US help.

[Shiny Things]

Hi Shiny,

I wonder if you can recommend some hotel for following stay? Budget US$200/n type. Preferably free parking as i found somel charge $40-50 per night for car parking.

1. SFO (was told to stay near airport and drive into city. Considering Hampton Inn Daly City)
2. Yosemeti
3. Las Vegas (this one we are spoil for choices, all looks great!)
4. LA (Considering Best Western Plus Park. Which is walking distance to Disneyland)
5. SD (this one I really have not idea. Hopefully some shopping near hotel)

SFO: whoever gave you that advice doesn't like you. Stay in the city, not out at the airport, and don't bother with a car. It's easy to get around SF on public transport. You should be able to get the Palomar Hotel for not much more than $200 a night, and it's absolutely fantastic (plus, like all Kimpton hotels, they have a free wine happy hour every night, which is the best thing ever; and the wifi is free!)

Yosemite: it tends to book out a year in advance, so don't be disappointed if you can't get a hotel in the park, but check this website and see if they've got anything. If they don't, check Tripadvisor for hotels in Mariposa (an hour's drive from the valley), Modesto (2.5 hours) or Manteca (two hours).

Las Vegas: the Vdara. No contest. $200 a night will basically get you a 500sqft studio apartment. (If you're there midweek, you might even be able to get a suite at the Mirage for that money: midweek Vegas is one of the biggest bargains ever.)

Edited to add: whatever you do, don't cheap out and go for the Luxor or the Excalibur, they're both awful.

LA: don't know, don't care, LA sucks. I can point you to hotels in Santa Monica or Venice Beach, but that's completely the wrong side of the city.

San Diego: I don't have any specific recommendations, but look for a hotel in the Gaslamp District; it's the cool part of town. I hear good things about the Solamar - it's a Kimpton hotel, so you know it's gonna be good.

 

[genie47]

Wat are the cities near to houston? I would like to go to ny city or sf or la. My first time in usa sooo there r many cities that I wan to go

You can use my trip way back in 2011 as a template.

http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/travel-accommodation-89/my-us-trip-3299733.html

Went to San Francisco, Las Vegas then Grand Canyon North Rim, Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park, Kolob Canyon and Grafton, the ghost town.

 

[califonia]

Thanks!
Now I'm thinking upon arrival in SFO, should I rent a car immediately or few days later when we are heading south? Places we want to visit in SF are GG Bridge, Alcatraz, Lombard St., Pie39.

SFO: whoever gave you that advice doesn't like you. Stay in the city, not out at the airport, and don't bother with a car. It's easy to get around SF on public transport. You should be able to get the Palomar Hotel for not much more than $200 a night, and it's absolutely fantastic (plus, like all Kimpton hotels, they have a free wine happy hour every night, which is the best thing ever; and the wifi is free!)

Yosemite: it tends to book out a year in advance, so don't be disappointed if you can't get a hotel in the park, but check this website and see if they've got anything. If they don't, check Tripadvisor for hotels in Mariposa (an hour's drive from the valley), Modesto (2.5 hours) or Manteca (two hours).

Las Vegas: the Vdara. No contest. $200 a night will basically get you a 500sqft studio apartment. (If you're there midweek, you might even be able to get a suite at the Mirage for that money: midweek Vegas is one of the biggest bargains ever.)

Edited to add: whatever you do, don't cheap out and go for the Luxor or the Excalibur, they're both awful.

LA: don't know, don't care, LA sucks. I can point you to hotels in Santa Monica or Venice Beach, but that's completely the wrong side of the city.

San Diego: I don't have any specific recommendations, but look for a hotel in the Gaslamp District; it's the cool part of town. I hear good things about the Solamar - it's a Kimpton hotel, so you know it's gonna be good.

 

[fone]

SFO: whoever gave you that advice doesn't like you. Stay in the city, not out at the airport, and don't bother with a car. It's easy to get around SF on public transport. You should be able to get the Palomar Hotel for not much more than $200 a night, and it's absolutely fantastic (plus, like all Kimpton hotels, they have a free wine happy hour every night, which is the best thing ever; and the wifi is free!)

