PLEASE please please HELP.....Re. California fly-drive

[kazzie]

I hope you good folks can help me,I desperately need it

We want to go to California next October,I worked out a route of what we want to do.It is SO hard to drop places but I had to as it isn't possible to do it all at once,in about a 17 night holiday.Originally it was San Fran for 4 nights,down coast Big Sur,Hearst castle 2 nights,drive to Yosemite saty inside 2 nights,drive to Death valley 1 night then Las Vegas 5 nights drive to santa Monica 2 nights fly home from LA.

BUT after driving from Orlando to near Key West last year DH was surprised how much it wore him out and as I wouldn't be sharing the driving the above is just too ambitious.So what to leave for another time and what to definitley do??Any suggestions gratefully received.

Must go to San Fran,Las Vegas,LA................

I know Jules (signtalker) is going and when I read she was going to Lake Tahoe,I looked at that and like that too.......must stop now...........

 

[signtalker]

I personally would do yosemite(we cant get this on our schedule so are planning more days), 5 days in las vegas??, I would be inclined to drop this to 3, then do a rough plan of what it is you want to do, you will never see all of everything, so like WDW just pick whats the definate, we arent casino people, but would like to see some of the hotels.
Are you doing the grand canyon?

Jules

 

[kazzie]

Hi Jules,

Like yourself was thinking of Las Vegas as a base to see other places as well.Would do a flight trip from LV to Grand Canyon,the long one that alights by the Colorado river and includes a trip around the rim and Lake Mead etc.

 

[Claire L]

Kazzie,
Have you considered an airtour and basing yourself in 3 main places ie SF, LV and LA and then taking trips out from each or maybe hiring a car for a few days in say SF to go to Monterey, Muir Woods etc?? You can also do a day tour to Yosemite from SF but it is 11 hours in total..
We have just decided to do the coast and go back in a few years to do LV and GC plus all the other parks such as Zion, Bryce and the lake.
Have fun planning and hopefully you find your perfect holiday as is not always easy deciding where to go.
I have started planning for the big 30 next Febraury and want to go to Lake Tahoe to learn to ski as I've always said I want to be able to ski by the time I'm 30 and it has to be the US or Canada!!!
Claire

 

[Peter Pan Fan]

Just wanted to offer my opinion:

I too would drop a few days from Las Vegas. We usually go only for 3 nights which is PLENTY of time to see everything. Unless you are planning a lot of resting by the pool, you will only need 3 nights to see the strip and take a trip downtown or to Hoover Dam (highly recommended).

Tahoe is lovely all year round, but the fall (autumn) is by far my favorite. You could drive there in one day from SF (it's an easy drive, about 3-3.5 hours).

There is also much to do besides Hearst Castle in Central California. A stop in Monterey or Carmel would be worth your while.

If I can help you any more, just ask.

You also could post on the Disneyland Board, there are a lot of California experts there!

Best wishes,
Susan

 

[profdsny]

Boy, you got a lot on there. And, when you get to Santa Monica you are only an hour from Disneyland, and that leads to another few days.......
As someone mentioned, hoping around by air might be a good way to do it. Base out of San Fran and drive to Big Sur, Monteray, Carmel, etc and back. for the night. Lots to see in Francisco. Day trip or overnight to Yosemite. Then maybe fly to LV for no more than 2 nights, (chances are you can get real cheap airfares from most places in Calif to LV), then fly to LA area for 3 nights , then back up to San Francisco. The coast between San Francisco and LA is beautifu, but it is tough driving. YOu won't believe the amount of twists and turns on the road. And, considering we are driving on the wrong side of the road, can be a real stressful trip for a driver You can't do all of California in one trip. But you'll like it so much you will want to go back. You haven't even really touched on Southern California at all.
I'd put Hearst Castle and Death Valley on the back burner for another trip.

 

[kazzie]

Thanks very much for your replies,there's some great advice there

I'm going to take the plan back to the drawing board!

 

[rob@rar.org.uk]

Originally posted by Claire L
I've always said I want to be able to ski by the time I'm 30 and it has to be the US or Canada!!!

Hi Claire, any particular reason why you want to learn to ski in the US? While the skiing and the ski schools there are no doubt very good, you can find skiing and tuition which is at least as good much closer to home.

Regards

Rob

 

[Claire L]

Rob,
I just prefer the US to Europe for anything! For one I think you get more value for money and they are so much more friendly and two they nearly always speak English or is that American?

Kazzie,
If you have any questions on the West coast please ask as if you get no replies I will try to find them out when I am over there in 9 weeks time.

