Planning trip to california. Advice?
Jul 30th, 2007, 02:31 PM
#1
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Planning trip to california. Advice?
Hi, first of all, thanks in advance for any help that you give us.
First fortnight of September I will be traveling to California with a friend, from Spain. And we were thinking about the following itinerary (but suggestions are welcome!)
August 31st: We arrive to S.Francisco at night. And here it comes the first question: nice, clean and cheap hotel? Do you know of any good web site to make the bookings? (In Europe I use www.bookings.net, which is very good).
September 1-2-3-4-5: San Francisco. We want to see it all!
We would like to rent a motorbike for a day. Do you know of any motorbike renting places?
September 6th: In the morning we will hire a car and start trip towards lake Tahoe. We're thinking about sleeping in the way, we do not know where yet.
September 7th: Day in the lake. At the end of the evening, we would start route towards Yosemite, and sleep in the way.
September 8, 9: Yosemite (will it be too crowded on weekends? Do you know of any good places to sleep, places to see, activities? At the end of the day we start route towards Death Valley, and we sleep on the way.
September 10th: Death Valley. We spend the night there.
September 11, 12th: We start route towards Grand Canyon. We're planning to spend there two nights (11th and 12th). Once again, I'd really appreciate it if you suggested places to sleep, and activities (how to buy the tickets, is it possible to make reservations in advance for everything?).
September 13, 14th: In the afternoon we start trip towards Las Vegas, and leave the car there before 18h. . We would sleep here two nights.
September 15th: After lunch we would fly to San Francisco, leave the luggage in the airport, go to the city and stay there till late, so that we don't have to take a room, because our plane leaves at 7 in the morning the following day.
What's your opinion on the trip? Too many places in a very short time?
We would really appreciate advice about:
- Good and cheap companies to rent a car on the web.
- Good company to rent a motorbike in SF (returning the motorbike in town).
- Recommended hotels in SF and Las Vegas.
- Activities and lodging for the natural parks.
Well, as you see I'm asking for a lot of advice! We did not have all the time we would have desired to plan our trip, and we have many questions. By the way, we are used to Spanish timetables, so: is it dangerous to start driving at 18h and look for a place to sleep around 21h?
I give you a small profile of me and my friend: around 40, no problem in excursions or open air activities where a certain fitness is required, fluent English
Many thanks for your help.
Saludos.
First fortnight of September I will be traveling to California with a friend, from Spain. And we were thinking about the following itinerary (but suggestions are welcome!)
August 31st: We arrive to S.Francisco at night. And here it comes the first question: nice, clean and cheap hotel? Do you know of any good web site to make the bookings? (In Europe I use www.bookings.net, which is very good).
September 1-2-3-4-5: San Francisco. We want to see it all!
We would like to rent a motorbike for a day. Do you know of any motorbike renting places?September 6th: In the morning we will hire a car and start trip towards lake Tahoe. We're thinking about sleeping in the way, we do not know where yet.
September 7th: Day in the lake. At the end of the evening, we would start route towards Yosemite, and sleep in the way.
September 8, 9: Yosemite (will it be too crowded on weekends? Do you know of any good places to sleep, places to see, activities? At the end of the day we start route towards Death Valley, and we sleep on the way.
September 10th: Death Valley. We spend the night there.
September 11, 12th: We start route towards Grand Canyon. We're planning to spend there two nights (11th and 12th). Once again, I'd really appreciate it if you suggested places to sleep, and activities (how to buy the tickets, is it possible to make reservations in advance for everything?).
September 13, 14th: In the afternoon we start trip towards Las Vegas, and leave the car there before 18h. . We would sleep here two nights.
September 15th: After lunch we would fly to San Francisco, leave the luggage in the airport, go to the city and stay there till late, so that we don't have to take a room, because our plane leaves at 7 in the morning the following day.
What's your opinion on the trip? Too many places in a very short time?
We would really appreciate advice about:
- Good and cheap companies to rent a car on the web.
- Good company to rent a motorbike in SF (returning the motorbike in town).
- Recommended hotels in SF and Las Vegas.
- Activities and lodging for the natural parks.