Actually, if your travelling party is all able adults, this would be probably one of the best options. However, if you are having young kid(s), taking public transport with lots of bags won't be easy. If I were to go with my 2 young kids, I'll definitely opt for out of city, free parking (or much cheaper than downtown parking) and drive to my destination. Although this works very well for me as I'm quite accustomed to driving in US.

Las Vegas: the Vdara. No contest. $200 a night will basically get you a 500sqft studio apartment. (If you're there midweek, you might even be able to get a suite at the Mirage for that money: midweek Vegas is one of the biggest bargains ever.)

Edited to add: whatever you do, don't cheap out and go for the Luxor or the Excalibur, they're both awful.

Isn't the Mirage also very old (like Luxor and Excalibur)?

 

[dontbyteme]

ESTA Re-entry

Does anyone know if the US ESTA allows for re-entry? This is because we would like to visit the Canadian side of the Niagara falls so this means we would have to exit the US and reenter again.

Would we have to make multiple applications or anything?

 

[Shiny Things]

Does anyone know if the US ESTA allows for re-entry? This is because we would like to visit the Canadian side of the Niagara falls so this means we would have to exit the US and reenter again.

Would we have to make multiple applications or anything?

Nope, the ESTA is multiple-entry.

Thanks!
Now I'm thinking upon arrival in SFO, should I rent a car immediately or few days later when we are heading south? Places we want to visit in SF are GG Bridge, Alcatraz, Lombard St., Pie39.

Rent it later. You can easily, easily get to all of those places by public transport - bus, taxi, whatever.

Actually, if your travelling party is all able adults, this would be probably one of the best options. However, if you are having young kid(s), taking public transport with lots of bags won't be easy. If I were to go with my 2 young kids, I'll definitely opt for out of city, free parking (or much cheaper than downtown parking) and drive to my destination. Although this works very well for me as I'm quite accustomed to driving in US.

I think this is the wrong idea. Driving in San Francisco is godawful, and parking is even worse. The city is actively hostile to drivers (which I'm fine with, because I do more riding than biking), and parking anywhere costs a bomb - the going rate downtown is $25 to $40 a day, so you absolutely do not want to drive into the city if you're trying to save on parking. And you'd rather be close to downtown so you can go out at night and enjoy yourself, then wander home without having to sit in traffic or on BART for half an hour.

Seriously, stay at the Palomar. You won't regret it.

Isn't the Mirage also very old (like Luxor and Excalibur)?

It's one of the older hotels on the strip - twenty-something years - but it's well maintained. I got lucky and got bumped up to one of the suites once, and they are faaaaaancy.

 

[Human A]

hi shiny, thanks for your advice. So i've altered my plan to start from new york instead and end in san francisco. dates are set from 9 oct - 4 nov. my rough itinerary is as follows:

10-15 Oct: 11am arrival at JFK. 5 nights in nyc.
15-17 Oct: Fly to Buf and cross over to Ontario for the falls (2 nights), fly out to SF on the 17th
18 Oct: SF
19-20 Oct: Yosemite for 2 nights
21 Oct: Yosemite to Death Valley
22 Oct: Vegas
23 Oct: Grand Canyon for a night
24 Oct: Drive back to LV
25 Oct: Vegas
26 Oct: Drive to Anaheim
27 Oct: Anaheim
28 Oct: To Cambria
29 Oct: Cambria to monterey along highway 1
30 Oct: Monterey to sf
31 Oct: SF
1 Nov: SF
2 Nov : Departure at noon

Now i would love to visit bryce seeing how it looks so awesome on picture. Could u recommend the parts i can cut to squeeze out some days for it? How many days to cover bryce and grand canyon comfortably? We'll be having 3 drivers for the trip.

 

[invisible999]

Wat are the cities near to houston? I would like to go to ny city or sf or la. My first time in usa sooo there r many cities that I wan to go

Dude, did you attend to a single geography lesson while in school?

