West Coast USA tour advice

[TxRover]

Just an update, stay out of Mexico. Tijuana just had a 79 y-o who was known for bringing gifts and stuff over and delivering to the poor jacked, robbed and beaten to death. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/03/american-man-beating-death-tijuana-mexico
 

It’s not worth it, especially as the border is about to get much busier/worse. If you stayed in the close to the border tourist area, you wouldn’t be seeing Mexico anyway. Cancun and Cozumel is marginally safer.

[O_Kahn]

We went on honeymoon to the US in 2012 - did Chicago, Vegas, SF and some of the national parks.

Flights - as mentioned Momondo/Kayak or Google Flights is a good place to start.  Avoid some of the crappy agencies it recommends though for buying the flights.  Or when you've found what you want take it into Trailfinders and see what they can offer (won't be as cheap but sometimes better overall).  Transitting a US airport can be a pain in the arse so I wouldn't bother saving £50 for an extra change of plane in the US.  We flew Icelandair from Glasgow via Keflavik as they were by far the best value in July, but service wise the likes of KLM or BA would likely be better (in terms of inflight entertainement/food)

It can often be better to buy your longhaul flights separate from the internal ones - we had a couple of internal ones with Southwest and they were fine.

SF was expensive and very busy.  Some of the aparthotels offered much better deal than the hotels.  We didn't find SF dodgy (though avoided one or two areas) however it was by far the busiest of all the places we went - trams/restaurants etc all involved long waits.

Muir Woods and Sausalito was an excellent day trip (better than Yosemite as was too far for one day)

Vegas hotels used be much cheaper Sun - Thurs than the weekend, so worth tweaking your dates if possible to fit it in that way.  We stayed in the Mirage which has just been demolished, the only hotel that really blew me away was the Venetian, but a lot can change in 10 years.  Watch out for places not including the resort tax in the upfront price - can make a massive difference in Vegas.

We hired an SUV driving round the national parks, I found the driving fine, no worse than France or Germany.  Remember, you can sometimes do one way rentals with only a small supplement depending on the cities/chain.  I usually find Hertz/Enterprise the most reliable but car hire is always hit and miss.

We took Amtrak from Chicago to Colorado and it was 14 (!) hours late.  As I think someone else said they are short-staffed and in the US freight trains sometimes take priority over passenger services.  We enjoyed the trip but we had 5 weeks so the delay didn't mess up our schedule too much.

Personally I loved the National Parks and would do that over seeing 4 cities (ie drop one of LA and San Diego) but it depends on your tastes.  https://www.viator.com/en-GB/tours/Las-Vegas/3-Day-National-Parks-Tour-from-Las-Vegas-Grand-Canyon-Zion-and-Bryce-Canyon/d684-3857WWD

 

 

[Inanimate Carbon Rod]

On 26/04/2023 at 10:43, Molotov said:

Planning on a three week holiday to USA West Coast. I’ve only been to US on business so never done any of the sightseeing or tours. 

Looking at all options and would like to pick the brains of some of the good people of P&B.

We have a decent budget saved up so happy to look at all options.

Planning to start in San Diego with plans to visit Los Angeles , San Francisco and Las Vegas.

Some questions:

- flight options - who would you recommend travelling with? Worth upgrading? 
 

-if you are going business class probably virgin. But if its premium economy American/BA is probably better. Tbh i would save the money and just spend it while you are there. 

- accommodation experiences - any recommendations on hotel chains?

- does your credit card give you status anywhere? If not just thoroughly check trip advisor reviews before you book, dont really pay much attention to reviews left by Americans as they tend to up or down vote based on how someone smiles at them. 
We are going to LA next month, have stayed at ‘the garland’ in North Hollywood twice before and recommend it, close to Universal and the subway to get to the touristy bits on the strip, uber is quite reasonable into Beverly Hills or the Strip later at night. We are then going to do disneyland (better than disneyworld imo) and staying at Hyatt Regency Orange County. In San Diego resort fees and hotel parking charges are monstrous so we have booked an air bnb near the zoo? Its my fave city there, love it.  

- Anyone traveled around in a motorhome or car around that area that could offer advice?

- car, la to san diego is very doable, la to vegas through the desert is a must. 

- what key places to go and see in each place

SF- alcatraz and sausilito. Do the trolley first thing in the morning (pre 7am no queues). 
LA- do a studio tour, go see santa monica pier, stoat about Beverly Hills/rodeo drive. Eat dinner in a fancy restaurant like Spago. Have a look at youtube channel ‘eater’ and look at their LA restaurant and taco stand recommendations. 
Vegas- been done to death but i recommend the aria, nice hotel. 
SD- the zoo, libery market for dinner, the beaches at coronado, go to la jolla, do a taco bus tour (i like tacos), the midway museum is superb. The donut bar is a must too. 

- is Tijuana in Mexico worth a day trip from San Diego?

-not been but heard dodgy things. 

- is it worth scheduling a short cruise from San Diego as we’ve never sampled that type of travel aside from heading to Millport/Arran! 
-yes!! Instead of upgrading your flights do a cruise, better way to spend that money. Better way to see mexico/baja california. 

- what theme parks would be best to go to? We have no kids. What advice on tickets and fast track experience.

- universal, disneyland and knotts berry farm. Doesnt matter if youve no kids you’ll have a great day. Yes if youre only going once then do fast passes (express at universal and genie plus at disney).

