US help.

[urban_closet]

Are you looking at staying only in hotels? alternatively, do consider using airbnb as a cheaper option.

 

[erskinemich]

Are you looking at staying only in hotels? alternatively, do consider using airbnb as a cheaper option.

I'm ok with options, not too fussy about accommodation as long as it's clean. Location is more important to me.

Which are the better locations to stay in? Will try out airbnb. Thanks!

 

[cormet]

Need help. Searching for accommodation now for SF LA LV. any recommendations or areas that are more ideal to stay in? And which websites to book from? We intend to drive to yosemite, grand canyon, death valley and was thinking of doing last minute walk in at those places. Feasible ? Many thanks.

Use hotwire/priceline for SF and LA. If you're not picky on the LV hotel, can use hotwire/priceline too.

 

[stonedx]

dunnoe leh.. it will shows in USD/SGD on the website.. but when it goes to last payment page.. there is a sentence says it will be charge as GBP currency.

i realise another thing also.. if i go carhire website search.. the results always show free one way fees.. but on singaporeairline partner site search, it doesnt have that.. i read the TnC on both sites, it doesnt have that as well.

Try emailing carhire or sq to get it in writing. I emailed carhire and they explained to me about the one way fee.

 

[Shiny Things]

Need help. Searching for accommodation now for SF LA LV. any recommendations or areas that are more ideal to stay in? And which websites to book from? We intend to drive to yosemite, grand canyon, death valley and was thinking of doing last minute walk in at those places. Feasible ? Many thanks.

No, it is absolutely not feasible to do walk-ins in the national parks. Some of them (especially Yellowstone, but Grand Canyon as well) are booked out up to a year in advance in the high season. You need to book well in advance if you want to stay in the parks.

If you want to stay near the parks - say Beatty for Death Valley; Flagstaff or Cameron for Grand Canyon; Bishop, Mariposa, or even Modesto for Yosemite - you can probably try a walkin. If you don't have a preference of chain, check RoomKey.com or Tripadvisor; if you do (maybe because you've got status at Hilton, which owns the Hampton Inns chain, or IHG which owns Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express), check your preferred chain's website.

It's probably not a bad idea to prebook San Francisco, either - room rates get a bit silly if you're unlucky enough to be in town at the same time as the Cloudforce conference or Oracle Openworld - but LA and Las Vegas you can probably take your chances with.

 

[nomoreliaola]

slight bummer ... SQ is offering LAX return in late april for 1891 promo fare .... but for SG-LAX/SF-SG the tix is double (regular price), so wana crowdsource this problem ... should i get LAX return, i.e. fly back LAX to return sgp.

 

[erskinemich]

hi, so our tix to SF has been booked, scheduled to fly in early april. Will be spending a couple of nights in SF then rent a car to go on a road trip. As there is only one driver, we would prefer to keep the driving distances manageable, say about 4 to 5 hrs per day.

Intend to cover the following destinations in sequence; do let me know if its feasible.

Day 1 to 5 - SF
Day 6 - SF to Yosemite (overnight at Yosemite)
Day 7 - Yosemite to Death Valley (overnight at Death Valley)
Day 8 - Death Valley to Vegas (overnight at Vegas)
Day 9 - Thinking of whether to take up a day tour to Grand Canyon or self drive. If self drive, possible to do as day trip or stay one night at Grand Canyon? Also kinda keen in the helicopter rides, any recommendations?
Day 10 to 13 - Drive to Los Angeles (Disneyland) - is Universal Studio worth a go?
Day 14 - Drive back to SF (in between where do you recommend as 1 night stopover? Read TA forum, a number suggested Cambria.)
Day 15 - Back to SF
Leaving on morning of Day 18.

Welcome all suggestions. Thanks.

 

[erskinemich]

One more thing: if i bring along my own GPS (preloaded with US maps), is it workable?

Also any recommendations for prepaid SIM card (i only need the data plan)? Total will be there for 18 days.

Thanks.

 

[patryn33]

One more thing: if i bring along my own GPS (preloaded with US maps), is it workable?

Also any recommendations for prepaid SIM card (i only need the data plan)? Total will be there for 18 days.

Thanks.

Yes your PND will work just fine

Prepaid SIM data u can go with ATT or T-mobile.
I like AT&T coverage

 

[patryn33]

hi, so our tix to SF has been booked, scheduled to fly in early april. Will be spending a couple of nights in SF then rent a car to go on a road trip. As there is only one driver, we would prefer to keep the driving distances manageable, say about 4 to 5 hrs per day.

Intend to cover the following destinations in sequence; do let me know if its feasible.

Day 1 to 5 - SF
Day 6 - SF to Yosemite (overnight at Yosemite)
Day 7 - Yosemite to Death Valley (overnight at Death Valley)
Day 8 - Death Valley to Vegas (overnight at Vegas)
Day 9 - Thinking of whether to take up a day tour to Grand Canyon or self drive. If self drive, possible to do as day trip or stay one night at Grand Canyon? Also kinda keen in the helicopter rides, any recommendations?
Day 10 to 13 - Drive to Los Angeles (Disneyland) - is Universal Studio worth a go?
Day 14 - Drive back to SF (in between where do you recommend as 1 night stopover? Read TA forum, a number suggested Cambria.)
Day 15 - Back to SF
Leaving on morning of Day 18.