 

[B772ER]

Thanks!
Now I'm thinking upon arrival in SFO, should I rent a car immediately or few days later when we are heading south? Places we want to visit in SF are GG Bridge, Alcatraz, Lombard St., Pie39.

SFMTA offers a 3 day visitor pass for $23, which offers unlimited rides on all public transport such as bus, streetcar, MUNI metro - which is basically something like a tram system and of course cable car. A single trip on the cable car already costs $6 so it is much better value to get even a 1 day visitor pass for $15.

Public transport in SF is frequent and generally reliable, so I would ditch the car and rent it only when travelling southwards to Yosemite, Monterey, Santa Cruz etc. There is a MUNI bus that goes to the south portion of GGB, bus line 39 goes to the Coit Tower from Pier 39 and Lombard Street is accessible by the Powell & Hyde cable car line which begins its run at Powell Street BART station (right smack in downtown).

During peak periods, Alcatraz can get booked up a month in advance. So you may need to pre-reserve tickets online. Alcatraz access is from Pier 33 which is walking distance from Pier 39.

 

[B772ER]

Does anyone know if the US ESTA allows for re-entry? This is because we would like to visit the Canadian side of the Niagara falls so this means we would have to exit the US and reenter again.

Would we have to make multiple applications or anything?

ESTA provides 2 years of unlimited entry, with a maximum of 90 days stay each time. I have done the exact same thing as you intend to do, no problems at all. Would recommend a trip to the Inniskillin winery located in nearby Niagara-on-the-Lake if you are into ice wine, prices there are much cheaper than in duty free store (even with sales tax included in).

 

[patryn33]

I wouldn't recommended inniskillin there are other vineyard on Niagara on the lake that are just as good and cheaper. Inniskilin just spend a lot in marketing.
World renown ice wine can be found http://www.royaldemaria.com, not marketed some of their best goes for cad$30k, one in particular goes for cad$250k!

Was just there the last weekend, I strongly suggesting driving around tasting various and buying later.

If one in ice sparking only Inniskilin and pillitteri made them.

 

[Shiny Things]

Now i would love to visit bryce seeing how it looks so awesome on picture. Could u recommend the parts i can cut to squeeze out some days for it? How many days to cover bryce and grand canyon comfortably? We'll be having 3 drivers for the trip.

Oh hell yes this is a brilliant idea do it do it do it.

Have a look at a map - like this one I made for you!


At the moment, you're going to do the Las Vegas - Grand Canyon leg, then double back to Vegas. To add in Bryce Canyon (and Zion, which is on the way back to Bryce anyway), you'll basically need two (or ideally three, but two is fine) extra nights. I would:

* Ditch one night from NYC - four nights is plenty
* Ditch one night from Niagara, and go to SF a day earlier

Replace them with:

* After you leave Grand Canyon Village, keep heading east. Stop off in the little village of Cameron to pick up some authentic Navajo and Hopi souvenirs (and try some fry bread, which is frickin' awesome); then head north. You head through the little town of Page, and cross the upper reaches of the Colorado River at Glen Canyon Dam, which is even bigger than the Hoover Dam. Head west, then north on US-89 way up into the mountains, until you get to Bryce Canyon. Dump your bags at the Bryce Canyon Grand hotel, right near the park entrance; go for a late-afternoon hike through the hoodoos (but take it easy - you're nine thousand feet up, and the air is thin!); then come back to the hotel for dinner.

After dinner, when the sun goes down, rug up warmly and drive back to Sunset Point. Go out there; switch your car headlights off; and just look at the stars. Look at them.

Then get back inside 'cause it'll be cold.

* The next day, retrace your steps, and follow the signs to Zion National Park. You're actually going to come in the back way, past the sandstone slickrock of Checkerboard Mesa, through the tunnel, and down the switchbacks into Zion Canyon itself. You will not want to be driving this stretch, 'cause you'll want to be looking out the window and gaping in awe at the magical views. It will look a lot like this except without the bumblebee-coloured Corvette in it.

