any travel experts here?

[kirstyfly]

Hey guys am looking at planning a trip to the states possible end of next year start of 2006.

we are wanting to do disneyland,San Fran and las vegas.

I 'm pleased to hear it is only a 4 hour drive away from Anaheim (read it on the disneyland thread), what about a train how far by train?

Also what is easier going from Anaheim to san fran or to san fran from las vegas?

any ideas/tips for me?

thanks guys

 

[vernon]

Kirsty, it would help to know if you'll have a car for the whole trip, part of the trip or if you plan to use public transport to get around. It's worth checking on the flight structure, you might be able to get a deal where you fly into LA, spend some time there(with a car) , get a flight to Vegas ( I don't think you'd need a car here, but it's worth checking with people who've been) spend some time there then fly to San Fran, spend some time there and fly home from San Fran. Do they fly direct from NZ to LA/San Fran or would you have to connect in Hawaii? If you flew into LA, rented a car from there but flew out of San Fran you would usually have to pay a fee for droppping the car at a different place than you collected it. Using flights would probably save you time getting from A to B and could quite easily work out cheaper.

San Fran is one destination that you can get around easily using public transport if you're staying in the centre of town. The Tram system there is pretty good.

Los Angeles however you really need a car to be able to get around.

 

[CarolA]

I would either go Vegas, LA, San Fran or vice versa, but a lot may depend on your plane reservations.


A car would be a big plus here. However, you can sometimes get cheap airfraes top Vegas and there is a train between LA and San Francisco.

I am pretty sure they discontinued train service to Vegas from California.

I am not sure how long a drive it is from Vegas to San Francisco, but I would estimate several hours longer then Vegas to LA>

 

[Amberle3]

If you've travelled in Europe and have taken trains there, train service in North America is vastly different. In most places it's not the primary method of transportation, and in fact I think more people take the bus (greyhound) every day than take a train.

Southwest usually has cheap flights from LA to Vegas. Right now they have flights starting at $29 each way, I think it was last year they had flights starting at $19 each way for a short time.

I've been to LA a number of times (at least once a year) and I won't drive there. I'm just not comfortable with it. I'm a small-city person and the thought of driving on 8-lane highways makes me nervous. My fiance grew up in LA, so whenever we're there together he drives. If I'm there without him, I take cabs or shuttles.

The drive from LA to Las Vegas is interesting in that you'll be crossing the Mojave Desert, and it makes for some nice scenery.

The drive from LA to San Fran is also very nice in terms of scenery. You can take the direct route down #5, or you can take the coastal route and go through Santa Barbara and Monterey. There are a number of wineries along the way as well.

If you take the direct route it takes about 6 hours. The coastal route adds about another hour on to that. Not including stops, for either route.