Next years Vacation..Help please!!

[mickg7dyd]

Hi,
Not sure if this is the right place for this request,but no doubt it will be moved if not.We are planning to visit the West Coast of USA next year.Our planned itinerary is as follows:

UK-Las Vegas (5 nites)

Las Vegas-Palm Springs (5 Nites)

Palm Springs-??????

This is where my question comes in,what part of the west coast do you think we should finish in LA,San Fran,or some other part of California?
We intend to drive between the places is this ok?
And we will probably fly home out of LA.

Any help would br great.

Mick.

:smooth:

[teri]

Do you plan on visiting Yosemite or Sequoia National Parks? If so, from Palm Springs you would go up there. Head back over to the Central CA coast via Gilroy on 152, and then do the loop through Monterey/Santa Cruz/San Francisco/Wine Country in Sonoma Valley -- or go straight up and start in Sonoma, either direction would be fine. That would give you some lovely scenic coastal driving without the treacherous turns of Rt. 1 south of Monterey and north of San Francisco. Take 101/1 back down to LA, lots to do and see on that route. Be sure to read the thread about Other Things to Do In Southern California at the top of the Disneyland Board page, and read all the way through.

[Judy from Boise]

Are you visiting family in Palm springs ? If not would you consider San diego/carlsbad instead ? Much nicer and on the coast. And, are you not interested in visiting DL ? Give us more details and we will overload you with advice :D

[mettlerca]

Palm Springs is very nice during the winter months, roughly October-May. If you're a golfer, sun-worshiper, hiker or a shopper, it's great! However, it gets extremely hot during the summer months, 110+ degrees F. during the day and only down to the 80s or 90s at night. There are so many wonderful places to visit in California, you're never too far away from something fun!:)

[mickg7dyd]

Hi,
Thanks for the info so far!!
Yes we will be seing friends in Palm Springs and also one of our TV holiday shows did a feature on the area and we thought it looked a nice place to check out,do others agree? is 5 nites too long there?
Also would we best just staying 7 nites at one hotel on the West coast our moving from place to place?
Another point yes we probably would like to see Disneyland and other places in LA but we have had people in the UK advise us not to actually stay in LA,is this good advice.
I know this request is a bit vague but we really are looking for as many suggestions as possible.
I will read through the link at the top of page and who knows with that and all your help I may soon be an expert!!

Mick.

:smooth:

[teri]

California is HUGE. It takes us 5-8 hours to drive from the San Francisco Bay Area to Los Angeles, depending on traffic. You will be moving from place to place if you plan to cover the state.

LA is huge - there are nice parts and not-so-nice parts. If you go to Disneyland for a few days, you will want to stay in Anaheim. Santa Monica, Marina del Rey, and Newport Beach are popular oceanside destinations in the LA area.

[mettlerca]

5 nights in Palm Springs is not too long, especially after Vegas! P.S. is a great place to relax, sit by the pool and soak up the sun, but you can also do several other things there. There's shopping in malls (in P.S. and Palm Desert [15-min away]), shopping at outlet stores in Ontario (45-min away), tram up to top of mountains, movies, horseback riding, tennis and gambling (in case you didn't get enough of that in Vegas).

Then, if you stay in Anaheim you can use that as a base for other day trips by car to Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, beaches and San Diego (all within 1 to 1-1/2 hour trips). You can also stay in Anaheim and fly to San Francisco via John Wayne Aiport for a day trip. Also, don't forget about Disneyland, California Adventure, and Downtown Disney, you can easily spend a few days there! Have fun!!

:)