Travelling Around California

[tarheelmjfan]

I'm in the early stages of planning a trip for July 2010. It's looking very expensive, so I'm trying to figure out the best/cheapest options for travelling between destinations. Our main reason for the trip is for our son & his girlfriend to go to Comic Con in San Diego. We'll probably spend 3 (maybe 4) nights there. We've been to SD, & think that will be long enough. We also want to spend 3 to 4 nights at DL, one night in LA, & 3 nights in San Franciso. We've also been to San Francisco, but want to return to see the things we missed before.

Finally, my question. Should we plan to fly in & out of LAX or should we fly into SF & out of SD? What's the best form of transportation, to & from destinations, with either option? We like to drive as little as possible on vacation, so we will only rent a car if we have no other realistic options. I'm hoping for options that don't include renting a car & driving ourselves. Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[andee2000]

I know that you can take Amtrak between Anaheim and San Diego (not sure about of San Francisco). I found San Diego to be the most expensive part of our trip last year. The hotels were a lot compaired to Anaheim. If you are flying Southwest, you should have too much of a price difference flying in to one place and flying out another. I'm not sure about other carriers.

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

I know that you can take Amtrak between Anaheim and San Diego (not sure about of San Francisco). I found San Diego to be the most expensive part of our trip last year. The hotels were a lot compaired to Anaheim. If you are flying Southwest, you should have too much of a price difference flying in to one place and flying out another. I'm not sure about other carriers.

If you don't want to spend the day driving, I'd look into some other way to SF. I think It's about 6 hours driving from DLR to SF.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

I know that you can take Amtrak between Anaheim and San Diego (not sure about of San Francisco). I found San Diego to be the most expensive part of our trip last year. The hotels were a lot compaired to Anaheim. If you are flying Southwest, you should have too much of a price difference flying in to one place and flying out another. I'm not sure about other carriers.

Thanks for the help. Amtrak would be fun. We've never ridden it. I'm definitely going to price one-way flights, as well as roundtrip. That's the easy part. Getting from point A, to point B, to point C, etc. will also be a factor in deciding which flight option to choose.

I know what you mean about the cost associated with a trip to SD. Add that to the fact that we're going for a convention & DL almost looks cheap.

If you don't want to spend the day driving, I'd look into some other way to SF. I think It's about 6 hours driving from DLR to SF.

Thanks for the suggestion. We really don't want to spend a lot of time driving. I'm hoping to find a reasonable alternative.

 

[wendyinoc]

I would probably take train to San Diego I would then fly to San Fran from San Diego. Its pretty cheap in Ca to fly to San Fran.

 

[fairycat]

To save money in San Diego during the Con, I highly suggest staying at a hotel that is away from the convention center, but is on the Trolley line. I did this and saved quite a bit of money both on car parking charges and hotel charges.

My friends have done the Amtrack from OC to San Diego and really enjoyed it and said she would do it again.

With how crazy the Convention is, and how much there is to see there I would expect this to take a lot of their San Diego time!! I also say buy your tickets early they sell out FAST! I hope to buy mine in the next few weeks. Most days start at 9am and go to Midnight or later depending on what panels and events you want to see.

Heading North becomes a new thing, personally I would rent a car and drive, but we are big drivers, or I would say grab a flight from San Diego, in the end you will save some time, but driving is probably cheaper in the end. I want to add that if you figure in the train time to get back to San Diego and the flight, I think you would only be saving maybe 2-3 hours driving time. That might be enough for you, but if you break down the cost it might not be worth it. I also want to say you really can make your drive about seeing some sites too, which might make it worth driving. The cost trip can be long, but there is some great stuff to see.

 

[maelstrom]

Renting a car at one airport and dropping it off at another costs an arm and a leg, I know that much. We once rented a car at SFO and dropped it off at PHX and it was ridiculous.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

I would probably take train to San Diego I would then fly to San Fran from San Diego. Its pretty cheap in Ca to fly to San Fran.

Actually, we were thinking of doing SD last. You know, save the best for last, so the kids don't get bored. I'm glad flights to/from SF to the other cities shouldn't be so bad. That's the place that we really don't want to drive to, because of the distance.

To save money in San Diego during the Con, I highly suggest staying at a hotel that is away from the convention center, but is on the Trolley line. I did this and saved quite a bit of money both on car parking charges and hotel charges.

