US help.

[Shiny Things]

Haha thanks for the insights.

Anyone has any itineraries for 20 days in the states?
Flying to and fro SF, originally wanted to go east coast, but would have to get back to SF. Still don't mind going east coast though.

The question would be: what do you want to do? Do you care about cities or nature? And what time of year are you planning to travel?

 

[shawniiex]

The question would be: what do you want to do? Do you care about cities or nature? And what time of year are you planning to travel?

Going in June as far as i can tell, their summer is like a cool day here in Singapore. LOL
Cities, nature all also can.
When i was in Japan, visited more temples than i expected.

So far mapped these places

 

[darklighter]

Quick West Coast (standard SF to LA to LV) preliminary planning question: What's the recommended number of days of leave i should forecast for early October trip?

It's gonna be a self-drive trip for my friend and I with some hiking planned in

 

[Shiny Things]

Going in June as far as i can tell, their summer is like a cool day here in Singapore. LOL
Cities, nature all also can.
When i was in Japan, visited more temples than i expected.

So far mapped these places

You'd be surprised! Summer in SF is cool and foggy, but down in La-La Land it gets up into the mid- to high-30s most days, and Las Vegas is in the desert, so it's going to be stinking hot (last time I was in Vegas in July it was somewhere north of 40 Celsius and I spent all afternoon in the lazy river at the MGM Grand).

Don't do Death Valley, it'll be well above 50 degrees there. Just don't.

You should be able to drive over the Tioga Pass from Yosemite, which chops a couple of hours off the trip to Vegas and is also stupefyingly beautiful. (Oh, even better - you should be able to drive over the White Mountains and see some four-thousand-year-old bristlecone pine trees!)

You might want to pop Zion National Park on your list, since you'll be going that way anyway. If you have time, a side trip to Bryce Canyon National Park (about two hours' drive from Zion) will be worthwhile, and it's 9,000 feet high so it'll be a bit cooler as well.

Quick West Coast (standard SF to LA to LV) preliminary planning question: What's the recommended number of days of leave i should forecast for early October trip?

It's gonna be a self-drive trip for my friend and I with some hiking planned in

At least two weeks, preferably three.

 

[touchme]

why miss death valley,? interesting to see your temperature gauge rise from 20°C to 50°C driving into the basin within 30 mins (1°/min). And experience the feel of giant hairdryer blowing onto you, and amaze at the golf course within its central. The landscape is varied from rugged formations to the flat salt-beds.

 

[KoChi]

Is it possible not to drive in SF n NY?

 

[Shiny Things]

why miss death valley,? interesting to see your temperature gauge rise from 20°C to 50°C driving into the basin within 30 mins (1°/min). And experience the feel of giant hairdryer blowing onto you, and amaze at the golf course within its central. The landscape is varied from rugged formations to the flat salt-beds.

Don't get me wrong, I love Death Valley in the spring, autumn, and winter; and some people might be cool with 50-degree temperatures! I just don't think it's a great idea in the height of summer unless you plan very carefully - arrive there late in the evening, after sundown; get up at dawn or even before, to avoid the heat of the day; drive out of the valley toward Las Vegas well before lunch; and make sure you wear light clothes and carry a ton of water.

Is it possible not to drive in SF n NY?

SF and NY: sure. The public transport's good enough in both of those, and Uber and Lyft are ubiquitous if you want to go somewhere public transport doesn't cover.

Anywhere outside those cities: get a car.

 

[urban_closet]

Shiny, thanks for your feedback on the car rates separately.

Seeking your advice on my trip below.

2 Aug: fly in LAX, 640AM, pickup car. Drive to LV.
2-4 Aug: Use LV as base and explore Grand Canyon (limited accommodation left in GC)
5-7 Aug: Oceanside. use as base for 1D trip to Children's pool @ La Jolla.
Explore rest of Oceanside. Sky jump with GoJump!
8-9 Aug: Long Beach. Might consider staying at Catalina island
10-11 Aug: Santa Barbara
12-17 Aug: Los Angeles (this has to be at the end due to other commitments). Staying at The Standard / Mr C Beverly Hills
17 Aug: fly out LAX

Specific to the car, i'm still weighing off whether to keep the car all the way to departure day OR to drop it off on 1st day in LA (in view that parking is expensive)

Hope the lao jiaos can share some feedback on the itinerary. thank you!