Claire

 

[rob@rar.org.uk]

Originally posted by Claire L
Rob,
I just prefer the US to Europe for anything! For one I think you get more value for money and they are so much more friendly and two they nearly always speak English or is that American?

OK, I understand. There are a few resorts, mainly in France, which have ski schools owned and run exclusively by British ski instructors. The quality of ski tuition in these is second to none, and they tend to be in resorts which have skiing areas much bigger than anything North America can offer. If you do decide that crossing the Atlantic for a week's skiing is a bit too far (that's one of the reasons we ski in Europe), I'm happy to offer some tips on where to go for a great 'learn to ski' experience.

Regards

Rob

 

[richard3330]

If you could stretch to 3 weeks then you would have more time to 'play around' with. I personally think that 5 nights at Las Vegas is quite a good length of time. There is quite a lot to do, especially if you want to take a trip from LV to The Grand Canyon. Visiting all of the hotels and Wet 'n' Wild and shopping and eating.... The list goes on!

Also, another place that is a 'must-visit' IMO is Lake Tahoe - it is absolutely stunning. However, out of Yosemite or Lake Tahoe I would choose Yosemite - The merced river is stunning as is a visit to Yosemite Falls.

It's so hard to cram it all in! We are planning to go again next September or October and we are leaving out San Francisco - Have you thought about dropping that to 2 or 3 nights? IMO 4 nights is too long.

I'd put Hearst Castle and Death Valley on the back burner for another trip

I completely agree here. I would try and fit in the most major sites on this trip and then if you go again fill in gaps with the places that you missed the first time around. For example, last time we had 4 nights at San Francisco and we found that it was far too long to keep ourselves completely occupied.

========================

We have only been skiing twice (Once at Val d'Isère and once at Aspen) and I don't think we would ever re-visit Europe for skiing again.

In America everybody was so much more friendly (and spoke our language clearly!) and the food was also much better .

It was much better value too and although the resort itself may not have been as good as Val d'Isère it was certainly a better holiday in almost every other respect.

However, I expect there are plently of ski resorts in Europe that are just as good as America/Canada but after our first experience if we ever go skiing again it will definitely be in the U.S.A or Canada.

Richard.

 

[WDWfan uk]

............. regarding Disneyland, I don't know if you've heard but Space Mountain has closed for a two year rehab!

Our California fly-drive is now also on the drawing board..... once again!!! The tentative plan is..... fly into LA, and straight to Anaheim for a few nights (also to include a trip to Universal Studios as well as the Disney parks)..... up to Las Vegas for three nights and include helicopter flight to Grand Canyon where you descend into the canyon for an hour or so and have a picinic or whatever, then over to San Francisco for several nights to include a drive to Monterey and back.
The problem with this is <i>when</i> to go so you aren't being fried in Las Vegas but can use the Tioga Pass to get to San Fran ( I figured that we could leave out Yosemite this time having recently been to Western Canada and experienced Bear country and fantastic scenery there). I still think an Easter holiday would probably be best weather-wise and take a chance on the Tioga Pass being open.

 

[kazzie]

Thanks for the extra advice I'll let you know when (IF ) I ever narrow the trip down.

Richard three weeks would be brilliant and I could go for three weeks if I went in the summer holidays.But Las Vegas would be too hot then for us If I go in October the kids will already be missing a week and a half from school.I could go at Easter as with the two weeks school holiday off and take a few days extra but they are already missing a week and a half off school this October for Orlando and if I go at Easter both holidays will be in the same school year In August It would only be LV that would be extremaly hot??

HELP ME

Claire,

Do you remember we were both doing this last year for this year?! Now your holiday is coming up and I'm still

 

[kazzie]

Shirley wouldn't it be amazing if we ever make up our minds We're having excatly the same dilemmas!

 

[mickg7dyd]

Hi,
We had a similar problem when we were planning our trip but settled with the following:

Flying into LAX

3 Nights at Disney's Grand California

5 Nights at The Mirage in Vegas

4 Nights at the Wyndham in Palm Springs

4 Nights at the Coronado Marriot in San Diego

1 Night in LA Crowne Plaza before returning home.

Loads of other stuff we would have liked to do but I guess we will just have to go back again....

Mick

 

[Claire L]

Kazzie,
Yes I do remember our PM's last year re California so once I'm back I shall hopefully have some really up to date info for you!

Rob,
For skiing in the US we will be going for two weeks as one week does not seem long enough for me. One week always goes so quickly as soon as you are settled you are on your way home again!!

Richard,
Thanks for your input my mind is now definitely set for going to the US!!! Must keep an eye out now for any special discounts which means more spending money!!!

Happy planning everyone.
Claire

 

[kazzie]