My friends have done the Amtrack from OC to San Diego and really enjoyed it and said she would do it again.

With how crazy the Convention is, and how much there is to see there I would expect this to take a lot of their San Diego time!! I also say buy your tickets early they sell out FAST! I hope to buy mine in the next few weeks. Most days start at 9am and go to Midnight or later depending on what panels and events you want to see.

Heading North becomes a new thing, personally I would rent a car and drive, but we are big drivers, or I would say grab a flight from San Diego, in the end you will save some time, but driving is probably cheaper in the end. I want to add that if you figure in the train time to get back to San Diego and the flight, I think you would only be saving maybe 2-3 hours driving time. That might be enough for you, but if you break down the cost it might not be worth it. I also want to say you really can make your drive about seeing some sites too, which might make it worth driving. The cost trip can be long, but there is some great stuff to see.

Thanks for all the tips. When we visited SD before, we stayed at the Marriott Hotel & Marina. I'm thinking that's out this time. Do you have any idea when the tickets & hotels will become available for booking?

Renting a car at one airport and dropping it off at another costs an arm and a leg, I know that much. We once rented a car at SFO and dropped it off at PHX and it was ridiculous.

Good tip! That's definitely something I'll keep in mind. It's a good thing I have 11 months to research all this.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

fairycat,
One more question... do you have a guess at how much the tickets to Comic Con will be? Thanks again for you help.

 

[fairycat]

I see they aren't up yet for sale, wow I thought they would be by now. I think if I remember correctly the 4 day pass which includes the Wed. preview night is around $30-$40 a person. The tickets are actually very reasonably priced. But buy early they offer better prices early on and the last few years have sold out way before the doors opened.

This was the first year I missed Comic-Con in years (being 38 weeks pregnant sort of put a damper on that plan). If you would like any helpful hints or information about the Con feel free to ask. That is something I know quite a bit about

I warn you about hotels, once the dates are announced you will see hotels begin to book, only those super close to the convention will most likely book up fast. But the bigger issue is the cost. Almost all the hotels I looked at two years ago had rooms even weeks before, but almost all of them were two to three times more expensive then the weeks prior for the same days. I stayed at a Motel (a very much motel) it was approx $80-$90 for earlier weeks same days, but during the Con, the price jumped to almost $200 a night. Many places do the same thing, because so many people come in for the con. Definetly look around! My motel was not near the Convention Center, but it was a super fast jump on the Trolley line that was right near where I stayed so worked perfectly for me!

 

[tarheelmjfan]

I see they aren't up yet for sale, wow I thought they would be by now. I think if I remember correctly the 4 day pass which includes the Wed. preview night is around $30-$40 a person. The tickets are actually very reasonably priced. But buy early they offer better prices early on and the last few years have sold out way before the doors opened.

This was the first year I missed Comic-Con in years (being 38 weeks pregnant sort of put a damper on that plan). If you would like any helpful hints or information about the Con feel free to ask. That is something I know quite a bit about

I warn you about hotels, once the dates are announced you will see hotels begin to book, only those super close to the convention will most likely book up fast. But the bigger issue is the cost. Almost all the hotels I looked at two years ago had rooms even weeks before, but almost all of them were two to three times more expensive then the weeks prior for the same days. I stayed at a Motel (a very much motel) it was approx $80-$90 for earlier weeks same days, but during the Con, the price jumped to almost $200 a night. Many places do the same thing, because so many people come in for the con. Definetly look around! My motel was not near the Convention Center, but it was a super fast jump on the Trolley line that was right near where I stayed so worked perfectly for me!

I'm so glad to have a Comic Con veteran to gain info from. (Congrats on the little one, btw.) I'll definitely be asking questions. Hopefully, I won't bug you too much.

I'm thrilled about the price of tickets. I was thinking they'd be in the high $200 to $300 range. The dates have been released, but the tickets aren't available yet. Hotels aren't booking this far out, but I plan to check daily to see when those dates open. I'm hoping to get something booked, before they go up ridiculously high. Of course, that may be wishful on my part. If you find any more up to date info, please let me know. Thanks again for your help.

