LadyBird

Hi Lads, I am getting married next April and I'm arranging our honeymoon at the moment via the net. I was hoping if I gave you my itinerary you might give me some feedback. (You've been so helpful to others in the past) It is our first time on the West Coast. So here goes:
19th April - Fly to San Francisco for 4 Nights - I was looking at the Clift or the Hotel Monaco for this. Our Budget is approx 150 euro a night which is about $190 - Would you reccommend these hotels? Any others? Also we are planning on doing Alcatraz and Fishermans Wharf. Can you suggest anything else please?
23rd April - Pick up rental car and drive to Yosemite (Do we have to drive over the bridge? H2B really wants to do this for some reason!! Men!!) We are camping out in House-keeping camp. The location by the river sold it to me. We will be there for 3 days. Any must sees or suggestions?
26th April - Drive down Highway 1 to LA - We are planning to stop off for 2 nights along the way - we are not sure where, also is 2 nights enough? We really need suggestions here please
April 28th - Arrive LA (For my Birthday!)for 3 nights.. I got a really good rate from Hollywood Hills Hotel for a suite that overlooks LA. They quoted me $180 as it was our honeymoon. We think we'll go for that as I want to go for dinner in Yamashiro restaurant for my birthday. Is this a good option? Also where would you reccommend us to go the 2nd night. We'd like a nice bar/club. We also want to spend an evening in Santa Monica at the pier etc.. Is it easy to get taxis?
1st May - Drive to Vegas for 4 nights. Not sure where to stay here.
5th May - Fly to Mexico for 6 nights all inclusive in Royal Hideaway in Playa Del Carmen, this is already booked and I can't wait. Has anyone been to this area?

Sorry it's so long but I've been planning this for ages and a bit worried the itinerary is no good, H2B doesn't really know anything about it so I want it to be really special... All help appreciated. Go Raibh Mile Maith Agat! (Irish for thank you)

Lainy

TxTravelPro

Hi Lainy!
Congratulations, in advance!
You are going to get a million great responses here but for my 2 cents I say stop in Carmel and stay in a really nice B&B.
I just love Carmel (and Sausalito)

rjw_lgb_ca

A couple of comments on the LA choices. The Hollywood Hills Hotel is fine for what it is, but it's only within walking distance to the Magic Castle, Yamashiro and the usual-suspect Hollywood attractions-- and there aren't that many of those. For anything else, you'll be cabbing it-- and that will get expensive (LA is very spread-out). I would recommend staying somewhere else in the LA area. You will still end up needing a car, but....

Yamashiro is known as a "go for the views, have a drink, eat elsewhere" kind of place. For awesome views and food, the restaurant at the Getty Center is great. There's also Asia de Cuba at the Mondrian Hotel (and stay for drinks at the SkyBar).

Gardyloo

I think you will need every bit of two days for Hwy 1 if you're starting from Yosemite. It's a good 3-4 hours drive from Yosemite just to Monterey, longer if you encounter weather, which is not impossible in late April. I think the first night at Carmel is a good idea, second night near Hearst Castle, a must visit. Then on to LA; stop in downtown Santa Barbara for late lunch. I am sure many folks here will advise on accommodations on the coast.

You don't drive over the Golden Gate Bridge to go to Yosemite, but you can if you want - adds maybe an hour to the drive. The Oakland Bay Bridge is the more direct route, but eastbound on it is no scenic wonder. If you're in SF for 4 nights you'll have plenty of time to explore the city, including the GG Bridge precincts. Visit Fort Point, a US Civil War fort built directly under the SF end of the bridge.

Probably you should stay on the strip in Vegas, just for the lightshow. Book ahead as your timeframe may coincide with various spring breaks, conventions, all that. If you feel like an out-of-town break from the glitz for one night, have a look at the JW Marriott resort out near the Red Rocks park in the NW suburbs of LV. One of the best hotel/spas in the country, surprisingly inexpensive, gorgeous grounds, and close to some pretty amazing scenery for folks from Eire. About 20 minutes from downtown LV, the Strip, and the airport.