 

[crunsik]

Many thanks for the detailed response.

Regarding the traffic condition in LA, would traveling inwards during the weekend be equally horrendous? I guess the traffic during the weekday
Would be heavy inwards since most travel in for work.

I took up your suggestion and decided to stay in LA, traveling out to Santa Monica for a day trip. The challenge I'm facing is the parking. I'll be in LA for a week and the hotel is charging $45 per day. Going to be burning holes in my pocket. Haha

Do something like this:

• Day 1: drive to Palm Springs. Spend the night in Palm Springs.
• Day 2: Palm Springs R&R. Sit by the pool. Take a tour of the city. Maybe go up the mountain.
• Day 3: Pack up from Palm Springs. Shop at Desert Hills all day. Then, in the evening, drive to your hotel in Anaheim and spend the night there. (The good bit about doing this drive in the evening is that all the traffic will be going the other way, so your drive will be quick.)
• Day 4: Get an early start and head straight to Disneyland. If you get there early, you can hit a solid three rides in the first hour before the lines get stupid. Stick around for World of Colour in the evening (pro tip, pay for reserved seating, it's worth it), then head back to your Anaheim hotel.
• Day 5: Pack up and drive into the city. Hit the things you want to see on the way through Los Angeles (I highly recommend LACMA and the La Brea Tar Pits); check into your hotel in WeHo or Santa Monica.
• Day 6: Explore the Westside (West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica). Go back to your hotel, or the airport, when you're done.

You'll want to note a couple of things:

• Disneyland is an all-day thing. You don't want to have to drive there in the morning; you want to stay as close as possible, walk there early, and spend the whole day there.
• Even if you're spending a whole day shopping at Desert Hills, it's worth spending an extra hour driving to Anaheim afterward, just so you don't have to do it the next morning.
• I've told you this before, but you don't want to have "LA" and "Santa Monica" as separate buckets in your mind. Treat them as the same thing; Santa Monica is effectively a suburb of Los Angeles. Base yourself in a hotel in Santa Monica or somewhere close to it, and do your "Los Angeles" items from Santa Monica, so that you don't have to switch hotels as often.
• LA traffic is f*cking horrendous and you want to go against it as much as possible. The traffic goes into DownTown Los Angeles in the morning, and out of DTLA in the afternoon. So: driving from Desert Hills to Anaheim in the afternoon (going inward) is smart. Trying to do a day trip from Anaheim to Los Angeles is not smart, because you'll be driving from Anaheim to DTLA in the morning (going inbound), or DTLA to Anaheim in the evening (going outbound).

Your other questions:

1. You're probably too late to book accommodation in Grand Canyon Village, whatever your dates are; that stuff tends to book out months in advance. Tell me your dates and I can have a sniff, but you might have to stay in Flagstaff or Cameron instead.
2. In Palm Springs, one tip: stick to the chain hotels unless you're a gay dude. There's a huge gay community there, and while it's all lovely, if you're not into naked guys you're probably not going to have a fun time if you accidentally book yourself into a little gay resort where guys can sunbathe naked by the pool. Check out the Riviera Palm Springs if you're a Starwood loyalist; otherwise, check out Tripadvisor and see what catches your eye. Again, let me know what dates and I can have a look.
3. Look at a map. Desert Hills is between Palm Springs and Anaheim. Don't you think it would make sense to do Desert Hills on the day you're travelling from Palm Springs to Anaheim?

 

[shawniiex]

Shiny, thanks for your feedback on the car rates separately.

Seeking your advice on my trip below.

