US help.

[WadsUpDoc]

This is a really long thread, and I'm having difficulties finding the info I need.

I might be heading down to los angeles during december, and would like to ask what are the places that are highly recommended? (Must visit)

Also, any accomodation recommendations aside from those expensive hotels? Will be going for 7-8 days, including flight, with my family of 5. Best would be those bed and breakfast types, that are reasonable.

Any suggestions of visiting San fransico, san diego, or las vegas? Out of this three, which is recommended?

 

[funnyclown]

This is a really long thread, and I'm having difficulties finding the info I need.

I might be heading down to los angeles during december, and would like to ask what are the places that are highly recommended? (Must visit)

Also, any accomodation recommendations aside from those expensive hotels? Will be going for 7-8 days, including flight, with my family of 5. Best would be those bed and breakfast types, that are reasonable.

Any suggestions of visiting San fransico, san diego, or las vegas? Out of this three, which is recommended?

Try Comfort Inn or Days Inn group, they have accommodation for family.

 

[cormet]

This is a really long thread, and I'm having difficulties finding the info I need.

I might be heading down to los angeles during december, and would like to ask what are the places that are highly recommended? (Must visit)

Also, any accomodation recommendations aside from those expensive hotels? Will be going for 7-8 days, including flight, with my family of 5. Best would be those bed and breakfast types, that are reasonable.

Any suggestions of visiting San fransico, san diego, or las vegas? Out of this three, which is recommended?

How old are the members of your family? I have never been to San Diego but I enjoy both SF and LV. LV good for endless buffets and cheap concerts. SF is unique in its own way.

 

[invisible999]

This is a really long thread

Any suggestions of visiting San fransisco, san diego, or las vegas? Out of this three, which is recommended?

Read last four pages and you will get 90% of answers/recommendations. Come back if something is not clear afterwards

 

[archcherub]

This is a really long thread, and I'm having difficulties finding the info I need.

I might be heading down to los angeles during december, and would like to ask what are the places that are highly recommended? (Must visit)

Also, any accomodation recommendations aside from those expensive hotels? Will be going for 7-8 days, including flight, with my family of 5. Best would be those bed and breakfast types, that are reasonable.

Any suggestions of visiting San fransico, san diego, or las vegas? Out of this three, which is recommended?

Las Vegas- there are plenty to do!
tons of buffets, and if u hv the monies, lots of award winning restaurants.
entertainment every night with magic show, dance, etc etc
just visiting each grand hotel is something to spend.

be sure to leave 1 night for Fremont Street, its the older part of las vegas.

and if u have the time and cash, go for 1 of those day trip to grand canyon from las vegas.

and of course gambling....

 

[Shiny Things]

I might be heading down to los angeles during december, and would like to ask what are the places that are highly recommended? (Must visit)

Step 1: rent a car.
Step 2: leave Los Angeles.

Seriously, maybe I'm just being a hater, but I think Los Angeles is wildly overrated. It's big, sprawling, crowded, and a gigantic pain in the ass to get around.

If you must, though: the Getty Museum is pretty good, and I'm pretty partial to Venice Beach and Santa Monica. Stay in Venice or Santa Monica if you can - that way it's easy to get out of LA when you want to leave.

Any suggestions of visiting San fransico, san diego, or las vegas? Out of this three, which is recommended?

Jeez, mate, it's 18 hours each way, so you're spending a day and a half in the air - that's not going to leave you a lot out of your eight days. Are you sure you can't stretch it to two weeks?

If you can make it two weeks, I'd say do SF and LV; if you can only make it one week, I'd say do SF if you like cities, or Las Vegas if you like the great outdoors (because it's not far from the Valley of Fire, Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon, and Zion National Park).

...or you could ditch Los Angeles altogether, and just do SF and Las Vegas.

 

[archcherub]

Seriously, maybe I'm just being a hater, but I think Los Angeles is wildly overrated. It's big, sprawling, crowded, and a gigantic pain in the ass to get around.