Michael

In Yosemite, take the bus to Glacier Point and hike back down to the valley floor.

jor

Tir na Nog

R

Congrats, Lainy!
Exciting time for you both.

Since you asked for feedback...
please don't take offense if I'd suggest some changes.
Just food for thought, is all.

I'd shorten Vegas...and add the time into your drive south on 1 after Yosemite. I agree w/another poster here...a stay in Carmel or Pacific Grove w/its romantic Bed & Breakfasts & Lovers Point would be a great 1st night stay. Some places require 2 nights, esp. if you hit it on a weekend. If you want to move through the area however...
stay 1 night there. Explore it a bit on the day you arrive & some of the next day. Then, move onward, if you must. Otherwise, 2 nights here is not uncalled for.

Then, one night along Big Sur!
(see some redwoods)

Then, I'd HIGHLY recommend overnighting in Santa Barbara...
& having some time there. You'll think you've been transported to the Mediterranean!

A true jewel...and seems to me,
a *far* more Honeymoon-like getaway for any couple in love, than the big city of L.A.

Not to 'bash' L.A. by any means...but,
you'll already have had a nice City/cultural stay with San Francisco.

So, to get a nice variety & sampling of West Coast Calif...
Santa Barbara would provide a wonderful touch. (and again, it's just FILLED w/romantic corners, restaurants...beaches, etc.)

If it were me, I'd forego Vegas altogether, unless you have a huge interest in this type of spot.
Or, keep it to a 2-nighter, at most.

Take the extra time from that to add 1 more night btwn Yosemite & Southern Calif. And, I'd shorten L.A. to 2 nights...freeing up time for a 2-night stay in Santa Barbara...
the "American Riveria", as it's known by.

I can't recommend it enough, for couples, esp. (and, no, I do NOT live there, altho' I did once for a few wonderful years) ;-)

It has a long tradition as being a honeymoon spot for the Hollywood set, in fact. Famous celebs throughout the years have honeymooned there..including the likes of JFK & Jackie. (okay..NOT the Hollywood set)

Also, to this day, many of the 'glitter' set...settle down there...altho' in its most exclusive neighboring/sister town of Montecito.
(eg. Oprah & numerous others!)

If they choose this little town over other Calif. places ...that tells you somethin' as they can afford to live ANYWHERE.

I think your stay in San Francisco sounds perfect, so you won't feel too rushed in such a romantic, larger city.

The time in Yosemite...also a good length of stay. It can be soooo gorgeous in April! The waterfalls are at peak...the meadows & trees all green...

again, tho' as advised above...if your stay overlaps w/Spring break...you'll want to book early...whether you go for lodging or camping.

As Honeymooners, you've GOT to have dinner/lunch/brunch at the Ahwahnee Lodge...in its most grand dining room.
Well, I went on much too long, here.
Apologies.
Was in the mood for a little vicarious Calif. tour, I guess. Have fun planning!

curmudgeon

I'll throw in a couple of thoughts...

In San Francisco, pick up your car a day early so you can see a bit of the area, such as driving over the GG bridge to Muir woods.

I would definitely reconsider staying at Housekeeping Camp in Yosemite. While it won't be as crowded and chaotic in April as it is in summer (because the nights will be pretty cold), I consider it the ugliest spot in Yosemite. I've stayed at pretty much every lodging choice in Yosemite, and a few nearby, and I'd take any of them over Housekeeping camp. You can splurge for the Ahwahnee (my suggestion, if you can get it), take one of the more generic motel-style lodging in or out of the park, or even rent backpacking gear and pack up above Nevada falls to Little Yosemite Valley (where you can enjoy camping by the river).

Even though it is a favorite of mine, you might consider skipping the highway 1 bit down the central coast. While it is very scenic, you have lots of scenic coast in Ireland. Alternatives might be to spend some time at Lake Tahoe, Santa Barbara, or San Diego (or maybe even heading over to Zion NP or Grand Canyon NP from Vegas).