2 Aug: fly in LAX, 640AM, pickup car. Drive to LV.
2-4 Aug: Use LV as base and explore Grand Canyon (limited accommodation left in GC)
5-7 Aug: Oceanside. use as base for 1D trip to Children's pool @ La Jolla.
Explore rest of Oceanside. Sky jump with GoJump!
8-9 Aug: Long Beach. Might consider staying at Catalina island
10-11 Aug: Santa Barbara
12-17 Aug: Los Angeles (this has to be at the end due to other commitments). Staying at The Standard / Mr C Beverly Hills
17 Aug: fly out LAX

Specific to the car, i'm still weighing off whether to keep the car all the way to departure day OR to drop it off on 1st day in LA (in view that parking is expensive)

Hope the lao jiaos can share some feedback on the itinerary. thank you!

Sorry could i ask why you say there's little accoms left in GC?

 

[urban_closet]

I've checked Grandcanyon official site and Hotels.com, the options left are significantly expensive or Bright Angel only has rooms without a private toilet.

Did you see other options available from 2-5 August (2 pax)? Appreciate if you share, thanks!

 

[Shiny Things]

I've checked Grandcanyon official site and Hotels.com, the options left are significantly expensive or Bright Angel only has rooms without a private toilet.

Did you see other options available from 2-5 August (2 pax)? Appreciate if you share, thanks!

Couple of options:

1) The Holiday Inn Express Grand Canyon, in Tusayan, is just outside the entry to Grand Canyon National Park; it's $276 USD/night for your dates.

2) If you don't mind a bit of a drive, the Comfort Inn Flagstaff is quite nice and it's $130-ish a night on Priceline for your dates, but that rate might not last.

3) If you really want to do it on the cheap and don't mind a bit of a drive, the Rodeway Inn Flagstaff is rock-bottom cheap, like $110 USD/night, but it's very very basic, like all Rodeway Inns.

Both of the last two options are in Flagstaff, which is an easy hour-and-a-half drive from Grand Canyon Village. (Tip: get there early, otherwise you'll have trouble getting parking at the Canyon). I've stayed in Flagstaff before, though not at these hotels, and it's a nice enough town (plus if you're an astronomy nerd, the Lowell Observatory just above the city is a must-visit).

Also, if you're in Flagstaff anyway, Meteor Crater is a 45-minute drive east of town on Interstate 40, and it's totally worth seeing if you have a couple of hours spare.

Sorry could i ask why you say there's little accoms left in GC?

Because he's travelling during the summer holidays, which are a peak travel time for families to visit national parks in the USA. Accommodation in the park at Grand Canyon can get booked out six months in advance. (I'm traveling to Yellowstone for the total solar eclipse in the last week of August; the hotels were booked out a full year in advance. The best thing available at the moment is the Super 8 in Rexburg, two hours' drive from Jackson, and it's $500/night for a two-star hotel.)

Many thanks for the detailed response.

Regarding the traffic condition in LA, would traveling inwards during the weekend be equally horrendous? I guess the traffic during the weekday
Would be heavy inwards since most travel in for work.

Nah, it's a lot better on the weekend. You can check Google Maps - it'll show you the traffic for any time of day, any day of the week.

I took up your suggestion and decided to stay in LA, traveling out to Santa Monica for a day trip. The challenge I'm facing is the parking. I'll be in LA for a week and the hotel is charging $45 per day. Going to be burning holes in my pocket. Haha

Mmm, I think you might have to deal with it. Alternatively, ditch your car and just use Uber/Lyft to get around.

That said, if you haven't locked in your hotels yet, it might be worth checking out hotels a little further west - West Hollywood might be worth a look. But if you've already locked it in, downtown LA is fine.

Shiny, thanks for your feedback on the car rates separately.
Specific to the car, i'm still weighing off whether to keep the car all the way to departure day OR to drop it off on 1st day in LA (in view that parking is expensive)

Hope the lao jiaos can share some feedback on the itinerary. thank you!

No worries! And yeah, that trip looks pretty reasonable. You might want to sketch it out on a map and just make sure you're not doubling back on yourself.

I'd hang onto the car; you'll need a car to get around Los Angeles.

 

[crunsik]

I am considering MGM or Mirage or W Hotel LV, but from the reviews i have seen MGM's location is by far the best among the three. My thoughts on Mirage would be that the place might be a tat run down. W hotel is the newest but the furthest.

