Planning USA Trip

Murphy_The_Cat

Bodders11 wrote: »

Thanks to you both. I am going to keep the car and extend by 2 nights. Won't have much time in San Diego: one afternoon (La Jolla) and evening (Little Italy), one full day at the zoo and evening (?) and then morning (?) before flight at 8.40pm. Better make the most of it!

A harbour trip to look at the Pacific Fleet parked up is worth doing ** , as is a self guided visit to USS Midway**

I'm going to risk getting flamed by suggesting that a zoo, is a zoo, is a zoo and how many caged tigers do you need to see in your life ? But if you do fancy the San Diego zoo, its a popular attraction.

Old Town San Diego is another popular way to kill some time.

The hop on and off trolley tours are another way to get to see San Diego if time is short.


** if that's something that you like :beer:

Bodders11

Thanks Murphy.


Okay, so we are booking flights this evening through Kayak using TravelUp - £463.82. Anybody have any experience of these? The flight is from Dublin to Vegas via Gatwick with about 1 hour 50 minute layover. Will they take care of my baggage and transfer this to the appropriate plane and will I be covered if the Dublin to Gatwick flight is delayed? The return is direct from LA to London.


As mentioned I am staying on for a couple of nights on my own, but, to ensure I am able to board the same outbound flight as my friend, I have to return from LA (which is also cheaper). As a result, I will be dropping my friend off on 27th September early afternoon and then heading to San Diego for 2 nights. My flight is at 8.55pm on Thursday 29th September so I have one full day and two half days. I'll do San Diego Zoo and spend some time in Little Italy and probably visit La Jolla en route back to LA to depart and then identify any other must-do's in that short space of time. Ideally I was going to stay another night but the cost of flights increases by a lot and I cannot get the same outbound flight when departing from San Diego so 2 nights will have to suffice.


Once the flights are booked I will be prioritising:
Southampton to Dublin flight - booking tonight.
Dublin hotel - booking tonight.
Yosemite accommodation.
San Francisco accommodation.
Car Hire.


I will then worry about other things after this.


Any idea when I should look to book a Vegas hotel? I did read last minute might be best.

Murphy_The_Cat

Bodders11 wrote: »

Thanks Murphy.
Okay, so we are booking flights this evening through Kayak using TravelUp - £463.82. Anybody have any experience of these?
The flight is from Dublin to Vegas via Gatwick with about 1 hour 50 minute layover. Will they take care of my baggage and transfer this to the appropriate plane and will I be covered if the Dublin to Gatwick flight is delayed?
The return is direct from LA to London.

Once the flights are booked I will be prioritising:
Southampton to Dublin flight - booking tonight.
Dublin hotel - booking tonight.
Yosemite accommodation.
San Francisco accommodation.
Car Hire.


I will then worry about other things after this.


Any idea when I should look to book a Vegas hotel? I did read last minute might be best.

Happy to help bodders:beer:
I've used Kayak with no issues. I've prviously looked at Travelup, but their 2% credit charge put me off.
As long as your DUB-LAS ticket is a 'through ticket', yes, they'll send your bags all the way to Vegas & yes, they'lll send you on the next available flight/route if your flight from Dublin goes wrong.
If its 2 seperate tickets, then they won't and you'll be stuffed.
(Are you sure that you're flying via Gatwick ?)

with your SOU - DUB check to see if a flexible ticket with luggage included is better value.
Sit down before you check San Fran accomodation prices.
Alamo currently have a buy 5 days get 2 days free promotion which may be OK for you, or you can get 9% off Alamo via quidco.
But the first job to do after booking your flights is to get your travel insurance (if you haven't already done so)

enjoy your planning time

John259

Bodders11 wrote: »

Any idea when I should look to book a Vegas hotel?

It might be worth scanning the Las Vegas thread for that, or asking the question in there.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5380434

It might depend on what style of accommodation you're looking for - a casino resort hotel, or a motel, etc. (FWIW I've always stayed in motels in Las Vegas, pre-booked a few weeks in advance if it was the first night after landing, otherwise pre-booked on the same day or the day before, or just rolled up.)