If you must, though: the Getty Museum is pretty good, and I'm pretty partial to Venice Beach and Santa Monica. Stay in Venice or Santa Monica if you can - that way it's easy to get out of LA when you want to leave.

yayy LA is really boring.
I would only spend some time to go Hollywood, and only just to do some light sight-seeing, browse the stars avenue and then ta-da byebye!
venice beach is nice, but... i wont spend more than 2 hours there

 

[WadsUpDoc]

How old are the members of your family? I have never been to San Diego but I enjoy both SF and LV. LV good for endless buffets and cheap concerts. SF is unique in its own way.

Well, my parents are 50, myself 21, sisters 16 and 14. Concerts should be a problem since we most likely wont enjoy the same type of concert?

Read last four pages and you will get 90% of answers/recommendations. Come back if something is not clear afterwards

Sure thing!

Las Vegas- there are plenty to do!
tons of buffets, and if u hv the monies, lots of award winning restaurants.
entertainment every night with magic show, dance, etc etc
just visiting each grand hotel is something to spend.

be sure to leave 1 night for Fremont Street, its the older part of las vegas.

and if u have the time and cash, go for 1 of those day trip to grand canyon from las vegas.

and of course gambling....

Thanks for the suggestion!

Step 1: rent a car.
Step 2: leave Los Angeles.

Seriously, maybe I'm just being a hater, but I think Los Angeles is wildly overrated. It's big, sprawling, crowded, and a gigantic pain in the ass to get around.

If you must, though: the Getty Museum is pretty good, and I'm pretty partial to Venice Beach and Santa Monica. Stay in Venice or Santa Monica if you can - that way it's easy to get out of LA when you want to leave.



Jeez, mate, it's 18 hours each way, so you're spending a day and a half in the air - that's not going to leave you a lot out of your eight days. Are you sure you can't stretch it to two weeks?

If you can make it two weeks, I'd say do SF and LV; if you can only make it one week, I'd say do SF if you like cities, or Las Vegas if you like the great outdoors (because it's not far from the Valley of Fire, Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon, and Zion National Park).

...or you could ditch Los Angeles altogether, and just do SF and Las Vegas.

Los angeles looks good due to its attractions and theme parks. Very family-friendly. But if I'm going to LV, would there be enough time to visit the outdoor nature attractions as well as those in the main LV city?

yayy LA is really boring.
I would only spend some time to go Hollywood, and only just to do some light sight-seeing, browse the stars avenue and then ta-da byebye!
venice beach is nice, but... i wont spend more than 2 hours there

The theme parks aren't good? Seems like thre's quite alot of attractions in LA?

 

[RoLanTo]

Hi All,

me and my wife going for honeymoon coming april for 15-16 days landing in SF, then to LV and LA.

Any kind soul can share some itenary and places die-die must go?
base on the 15-16 days stay in US, can suggest how many days we should stay per city?

thanks in advance

 

[Shiny Things]

Los angeles looks good due to its attractions and theme parks. Very family-friendly. But if I'm going to LV, would there be enough time to visit the outdoor nature attractions as well as those in the main LV city?

Oh god yeah. Valley of Fire + Hoover Dam is a day trip. The West Rim of the Grand Canyon is another day trip. Zion National Park is probably a two-day thing, but it's totally worth it. If you're going around now (in winter), you can do Death Valley in two days (stay one night at the Furnace Creek Ranch or Inn).

 

[Shiny Things]

Hi All,

me and my wife going for honeymoon coming april for 15-16 days landing in SF, then to LV and LA.

Any kind soul can share some itenary and places die-die must go?
base on the 15-16 days stay in US, can suggest how many days we should stay per city?

thanks in advance

OK, cool, honeymoon is good.

I'm going to be my usual whiny self about LA - it's horrible and tacky and sprawling - but because you don't have whiny kids you don't need to go to Disneyland. You can basically skip LA altogether and you won't miss anything.