I've stayed there, but didn't try the buffet. Couple of notes:

• The Mirage is a great place to stay, and relatively cheap - if you're there midweek you might be able to swing an upgrade to a suite for relatively cheap. Try slipping the check-in clerk a twenty or a fifty and asking if there's any upgrades available.
• If you want a really good buffet, though: the creme de la creme is Bacchanal, at Caesars Palace. Get there early though: the queue can be bananas around the usual lunch/dinner hours. The Wynn buffet is also excellent, and apparently has great vegetarian options if that's your thing; Wicked Spoon at the Cosmopolitan is pretty great too, and has a particularly good dessert bar.
• Don't go cheap with the buffets, you won't be impressed. I've eaten at the Paris Las Vegas buffet as well - it's shoved in the basement, it's drab, and the food's nothing special. You really do get what you pay for.

i would be in the west side for 3 weeks and i read that these sim card and plan are readily available at Walmart or other convenient stores. Would you recommend purchasing the sim card at SFO airport? Would you also know what are the other plans currently available?

If your stay is 3 weeks or less, I suggest you save the hassle of buying sim card & plan and instead pop by a t mobile outlet to purchase the tourist plan instead.

$30 for 3 weeks of unlimited data (first 2gb at 4g) and some amount of calls and text

I was considering AT&T and i recall that you mentioned that it could be purchased somewhere in SF union square. Could you share this information again as I seems to have missed out on it. Is the activation process the same as what addats mentioned??

any thoughts on this plan? https://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-international-tourist-plan

I've always had good luck with T-Mobile, though their coverage leaves a bit to be desired.

I read that

H20 have a good deal at the moment - unlimited calls and texts, and 3GB data for $30 a month

would you be aware if this promotion is still ongoing?

Go Amazon search for H2O SIM card only. usually 0.01$ and free delivery. Buy and check out, set the address to the first hotel of your trip. remember to put clearly your name and hotel booking number. To be safe you can buy a few from different vendor and Email the hotel with your booking number to inform them.
Once check in, put in your H2O sim card and use hotel WiFi to activate and topup value to use the plan to your needs.

H2O is using AT&T network. Works in most area.

No need to buy from those seller in the forum charging high premium.

 

[Shiny Things]

I am considering MGM or Mirage or W Hotel LV, but from the reviews i have seen MGM's location is by far the best among the three. My thoughts on Mirage would be that the place might be a tat run down. W hotel is the newest but the furthest.

Nope - I've stayed at all three and they're all great. If anything I'd pick the Mirage.

i would be in the west side for 3 weeks and i read that these sim card and plan are readily available at Walmart or other convenient stores. Would you recommend purchasing the sim card at SFO airport? Would you also know what are the other plans currently available?

I was considering AT&T and i recall that you mentioned that it could be purchased somewhere in SF union square. Could you share this information again as I seems to have missed out on it. Is the activation process the same as what addats mentioned??

I would go to T-Mobile, at the corner of Market Street and 3rd Street, near Powell St. Station.

There's also an AT&T store at the corner of Market and Powell, right near Powell St. Station and the cable-car turnaround, but I'd still go to T-Mo first because they're a lot more comfortable with tourists' needs.

 

[urban_closet]

If your consideration is costly parking (which I had too, in LA), consider getting an Airbnb. I got a pretty decent unit near Financial district which had elevator and garage service (free!). Approx SGD$300 a night

While i'm on the matter of cars.. i booked my through Sixt. Cheapest rates when compared to Avis, Hertz and Budget (including LDW, additional liability insurance)

 

[shawniiex]

Because he's travelling during the summer holidays, which are a peak travel time for families to visit national parks in the USA. Accommodation in the park at Grand Canyon can get booked out six months in advance. (I'm traveling to Yellowstone for the total solar eclipse in the last week of August; the hotels were booked out a full year in advance. The best thing available at the moment is the Super 8 in Rexburg, two hours' drive from Jackson, and it's $500/night for a two-star hotel.)

