adequate if you're not 6ft tall (or wide).:p

Ex Dublin is usually a LOT cheaper-even in Economy.

Do not go to Hawaii-do California-Loads to do and beaches etc.

You WILL need ID to drink-I get asked and I'm 61 :rotfl:

Flights
Get an Open Jaw-Into one city out of another
Watch out for one way car hire drop offs-None in California

IMHO JOHn259 "recommendations" should be take with a pinch of salt as motel 6 are flee holes and he always refers to You tube vids taken by someone else;)
Not sure he's been anywhere

Bodders11

Thanks, Blindman.


Flight itinerary currently as follows:




£434 (665.00 combined)


Dublin to Las Vegas – Delta Airlines – 15th September – 10.10-19.09 (16 hour 59 minutes) – Technical stop at Atlanta for 3 hours 44 minutes 14.01-17.45


£31 Las Vegas to San Francisco – Virgin America – 20th September - 14.00 – 15.35


£131 LAX to EWR – Virgin America – 4th October – 23.35-07.45


JFK to Dublin – Air France – 8th October 22.25–09.50


£48 - Southampton to Dublin – Flybe - 15th September – 06.50-08.15


£21 - Dublin to London Stansted –Ryanair - 8th October – 15.30 – 16.50


Thoughts?

Murphy_The_Cat

Bodders11 wrote: »

Thanks, Blindman.


Flight itinerary currently as follows:




£434 (665.00 combined)


Dublin to Las Vegas – Delta Airlines – 15th September – 10.10-19.09 (16 hour 59 minutes) – Technical stop at Atlanta for 3 hours 44 minutes 14.01-17.45


£31 Las Vegas to San Francisco – Virgin America – 20th September - 14.00 – 15.35


£131 LAX to EWR – Virgin America – 4th October – 23.35-07.45


JFK to Dublin – Air France – 8th October 22.25–09.50


£48 - Southampton to Dublin – Flybe - 15th September – 06.50-08.15


£21 - Dublin to London Stansted –Ryanair - 8th October – 15.30 – 16.50


Thoughts?

Yes - a BIG one.

If you're going to go along the positioing route to Dublin, the onus is on YOU being in Dublin to catch your ongoing flight.
Leaving only a 2 hour gap at Dublin is VERY risky. IMO. All you need is a slight delay in your FLYBE flight and you'll be like the Christmas Turkey - stuffed.
Travel the night before and stay at an airport hotel.
Plus, don't forget to include the cost of your luggage on the two positioning flights.

p.s. on your dates, I've found £450 for DUB-LAS, LAX to EWR, JFK-DUB which shaves a few £££'s off.

Backbiter

You need to factor in the luggage charges for your flights to and from Dublin.