Here's what I'd recommend:

• When you fly into SF, spend three or four nights in a really nice hotel. I personally like the Prescott (stay on the Club level if you do go there) or the Palomar; if you go to either of these, don't forget to sign up to Kimpton's InTouch rewards program, because that way you get free wifi. Explore San Francisco. Have a blast.
• Then potter back down to SFO and fly (Virgin America first class, of course) to Las Vegas. Get yourself an amazing room at an amazing hotel: none of this Circus Circus crap, you're on honeymoon. Hit the Vdara, the Cosmopolitan, or the Bellagio... or the Mandalay Bay, if you're looking for the slightly-cheaper-but-still-classy option. Three nights is probably plenty, and schedule this for midweek if you can: rooms in Vegas during the weekend are two or three times more expensive than during the week.

At this point, what you do will depend on what your significant other is into. If they like the great outdoors, you'll want to rent a car (an awesome American muscle car, if you please - Mustang or Corvette) from Las Vegas and spend a week driving around the great national parks of Utah and Nevada and California. Death Valley; Mojave; Grand Canyon; Zion; Bryce Canyon; maybe even Arches and Petrified Forest if you're feeling ambitious. (I'm not digging up links for all of these; use Google.)

If they'd rather stay somewhere plush, fly back to Los Angeles. Spend a night or two around Santa Monica and Venice Beach - don't try to explore LA, don't try to go to Disneyland, just don't. Just sit on the beach and chill the fuçk out. Then rent a car (again, muscle car) and head out northward up Highway 1. Spend a night in Pismo Beach or Santa Barbara; two nights in Big Sur (at the Post Ranch Inn if you're a squillionaire, at the Glen Oaks Motor Lodge if you're not); and a night in Monterey. Then you can drop the car at SFO and fly home.

You're welcome.

 

[Hisashiburi]

Lol, very nice writeup!
Agree with the recommendations.

Totally skip LA.

If u like nature, u can also drive to Yosemite from SF for a 2 or 3 day stay.
Drive down to Monterrey and Carmel for a day trip.
Hope u can drive!

OK, cool, honeymoon is good.

I'm going to be my usual whiny self about LA - it's horrible and tacky and sprawling - but because you don't have whiny kids you don't need to go to Disneyland. You can basically skip LA altogether and you won't miss anything.

Here's what I'd recommend:

• When you fly into SF, spend three or four nights in a really nice hotel. I personally like the Prescott (stay on the Club level if you do go there) or the Palomar; if you go to either of these, don't forget to sign up to Kimpton's InTouch rewards program, because that way you get free wifi. Explore San Francisco. Have a blast.
• Then potter back down to SFO and fly (Virgin America first class, of course) to Las Vegas. Get yourself an amazing room at an amazing hotel: none of this Circus Circus crap, you're on honeymoon. Hit the Vdara, the Cosmopolitan, or the Bellagio... or the Mandalay Bay, if you're looking for the slightly-cheaper-but-still-classy option. Three nights is probably plenty, and schedule this for midweek if you can: rooms in Vegas during the weekend are two or three times more expensive than during the week.

At this point, what you do will depend on what your significant other is into. If they like the great outdoors, you'll want to rent a car (an awesome American muscle car, if you please - Mustang or Corvette) from Las Vegas and spend a week driving around the great national parks of Utah and Nevada and California. Death Valley; Mojave; Grand Canyon; Zion; Bryce Canyon; maybe even Arches and Petrified Forest if you're feeling ambitious. (I'm not digging up links for all of these; use Google.)

If they'd rather stay somewhere plush, fly back to Los Angeles. Spend a night or two around Santa Monica and Venice Beach - don't try to explore LA, don't try to go to Disneyland, just don't. Just sit on the beach and chill the fuçk out. Then rent a car (again, muscle car) and head out northward up Highway 1. Spend a night in Pismo Beach or Santa Barbara; two nights in Big Sur (at the Post Ranch Inn if you're a squillionaire, at the Glen Oaks Motor Lodge if you're not); and a night in Monterey. Then you can drop the car at SFO and fly home.

