Our West Coast Road Trip Plan! Advice?

[Chlozo]

We are planning a trip to California from the UK for 22 nights from the 3rd September until the 25th September. We haven't booked anything yet, as we are just trying to get a rough plan together to see if we have allocated the right number of days and attractions into our trip, as we want to see as much as possible.

Would you mind taking a look at our plan we have put together, and let us know what you think? Are we going for long enough? Are we spending too long in one place and not long enough in another? Are we missing any attractions or nice places to see / visit?


West Coast Road Trip Plan

Flight:
London Heathrow Airport to San Francisco Airport.

San Francisco - 5 Nights
Activities include:
Alcatraz, Marin Headlands, Twin Peaks, Filbert Steps, Lombard Street, Castro Theatre, Pier 39, Historic Trolly Cars, Golden Gate Bay Cruise, Walt Disney Family Museum, Sausalito, Hop On Hop Off Bus (Union Square, Fishermans Wharf, Coit Tower, Palace of Fine Arts, Golden Gate Bridge, Alamo Square, Golden Gate Park).

Pacific Coast Highway - 2 Nights
1 Night - Monterey.
1 Night - Pismo Beach.
Other options could be: Cambria, Carmel, Big Sur, Santa Barbara.

Los Angeles - 5 Nights
Activities include:
Warner Brothers VIP Studio Tour, Paramount Tour, Disneyland Resort (2 Day Park Hopper), Walk of Fame, Hollywood Walk Of Fame, Madame Tussauds Hollywood, Hollywood Behind The Scenes Tour, Starline Tours - Original Movie Stars' Homes Tour, Hollywood Museum, Rodeo Drive, City Hall, Graumans Chinese Theatre, Sunset Strip, Santa Monica, Venice Beach Boardwalk / Venice Canals Walkway, Griffith Observatory, Runyon Canyon Park

Las Vegas - 5 Nights
Activities include:
Grand Canyon (1 Night), Hoover Dam, Fremont Street, Red Rock Canyon, Dune Buggy Adventure, Stratosphere Tower, See a Show, Horse Riding, Neon Light Museum, Shooting Range, Random Vegas Sightseeing (Hotels etc).

San Diego - 4 Nights
Activities include:
San Diego Zoo, Balboa Park, USS Midway Museum, Old Town Historic State Park, Old Town Trolley Tour, Speed Boat Adventures, Belmont Park, Seaport Village, La Jolla, Coronado Island, Gaslamp Quarter, (Carlsbad Premium Outlets and Cabrillo National Monument.

Los Angeles - 1 Night
Drive back to Los Angeles for one night, so we are near the Airport for travelling back the following day.

Flight:
Los Angeles International Airport to London Heathrow Airport.


Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, as we are first timers to the west coast, so all this planning seems a little daunting at the minute!

 

[seobaina]

Hi

Just one quick thought on scanning your plan...are you aware that Disneyland is a good 2hrs (with LA traffic) south of LA? If I were you I'd count that as a separate section of your holiday plan.

I've not had a proper look through the rest yet, just noticed that.

x

 

[BraveMom]

Hearst castle in San Simeon

Mission San Diego de Alcala or another mission (Capistrano or Santa Barbara)

Ambitious touring plans! Have fun.

 

[IDoDis]

For your LA plan, the following are all in the same area and can all be seen in a few short hours: Hollywood Walk Of Fame, Madame Tussauds Hollywood, Starline Tours - Original Movie Stars' Homes Tour, Hollywood Museum, Rodeo Drive, Graumans Chinese Theatre, Sunset Strip.

Graumans Chinese Theater, the Walk of Fame, and Madame Tussaud's are right next to each other. I would not do the expensive Starline Tour. You don't get to see as much sitting on a bus. I would just choose a tour that day while you are out and about walking around Hollywood Blvd/Walk of Fame area. There are several tour pick-up areas along the Blvd with people out there handing out fliers and signing people up. They will negotiate on their prices which you don't have the opportunity to do if you pay for Starline ahead of time. We took an open jeep tour for $20 per person. The price started out at $39 each, then they said $25, and then went down to $20. We had a great time riding in the open top. Our tour guide took us to Richard Simmon's house and Richard came outside and talked with us and took pictures with us for 15 minutes. You won't get anything like that on a bus tour.

