holiday in the USA questions

[miliitant]

i have finally convienced my brother to take a holiday, it has been crap over the last few years for him with his divorce, council tax and CSA problems

i have allways wanted to go to alcatraz in san francisco so we are putting our funds together for a once in a life time experience

the plan is to go from london to san francisco, hire a car and spend three days their, then take the car down the highway coast to los angeles , spend three days in los angeles and return the car in los angeles. then get a flight to las vegas, spend three days in vegas without a car and return to the UK FROM VEGAS

what i am having problems with in doing the itinerary is

1/ the one way car hire from san francisco and returning the vehicle in los angeles

2/ booking the different legs of the journey by flying and getting an all inn one quote with multiple stops

has anyone got any sugestions

[Kipling001]

Re: holiday in the USA questions

I think it migh have something to do with the insurance as you will be going from one state to another.Best thing to do is ask a company like hertz etc uk based car hire that i know operate in the US.you also have to look at how lonh it will take to travel from one place to the other.They have to get the car back as it will be registered in another state.
As for your flights you might be better trying to book a one way flight to san francisco and another from vegas to the uk and book your flight from LA to vegas when you get there as the flights are like busses there every 5 mins but will cost a lot which you can check on line around 400-500 us$ give or take.

[bluebottle]

Re: holiday in the USA questions

Hi Miliitant,

Sounds like you need a tailor-made holiday. I found one with a Google search. Try www.theholidayplace.co.uk and click the About Us link. Scroll down the page and you will come to a sub-heading Tailor-Made Holidays. Also, try googling "Tailor-Made Holidays".

BB

[miliitant]

Re: holiday in the USA questions

i will have a nose and report back

thanks

[Hurricane Puffrose]

Re: holiday in the USA questions

Hiya Millitant,

I may be able to help here

Most hire companies are pretty cool with you returning the car to a different depot, if you book with someone like Hertz and Avis you should be just fine.

As for the planes.. try these people http://www.ebookers.com/


Now obviously I dont know your location and im picking dates out of the sky as such.. but if ou chose multi city you can get all the info you want.. example:

Depart
12:30

London , United Kingdom
Heathrow Airport (LHR)


Stop 1
15:30

Minneapolis, Minnesota , United States
Minneapolis-St Paul Intl (MSP)

Flight 6001 Operated by Delta Air Lines
Change planes. Layover: 1hr 55min




KLM Royal Dutch Airlines 6001

• Economy
• Boeing 767

• 4,011 mi
• 9hr 0min

Depart
17:25

Minneapolis, Minnesota , United States
Minneapolis-St Paul Intl (MSP)


Arrive
19:45

San Francisco, California , United States
San Francisco Int'l airport (SFO)

Flight 7298 Operated by Delta Air Lines




KLM Royal Dutch Airlines 7298

• Economy
• Boeing Douglas MD-90

• 1,586 mi
• 4hr 20min

Flight 2
Tue, 7 May
Total time: 15hr 40min

Depart
11:25

Las Vegas, Nevada , United States
Las Vegas McCarran Intl Airport (LAS)


Stop 1
18:25

Detroit, Michigan , United States
Detroit Wayne County Airport (DTW)

Flight 5441 Operated by Delta Air Lines
This flight departs from a different airport.
Change planes. Layover: 4hr 0min




KLM Royal Dutch Airlines 5441

• Economy
• Airbus A320

• 1,749 mi
• 4hr 0min

Depart
22:25

Detroit, Michigan , United States
Detroit Wayne County Airport (DTW)


Arrive
11:05

London , United Kingdom
Heathrow Airport (LHR)

Flight 6078 Operated by Delta Air Lines




KLM Royal Dutch Airlines 6078

• Economy
• Boeing 767

• 3,755 mi
• 7hr 40min

http://www.rentalcars.com/

[EXC]

Re: holiday in the USA questions

i have finally convienced my brother to take a holiday, it has been crap over the last few years for him with his divorce, council tax and CSA problems

i have allways wanted to go to alcatraz in san francisco so we are putting our funds together for a once in a life time experience

the plan is to go from london to san francisco, hire a car and spend three days their, then take the car down the highway coast to los angeles , spend three days in los angeles and return the car in los angeles. then get a flight to las vegas, spend three days in vegas without a car and return to the UK FROM VEGAS

what i am having problems with in doing the itinerary is

1/ the one way car hire from san francisco and returning the vehicle in los angeles