You're welcome.

 

[urban_closet]

Shiny Things, you sure do hate LA lol

 

[FrizFroz]

Lol, very nice writeup!
Agree with the recommendations.

Totally skip LA.

If u like nature, u can also drive to Yosemite from SF for a 2 or 3 day stay.
Drive down to Monterrey and Carmel for a day trip.
Hope u can drive!

Agree completely that there are a lot of nice places to visit near SF more so than LA. SF has perfect weather, too!

For Yosemite, try not to visit it during Winter. A lot of the peaks will be closed due to snow. You may want to consider visiting it in summer or fall instead. Also, you would not get as much from Monterey Bay in Nov/Dec. Whale season is between summer/fall and between winter/spring.

Honestly if you want to choose a place in the US to visit during Winter, East Coast will be better than West Coast. You can go sledding in the NE, NYC will always be bustling regardless of the season and you can catch the EoY party, Florida is always sunny and not as hot, the beaches are great, and DisneyWorld and Universal Studios are there.

For nature lovers, the best time to visit the West Coast is really at the end of summer / start of Fall. Fruit farms will be in season, Napa Valley will be available, Yosemite will be completely open, it is Blue Whale period in Monterey, and it is also hot chick season along the beaches of LA

 

[RoLanTo]

Really thanks for all the trouble on the write up. appreciate it. So for my total of 15nights.

i guess i only spend 2 nights in LA, since the krisflyer ascend me n my gf both have 1 night stay, so the 2 nights are covered

spend 7 nights in SF and 6 nights in LV??

Current Planning will be:
Wed: Touchdown. SF
Thur: SF
Fri: SF
Sat: SF
Sun:SF
Mon: SF
Tue: SF
Wed: LV
Thur: LV
Fri: LV
Sat: LV
Sun: LV
Mon: LV
Tue: LA
Wed: LA
Thur: LA. Departing

will need to plan the activities within.. also using bro recommendation, most prob in LV wed-thur can stay a slightly better hotel and when hits into weekend, will move place..

I realise the prescott hotel not cheap leh.. 1 night 295 :S:S

 

[Shiny Things]

Really thanks for all the trouble on the write up. appreciate it. So for my total of 15nights.

i guess i only spend 2 nights in LA, since the krisflyer ascend me n my gf both have 1 night stay, so the 2 nights are covered

spend 7 nights in SF and 6 nights in LV??

I realise the prescott hotel not cheap leh.. 1 night 295 :S:S

Noooo, no no no no. Don't spend seven whole nights in SF. Four nights in SF is plenty, and two nights in Las Vegas is plenty; spend the remaining three SF nights and four LV nights renting a car and blatting around. From SF, you can get to Monterey and Big Sur, both of which are fantastic; and from Las Vegas, you can get to Death Valley, Hoover Dam/Valley of Fire, the Grand Canyon, or Zion National Park.

Let's say something like this:

Wed: Touchdown SF
Thu, Fri, Sat: SF
Sunday: rent a car from SFO; night in Monterey or Santa Cruz
Mon, Tue: nights in Big Sur

Wed: Return car to SFO; fly to Las Vegas. Night in LV at the Aria or Mandalay Bay or the Bellagio.
Thursday: LV

Friday: Rent a car. HEad to Valley of Fire and Zion National Park; night in Springdale, Utah

Saturday: Head to Bryce Canyon national park; night at Bryce Canyon, Utah, or just down the road in Tropic if Bryce Canyon City is booked solid.

Sunday: Double back to Page, Arizona; check out Glen Canyon Dam, which is bigger than the Hoover Dam, and spend the night in Page. (Or, if you are fancy, the Amangiri resort is just across the Utah/Arizona border from Page - like 5-10 miles down the road - and starts at about eleven hundred a night. If anyone knows what a hyper-luxe resort like Amangiri is doing out in the ass-end of Utah, on the side of the border with incredibly stiff alcohol laws, do share.)

