kctraveller

I have searched this forum for days and my eyes are red and blury!
Tell me what you think...California, family of four (kids 14 & 12). Have up to 3 weeks in Sept '07. First time ever travelled out of Oz.
Fly to San Fran, stay 3 nights at Cow Hollow.
Hire car and drive to Yosemite (Yosemite lodge or Anawahee), 2 nights.
Back to San Fran to fly to LA.
Stay Anaheim (Park View)3 nights to do Disney. Go to Hollywood (Renaissance Hollywood Hotel) for 5 nights to check out Universal & Santa Monica, Bev Hills. We will rent a car for this portion of our stay.
Fly to Las vegas for 3 nights, staying at Circus Circus. We would also like to do a flight to Grand Canyon while there.
From there thinking of going to Hawaii or Fiji on the way back, of course this depends who we fly with, but would love to relax in a tropical paradise for approx 5 days before heading home... Ok I'm ready for your opinions..I think??!! Please be gentle...

sinehat

Couple of suggestions....Yosemite is fantastic, but have heard that it's very difficult to get a room at the lodge. Lots of people want one. Never too early to start checking.
Instead of flying to LA, drive instead. Some of the prettiest scenery along the Pacific Coast just south of San Francisco.
Might rethink staying at Circus Circus. Probably one of the more kid friendly, but a little run down. (as of 3 years ago.)

scoobydoo15

Sounds like a good itinery. Would definately recommend driving to LA. Scenery is lovely. Stay 1 night at Fogcatcher Inn on Moonstone beach and visit Hearst Castle whilst you are there. It will make a welcome break. In SF, have you looked at Beresford Arms near Union Square instead of Cow Hollow. Its more central and they also do a 2 room Parlour suite which is great with 2 teenagers. We stayed there for 5 nights in August this year with 2 teenagers and it was great. Very spacious and nice stoll to Union Square and Cable Cars. We also stayed at Yosemite Lodge, good location in the Park but as the previous post said, book early. The Park Vue Inn in Anaheim is also a good choice,we had 7 nights there in a 2 room suite again for $93 a night in August. Its very nice and clean and just across the road to Disneyland. I personally would do more than 3 nights there and fit in Laguna Beach, Newport Beach for a nice break from the parks. We have done Anaheim 4 times and have always driven to Universal, Santa Monica, Hollywood. You could easily do this and extend your stay at the Park Vue rather than stop in Hollywood, which is a bit seedy in parts. The drive to Universal from Anaheim is only about 1 hr if you avoid the rush hours. (Set off after 10am and leave after 6pm)
With regards to Las Vegas, Circus Circus is cheap but then most hotels in Vegas can be booked for a reasonable price. I would go for somewhere more central on the Strip such as Caesers Palace, MGM or Paris. It really depends on your budget but you do have plenty of time to shop around and Sept 07 prices will be cheaper than July or August. Good Luck and keep posting the questions because this is a great forum for help and tips.

kleroux

If you decide to go to Las Vegas, do try to get tickets to the show "O" by Cirque du Soleil... its expensive but just amazing and your kids will like it too. I also vote for your to drive from SF to Monterrey (check out the aquarium) down route 1 to Hearst Castle, also worth a tour. Overnight in Cambria or San Luis Obispo (visit the California Mission there)..then into LA. I would not stay in Hollywood. Stay maybe in Santa Monica and drive to Universal Studios and Bev.Hills etc... visit UCLA ..

SAnParis

I agree w/sinehat, don't miss the drive from San Fran to LA. Also, find anyplace else to stay in Vegas besides Circus2, it IS a dump.

highflyer

Circus Circus stands out as a bad choice so try to change that hotel if you can.
I'd agree with scoobydoo that driving to LA would be scenic but if you have a few internal flights built into your ticket price it may be cheaper to fly.

Gardyloo

As there are 4 of you, I'd reconsider the order of things. Think loops, thus:

Fly to SFO. No problem. I'd give it more than 3 days as you'll be seriously jetlagged, but that's your call.

Drive to Yosemite. With most of a year to go I wouldn't be too concerned about availability, but it doesn't hurt to book now, even if you have to change things later.

Keep driving - to Las Vegas. It will be much faster and more scenic (and way cheaper) than driving back to SFO and then flying south. Besides, you'll need a car in Vegas anyway. The roads between Yosemite and LV will be desert-y and likely still pretty warm (depends when in Sept.) but if you're from Oz you can handle it. Highway conditions will be completely fine.

Then drive (same car, thus cheaper too) to the LA area, staying somewhere near Disneyland for those days, then moving farther up into LA (or out to the beach someplace) for the rest of your time in So Cal.

Finally drive back to SF along the coast and fly out.