The road eventually drops you down into Zion National Park, then into the little town of Springfield at the entrance to the park. Don't try and drive into the park; stay at the Desert Pearl Inn and catch the shuttlebus into the park instead.

* The next day, wake up early and go hiking in the park. Once the day gets warmer, pile back into your car and head down the hill; when you reach Interstate 15, head south and follow the signs to Las Vegas... but don't go all the way! Take a side trip (marked on the map) through the town of Moapa Valley and down into the utterly alien Valley of Fire State Park.

From there, you're only a couple hours' drive from your cushy Vegas hotel. You can even stop by the Hoover Dam on the way back and make fun of it for not being as big as Glen Canyon.

Seriously though, do this, you'll love it and you'll have way more awesome holiday memories than any of your acquaintances who wasted their holidays fighting over shabbily-made handbags at the outlet malls.

 

[genie47]

For Alcatraz, I highly recommend the Night Tour. There is not much to be seen in day tour but it gets very dramatic in summer for the night tour. The daylight time is long so, you don't exact see it at night but near the time where you leave, the sun is setting and makes for some really dramatic scenes and photography.

 

[genie47]

When you are near to Zion NP or even around the area, look out on your maps for this town called Rockville. You will see signs to get to this often photographed ghost town called Grafton. There is even a cemetery there. I know some people say it is fake but it is a restored ghost town. Can't expect to see a ghost town standing from neglect, do you? You can see it on the Google Maps and even Foursquare. Awesome place to visit. You will also know how hard a life the early settlers had.

Free entry. If you want, donate to the Grafton Heritage Society.









In Shiny's map that he posted. Look for Grafton Cemetery.

 

[genie47]

For those who are headed to Grand Canyon and it is summer, the good news is the North Rim is open. What is so special about the North Rim? For starters, it is higher in elevation compared to the South Rim and the highly commercialized West Rim. You pass by the huge Khaibab Plateau which houses the Khaibab Forest. Over at the North Rim, the viewpoints are Angels Window, Cape Royal and Point Imperial. Since it is higher in elevation, it is colder and it is so much more quiet. Deathly quiet in fact. The silence is indeed deafening. An awesome experience.

The North Rim is the least visited part of the Grand Canyon not because it is unpopular. It is closed for most times of the year opening only from May (if the snow melts) and up to October. Don't even contemplate going in winter. If your car gets stuck, you are stranded. You might freeze and die. A friend of mine did this. He was lucky to get a cell phone signal and was hauled out. Paid nearly USD1000 for this rescue and chastising from the Park Ranger.

Angels Window. That's my wife perched on it.

On top of Angels Window

View from Grand Canyon Lodge.

 

[genie47]

Shiny's plan included passing by Glen Canyon Dam. If anyone is up to it, visit Horseshoe Bend. The carpark is small but there is about a 1.5km walk to the end where you will see often photographed Horseshoe Bend.

If you expand this photograph, you will see a parked canoe and lots of camping tourists on the beach at the bottom.

 

[bluesky1]

hi all, i'll be visiting the west coast and flying to SFO as a starting point.. been reading around and there isnt really much confirmed info with regards to getting a data sim from the airport itself. I was thinking to settle the communications part as soon as i touch down at the airport.

I've read that generally we should go by the AT&T or T-mobile way. Anyone with latest info whether we can purchase these sim cards from airport or we need to travel to downtown say Union square before we can purchase? thanks alot! travelling soon and am real excited about it

 

[Human A]

yes Shiny..I have booked all your recommended lodging. Really thankful that you would take pains to write a detailed itinerary for an unknown here. can't wait for Oct! what would u recommend for my grand canyon stay then?

Oh hell yes this is a brilliant idea do it do it do it.

Have a look at a map - like this one I made for you!