Ah i see, i'm going in June. Decided to join tours for grand canyon.

Could anyone recommend places to stay for New York, SF, LA and Vegas.
Just me and my girlfriend, preferably below S$200/night.
Got no other preference besides.. Safety? LOL.
I guess i'm asking which neighbourhoods to stay, not really specific hotels cause i'll be searching AirBNB too.

 

[Shiny Things]

Ah i see, i'm going in June. Decided to join tours for grand canyon.

Could anyone recommend places to stay for New York, SF, LA and Vegas.
Just me and my girlfriend, preferably below S$200/night.
Got no other preference besides.. Safety? LOL.
I guess i'm asking which neighbourhoods to stay, not really specific hotels cause i'll be searching AirBNB too.

In Vegas that'll be easy; you can get the casinos for that much. Check the Mandalay Bay, Mirage, and Monte Carlo casinos.

In LA, look for the west side: Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills.

In SF you're going to struggle at that price. Stay out of the Tenderloin; it's not dangerous, it's just not all that nice. Hunters Point and Bayview are "avoid" as well, but I'd be astonished if anyone in those ****s is AirBnBing their house. If you're AirBnBing, the Castro is great, and has great public transit; if you're looking at hotels, SoMa and Union Square are good (use Tripadvisor to make sure you're not accidentally booking a rooms-by-the-week flophouse, I had a friend who did this).

 

[shawniiex]

In Vegas that'll be easy; you can get the casinos for that much. Check the Mandalay Bay, Mirage, and Monte Carlo casinos.

In LA, look for the west side: Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills.

In SF you're going to struggle at that price. Stay out of the Tenderloin; it's not dangerous, it's just not all that nice. Hunters Point and Bayview are "avoid" as well, but I'd be astonished if anyone in those ****s is AirBnBing their house. If you're AirBnBing, the Castro is great, and has great public transit; if you're looking at hotels, SoMa and Union Square are good (use Tripadvisor to make sure you're not accidentally booking a rooms-by-the-week flophouse, I had a friend who did this).

Haha, seems like you're always awake at this time.
You living in the states?
Oh btw, i meant 200 SGD, hahaha i searched mirage all that is quite high end le.
Concerned about new york actually. haha, not like our safe streets in Singapore.

 

[takuyazzz]

No worries! And yeah, that trip looks pretty reasonable. You might want to sketch it out on a map and just make sure you're not doubling back on yourself.

I'd hang onto the car; you'll need a car to get around Los Angeles.

If we're staying in the hollywood area and heading to places like beverley hills, griffith observatory, santa monica pier, the grove (farmers market). Is having a car still recommended?

Can I also check how does payment for parking usually work in LA?

 

[Shiny Things]

If we're staying in the hollywood area and heading to places like beverley hills, griffith observatory, santa monica pier, the grove (farmers market). Is having a car still recommended?

Have a look at a map. It's always worth having a look at a map before asking these sort of questions.

Short answer: Santa Monica to the Griffith Observatory is about the same distance as Jurong to Changi, and Los Angeles public transport sucks.

Yeah, you'll need a car.

Can I also check how does payment for parking usually work in LA?

If your hotel charges for parking (not all do, and some will let you park for free if you're in the frequent guest program), then it'll usually be "get a ticket when you drive in; when you leave, get the ticket validated at a pay machine, and stick it in the machine when you leave". It's really not that complicated; just do it once and you'll get the hang of it.

That said, you're probably paying about $200 a night for the hotel. If you're getting hung up on a $15 parking charge, you're focusing on the wrong thing.

Haha, seems like you're always awake at this time.
You living in the states?

Yep. West coast best coast.

Oh btw, i meant 200 SGD, hahaha i searched mirage all that is quite high end le.

Check the Monte Carlo or Paris Las Vegas. I mean, there's always the Luxor, which is super cheap, but the location's nothing special.

Concerned about new york actually. haha, not like our safe streets in Singapore.

Nope, you're fine. Manhattan (at least, any of the parts that you're going to go to) is 100% safe.