This link saved us a bunch of money on Madam Tussad's Wax Museum. I thought at first that the price was only for California residents, but I called to verify and was told if the ticket does not say that, then we are good to go. It will save you almost half the price vs buying tickets at the door. Buy the tickets here for $15.00 each. This is their official website but through this link, the prices are lower:

http://promotix.madametussauds.com/

Also, I'd skip going to City Hall. Why?

You could sign up for free advanced tickets to see a Jimmy Kimmel show which is right across from the Walk of Fame. The September calendar is not up yet, but keep checking to see if any shows will be done during your LA dates. It fills up fast, so check the website often:

http://1iota.com/Show/1/Jimmy-Kimmel-Live

You might want to also add in Balboa Island as a spot to visit. You can take a car ferry over to the island or you can drive. It's near Newport Beach.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g32780-d269454-Reviews-Balboa_Island-Newport_Beach_California.html

5 Days in Las Vegas is a lot, but maybe with everything you have scheduled around the area, you will be fine. You might add riding the roller coaster at New York, New York and checking out the games and free circus acts at Circus Circus.

In San Diego, you are missing Sea World on your itinerary. Maybe you've already been? I'd add a visit to La Jolla Beach. This is one of the top-rated beaches in the area. There are lots of high cliffs with great views and a walking bridge out into the water where you can see the seals swimming at the Children's Cove area.

Looks like you have a great vacation planned!

 

[Plutofan]

We just got back from a silimiar trip for 21 days. The one thing I would add is an overnight safari stay at Safari West in Santa Rosa. This was well worth the money. Our kids loved the behind scences tour and safari tour.

 

[Plutofan]

We just got back from a silimiar trip for 21 days. The one thing I would add is an overnight safari stay at Safari West in Santa Rosa. This was well worth the money. Our kids loved the behind scences tour and safari tour.

Also I wouldf skip SF on off bus and book a tour with Dylan Tours. They were rated #1 by trip advisor and after taking his tour of SF and Muir Woods I know why he was rated so high.

 

[Plutofan]

Also I wouldf skip SF on off bus and book a tour with Dylan Tours. They were rated #1 by trip advisor and after taking his tour of SF and Muir Woods I know why he was rated so high.

One other thing. I would consider booking the Magic Castle hotel in Hollywwod over a weekend which will get you access to the Magic Castle brunch and magic show. Our whole family loved it.

 

[ahutton]

You might want to look at CityPass to see if that gives you a better deal on admissions for things you are interested in. For that part of your trip it may save you some money. A favorite thing for me in San Diego that I don't see listed is the Hornblower cruise tours - they two hour tour was really fun and our family loved it.

http://www.citypass.com/southern-ca...&matchtype=e&gclid=COXsuNDur7gCFSdk7AodbWQAPw

 

[RaglanRoad]

Looks like you are going to have a wonderful holiday! I think you have most of the big items all covered it should be a great time.
I live just a few minutes from Disneyland and blog a little about things around Southern California, in fact giving distances from Disneyland. I also blogged on a couple of recent trips to San Francisco and San Diego.
Feel free to take a look or let me know if you have any specific questions.

Have a great trip!

 

[CPT Tripss]

Hearst castle in San Simeon

Mission San Diego de Alcala or another mission (Capistrano or Santa Barbara)

Ambitious touring plans! Have fun.

Another vote for Hearst Castle! Get admissions in advance on-line. You also should look into getting you Alcatraz admissions this way.

In San Francisco I did this and really enjoyed it. Rent a bicycle, http://www.blazingsaddles.com/san-francisco.aspx, ride along the waterfront, cross the Golden Gate Bridge, ride to Sausalito and take the ferry back to SF . . . Other than getting from the base, up to the bridge overlook, it is not a difficult ride.

 

[usnuzuloose]

If you sign up for Groupon or Living Socials you can find some good bargains for a lot of places. I have gotten a few good ones for Vegas

 

[taaren]

Just a suggestion if Alcatraz is important to you, buy your tickets sooner rather than later as they often sell out weeks in advance. Also the Walt Disney Family Museum is closed certain days of the week.

I live about an hour outside of SF, and recently have been playing tour guide to friends and family who come to town, and my favorite attraction has been the Golden Gate Bay Cruise. There are several companies that do it, so as you walk along the pier, just look for the cheapest one on that day ... near as I can tell they're all the same.

Sounds like you have a great plan put together! Btw, in order to save some $$ there's a Southern California City Pass, but it also includes Universal Hollywood which is not on your list.