2/ booking the different legs of the journey by flying and getting an all inn one quote with multiple stops

has anyone got any sugestions

TBH I'd do it another way. You don't want or need a car in San Francisco - it's all street life, parking's difficult and expensive and the trams take you anywhere you want to go that you can't walk. But you do need a car in LA and Las Vegas, So what I'd do is fly from SF to LA and pick up the car on arrival in LA, then after your stay there drive to LV - it's less than 300 miles and dead easy.

[Sapphire]

Re: holiday in the USA questions

Whilst your in San Francisco try to take the Firetruck experience or called something like that, basically a few of you get on a really old fire engine that litterally fly's around the streets, the bells are ringing, everyones cheering and people wave from the side of the streets, it's one of the best things that we did there. Oh and of course don't miss out on Fisherman's Wharf.

[miliitant]

Re: holiday in the USA questions

just to move this on

any recomendations on getting one of these pre paid credit cards i can load up

i will not be using it for an ATM withdraw BUT THINGS LIKE CAR HIRE, HOTELS ETC

any ideas where i will not get screewed on transaction, exchange rate fees etc

[Hurricane Puffrose]

Re: holiday in the USA questions

http://www.money.co.uk/prepaid-cards...paid-cards.htm

also does forigen exchange

[Sapphire]

Re: holiday in the USA questions

This is the one we use http://www.thomson.co.uk/editorial/e...oney-card.html

[miliitant]

Re: holiday in the USA questions

thanks people

personal recomendations are allways the best

[miliitant]

Re: holiday in the USA questions

had a nose at the ice dollar card

no charges but a $1.25 % ATM FEE

first question would be is my money protected if they go tits up as its issued under UK licence by Raphaels Bank and can anybody see if their are any hidden charges with this card

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rc...jL4ZELfH8XR3ow

[Lucifa42]

Re: holiday in the USA questions

My friends and I just did a very similar trip back in May and it was great. 13 days in total going SF>Monterey>LA>Vegas flying British Airways to SFO and back from LAS (use the multi city option for this).

In SF we stayed in a large rented house for 5 days. There is no need for a car here as the public transport is very good and cheap, you can pick up 3/5/7 days passes near the Westfield shopping mall as well as other places.
Alcatraz is definitely worth it I would recommend the evening trip rather than the day one, you'll find out why when you get outside where the old lighthouse is
Depending on what time of year you go, bring some warmer clothing. We were very lucky and had 4 days of 24c weather, but the locals said that was very unusual. SF is often very foggy. It rarely gets below about 13c, even in Winter, but rarely gets above 24c either.
Other things to consider:
Golden Gate Park - it's not actually near the bridge (that's Presidio), but it's a lovely man made park on the west side of SF. Check out the Japanese Tea Garden while you are there.
Segway tour - from citysegwaytours.com segways are great fun
Golden Gate Bridge - goes without saying

On our last day in SF, we picked up our hirecar to drive to Monterey - we had no problems booking the one way trip to Vegas for it, can't remember who we booked it with though, one of the big ones though.

On the way down to Monterey we stopped off at the Gilroy Premium Outlets for some retail therapy, here is where you pick up your cheap ****, Ralph Lauren, Levis etc.

Now you've not mentioned Monterey but I would *definitely* recommend coming here (for a start it will split up the 8 hour drive from SF to LA!).
This place was the highlight of our trip, such a nice relaxing seaside town unlike your bucket+spade seaside places in the UK. We stayed in the The Clement Monterey which might not fit every budget but was well worth it. It's right on the seafront (literally...our balcony was out over the ocean!) so you can sit with a nice glass of wine and watch the dolphins playing.

Things to consider:
Whale watching: bit hit or miss this. We only saw 2 humpback whales on our trip, but the day before and day after our trip they saw over 30, with killers whales and dolphins too
Pebble Beach - take your car here and do the 17 mile drive. Home to the rich and world famous golf course and lovely sights over the coastline. It's a bit south of Monterey so might be worth doing as you leave Monterey to head to LA.