As for the south Pacific stopover, Qantas serves Honolulu, air NZ goes LA - Tahiti or LA - Fiji, then connects back to Oz. Numerous connections possible from SFO using various scenarios.

The idea of driving is (a) it will be cheaper for one car than 4 air tickets; (b) you'll see more of the US out of a car window than out of an airplane window, and (c) you'll need cars anyway, so benefit from one long rental contract compared to two or three. Plus, if you return where you start, there won't be any drop-off fees.

The driving distances are not very great by Oz standards and you will be passing through some of the best scenery N. America has to offer, rather than over it.

janisj

While reading through the thread, I came up w/ a better (IMHO) itinerary - and then I came to Gardyloo's post - which is almost exactly what I was going to suggest.

Driving back and forth, flying down and around, and all that to-ing and fro-ing really isn't very efficient. A big loop SF > Yosemite > LV > LA > SF is just about perfect for 3 weeks. And short car rentals are more expensive since weekly rates are discounted.

Sept in the high country between Yosemite and Death Valley will be gorgeous. And Sept is the best time of year on the coast. On your original plan you would miss both both of these highlights, and spend more money.

highflyer

I agree that driving in a loop would be more economical IF you don't already have those free internal flights that Quantas often includes in it's round trip fares.

Another idea would be to include Zion National Park in your trip if 3 nights in Las Vegas felt like too much!

I'd like to take the trip Gardyloo has outlined for you!

Pete1222

Ditto: Circus Circus is "tired".
The Sahara, just across the street, is a bit nicer and might just be a bit cheaper too. (You can always walk across the street to check out CC.)
Personally, The Orleans Hotel might be the best choice w/ kids. they have a bowling alley & movie house too. Plus bigger & better rooms. The downside is that you'll need to take their FREE shuttle to get to the strip.

We took out kids (14 & 11) to San Fran. They loved it!! You can rent bikes down at the Wharf and bike across The Bridge over to Sausilito for lunch. Then take the ferry back to Fisherman's Wharf. Also, we rented bikes up at Yosemite. There is approx. 6 to 8 miles of bike trails and it's all flat. We'd lock our bikes at various trail-heads and do a lot of short hikes too. In the afternoon bike over to the lake to view Half-Dome. Our girls even took off their shoes and waded out to a huge boulder to read their books while viewing Half-Dome lurking just above them! It was Awesome and the water was ice cold!!

MaureenB

Is it possible for you to fly into San Francisco and out of L.A., so you don't have to backtrack? I am not clear on your return airport.

In any event, I think you have good advice to rent a car and make the drive, instead of backtracking to an airport.

I'd add more nights to San Francisco, more to Yosemite, and one less in Las Vegas and L.A.. In L.A., I would not stay in Hollywood. It is very seedy for the most part. Not the glamorous L.A. you probably think it is.

Stay closer to UCLA to see Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Malibu, etc. Or stay in Santa Monica. Even the Century City Westin would be better than Hollywood IMHO. Then it's a drive to Hollywood, but I'd only suggest a half day there anyway.

Maybe try to get free tickets to see a show, like The Tonight Show, which tapes in Hollywood. You can apply on-line if you have enough lead time. It's a fun thing to do, especially with your kids. I don't think they have a minimum age of 18, like many shows do.

>-

ccrosner

You've gotten great advice.

I would definitely add a day to Yosemite and steal it from the LA/Hollywood portion of the trip. We took our kids (ages 10 and 12) this August to many of the spots you are going to and three nights in the La/Hollywood area was plenty. They LOVED San Francisco much more.

We've been to Vegas and I might suggest you take a look at the Flamingo. Central strip location, not too pricey and they have the best pool (or did in 04) that they don't charge extra for (check out "resort fees" as they are becoming quite popular as a way to get revenue while keeping room rates down).

Enjoy!

kctraveller

Oh my gosh it has been ages since I've been able to check the feedback on this message and I am so impressed with the feedback..Thankyou to you all, we are now in the final stages of the planning and you've made this easy for us novices.. Thanks
Merry Christmas!!

rojer_that003

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bugswife1

Personally, I would start in SF and drive all the way down the coast to San Diego, taking 2 weeks to do so. There are many stops along the way--Yosemite, Monterey, Big Sur, Hearst Castle, LA, Newport/La Jolla area, and finally, San Diego. I would skip Vegas completely, and spend my last week in Hawaii-2 nts big Oahu for a history lesson at Pearl Harbor, and then 5 nights in Maui.
Save Vegas for just you and your spouse, or just make a trip to Grand Canyon with a side trip to LV when the kids are older. Just my humble opinion.

panhandle

Rojer...no offense but you have two posts total and both are selling that website. No advertising please!