US help.

[a1v1n_]

How bad is LA traffic on Sat? Asking because I will need to catch a Southwest flight at 9:35am. We will be driving from Garden Grove area, returning car at LAX before catching the flight.
Btw, has anyone tried Chevy Suburban?

LA traffic seems to always be bad IMHO.

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[Shiny Things]

How bad is LA traffic on Sat? Asking because I will need to catch a Southwest flight at 9:35am. We will be driving from Garden Grove area, returning car at LAX before catching the flight.
Btw, has anyone tried Chevy Suburban?

You'll want to get to the airport around 8am for that one, which means getting to the car rental place around half-past 7.

Google Maps tells me that that drive, that time of day on a Saturday, will take anywhere from 40 to 65 minutes. Probably leave an hour and 15 minutes, just in case; that should give you tons of time. That means leaving Garden Grove a bit after 6 - say 6:15 or so.

And a Chevy Suburban's going to be huge, but they're apparently pretty nice to drive. You might need to watch the overhead clearance if you're in a carpark, is the only thing.

 

[fzhfzh]

When I rent car last time, the car rental gave me a Chevy suburban thinking it’s an upgrade. I drove it out of the car rental for 1 junction and drove it back to return it asking them to give me a sedan instead. The suburban is like driving a freaking a tank. If you are not used to driving big cars, can be quite challenging.

 

[mlam84]

No choice, we have 6 adults and 2 kids for this trip. That seems to be the only option that has 8 seats in all. Or anyone has other car recommendation?

 

[wunderluster]

Yeah, save it for a trip back when you have a bit more time to dedicate to Vegas and Utah. If you had more time and a smaller crew, I'd absolutely say you should drive from SF to Yosemite to Vegas, because it's an AMAZING drive, but save it for the next trip.




One thing to note is that Highway 1, the famous highway that runs along the Pacific Coast, is still closed due to last winter's gargantuan mudslides. If you want to drive from north to south, you'll need to take highway 101, which is not quite as nice but still pretty darn good. (Don't take Interstate 5, which is fast but famously boring and awful.)

1) Oh god no, don't rent a car in San Francisco, you'll hate yourself for it. Driving in SF sucks, and parking is horrifically expensive.
2) Yes, for six people plus luggage you're going to need an SUV. I personally like Hertz and Avis.
3) I wouldn't bother. San Diego's a bit of a schlep.
4) As much as I love Death Valley: a) I don't think you have time, and b) yeah, DVNP in summer is going to be hot as balls. It's much nicer in the winter and early spring.
5) Mmm... I'm a little biased here, but I don't like LA that much! And you might have a little bit too long on the road trip - it doesn't take that long to get from SF to LA. I'd do something like:

• 4 nights SF
• Drive to Yosemite, do one night in or near Yosemite
• Drive back to the coast; do one night in Monterey or Salinas, maybe even two nights
• Head down the 101; stop in at Pinnacles National Park; do one night in Atascadero if you like wine, or Pismo Beach if you like the beach
• Keep going down the 101. Stop in Ventura for a night, and do a day trip to the Channel Islands!
• Steel yourself and drive into LA. Traffic in LA is disastrous, and LA is huge, so you'll want to split your time between the west side (where Universal Studios and the beach are) and the east side (where Disneyland and the outlet malls are).
• Spend two nights on the west side: stay in West Hollywood if you can, because that's closest to Universal; Santa Monica is a bit further away but it's OK too.
• Drive over to Anaheim, where Disneyland is; spend two nights there.

And that gives you a night left over to add in somewhere! A second night in Monterey would be nice, or an extra night on the west side of LA.

Thank you for your advice! I appreciate it!

I am now planning the start of my itinerary, and taking your advice of staying 4 nights in SF. I am now looking at where to stay now and Union square seems to be my preferred area due to the proximity to shopping.

Any recommendations on where to stay if I decide on Union square? Or is there another area you would recommend? My main criteria for lodging would be ease of transport as I would not be starting my car rental till I leave SF and also with my infant on hand.

I am also looking at Airbnb options, basically with the size of my group I would either need 2 hotel rooms or 1 big Airbnb apartment. Upon searching I realized there are not many options well located as compared to hotels?

My budget is around US$600-US$700 per day for all of us, any good recommendations for me please?