In Vegas, NY-NY casino might be a reasonable spot; but I'm no expert on Vegas. You should look for someplace central on the strip.

momincv

We just got back from 3 weeks in Ireland and I am a 5th generation native Californian. I would love to add my two cents. Forget LA, just a huge city unless you want to tour a TV/movie studio, disneyland, universal studios & things like that. spend 3 nights in SF. Drive 2 hours south and spend 2-3 nights in Carmel. Drive to LA via HWY 1 along the Big Sur coast. I grew up and still live in the Carmel area. It is beautiful. You can leave in the morning and spend the day driving to LA. You will have plenty of time to enjoy the views. Stop for lunch at Post Ranch, Nepenthe, or Ventana.

In SF, just drive across the golden gate bridge (5 minutes time)take the first exit. There is a turn around with great views. Did you look at the Hyatt on Union Square? Great location! Hope that helps a bit.

TripleSecDelay

LadyBird -

I read most of the posts above.
(1) Don't know the cost of the Clift for the dates you are specifying, but even if you stay elsewhere, have dinner at Asia de Cuba - a nice fusion restaurant on the street level there.
(2) To me, there's something contradictory about honeymoon and Alcatraz prison. Sausalito is a nice place. You can take a ferry there from SF. (side note: parking in SF is expensive everywhere.) You could also buy tickets to be a passenger for a few hours on a catamaran sailboat and cruise around inside the bay. A person could live and work in SF and not have enough time in one year to see it all.
(3) It's possible to drive over the bridge --twice-- and not add an hour to your trip to Yosemite!
(4) Muir Woods is nice for a day hike, if your schedule allows this.
(5) Housekeeping or elsewhere, you'll have a great time in April in Yosemite. Maybe Curry Village is better? You're not tent-camping, are you? We camped in tents at Yosemite and returned to SF area Sunday 03 October.
(6) From Yosemite back to say, San Francisco, allow 3.5 hours drive. This allows for any stops or traffic you may encounter. You're on honeymoon - not in a race, right? Allow 2 hours from SF to Monterey. Hwy 1 hugs the coast and is the road you will want to drive the slowest because of the curves and views.
(7) Two days to reach L.A. is more than enough. I completely agree with staying in Monterey/Carmel/Pacific Grove. Nepenthe Restaurant is on Hwy 1 and is less formal dining with ocean views (weather permitting). You might consider timing your arrival before the traffic in L.A. is the worst. (this comment will start a riot on Fodor's) I like to arrive before 1:00 p.m. As stated above, L.A. is not a centralized city, so transportation will consume a large portion of your time there.
(8) Santa Barbara is a great idea.
(9) We just did the Panorama Trail where you take the shuttle to Glacier Point and hike 9 miles and finish at Mirror Lake - a couple of Yosemite bus stops from Housekeeping. If you two do not hike regularly, you Will be sore for a day or two afterward. I like my legs to be solid on my honeymoon. The hike takes 4 hours or more, depending on how long a couple stays at each of the waterfalls.
(9A) The Hwy 41 entrance to Yosemite takes you through the big redwood trees, while the 120 entrance is more direct from SF. If you went to Muir Woods on the North side of Golden Gate Bridge, you've already seen enough big trees by now.
(10) There are some exceptions to this rule, but in USA, odd-numbered roads go North-South and even-numbered roads go West-East. When you see an exception to this rule, like 280 in SF, it is because the road was renamed to receive state or federal funding.

Repost here with updates so we can help further...

LadyBird

Hi Lads, thanks for the help so far, I didn't expect such a great response... I have printed it off and I'll read through it this evening and get back with anything else. One thing H2b would like to know is would you recommend a jeep or a convertible?

Gardyloo

In April, neither. Plus if you're planning a one-way rental (pick up in SF, drop off in LA or LV) you may find that no agencies will rent convertibles or jeeps on that basis, or if they do it will be only with an extreme drop-off charge. In April on the coast you'll likely encounter cool, foggy, possibly wet weather, not conducive to ragtops. In the Sierras you may also still see snow on the ground. If you want a ragtop, you might consider dropping the first car in LA and renting something more sporty for the drive through the desert to LV, although even then you'll probably get hit with a big drop fee.

curmudgeon

On the subject of rental cars, I would say no to a jeep - you will have a lot of hours on the road so stick with something that is more comfortable to drive.