 

[lcasa]

The comicon site will have hotel deals - around early April based on this year. Trying to get one was like trying to get Springsteen tix though - you need to be on and refreshing the moment they become available. They used to get really good deals, but I think the hotels have wised up and know they can soak the attendees. I was going for a room to sleep 5 and could get a Marriot Courtyard for around 190 a night. There are busses provided by the con that go to a number of the hotels.
The trolley is a very good choice. Parking near the con will be at least $20. A day trolley pass is only $5.

Tix were available at the con for next year - but not on the site yet. And they are a bit more expensive now then they used to be - for 1 day ( Sat) I paid $35 for an adult and $15 for a junior ( over 12 - under 12 free). The 4 day passes are not 35*4 though - they are cheaper. The earlier you buy the cheaper they are - and they sold out this year very early - all days.

Also I have found flying to SD is often much cheaper -- I actually flew from FL to LAX and then took a commuter plane to SD this summer and saved $50 per person, even though LAX is 1/2 the distance to my home. The airline said it was because SD was an "underserviced" area.

In SF you can also fly to Oakland ( BART goes from downtown SF to the either Oakland or SFO) - opens up more options on prices.

Try Southwest's Ding service for LAX-SF if you want to avoid driving. They send you 1 day only specials - a couple of weeks ago any LAX-SF or SF-LAX flight in August was only $30! But the drive isn't that bad - by the time you go to the airport early and wait around and pick up baggage and a rental car, you've only saved maybe 2 hours vs the drive down the 5.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

The comicon site will have hotel deals - around early April based on this year. Trying to get one was like trying to get Springsteen tix though - you need to be on and refreshing the moment they become available. They used to get really good deals, but I think the hotels have wised up and know they can soak the attendees. I was going for a room to sleep 5 and could get a Marriot Courtyard for around 190 a night. There are busses provided by the con that go to a number of the hotels.
The trolley is a very good choice. Parking near the con will be at least $20. A day trolley pass is only $5.

Tix were available at the con for next year - but not on the site yet. And they are a bit more expensive now then they used to be - for 1 day ( Sat) I paid $35 for an adult and $15 for a junior ( over 12 - under 12 free). The 4 day passes are not 35*4 though - they are cheaper. The earlier you buy the cheaper they are - and they sold out this year very early - all days.

Also I have found flying to SD is often much cheaper -- I actually flew from FL to LAX and then took a commuter plane to SD this summer and saved $50 per person, even though LAX is 1/2 the distance to my home. The airline said it was because SD was an "underserviced" area.

In SF you can also fly to Oakland ( BART goes from downtown SF to the either Oakland or SFO) - opens up more options on prices.

Try Southwest's Ding service for LAX-SF if you want to avoid driving. They send you 1 day only specials - a couple of weeks ago any LAX-SF or SF-LAX flight in August was only $30! But the drive isn't that bad - by the time you go to the airport early and wait around and pick up baggage and a rental car, you've only saved maybe 2 hours vs the drive down the 5.

Thanks for all the info. It's really helpful. For Comic Con, are some of the days better than others? In other words, do we need to plan to go all 4 days? (When I say we, I mean my DS & his GF. ) My DH & I aren't the least bit interested in comics, anime, etc. Do you think we'd enjoy it anyway?

I don't know if we should try to book a hotel now, or wait for the convention rates? Most of the hotels near the convention center aren't available for those dates. I'm guessing those are reserved for the convention. I did find Holiday Inn - On the Bay for $249 & Holiday Inn - Downtown for $269. Would you recommend either of those? I'll keep looking to see what else we could book.

 

[lcasa]

If you want to try to get the Comicon hotel rates you can do better than that $260 - but if you can get that with free advance cancellation it might not be bad to take it just in case and cancel if you get the con rates.

Sunday is usually a pretty slow day - and 4 days is a lot. But - I only went Sat this year and was kicking myself since this year all the Disney presentations ( John Lasseter was there along with John Musker and Ron Clements, who are doing the Princess & the Frog ) were on Thursday & Friday. Last year I saw Pete Dockter present the first preview for Up; the year before it was Wall-E with Ben Burtt presenting the sounds/voices for the film ( he was the voice of Wall-E). Schedules aren't published until well after the tickets sell out these days. So it might be good to buy the 4 day pass and decide which days after you see the schedules. You can then pick some times to be there and go to the Zoo,etc at other times.There is a LOT more than comics and anime -- actually comics are getting squeezed out! There are probably 15 panel discussions at any time - I highly recommend voice actor panels and the quick draw panel they do every year - they're hilarious. SF and action movies are big there too - Robert Downey Jr was there talking about Ironman II this year, but that was in the big "Hall H" - anything there you need to line up for hours early ( my daughter-in-law was in line at 7am to make sure she got in for a Lost seminar at 11!) Johnny Depp put in a short appearance too for Alice in Wonderland. People watching is fun too -lots of folks in costume. It is a lot of fun - I've gone nearly every year for the last 15 or so. It's a little less fun now that it's SO crowded, but there's always something worth going for.