 

[patryn33]

with a infant, you will need to car seat. my experience can only get it in the 2nd row; most cars or SUV or van don't have latch for infant seat. for safety you may want it in the middle. U must know these seats take up alot of room, make sure the 2nd row can slide easily so that you have access to the 3rd row if you install the seat in the middle.

since U are looking to stay near Union Square just be aware and exercise caution
https://www.trulia.com/real_estate/Union_Square-San_Francisco/1471/crime/

with budget of US$700, AirBnb do note on top of the daily rental cost you have to pay
1. Service Fee.
2. Cleaning Fee
3. Tax

if these 2 cost are factored into your US$700 budget then your daily rental rate maybe just ~US$500. you may want to search https://www.vrbo.com/ and see what you can find.

hotel wise try skyscanner or just GOOGLE. should not be hard finding 2rooms
https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/6276008
ie
The Donatello Hotel

 

[Shiny Things]

Thank you for your advice! I appreciate it!

I am now planning the start of my itinerary, and taking your advice of staying 4 nights in SF. I am now looking at where to stay now and Union square seems to be my preferred area due to the proximity to shopping.

Any recommendations on where to stay if I decide on Union square? Or is there another area you would recommend? My main criteria for lodging would be ease of transport as I would not be starting my car rental till I leave SF and also with my infant on hand.

I am also looking at Airbnb options, basically with the size of my group I would either need 2 hotel rooms or 1 big Airbnb apartment. Upon searching I realized there are not many options well located as compared to hotels?

My budget is around US$600-US$700 per day for all of us, any good recommendations for me please?

Union Square is not very residential, so there won't be a lot of AirBNBs around there, and the ones that you do find will all be a bit weird. I'd stick to the hotels.

Do you have a preferred chain (Starwood/Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, don't-care) and dates? I can have a sniff around and see what the going rates are.

 

[patryn33]

How bad is LA traffic on Sat? Asking because I will need to catch a Southwest flight at 9:35am. We will be driving from Garden Grove area, returning car at LAX before catching the flight.
Btw, has anyone tried Chevy Suburban?

~1hr on Google est, but I will plan 1.5hr of travel time just in case.
are you getting prepaid gas option? if not you need to fill up then you need more time. say another 15-20mins. return car and get to airport needs another 10-15mins+. 2hrs to check in. you maybe leaving pretty early.

if you not comfortable driving a full size SUV that is huge. U need to get comfortable with the size. if not minivan maybe little easy to handle, but really not that much.
Full Size SUV sits higher so when U turning slow down, don't turn like driving a corolla or it may rollover.

 

[fzhfzh]

With 700 a night budget you should be able to get a hotel suite and get everyone in the same suite. Airbnb a lot of them charge per person staying. I find them to be more expensive than hotel a lot of the times.

 

[Parmesean]

With 700 a night budget you should be able to get a hotel suite and get everyone in the same suite. Airbnb a lot of them charge per person staying. I find them to be more expensive than hotel a lot of the times.

I feel that AirBnB is good for solo or couple travelers, at least within the US. For families, I'd recommend finding an actual Bed and Breakfast, most of the time, they are near a train station, and the people running the BnB are super helpful, especially to tourists.

 

[patryn33]

Bed and breakfast must check if they are infant friendly.
Finding a B&B to fit 7 ppl not easy.
Most B&B I come across only has a queen bed each room sleeping 2.
Maybe San Fran different

 

[mlam84]

Any recommendations on where to stay if I decide on Union square? Or is there another area you would recommend? My main criteria for lodging would be ease of transport as I would not be starting my car rental till I leave SF and also with my infant on hand.

I also travel with 2 kids to SFO and after reading through the tips and guide, I did not feel comfortable staying at Union Square. During my stay, there will be a conference going on too. So the price of hotel and Airbnb has increased quite a lot. I ended up using priceline (express deal) to zoom in the zone and chose Financial District. Ended up getting Le Meridien with 2 double beds.

 

[mlam84]

~1hr on Google est, but I will plan 1.5hr of travel time just in case.
are you getting prepaid gas option? if not you need to fill up then you need more time. say another 15-20mins. return car and get to airport needs another 10-15mins+. 2hrs to check in. you maybe leaving pretty early.

if you not comfortable driving a full size SUV that is huge. U need to get comfortable with the size. if not minivan maybe little easy to handle, but really not that much.
Full Size SUV sits higher so when U turning slow down, don't turn like driving a corolla or it may rollover.