Well, as you see I'm asking for a lot of advice!
We did not have all the time we would have desired to plan our trip, and we have many questions. By the way, we are used to Spanish timetables, so: is it dangerous to start driving at 18h and look for a place to sleep around 21h?I give you a small profile of me and my friend: around 40, no problem in excursions or open air activities where a certain fitness is required, fluent English
Many thanks for your help.
Saludos.
Jul 30th, 2007, 03:04 PM
#2
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Can't help with any SF info, but...
If you take I-80 and then U.S. 50 to Lake Tahoe it is an easy drive if you start in the morning, since it is a Thursday traffic once past Placerville won't be too bad. Wine Country near Placerville is a nice sidetrip. Lots of hotels in Tahoe.
Yosemite Valley is always crowded, you'll need advance reservations if you want a room. Yosemite Lodge or Camp Curry probably best bets.
The drive over Tioga Pass road en route to Death Valley is a great experience. Choice of motels in Mammoth Lake, Bishop, Lone Pine as you head for Death Valley, where it will still be hot.
Grand Canyon, limited places to stay near park, but lots in Williams.
Las Vegas, just go oneline to anyone of many sites for hotel reservations.
For a rental car check Thrift, Budget and Enterprise for deals.
Have fun.
If you take I-80 and then U.S. 50 to Lake Tahoe it is an easy drive if you start in the morning, since it is a Thursday traffic once past Placerville won't be too bad. Wine Country near Placerville is a nice sidetrip. Lots of hotels in Tahoe.
Yosemite Valley is always crowded, you'll need advance reservations if you want a room. Yosemite Lodge or Camp Curry probably best bets.
The drive over Tioga Pass road en route to Death Valley is a great experience. Choice of motels in Mammoth Lake, Bishop, Lone Pine as you head for Death Valley, where it will still be hot.
Grand Canyon, limited places to stay near park, but lots in Williams.
Las Vegas, just go oneline to anyone of many sites for hotel reservations.
For a rental car check Thrift, Budget and Enterprise for deals.
Have fun.
Jul 30th, 2007, 03:18 PM
#3
Just one very quick comment right now - will come back later when I have more time . .
You do not need to stop over between San Francisco and Lake Tahoe, or between Tahoe and Yosemite, or between Yosemite and Death Valley. Each of these drives is very easy and much less than a day's drive. So spend the extra nights in Lake Tahoe and/or Yosemite and/or Death Valley
(Death Valley will be VERY hot - even by Spanish standards)
You do not need to stop over between San Francisco and Lake Tahoe, or between Tahoe and Yosemite, or between Yosemite and Death Valley. Each of these drives is very easy and much less than a day's drive. So spend the extra nights in Lake Tahoe and/or Yosemite and/or Death Valley
(Death Valley will be VERY hot - even by Spanish standards)
Jul 30th, 2007, 03:43 PM
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For a hotel in San Francisco use hotelres.com. This site only does San Francisco and Silicon Valley. Choose Union Square as the area of the city you want to look at. I can recommend the Chancellor Hotel, which is right on Union Square and near all forms of transportation available in the city. San Francisco has an excellent public transportation system. This hotel has a very helpful and friendly staff.
Hotelres.com does not charge you ahead of time when you make the reservation. You give them your credit card number for a night's deposit and they give you a confirmation to print out. From then on you deal with the hotel, paying them when you check out.
On some of the websites you cannot cancel if your plans change. With this site you follow the hotel's own cancellation policy.
If you see a hotel on the site which appeals to you, you can also go to the hotel's website and check out their prices and take whichever is lowest.
You should make your Yosemite lodging reservations as soon as possible. Even though you are coming after summer, Yosemite is very popular and lodgings fill up. Go to the California forum on tripadvisor.com to ask how to make reservations for Yosemite.
While you are in Yosemite Valley, take a tram tour to see the sights. Then if you have more time you can explore.
Hotelres.com does not charge you ahead of time when you make the reservation. You give them your credit card number for a night's deposit and they give you a confirmation to print out. From then on you deal with the hotel, paying them when you check out.
On some of the websites you cannot cancel if your plans change. With this site you follow the hotel's own cancellation policy.