- is it worth going to a baseball game or some other sports event?

yes!!!! In SF you have Giants, excellent stadium right in the bay. You can hop on the Bart to oakland, they’ve just announced they are moving so its a bit of an old world stadium but tickets are cheap. In LA you have the dodgers and Angels, both are good sides, Angel stadium probably better but dodger stadium more iconic. Id go see the Angels because Ohtani is worth the money alone. In San Diego the Padres are worth a visit, central located stadium, not really a bad seat in the house, well worth a visit. Try for a night game so you dont get sunburnt. 
Also worth checking if there are any minor league games as these can be much cheaper than mlb and often just as fun a night if you arent a particular fan. There is a really modern milb stadium in las vegas for the aviators, probably just as good as an mlb stadium. 

- we are keen on music gigs while out there. Any good venues? Whiskey in LA?

- we saw kasabian in oakland, that was cool, fox theatre. There are decent 1000-2000 venues all over these places and smaller ones too, so choices for gigs is vast, if youre in LA and get a chance to see someone at the collesium its worth it.  Try get tickets for Jimmy Kimmel in LA. 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

 

[Molotov]

Thank you @Inanimate Carbon Rod

[doulikefish]

Been to them all but Can't add much to what's been posted but I enjoy staying down around Fremont street in Vegas ,a bit more down to earth and not as glamorous as the new strip but if it's your first time go for the full experience and stay in the Luxor or circus circus if you need to keep costs down 

[Fuctifano]

Is it worth staying close to the airport in LA? Just thinking as our flight out is in the morning and we'll have to drop the car off so will need to be at the airport for 7am latest. I'm assuming getting anywhere is a massive ballache as it's so spread out so there's no central area to stay to cut down on travel.

[Inanimate Carbon Rod]

6 hours ago, Fuctifano said:

Is it worth staying close to the airport in LA? Just thinking as our flight out is in the morning and we'll have to drop the car off so will need to be at the airport for 7am latest. I'm assuming getting anywhere is a massive ballache as it's so spread out so there's no central area to stay to cut down on travel.

Are you meaning for just one night or for more than one night? Aye the LA traffic is shite but assuming youre driving before 7am you should be fine? You’ll be able to use the carpool lanes too. 

[Fuctifano]

1 hour ago, Inanimate Carbon Rod said:

Are you meaning for just one night or for more than one night? Aye the LA traffic is shite but assuming youre driving before 7am you should be fine? You’ll be able to use the carpool lanes too. 

We're thinking 2 nights at the moment 

[Thistle Bonnet]

9 hours ago, Fuctifano said:

Is it worth staying close to the airport in LA? Just thinking as our flight out is in the morning and we'll have to drop the car off so will need to be at the airport for 7am latest. I'm assuming getting anywhere is a massive ballache as it's so spread out so there's no central area to stay to cut down on travel.

I chose a motel fairly close to LAX on my last trip as I had an early morning flight home. The traffic was mental even at 7am...I wouldn't have made it in time without  my local guide (the girl in my avatar) - weaving through traffic and breenging into any hint of a gap was the way to go. Driving in LA is not a pleasant experience - a tip for the freeways is to stick to the middle lane as it's the equivalent of the slow lane - cars overtake on either side and the outside lanes could be an exit ramp you don't want to take.

San Francisco has a great location, is relatively compact and has a bit of character but I am otherwise not a big fan of American Cities...an overnight stay in Las Vegas is enough for me. I much prefer Big Country America - the Grand Canyon, Yosemite and Death Valley are awesome. A Road Trip on the Pacific Coast Highway from LA to San Francisco is phenomenal with cool towns like Monterrey, Carmel, Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara on the way.

 

 

[TxRover]

18 hours ago, Fuctifano said:

Is it worth staying close to the airport in LA? Just thinking as our flight out is in the morning and we'll have to drop the car off so will need to be at the airport for 7am latest. I'm assuming getting anywhere is a massive ballache as it's so spread out so there's no central area to stay to cut down on travel.

If you want to avoid the traffic, stay at one literally on the airport (like the Hilton)…perhaps check the car back in the night before and use the hotel shuttle (verify with the hotel it runs early enough, and see how long they say it takes…do this by calling the hotel directly) in the morning. But, I’d make it a one night stay as they hotels are overpriced a bit due to location and it’s a bit of a drive to anywhere. Stay somewhere fun in the LA Basin the other night…maybe Hollywood.

[doulikefish]

23 hours ago, Fuctifano said:

Is it worth staying close to the airport in LA? Just thinking as our flight out is in the morning and we'll have to drop the car off so will need to be at the airport for 7am latest. I'm assuming getting anywhere is a massive ballache as it's so spread out so there's no central area to stay to cut down on travel.

Similar we had an early flight out of Lax so stayed in the Marriot close to the airport and we did a couple of tours from there and got picked up/dropped off at our hotel both days (3 night stay) Just used a cab to get down to sunset at night/ took in a hockey match and even at around midnight traffic was still heaving on the expressway to get back to our digs if you don't fancy driving 

 

[Craig fae the Vale]

We stayed in Anaheim when we visited LA, probably the nicest hotel I've ever stayed in, but it did take about 2 hours to get back to LAX when we were leaving.

We did San Diego Zoo, which was a great day out, Disneyland and Universal Studios. My in-laws were thankfully paying for everything and we had the Fast Pass for both theme parks, which I would highly recommend, saved queuing time and made the parks very enjoyable. I preferred Universal, but Disney was a cracking day too. Also went to a second tier football match at Orange County SC, decent standard and pretty cheap ticket in a lovely new stadium. As you'd expect though, food and drink at the game was extortionate.

Not a lot to add on anything else, we were in Southern California for 4 days. If you ever visit Washington State I'd be more usueful!