Keep on eye on the Comicon website for the best info. The week before is the NFFC (Disneyana fan club ) convention in Anaheim - you might want to look into that too!
Have fun! See you there next year!

 

[tarheelmjfan]

If you want to try to get the Comicon hotel rates you can do better than that $260 - but if you can get that with free advance cancellation it might not be bad to take it just in case and cancel if you get the con rates.

Thanks for the help. Do you have an estimate on hotel locations & rates for the conventions? Where should I try to book & how much should we expect to pay? I know things change, & it may not be the same next year. A guess would be great though. I was thinking $260 was a good price for the location. Shows what I know. I'm just afraid the good hotels (quality &/or location) will book up or will go up in price, when the rooms start to fill. I really have no clue what to expect. Naturally, I'm all for getting a good deal, if possible.

Sunday is usually a pretty slow day - and 4 days is a lot. But - I only went Sat this year and was kicking myself since this year all the Disney presentations ( John Lasseter was there along with John Musker and Ron Clements, who are doing the Princess & the Frog ) were on Thursday & Friday. Last year I saw Pete Dockter present the first preview for Up; the year before it was Wall-E with Ben Burtt presenting the sounds/voices for the film ( he was the voice of Wall-E). Schedules aren't published until well after the tickets sell out these days. So it might be good to buy the 4 day pass and decide which days after you see the schedules. You can then pick some times to be there and go to the Zoo,etc at other times.There is a LOT more than comics and anime -- actually comics are getting squeezed out! There are probably 15 panel discussions at any time - I highly recommend voice actor panels and the quick draw panel they do every year - they're hilarious. SF and action movies are big there too - Robert Downey Jr was there talking about Ironman II this year, but that was in the big "Hall H" - anything there you need to line up for hours early ( my daughter-in-law was in line at 7am to make sure she got in for a Lost seminar at 11!) Johnny Depp put in a short appearance too for Alice in Wonderland. People watching is fun too -lots of folks in costume. It is a lot of fun - I've gone nearly every year for the last 15 or so. It's a little less fun now that it's SO crowded, but there's always something worth going for.

Keep on eye on the Comicon website for the best info. The week before is the NFFC (Disneyana fan club ) convention in Anaheim - you might want to look into that too!
Have fun! See you there next year!

So, we should plan to attend the conference on the 22nd, 23rd, & 24th? How about the 21st? Is the preview night something to not miss? I'm trying to figure out how many nights we'll need to stay in SD. The more nights we spend in SD the fewer nights we have for DL. We've already been to SD, & saw everything we wanted to. This trip will be all about the convention.

I'm sorry to see comics are being phased out. That's the reason they want to go. They both love comics like Sandman. I hope that makes sense to you. I really have no clue. I just ordered shirts for them, which is the only reason I know that. The Disney presentations are right up my alley. My hubby... not so much, but he can go & pretend he's having fun.

Thanks for letting me know about the NFFC convention in Anaheim. We may schedule our DL visit to coincide with this.

 

[CPT Tripss]

Renting a car at one airport and dropping it off at another costs an arm and a leg, I know that much. We once rented a car at SFO and dropped it off at PHX and it was ridiculous.

Don't just dump the idea of renting a car in one city and dropping off in another. It's one of those things that really "all depends." We did a pick up in Las Vegas with a drop off in San Jose with no drop off fee and a rental rate only about $10-$15 higher than dropping off in LAS.

Be aware that some rental outfits will give you a "great" daily rate on one ways but charge you a mileage fee (not great).

Shop around on the web and read the rental details.

