FYI, i will not be driving as me and my partner do not have driving license.
Then you're going to need to plan ahead a bit for the Boeing factory, Yosemite (do that from San Francisco, it's closer), Grand Canyon and getting down to San Diego. Those are all 2-4 hours from the actual cities where you'll be staying.
Also you are doing WAY too much outlet shopping. They're all basically identical; you'll be sick of it by the third or fourth one. Just do it in Seattle if you need to pick up some winter gear, and then again in LA if there's some stuff you absolutely must have.
(Also, you know the gear in outlet malls isn't as good as the real thing, right? The clothing companies
knock off their own products to sell to the outlet mall crowd - it's all made with thinner material, less well made, basically you're getting what you pay for. Buy the real thing instead.)
on top of that, i will also visit the boeing factory, pike market, catch a musical, as well as do some outlet shopping. if time permits, i may make a trip down to mount rainer.
Seattle's Broadway scene isn't that great. Do the musical in San Francisco instead - Kinky Boots is playing right npw, and Newsies and Book of Mormon are coming later this year.
Check the SHN website and see what's on when you'll be there.
There are people saying 5 days in San Francisco is too much, but I'd say if you're trying to squeeze in Yosemite one day and Alcatraz another, it might not be enough. I'd do 6 days in San Francisco (including Yosemite), 4 days in Vegas, and 5 days in LA (because LA is a soulless hellhole of suburban sprawl and theme parks).
Someone suggested that if you're looking for good Chinese food in San Francisco, you'll find it in Chinatown. This is true (Good Mong Kok Bakery on Stockton Street does the best pineapple buns ever), but it's also worth being adventurous and heading out into the Richmond:
Hong Kong Lounge II out on Geary Street and 18th Avenue (so you're
way out in the depths of suburbia) does really great dim sum at very reasonable prices. You can get there on a number 38 bus; it's about a 40-minute ride from Union Square. Ask the driver to tell you when you get to 18th Avenue.
San Francisco is massively well-endowed with museums - there isn't just one Museum of Fine Arts. I'd even make a day of this: the
De Young Museum is out in Golden Gate Park, not a particularly long way from Hong Kong Lounge (see above), and it has a terrific collection of modern art; just across the street from the De Young is the Cal Academy of Sciences, which has an indoor rainforest and butterfly house, a resident albino crocodile, and a gigantic underwater area. And when you're done with those, the Japanese Tea Gardens are right next to the De Young, and that's a particularly nice place to sit and have lunch and be all contemplative.
las vegas: 3 days
-grand canyon
-yosemite
-MGM grand
Do an extra day in Las Vegas. You've got the right idea here, but you can do so much more. (Also, Vegas this time of year is ridiculously cheap - if you're there midweek, the hotel rooms are like $50-$100 even for a really plush room.)
Take a day to walk up and down the Las Vegas Strip and go shopping - it's better than the awful outlet malls, and there's so much to see! The fake Trevi Fountain at Caesars! The fake gondoliers at the Venetian! The fake volcano at the Mirage! The fake Empire State Building and Statue of Liberty at NYNY! (I make it sound really terrible and kitschy, and it kind of is, but c'mon, it's Vegas, the kitsch is what makes it great!)
They've got a giant ferris wheel which is apparently worth a ride as well - that's just opened a few months ago.
Don't miss the fountains at the Bellagio, but here's a trick if you're not travelling with any anklebiters: instead of fighting the crowds on the Strip side of the fountains, go into the Bellagio around 5-6pm and head for Hyde nightclub. It's never busy at that time of night - they might even give you a free-booze coupon to get you in - and you'll be able to get one of the seats out on the patio or one of the booths by the window. You can sit back, eat fancy food and drink fancy drinks, and watch the fountains go off from the comfort of your plush couch.
And there are SO MANY good restaurants in Vegas. My recommendation will depend on which casino you're staying at (Mandalay Bay if you want to be cheap, Vdara if you want to be cheap but still mid-strip, Aria if you want to be fancy), but you'll be able to get yourself a great steak pretty much no matter where you are.
The MGM Grand is really just a casino, and it's not that great - it's gargantuan, so it's always crowded.
You're spoiled for choice here - there are like seven Cirque du Soleil shows in Las Vegas alone. I personally like Michael Jackson One; O is pretty great as well.
Check who the resident artist at Caesars is when you're there; there's always a big name that you'll want to see.
And if you can get tickets to Penn and Teller at the Rio, absolutely do it - they have the best, funniest, most head-scratching magic show in Vegas. Get there early to listen to Penn jamming with his in-house musician, and stick around afterward to take a photo with the two of them and get their autographs.
los angeles: 7 days
-disneyland, disney califonia adventure, universal studios, san diego sea world: total 5 days via a citypass package.
-hollywood
-beverly hills
I hate Los Angeles with a fiery passion, so I'm not the best person to ask, but I think you're going a bit too hard on this. 7 days is a long time.
Also: LA is BIG. The drive from Anaheim (where Disneyland is) to Hollywood and Beverly Hills (where Universal Studios is) is an hour and a half on a good day, and as much as three hours in LA's famously awful traffic. I think you might want to split this up: two days in Anaheim and three days on the west side (stay in West Hollywood, it's reasonably central to everything you want to do).
If you're not driving, you're going to be spending a truckload on taxi fares.
And San Diego's a heck of a long way - it's like two hours from Anaheim and the only realistic way to get there is to drive. I'd cross Sea World off.
is my itinerary alright for a 18/19 days tour? should i scrape off the seattle trip?
Nope, it sounds good. You might be a little cramped in Vegas and SF, and a little too long in LA.
from seattle ->san francisco -> las vegas ->los angeles, i have to take domestic flight?
Normally I'd say "yes, just fly Virgin America for the lot", but here's a thought: how about taking the train from Seattle to SF?
The Coast Starlight train runs once a day from Seattle to the Bay Area, and I'm reliably informed (by my parents, though, so take this with a grain of salt) that it's ridiculously relaxing.
btw, my budget is about SGD$5000-5500 per pax, including all flights, hotel stays, admission tics, land tours, shopping, meals etc, do you think it's feasible? i will most likely be taking eva air, it is about SGD$1700 per pax.
Yeah, I think you'll be good. Your one big expense will be tours, and hotels in San Francisco (it's stupidly expensive here). Use Tripadvisor and you might be able to find some decent bargains.
Enjoy your trip!