Thanks for the tip. As it's our first time driving in opposite direction, any tip/thing we need to look out for compared to driving in Singapore?

 

[patryn33]

Thanks for the tip. As it's our first time driving in opposite direction, any tip/thing we need to look out for compared to driving in Singapore?

there are things unique to USA. School zone, emergency vehicles.. do take a look at the USA Driving manual. should take U more than 30mins to scan and capture the key differences and be mindful of them.
https://www.dmv.ca.gov/web/eng_pdf/dl600.pdf

U may also want to note the new laws
http://abc7.com/travel/new-2017-driving-laws-in-california/1681906/
https://www.dmv.org/ca-california/safety-laws.php
https://www.rammount.com/blog/2017/01/california-hands-free-law/

 

[fzhfzh]

If you break any rules and got caught, it’s not too bad as long as it’s not some horrible accident like hitting someone or crashing into another car. Once you show your sg license and passport the cop will likely just let you go because they know they can’t really collect fine from tourists.

 

[patryn33]

some states just ticket, if U return to travel again and they run a check and you have outstanding ticket then you are bigger trouble.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTop...ing_Ticket_Fine_in_California-California.html

some police don't want the headache and let u go, of course that is not 100% the case. if u xialan or cop in bad mood.. too bad

if it is rental and u caught with traffic camera, the bill will go rental car and iirc they will forward to u. U can choose not to pay but I heard they will bug rental car.. in the past I recall rental will pay and rental will charge your CC big time for it.

 

[fzhfzh]

some states just ticket, if U return to travel again and they run a check and you have outstanding ticket then you are bigger trouble.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTop...ing_Ticket_Fine_in_California-California.html

some police don't want the headache and let u go, of course that is not 100% the case. if u xialan or cop in bad mood.. too bad

if it is rental and u caught with traffic camera, the bill will go rental car and iirc they will forward to u. U can choose not to pay but I heard they will bug rental car.. in the past I recall rental will pay and rental will charge your CC big time for it.

I don’t think in US they can charge you with traffic camera footage though. Never saw any traffic cameras here, it’s always police giving ticket personally. I think it’s because traffic camera footage too easy to fight the evidence. In US you can actually contest the ticket and say the police is wrong.

 

[wunderluster]

I also travel with 2 kids to SFO and after reading through the tips and guide, I did not feel comfortable staying at Union Square. During my stay, there will be a conference going on too. So the price of hotel and Airbnb has increased quite a lot. I ended up using priceline (express deal) to zoom in the zone and chose Financial District. Ended up getting Le Meridien with 2 double beds.

It seems to be that there is a security and safety issue at Union Square?

Well I was thinking what if I choose to stay further away am I able to get a bigger property to accommodate my group with ease?

Then for transport I may just choose to start rental earlier, bite the bullet and pay the exorbitant parking fees. Looking at the amount that I can save from staying off the centre of the city, I guess it should be more than enough to cover for the rental and parking?

Another option is stay further away but near public transport that provides easy access around the city?

From all of your knowledge and experience, which would you choose?

 

[eunjae97]

Apply online and book appointment. On your appointment day, the officer will interview and ask a few questions. If approved, will receive the passport couriered to you after 3 working days.

Awesome , Thanks!

 

[mlam84]

It seems to be that there is a security and safety issue at Union Square?

Initially I was thinking to choose HI San Francisco Downtown hostel to get near the Union Square at affordable rate. After reading through reviews, I cancelled my booking due to it is at the border with Tenderloin.
I chose to stay in Financial District as it's not too far from City Centre, and it's near the Embarcadero station. We will fly in to SFO and fly out from OAK without driving in San Francisco. So staying near train station and central location is important.
I was considering staying further in Oakland but after calculating the time and money needed to travel in San Francisco, I decided just to stay in city itself.
You can play around with their booking here https://www.priceline.com/
I chose Express Deal (which means you won't know the hotel name until you complete the payment, thus more competitive price compared to booking directly). If you are more adventurous, can consider bidding (see this for tips: https://www.betterbidding.com/index.php?showforum=432)