 

[DSNY4ever]

We are going to San Diego in a few weeks and we used priceline (name your own price) and hotwire for the whole trip we got a 4 star hotel for $80, a 3 1/2 star hotel for $70 (for another part of the trip), and a car for $19 per day. Southwest has pretty cheap flights between SF and San Diego/LA we got $49 per way. I definitely recommend flying to save time as others have mentioned. Parking in SF is difficult and expensive so use public transportation. We prefer to have a car in San Diego. I don't know if you listen to the podcast (DisUnplugged), but- Go to Itunes and listen to their most recent Disneyland Discussion show, they had a good segment about how to get from Anaheim to SD with out a car.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Don't just dump the idea of renting a car in one city and dropping off in another. It's one of those things that really "all depends." We did a pick up in Las Vegas with a drop off in San Jose with no drop off fee and a rental rate only about $10-$15 higher than dropping off in LAS.

Be aware that some rental outfits will give you a "great" daily rate on one ways but charge you a mileage fee (not great).

Shop around on the web and read the rental details.

Thanks for the tip. I'll definitely explore all options.

We are going to San Diego in a few weeks and we used priceline (name your own price) and hotwire for the whole trip we got a 4 star hotel for $80, a 3 1/2 star hotel for $70 (for another part of the trip), and a car for $19 per day. Southwest has pretty cheap flights between SF and San Diego/LA we got $49 per way. I definitely recommend flying to save time as others have mentioned. Parking in SF is difficult and expensive so use public transportation. We prefer to have a car in San Diego. I don't know if you listen to the podcast (DisUnplugged), but- Go to Itunes and listen to their most recent Disneyland Discussion show, they had a good segment about how to get from Anaheim to SD with out a car.

Wow, you got some great deals. I'd love to be able to get things that cheaply. Our stay in San Diego is for the Comic Con Convention, so I'm not expecting a break on hotel rates. I'll definitely be looking for a good deal in San Francisco though. Are either of your hotels in SF? If so, where are you staying? I'm hoping we can get a great rate there to make up for the higher rates in SD & DLR.

Thanks for the podcast info, but I don't even know how to use Itunes. Needless to say, I've never listened to it.

 

[DSNY4ever]

Here- click on this link http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-podcast/archives.htm and go to "March 25th" and click on the link "Amtrack to San Diego". This is a clip from the podcast that you can listen to (just through your computer without Itunes). This should maybe help.

On the note of Sf hotels- we also use priceline when we go to SF. We live right near Sf so we don't stay there often. But we have gotten Parc55 and other good hotels for 90-99 per night which is pretty good. We LOVE it for San Diego because we can pick Coastal 4 star and get pretty good hotels, but we only do it when we have a car in SD so it won't matter if we have to drive to our destinations since you can't get as picky with priceline. You can get good Priceline "name your own price" deals during comic con too. We have also gotten good flight/hotel/car package deals through travelocity and other booking sites for SD.

Good Luck, I hope you find something great!

 

[lcasa]

This year there were many hotels available from the Comicon site for around $200 a night. They offer single, double, triple, and quad rooms generally - I was looking to sleep 5 and got a $194 rate at a nice chain but not on the bus route. The close ones - as in next door like the Hard Rock-- are a LOT more. However - I heard the Hard Rock was where all the celebrities were staying and hanging around at the guest-only bar - so if you want to blow a bundle for one night, that could be wild. Robert Downey Jr and Keifer Sutherland were both in the bar area according to gossip.

Definitely try to get a hotel on the bus route or near the trolley. You can get parking if you get there before 8 or 9 - but it's at least $20. The buses fill up too - so it's actually best to pick the hotel furthest out on the bus route ( the first stop ). Sort of like WDW - the bus can be full by the time it gets to the close hotels.

As for Wed night - I only went once. Didn't think it was worth the extra hotel night.
If you kids are Sandman fans they may be in luck - Neil Gaiman (author) has been there the last few years. There will be comics panels - and those can be easier to get into. There are usually silver and golden age panel discussions with authors/artists from those days - cool stuff. It's mainly the exhibit hall that's mostly movies & games -- although artist's alley is full of very talented comic artists every year.

And for SanFrancisco - we've successfully pricelined several times there. I recommend sticking with 4 star, and Union Square and Nob Hill areas. We've gotten Stanford Court and the Hilton for $125. Depends on days of week, time of year, conventions, etc of course. Travelzoo gets good deals as well if you feel better knowing where you're going to stay.