Alan_Bowen

A big warning on that route, in the last few days a fellow traveller has been on the board who missed the Virgin flight due to a delay in departure from Dublin of around 30-45 minutes. The minimum connection time at Gatwick is 1.15 and many people discovered that they were re routed on a 22 hour journey, but at least they got there the same day. If you are travelling in peak season remember the Vegas flight is only once a day and there may not be seats on alternative routes, so if you can get an earlier connection or travel the day before.

Finally, just look up the reviews here and elsewhere on Travelup, they may be cheap for a reason

Bodders11

Thanks to all for the advice so far. I was a bit concerned by the layover so in the end booked through American Airlines and feel a lot better for it. Now have a layover in Chicago en route to Vegas and still direct back in to London from LA. 16 nights departing on 13th September for potentially the best holiday ever!

Let the planning commence

Murphy_The_Cat

Bodders11 wrote: »

Thanks to all for the advice so far. I was a bit concerned by the layover so in the end booked through American Airlines and feel a lot better for it. Now have a layover in Chicago en route to Vegas and still direct back in to London from LA. 16 nights departing on 13th September for potentially the best holiday ever!

Let the planning commence

American Airlines ia a good choice. In the unlikely event of your flights going wrong, you've now got LOTS of options to get you the LV or home.
With AA, you can pre select your seats for free. Follow the deatils from your booking and pull up the map of the plane (on a seperate browser window, open up seat guru and find the AA plane that you're flying on) then select your seat.
You'll spot a few seats that are MCE (main cabin extra) and which carry a premium. You don't get any extra baggage, better food or loungue access, but you do get 6" more legroom and if your on a 777-300ER, a slightly wider seat if your in the front section. These are priced per flight leg, not per trip, so only you can decide if they're worth it or not.
The last time I looked MCE from LAX -LHR was £85 which (to me) seemed very good value - I'm a big bloke and extra space adds to my holiday.
If you're flying back with BA (on a AA codeshare), you'll be on a A380. Again, log on to your flight and see if seat 25D is available -- if it is, grab it straight away. BA will charge you a bit for seat selection (IIRC its £25), but you'll be getting a seat with massive legroom.
Also sign up for AAdvantage - its free. A trip to the US West Coast will clock you lots of airmiles.

Car hire in Vegas. I've been told that hiring a car in a down town location or hotel is cheaper than at the airport, so check both options (you'll need to find your way from the airport to the hotel, if you're not hiring from the airport). Some people say that you don't need a car whilst you're in Vegas (I'm not one of them ), so there is a potential saving, but the car choice at the hotel may be limited.

Be sure to pick a decent sized car. You're going to be racking up a lot of miles. Why drive a Fiesta when you could have a Mondeo if the extra cost is negligible when splite between 2 ?

Finally, travel insurance. For your trip, be sure to check that your policy will cover you for your trip starting in Dublin. When I last put my anorak on and checked policy wording, some policies state that your trip must start in the UK. Your trip is UK -IRE and then a seperate trip from IRE-USA-UK, so you wouldn't be covered.
Annual Worldwide policies seemed to be a lot more inclusive than Single Trip Worldwide policies. (it seems a faff, but its a little time, well spent, if only for reassurance).
There is a possibility that your bank or home insurance includes 'free' travel insurance, but it may not be relevant to your trip.
One nice policy (if you have it) is Direct Line Home Plus, which includes annual worldwide travel insurance for your family. From here, with a bit of digging on page 13 and page 33, you can see that the jobs a good'um

John259

In the USA I've always rented cars from airports (because I escape from cities ASAP). FWIW I've read some comments online which suggest that the "cheaper downtown" thing only applies for people booking with US car rental web sites, not through UK web sites. Dunno if that's true, but it's worth checking carefully. You'll want to use a UK site to avoid the one-way rental drop-off charge.