We took the interstate to LA, so I can't comment on the Pacific Coastal Highway, from all accounts though it's very nice.

Los Angeles. Well I'm very glad we only stayed a day here, we really didn't like it. West Hollywood, where the stars and views of the Sign are, is very seedy People trying to stuff things into your hands as you walk by, so many tourists and I never felt safe. If we did this trip again, I would miss LA entirely.
Other parts of LA might be nicer (Long Beach?). We stayed at the Magic Castle Hotel (unrelated to Disney), which was the only good thing about LA.

Things to consider: Not coming here at all

Vegas Baby!
The drive to Vegas is easy, as all interstate driving is in US, just put on your cruise control and point the car in the right direction. Watching the temperature gauge in the car climb slowly up from 25c to 37c as you head into the desert is fun
Vegas itself is different to anything else I've seen before, I suppose in a way it could be seen as seedy like Hollywood but is nowhere as bad. I would definitely come back here.

Make sure you don't miss:
Bellagio fountains, at set times during the day they will do a water display to music. Similar timed events go on at the some other casinos.
Bellagio buffet. Eat all your want for 20 dollars. So many different types of food to try, you will not try them all before you are full. Very popular though, make sure to turn up before it opens.
Grand Canyon: it really is one of the wonders of the world. Pictures do not do it justice. We took the dreamcatcher sunset tour from maverick helicopters. Not the cheapest choice, but one of the highest rated.
Guns! Fire all your favourite guns from call of duty, we went to thegunstore.com

Hotel wise we stayed at the New York New York which is a mid range hotel. Cheaper ones are Caeser's Palace and Harrahs, with expensive ones being Bellagio, Wynn and Venetian.

Wow this post ended up being a bit longer than I expected! Hope this isn't too much of a read for you.

Oh and last thing: we planned all this by ourselves. No booking agents or tailor made holidays etc.

[miliitant]

Re: holiday in the USA questions

many thanks

first hand experience is allways the best

[basa48]

Re: holiday in the USA questions

We're doing our 6th trip to the West Coast later this year.

SF is OK, Alcatraz a must, but take a coat the Bay is chilly on the boat! The rest you can keep, but do see Fisherman's Wharf. Do hire a car in SF if only to run down the PC Highway - beautiful drive. You might want to make it last two days at least. I don't know why you are having problems with a one way hire, all the big names do it.

There's a ton of stuff in LA. Don't miss Venice Beach, Hollywood Boulevard, Westwood Cemetery (where Jacko is now interred). Be warned LA is massive, it can take hours from one end to the other (especially in rush hour). The freeways in LA are crazy!!! But do look at the Queen Mary in Long Beach.

As for Vegas, it's insane!! Look at Fremont Street (once seen never forgotten), the Bellagio water feature and the Mirage fire display.

If you can, get out to the Grand Canyon (half day drive from Vegas) and if possible Death Valley (another half day from Vegas) and perhaps Sequoia National Park (allow two days there and back from LA). This year we doing 90% National Parks (seen enough of the cities and the scenery is breathtaking all over the West Coast of US).

To arrange flights use Expedia (excellent service) or eBookers. Take a list of possible hotels and just turn up (get better deals that way), but you MUST book a first night (its the law). We always look for rooms with fridge and microwave and do mostly self catering.

For prepaid cards I always use Caxton Dollar card - best rates and no conversion fee. Tip - do take at least £500 on a UK Credit Card - some places just don't like prepaid cash card as deposit - on hotels for instance, but you can pay the final bill with the cash card.

Like Lucifa 42, we organised it all ourselves. Look at google maps and plan a route (if you don't have a SatNav buy one there - they're ded cheap - our TomTom was $89 !!).

PS: Two weeks is nowhere near enough - 3-4 minimum. We never go for less than 4 weeks. (6 weeks this year!)

PPS: My avatar pic is me and my daughter atop Cathederal Rock at Mt Charleston (2 hour drive drive from Vegas). Cropped from this original below.

I can't wait to go back and I know you'll love it.