I actually would say that late April is great convertible weather in most of CA. You won't want the top down all the time, but I actually think April is better than mid-summer on this (Actually, here in San Jose, the top for my convertible lives in a box in the garage year-round). On a trip, you don't want the top down all the time anyway. Just watch out that you don't get sunburned. I do agree you will have to watch out on drop-off charges from the car rental companies, as April is the time they will likely be wanting to move cars north rather than south. It will pay to shop around.

TripleSecDelay

LadyBird - From the extensive variety of your total trip here in North America, one might assume that the additional cost for one-way vehicle drop-off is a minor factor. Is this accurate?
Meanwhile, a few practical questions for your vehicle :
What temperatures do you comfortably drive in at home? Locals on this board can compare for you...or, you could compare online using weather.com, typing in a major city name or zip code of your hotel, for instance, and checking the temperature during April.
Do you drive either of these vehicles at home?
These could be the deciding factors. Some of us are quite fine driving a single-layered convertible top. Others, not at all.
When you write "Jeep" do you mean the one with the removable top and plastic windows? Or, a Jeep Grand Cherokee?, with solid metal/glass and offers better insulation, of course.

scoobydoo15

Your itineray sounds good, hope that you have a fantastic time. I am from the Uk and have visited SF, LA and LV in the past few years. When we went to SF we took a tour over the Golden Gate bridge in a vintage fire engine. It was wacky & brilliant and just made the journey extra special. The trip was about 90 minutes, not cheap but well worth it. I don't know the name of the company who ran the tour but if you time sf fire engine tours into a search engine, I am sure it will come up. We also did the drive down Highway 1, stopping 1 night in Monterey and 1 night in Pismo Beach before stopping off in Santa Barbara and then onto Anaheim for Disneyland for the kids.
We stopped at the Monterey Beach resort hotel. I think its a Best Western hotel, very reasonable and with brilliant views of the bay and the sun setting, plus you can have a moonlit stroll along the beach into Monterey itself about 1 mile away. At Pismo Beach we stopped at Sheltercove Lodge, whilst again your normal big chain hotel, it was very comfortable and with great coastal views. The journey down highway 1 is excellent, make sure that you do the 17 mile drive around pebble beach, it is beautiful.
As for your visit to Las Vegas, there are lots of reasonable hotels on the strip and they all offer excellent facilities. The Venetian, Paris or the Bellagio are quite central on the strip. Whilst there, if you are ok with heights, go to the top of the stratosphere hotel at night for fantastic views of the neon lights of the strip and the rest of vegas. If you are daring enough you could also go on the rollercoaster at the top, don't worry it doesn't go too fast.
Hope that you get your perfect trip organised and you are doing the best thing by planning it through in advance. By the way Congratulations.

LadyBird

Hi Lads, Again thanks for the feedback. This site is great. H2B can't believe the responses I am getting.. I'll check with him what he means by Jeep. He was also thinking of an SVU?? I didn't realise there would be an extra charge for one way so I'll defo check that out ahead of time.. Thanks for the tip. Money is a factor, I'm on a budget for this whole trip and the car is not something I want to overspend on.. Being a woman there are better things to spend it on like shopping etc!! LOL

If we stay one night in Carmel (Any suggestions on hotels, B&Bs etc? Also how far from Yosemite?) is Big Sur a good place for the 2nd Night? Is this a town? Any recommendations on where to stay? what is the distance between the 2 approx? Also how far is Santa Barbara to LA? I am thinking of cutting Vegas to 3 nights and adding Santa Barbara instead.. Is this the best thing to do?

In LA could we walk to Sunset Boulevard from Hollywood Hills Hotel? If not is it easy in LA to get taxis? I really want to go to Asia De Cuba for dinner and maybe the SkyBar afterwards. Are you guaranteed admission if you have dinner in the restaurant? Also is there any public transport to Santa Monica? Would we be better of staying in a hotel in Santa Monica on our last night? We are already checking in and out of hotels a lot so I want to minimise this if possible..

Are there a number of different routes to Vegas from LA? Which would you reccommend?