If you see a hotel on the site which appeals to you, you can also go to the hotel's website and check out their prices and take whichever is lowest.
You should make your Yosemite lodging reservations as soon as possible. Even though you are coming after summer, Yosemite is very popular and lodgings fill up. Go to the California forum on tripadvisor.com to ask how to make reservations for Yosemite.
While you are in Yosemite Valley, take a tram tour to see the sights. Then if you have more time you can explore.
Jul 30th, 2007, 05:37 PM
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San Francisco is a very walkable city with good transportation. You might consider using public transportation not a motorbike.
When you go to Death Valley, wear light clothing that will protect you from the sun, wear good hiking shoes. Bring lots of water. It will be hot.
Sept is a good time to go to San Francisco, it's one of the hotter months in California so that means in the "City" it's just about right. A bit chilly at night.
When you go to Death Valley, wear light clothing that will protect you from the sun, wear good hiking shoes. Bring lots of water. It will be hot.
Sept is a good time to go to San Francisco, it's one of the hotter months in California so that means in the "City" it's just about right. A bit chilly at night.
Jul 30th, 2007, 07:57 PM
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For good deals on SF and Las Vegas hotels you might try priceline.com.
Since it's after Labor Day, Yosemite may not be too bad on that weekend, but if you could go during the week, it would be better.
Since it sounds as if you're renting a car, you could also rent (or bring or buy) a tent and camp out. There are many campgrounds in and by the National Parks.
You can goggle each park and get their website and find out if you can make reservations online.
I think you're covering a lot of territory in a short amount of time, but it is a long trip to get there, so I can understand why you want to see as much as possible.
I hope you have a great trip!
Since it's after Labor Day, Yosemite may not be too bad on that weekend, but if you could go during the week, it would be better.
Since it sounds as if you're renting a car, you could also rent (or bring or buy) a tent and camp out. There are many campgrounds in and by the National Parks.
You can goggle each park and get their website and find out if you can make reservations online.
I think you're covering a lot of territory in a short amount of time, but it is a long trip to get there, so I can understand why you want to see as much as possible.
I hope you have a great trip!
Jul 31st, 2007, 06:53 AM
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If you like wine tasting, you might want to think about visiting the wine country (napa/sonoma valley) as a day trip from San Francisco. I really like the sonoma valley. It's a very pretty and one of my favorite places to visit in the SF area.
Jul 31st, 2007, 07:58 AM
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Your trip looks very well planned, but I must agree that driving between SF & Tahoe , Tahoe & Yosemite does not require an overnight stay.
Also I agree with using hotelres.com. I've used this site for almost 10 years and found it very reliable and convenient. They also link to http://www.mourelatosresort.com/index.htm
a great resort at North Tahoe we've used in the past.
After the Labor Day weekend (Sept 1-3) Yosemite is usually not as crowded. Due to the dry season last winter the falls will have less water at this time of the year. http://www.nps.gov/yose/ Highly recommend the Glacier Point down to Yosemite Valley hike.
Have a great trip to some of the most scenic areas in California.
Also I agree with using hotelres.com. I've used this site for almost 10 years and found it very reliable and convenient. They also link to http://www.mourelatosresort.com/index.htm
a great resort at North Tahoe we've used in the past.
After the Labor Day weekend (Sept 1-3) Yosemite is usually not as crowded. Due to the dry season last winter the falls will have less water at this time of the year. http://www.nps.gov/yose/ Highly recommend the Glacier Point down to Yosemite Valley hike.
Have a great trip to some of the most scenic areas in California.
Jul 31st, 2007, 10:57 AM
#11
Yosemite Park accomodations are at
yosemitepark.com
If you can get a room at the Yosemite Lodge and it's not too expensive, that would work. If it is still full that time of year, Camp Curry is sort of fun. There are cabins, tent cabins and a few motel units. Be sure to go up to Glacier Point for the best view.
yosemitepark.com
If you can get a room at the Yosemite Lodge and it's not too expensive, that would work. If it is still full that time of year, Camp Curry is sort of fun. There are cabins, tent cabins and a few motel units. Be sure to go up to Glacier Point for the best view.
