Vagas, LA, San Fran and around

dansound

Hello

Looking for some advice on hire cars, hotels and priceline, please

3 of us (one couple and a good friend) fly in to LA on the 7th of November and then plan to spend 2 nights there and then head to san Francisco For 4 nights and then down to Las Vegas we want to spend 2/3nights in a really posh hotel (Bellagio pref. for mon-wed) and then the rest of the week (thur-weekend) in somewhere 3*ish. After Las Vegas we want to go to SanDeago for a few of nights before returning to LA to fly out on the 24th of November.

Problem is, we are all 23 so any advice on getting an SUV or Lux. car would be great. Needs to have insurance included for 2 drivers aged 23 (Budget for car is approximately 500-600pounds for 17 days)

We are all happy to share hotel rooms, to make things cheaper, but am I right in thinking priceline only book for two people? or are there other places that we can get really good deals for 3 people in one room?

We have about 60pounds a day for accommodation and 100pounds for the two posh days :-)
Thanks Dan

MDUK

i got Yes car hire from this site and found them cheap and the car was picked up from Alamo no problem. Got the all inclusive rate which included everything including an extra driver.

Prices tend to be per room and a queen room has 2 doubles so maybe the couple could have one and the 'friend' have the other

depends what you are looking for in LA, but we stayed at the magic castle hotel which is 5-10 minute walk from the walk of fame etc. They also have a secure car park and exceptionally helpful staff, i would guess 3 star. Very small, free continental breakfast and rooms have seperate bedroom and bed setee.

mitchg

Thats a great trip did it myself last October, in LA we stayed in the Holiday Inn Express on Venice beach, young uns will enjoy it there Muscle beach is one of the highlites and other street acts etc, San Fran we stayed in the Holdiay Inn Oakland bridge they do a free shuttle bus to the BART (Lcal Rail) and it takes you right into the center of SF or do the Fishermans Wharf little pricer mind but it is in the right place, Vegas why go posh after all all you will do is sleep in the room stay 3 star and you will do Ok and have more play money. San Diego not sure am going there Next Spring doing the lower half of California this time. Alamo in my experiance are amongst the cheapest car hire companies, be aware that the coastal drive is a great scenic route but limited fueling places.. which i was almost caught out by...
The Holiday inn Exress does a great free buffet breakfast and all are good std accommodations at reasonable prices and will easily take 3 people

trisha

Try airline network for a car
Don't pay a lot for a room in Vegas, the rooms are practically all the same anyway, unless you want a luxury suite.
look at https://www.i4vegas.com to get some idea of the prices.

dansound

Thanks everyone :-) anyone else got any ideas?

Yes car hire only insure second dirivers over 25, so with the extra for a 23 year old it makes them expensive same with airleinenetwork

mitchg - What was the weather like at that time of the year?

Still looking at hotels - not sure if we should go for something 3* that is cheaper and have more to spend and then stay somewhere like the bellagio when it is just me and my girlfriend

Dan

mitchg

The weather whist we were there was an unusually cold spell get this they even had a days rain in Vegas first for a couple of years i think. Generally though it was ok Gloomy when we were at the canyon stayed at the rim Bright Angle Lodge and that was an experiance shame of the dark clouds on the far side and generally misty conditions but then we were 5000ft up. Traveling up across towards Mammoth Lakes there was a snow storm so Yosemite was closed two climbers were thought to of died so we had to go further north to Lake Tahoe sstill snow around but what a place and what scenery .. all in one day bright sunshine and snow fabulous. S F was ok not cold not misty one bit really nice actually and that made the trip to Alcatraz all the better.
Generally i think it was around 24 at the coast warmer in Vegas but watch out for the mountains, as they say mountains and they are high up to 10,000ft in places.
Went with family 13 of us and everyone really had a great time even the kids the weather wasnt really a problem but didnt show the canyon at its best.
As far as Cars we took Alamo with the gold all in package taht way we got 4 drivers insured for each vehicle ( 2 mini vans) which gave lots of flexibility for driving.. which was needed on the day we left Vegas.. sorry to say didnt go to bed until 8am was still on the roulette drinking them free drinks.. wife wasnt so happy though ..lol

waster_2

Have a look at the Alamo web site (http://www.alamo.com/ - click rental policies on blue tab and then age requirements) It shows their minimum age for the renter as 21. They make no mention of minimum age for additional drivers so assume 21 the same, although if not a spouse they will also require a credit card imprint to be taken.

However, when booking and using Alamo I have always been told 25 is minimum age that does not attract an additional daily payment (that is $25 per day per person? - plus taxes?). And I believe this is common across all rental companies, so I think you need to be prepared for a large surcharge. Also, I believe that this surcharge is not taken as part of your booking cost in the UK, but when you collect the car in the US and paid directly to the rental company. So be aware what you are paying for when making a booking in the Uk and get exact details of what is included and what is not with regards to age ( and other) surcharges.

nao_3

I was in California in the spring and got a car through Easycar.

In the States Easycar use existing car hire companies - they don't have their own concessions there - and I got my car through Alamo and i paid less than the Alamo price. I also got upgraded for free - i ordered a compact and got a full sized. It worked out about £100 for a week - i am over 24 though.

They rent to over 21s but there is an additional charge for under 24s.

jumble_2

Hiya,
I've just booked my holiday to LA and San Fran. It sounds like you've already booked your flights but, if not, I got mine from BA in their sale. Best price I've seen anywhere (although I confess to not asking my travel agent to scout about for flight prices).

I only needed to book accomm in San Fran but have spent ages on the Trip Advisor website to get advice - their forums and hotel reviews are fantastic. I found the best prices from it on hotels.com, certainly not on expedia. I sometimes found cheaper rates by going directly to the hotel's own site but in actual fact I finally used a travel agent at the Flight Centre for my booking cos she came up with a great deal. 3* Holiday Inn Golden Gateway for £270 for 6 nights - that's single occupancy and a good area - two things which were causing me hassle.

I'm not sure how much any of that helps but I felt the need to share! A few people on the Trip Advisor site recommended priceline but I was too scared to try it! If you're wanting more advice, my next stop is the Virtual Tourist site.

Good luck, have a great time!

tonys_3

There are hotel brokers that cover the area you want https://www.hotwire.com and
https://www.hotellocators.com

As far as car hire goes, before ordering your car ask what the fees and taxes are.In many airports these costs can inflate the final bill by well over 25% [I think the maximum is 72%!]It is often cheaper to rent from a company in town rather than the airport.And you are usually better off to opt for the per-gallon rate for your petrol,remembering to fill up before you check the car back in.

If you are staying for a few days,quite a few hotels will give you 1 day free.Also once you have selected your hotel,go to google, type in the name of the hotel and add coupon at the end.See what they are offering on their coupons as they don't always include them on their website.

Hope you have a great time there.I stayed in San Francisco years ago and intended to drive down to Las Vegas one night.Then I was told it was 800 miles away.That's
when I realised how big the US was.[I was only 21 at the time]

dansound

Found car hire with https://www.simplycarhire.com

They say that they don't charge for under 25's

Anyone know anything about them? good or bad

Still looking through the millions of websites for hotels....

Thanks

Danny