Has anyone else ever stayed in Housekeeping Camp in Yosemite? I'm worried now I made a bad choice but the area looked so pretty on the internet beside the river etc.. All hotels in the park were booked up so I didn't have much choice.. Are we mad staying here? I'll defo go to Ahwahnee for dinner, thanks for the tip..

Lainy

tracys2cents

You are driving from San Francisco to Las Vegas...so won't you have a car while you are in Los Angeles?

TripleSecDelay

Many responses likely because we've all traveled in a distant city and truly appreciate the advice of others. Honeymoons are special.

Regarding Yosemite and Housekeeping :
Depending on what your camping experiences have been in the past, I feel that you'll be okay there. Not all of the units within Housekeeping will be "on the river" and there are multiple rivers in the Yosemite Valley you will hike near. The alternative for non-tent camping is Curry Village, which has small "cabins" and I believe, shared bathrooms. Definitely hot water showers there for $2 USD, although we were never charged as there was no attendant. We tented (also on the river) at North Pines and showered at Curry Village.

SUV is sport utility vehicle / what I call a 4 wheel drive station wagon. USA mfrs don't build many station wagons (5-doors) anymore. Unsure what is sold in Ireland. SUV examples in USA : Chevrolet Tahoe, Nissan Pathfinder, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Ford Explorer, Toyota 4Runner and many other models possibly have different names in your homeland. Think VW Touareg and Porsche Cayenne, but less expensive.

Big Sur is a city with a postal "zip code" 93920.
Distance from Carmel to Big Sur is short. /Maybe/ one hour if you stop for photos on Hwy 1. Weather micro-climates make the two environments slightly different, but commonly foggy for part of the a.m. / p.m. with sun midday.

Yosemite to Carmel in a car on a weekday is 6 hours, give or take. Expect slowdowns at highway intersections. If you take 120/108, there are several speed limits from 25mph to 40 mph / (40KmH to 65KmH).

A direct route involving Hwy 5 or Hwy 101 (less time) from Yosemite to Carmel which bypasses Hwy 1 is not advisable because you would be missing the highway used for all the car commercials : scenic beauty. Nice bridges, no billboard advertising, no litter, no grafitti; well-protected, postcard-quality views.

NOTE FOR YOUR ENTIRE TRIP
For exact distances and reliable travel times, please use Google.com (or your favorite search engine) to locate a hotel address in each town, then enter those addresses into Mapquest.com or Yahoo Maps to determine drive times and distances for anything in USA. Be sure to specify if you want shortest time or shortest distance on their websites. I always compare one against the other for accuracy.
(At work one day, I once had 2 cars full of suits reading my downloaded directions in a caravan and all 3 of our cars made the same 3 wrong turns in one office-to-office journey.)

Then, you could print these maps and directions and take a custom map book for your travels. It doesn't take long and I certainly would not plan a trip anywhere based on somebody else's memory of travel times and distances.

MaureenB

This is an ambitious itinerary. Flying to and from Ireland, plus all the driving, packing and checking-in and out of hotels, camping, San Francisco, Yosemite, the coast, L.A., Las Vegas and Mexico, too?? Sounds exhausting. I think you're trying to fit in too many things and you won't enjoy any of them.
Personally, I'd simplify it. I'd skip Las Vegas altogether, for starters. Or, if you really want to gamble, maybe drive to Lake Tahoe from Yosemite for a couple of nights.

curmudgeon

Try using the "search this forum" box at the top of the page to look for old threads on points of interest to you. You should find lots of good threads on various california topics.

There are definitely people who like Housekeeping Camp at Yosemite, but I think it is more typically families with children. Alternatives are the campgrounds, tent cabins at Camp Curry, Wawona hotel, private cabin rentals at Yosemite West or Wawona, or hotels at El Portal or Fish Camp. You can also keep trying for cancellations at Yosemite Lodge or the Awahnee (rooms often come available later); week nights are much easier than weekends.

The LA area is difficult to visit without a car. Points of interest are not close together, and taxis are only common at major hotels and the airport (otherwise you will likely need to telephone to order one).