Monday: Drive to Grand Canyon Village. (Stop at the Cameron Trading Post on the way - it's a goldmine of Hopi and Navajo crafts and you'll get some epic souvenirs.) Night at GC Village.

Tuesday: Drive back to Las Vegas. Drop the car at Las Vegas, fly back to Los Angeles, stay in Santa Monica or Venice. (Or West Hollywood, if the reason you're honeymooning in America is to dodge a section 377A rap.)

Weds: night in Santa Monica or Venice
Thursday: Fly home.

 

[RoLanTo]

thanks Shiny.. no gay lah.. haha..
btw.. not sure about those domestic flights exp or not. if take those long-dist coach, any problem?

Noooo, no no no no. Don't spend seven whole nights in SF. Four nights in SF is plenty, and two nights in Las Vegas is plenty; spend the remaining three SF nights and four LV nights renting a car and blatting around. From SF, you can get to Monterey and Big Sur, both of which are fantastic; and from Las Vegas, you can get to Death Valley, Hoover Dam/Valley of Fire, the Grand Canyon, or Zion National Park.

Let's say something like this:

Wed: Touchdown SF
Thu, Fri, Sat: SF
Sunday: rent a car from SFO; night in Monterey or Santa Cruz
Mon, Tue: nights in Big Sur

Wed: Return car to SFO; fly to Las Vegas. Night in LV at the Aria or Mandalay Bay or the Bellagio.
Thursday: LV

Friday: Rent a car. HEad to Valley of Fire and Zion National Park; night in Springdale, Utah

Saturday: Head to Bryce Canyon national park; night at Bryce Canyon, Utah, or just down the road in Tropic if Bryce Canyon City is booked solid.

Sunday: Double back to Page, Arizona; check out Glen Canyon Dam, which is bigger than the Hoover Dam, and spend the night in Page. (Or, if you are fancy, the Amangiri resort is just across the Utah/Arizona border from Page - like 5-10 miles down the road - and starts at about eleven hundred a night. If anyone knows what a hyper-luxe resort like Amangiri is doing out in the ass-end of Utah, on the side of the border with incredibly stiff alcohol laws, do share.)

Monday: Drive to Grand Canyon Village. (Stop at the Cameron Trading Post on the way - it's a goldmine of Hopi and Navajo crafts and you'll get some epic souvenirs.) Night at GC Village.

Tuesday: Drive back to Las Vegas. Drop the car at Las Vegas, fly back to Los Angeles, stay in Santa Monica or Venice. (Or West Hollywood, if the reason you're honeymooning in America is to dodge a section 377A rap.)

Weds: night in Santa Monica or Venice
Thursday: Fly home.

 

[Shiny Things]

thanks Shiny.. no gay lah.. haha..
btw.. not sure about those domestic flights exp or not. if take those long-dist coach, any problem?

No no no no no. Domestic flights are pretty cheap - use Hipmunk to find the cheapest - but you should always be able to find a nonstop for about $100-150 each way. Coaches are longer and slower and really not that much cheaper and BORING AS HELL. Don't do that to yourself, not on your honeymoon.

 

[archcherub]

thanks Shiny.. no gay lah.. haha..
btw.. not sure about those domestic flights exp or not. if take those long-dist coach, any problem?

hey rolan, or u can drive! America is an automobile country haha.
my gf has never been on a roadtrip, so i am gonna drive from LV to SF within a few days, stopping at coastal towns, big sur, etc etc, just to experience the driving a little.
i've never taken long distance coach, just feel driving is more "american"...

as shiny thing mentioned, domestic flight is not expensive at all...

 

[archcherub]

Wed: Return car to SFO; fly to Las Vegas. Night in LV at the Aria or Mandalay Bay or the Bellagio. .

seriously, the hotels in LV are really amazing.. i am spoilt for choice
till today, i am not sure what hotels to choose hahaa..
so many good choices!