If you restrict yourself to the Strip in Las Vegas then you don't need a car. If you want to explore more of the city then a car is desirable but not essential. If you want to explore beyond the city (Red Rocks Canyon, Hoover Dam, Mount Charleston, Valley of Fire, etc) then a car is very highly desirable.

Bodders11

I am back...Please let me know your thoughts on our itinerary. Just booked our car hire, although we were slightly concerned this was done via Dollar who were cheapest (Ford Mustang Convertible).





13th - 16th September - Las Vegas





Friday 16th September - Pick up car at 8am, Death Valley NP, evening arrival at Mammoth Lakes for overnight stay.





Saturday 17th September - Yosemite NP all day, overnight at Yosemite Cedar Lodge





Sunday 18th September - Morning and early afternoon at Yosemite NP, depart for San Francisco, arrive evening, go out for dinner and some exploring





Monday 19th September - Explore SF, Chinatown, Union Square, Lombard Street, Cable Car trip, Alcatraz Night Tour (5.55pm).





Tuesday 20th September - Hire bikes - Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39, Twin Peaks.





Wednesday 21st September - Depart SF early, visit Santa Cruz in morning. Afternoon, evening and overnight at Monterey.





Thursday 22nd September - Depart Monterey mid morning, travel along Pacific Coast stopping at Big Sur, Ragged Point, etc. for photos, arrive evening at San Luis Obispo and overnight stay.





Friday 23rd September - Depart SLO early, head for Ventura, stop at Santa Barbara en route. Evening and overnight stay with friends in Ventura (think I'd rather skip Ventura and head straight for Santa Monica for the evening and overnight as not sure much to do in Ventura and rather devote more time to Santa Monica).





Saturday 24th September - Depart Ventura (or Santa Monica if there) early and head for LA. Explore LA (Santa Monica, Beverley Hills, Hollywood, Griffith Observatory, evening Dodgers Baseball game and night out in LA, overnight at Santa Monica probably.





Sunday 25th September - Possibly Warner Brothers Studio Tour, Universal Studios day but unsure as it is a weekend and could be busy. Evening/overnight at Long Beach.





Monday 26th September - Plan/Activities TBC - possibly shopping at Mall/Outlets in Orange County, overnight at Huntington or Newport Beach.





Tuesday 27th September - my friend departs LAX so will need to drop him off around 4. I think I may do this slightly earlier. Morning in LA area, maybe Marina Del Rey. I then head to San Diego so want to be there by 5pm latest so I get a full evening to explore - Cabrillo Monument (if time permits), Coronado Ferry, Old Town, dinner at an authentic Mexican.





Wednesday 28th September - San Diego Zoo, Seaport Village, Little Italy (Bencotto for dinner)





Thursday 29th September - Head to La Jolla, breakfast at Brockton Villa, explore La Jolla Cove, drive back to LA to arrive by 1.00pm, explore Venice Beach area so near LAX, drop car off at 5.00pm, home to London.





Our only accommodation that we have confirmed is Yosemite and Mammoth Lakes. San Fran we will look for an Air BnB. Others we may look for along the way aside from LA where we will book prior. San Diego I will want a nice hotel as I will be travelling alone for 2 nights.





Any thoughts/suggestions/recommendations are welcomed.

Murphy_The_Cat

Bodders11 wrote: »

Thursday 22nd September - Depart Monterey mid morning, travel along Pacific Coast stopping at Big Sur, Ragged Point, etc. for photos, arrive evening at San Luis Obispo and overnight stay.
Any thoughts/suggestions/recommendations are welcomed.

Bodders
You're going to get to do one on my favourite things in America.
On Thusrday nights in SLO, they close the centre of town and have a Farmers Market -- lots of street BBQ vendors, foodie stuff, crafty stuff, college stuff, music, politicians on soap boxes, etc, etc.
The town comes to a halt for a really good fun, friendly get together, street party.
You'll love it.

Murph

p.s whilst in SLO, go to the Madonna Inn, where you MUST use the toilets downstairs;)