Welcome all suggestions. Thanks.

5 days in SF? whats your plan? going up to Napa/Sonoma? Shopping at Gilroy? Desert Hills premium outlet?
Universal Studios - not worth it really.. for exciting rides go for Magic Mountain!

I would go Carmel and drive along the coast. it is 6hrs from LA, Cambria is 3.5hrs from LA.
http://goo.gl/maps/NJrV4

 

[Shiny Things]

Day 1 to 5 - SF
Day 6 - SF to Yosemite (overnight at Yosemite)
Day 7 - Yosemite to Death Valley (overnight at Death Valley)
Day 8 - Death Valley to Vegas (overnight at Vegas)
Day 9 - Thinking of whether to take up a day tour to Grand Canyon or self drive. If self drive, possible to do as day trip or stay one night at Grand Canyon? Also kinda keen in the helicopter rides, any recommendations?
Day 10 to 13 - Drive to Los Angeles (Disneyland) - is Universal Studio worth a go?
Day 14 - Drive back to SF (in between where do you recommend as 1 night stopover? Read TA forum, a number suggested Cambria.)
Day 15 - Back to SF
Leaving on morning of Day 18.

Welcome all suggestions. Thanks.

I love SF but you're spending way too much time there - eight days is too much. Take three days out of SF (two days at the start, one day at the end) and one day out of LA, and spread them out like so:

* Add one night's stop in Bishop, between Yosemite and Death Valley. The drive up-and-over Yosemite is long and winding and arduous, and you're going to want to take it slow; plus, stopping in Bishop lets you make a side-trip to the White Mountains and see the bristlecone pines.

* Add an extra night in Vegas and spend a day wandering up and down the Strip, or driving out to the Valley of Fire and the Hoover Dam.

* Stay one night in Grand Canyon Village, or Cameron, or Flagstaff, so you don't have to go out-and-back to the Grand Canyon from Las Vegas in one day.

* Add an extra night between LA and SF - spend it in Big Sur, which is an incredible part of the world.

Also, don't forget that when Google Maps says it's four hours' drive from point A to point B, that really means more like six or seven hours once you factor in lunch stops, rest stops, photo-opportunity stops, altitude-sickness stops, GPS-sent-us-the-wrong-way stops...

 

[RoLanTo]

Try emailing carhire or sq to get it in writing. I emailed carhire and they explained to me about the one way fee.

so after their explanation, is it got 1-way fee or dun have ah?

 

[derazor]

Hi guys.

I was checking carhire

Std ( CHhrysler 200 )
Full Size ( Impala )
Premium ( Nissan Maxima )

The difference between these category is negligible ( <$10 )

Which one should I opt for?

 

[butterbarter]

Hi guys.

I was checking carhire

Std ( CHhrysler 200 )
Full Size ( Impala )
Premium ( Nissan Maxima )

The difference between these category is negligible ( <$10 )

Which one should I opt for?

i would take the Nissan Maxima.

 

[Shiny Things]

Hi guys.

I was checking carhire

Std ( CHhrysler 200 )
Full Size ( Impala )
Premium ( Nissan Maxima )

The difference between these category is negligible ( <$10 )

Which one should I opt for?

The Maxima. (And when you get to the counter, ask if they can upgrade you to something nice - one time Avis offered to bump me up from a full-size to a BMW 7-series for something like fifty bucks a day. How can you say no to that?)

 

[Shiny Things]

slight bummer ... SQ is offering LAX return in late april for 1891 promo fare .... but for SG-LAX/SF-SG the tix is double (regular price), so wana crowdsource this problem ... should i get LAX return, i.e. fly back LAX to return sgp.

So normally I hate LA and I'd say don't do this, but in this case, yes, do it. The SF-LA one-way is like one hour and a hundred bucks on Virgin America. That's a huge saving, and that means more money to spend on some nice Napa Valley plonk.

 

[nomoreliaola]

ok, first step done~ booked for 2 via LAX in end-apr/early-may @ 1891/pax .. now its to plan the iternary ...

questions: which outlets are the most worth it to go ? have been to desert hill few times which i quite like, and barstow which was bad ... any top 3 outlets pls? anywhere from SF-SD is fine ...

 

[patryn33]

ok, first step done~ booked for 2 via LAX in end-apr/early-may @ 1891/pax .. now its to plan the iternary ...

questions: which outlets are the most worth it to go ? have been to desert hill few times which i quite like, and barstow which was bad ... any top 3 outlets pls? anywhere from SF-SD is fine ...

that cheap for SQ. how many days U gong? 14days?
I enjoyed Gilroy too.

don't have to go too many so long U hit all the brands U wanna buy.
or buy online and get them ship to your hotel.

 

[patryn33]

Hi guys.

I was checking carhire

Std ( CHhrysler 200 )
Full Size ( Impala )
Premium ( Nissan Maxima )

The difference between these category is negligible ( <$10 )

Which one should I opt for?

Maxima!!!
10 chars

 

[aSecret™]

Anyone got lobang for car rental in Philly for younger renters? (22yo) dunno where got promotion