At the moment, you're going to do the Las Vegas - Grand Canyon leg, then double back to Vegas. To add in Bryce Canyon (and Zion, which is on the way back to Bryce anyway), you'll basically need two (or ideally three, but two is fine) extra nights. I would:

* Ditch one night from NYC - four nights is plenty
* Ditch one night from Niagara, and go to SF a day earlier

Replace them with:

* After you leave Grand Canyon Village, keep heading east. Stop off in the little village of Cameron to pick up some authentic Navajo and Hopi souvenirs (and try some fry bread, which is frickin' awesome); then head north. You head through the little town of Page, and cross the upper reaches of the Colorado River at Glen Canyon Dam, which is even bigger than the Hoover Dam. Head west, then north on US-89 way up into the mountains, until you get to Bryce Canyon. Dump your bags at the Bryce Canyon Grand hotel, right near the park entrance; go for a late-afternoon hike through the hoodoos (but take it easy - you're nine thousand feet up, and the air is thin!); then come back to the hotel for dinner.

After dinner, when the sun goes down, rug up warmly and drive back to Sunset Point. Go out there; switch your car headlights off; and just look at the stars. Look at them.

Then get back inside 'cause it'll be cold.

* The next day, retrace your steps, and follow the signs to Zion National Park. You're actually going to come in the back way, past the sandstone slickrock of Checkerboard Mesa, through the tunnel, and down the switchbacks into Zion Canyon itself. You will not want to be driving this stretch, 'cause you'll want to be looking out the window and gaping in awe at the magical views. It will look a lot like this except without the bumblebee-coloured Corvette in it.

The road eventually drops you down into Zion National Park, then into the little town of Springfield at the entrance to the park. Don't try and drive into the park; stay at the Desert Pearl Inn and catch the shuttlebus into the park instead.

* The next day, wake up early and go hiking in the park. Once the day gets warmer, pile back into your car and head down the hill; when you reach Interstate 15, head south and follow the signs to Las Vegas... but don't go all the way! Take a side trip (marked on the map) through the town of Moapa Valley and down into the utterly alien Valley of Fire State Park.

From there, you're only a couple hours' drive from your cushy Vegas hotel. You can even stop by the Hoover Dam on the way back and make fun of it for not being as big as Glen Canyon.

Seriously though, do this, you'll love it and you'll have way more awesome holiday memories than any of your acquaintances who wasted their holidays fighting over shabbily-made handbags at the outlet malls.

 

[Shiny Things]

I've read that generally we should go by the AT&T or T-mobile way. Anyone with latest info whether we can purchase these sim cards from airport or we need to travel to downtown say Union square before we can purchase? thanks alot! travelling soon and am real excited about it

So I'm not 100% sure, but I'm pretty sure there isn't an ATT or T-Mo store at SFO (at least, I haven't seen one and I was there last weekend).

You'll want to go downtown, but the trip from A to B is easy - just hop on BART (the BART station is right next to the international terminal), hop off at Powell or Montgomery stations, and look for the corner of Market and 3rd street - there's an AT&T store on one corner, and a T-Mo store on the other corner.

 

[Shiny Things]

yes Shiny..I have booked all your recommended lodging. Really thankful that you would take pains to write a detailed itinerary for an unknown here. can't wait for Oct! what would u recommend for my grand canyon stay then?

No worries mate - I love the States, and I like sharing what I know about it; I want people to have as much fun over here as I do.

For the Grand Canyon stay it's a bit tricky. The lodging in the park frequently books out a year or six months in advance, but you might get lucky and get a one-night stay somewhere. Go to this website and check what there is for your dates.

If you don't have any luck, and can't find accommodation on that website for your dates, you'll need to start looking further afield.

Your first stop should be the Tripadvisor page for the town of Williams, which is where you'll turn off Interstate-40 to head up to GCNP. It's a one-hour drive from Grand Canyon Village, so it's not a bad compromise.

If that doesn't show up anything, look in Flagstaff. There are a bunch of perfectly good chain hotels - I recommend RoomKey.com for all of the hotel chains on one website - and it's only an hour-and-a-half from Grand Canyon Village. (There's also the Lowell Observatory up on the hill above the town of Flagstaff, which is a great night out if you're an astronomy nerd.)