royo

Hi!

I would much appriciate your help,

Me and my wife are leaving next week for our honeymoon trip in the U.S.

We wanna combine nice places to see with shopping as well and some attractions and of course Clubs and NYC night life!

We will be in NYC for a week (I would love recommendations for NYC) And I thought about seeing the following places in NYC:

empire state building
madam tusaw
central park zoo
statue of liberty
brooklyn bridge
wallstreat
grand zero
China town
lincolin center
Rockefeller center
Soho
Village
Broadway
5th Ave.
top of the rock
woodbury common (1 day).
pier 13
Madison Ave.

Will I have time to see the D.C?

I would love if someone can help me arrange a route according to the places order (which one is next to another?) and maybe even add a must seen places.

Afterwards we're leaving for Miami south beach for two days, Any recommended places there except the Versace house? (what is that address of the place?)

I know over at Miami the saw grass mall as a shopping center, Nikki marina as a place to go out at night, any more recommendations?

Afterwards we're leaving for Vegas for 4 days and catching a cirque de soil show, anything else I should see except for the hotels? I thought about driving to the Hoover Dame, anything else? Night life? Outlets nearby?

Afterwards we're driving from LV to San Francisco and from over there we're on our own, Never been to that part of the U.S so I don't know any places there (except for Beverly hills, Hollywood, golden bridge and I think that's it).

Can you guys help out setting a route?

Thanks alot!!!
Roy.

tomfuller

This should help with Las Vegas: http://www.lasvegasstrip.net/las-vegas-strip-map
There is a fashion Mall along the Strip. Get up to Fremont Street to see the light show in the evening.
Beverly Hills and Hollywood are near Los Angeles which is very far from San Francisco. The Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman's Wharf and cable cars are all San Francisco landmarks.
There is a Madame Tussault's wax museum in Las Vegas.
To see things outside Las Vegas like Hoover Dam you should rent a car.

michele_d

How much time do you have in California? It is a HUGE state and has tons to see and do. Where will you be flying home from?

What do you like to do in your spare time? The beach? Wine tasting? Museums? Big cities? Small towns? We can give lots of good suggestions but need a little more info.

I also recommend going out to Hoover Dam for a daytrip from Vegas. Take the tour ($30). You go down into the dam. It is very interesting. Walk out onto the new bridge for stunning views of the dam. Was just there last week. Bridge is amazing.

Four days in Vegas is a lot. There is Red Rock Canyon and the Valley of Fire State Park if you want to get out of the city for the day.

nytraveler

A couple of notes for NYC -

You have ignored all of the major museums, many of which are world-class, including the Met, which is the greatest cultural institution in the western hemisphere

You can see the SoL, still damaged from supertorm sandy and can get to liberty island - but you can see from the free Staten Island ferry or one of the paid Circle line harbor cruises

As for nighlife and clubs - you shuold look at the web site of Timeout New York to see who is playing where when. Be aware that for trendy clubs it can be VERY difficult to get in (long lines and many people turned away). The best chance is to be very atractive and very beautifully and trendily dressed. You will not see celebs on Sat night - often not Fri either - but Wed/Thurs are better. Clubs are typically dead much before midnight. One option is to go very early - perhaps 9 or 10 pm for dinner - at plaes which serve such - and try to keep a table by buying a very expensive bottle ($300 or so).

IMHO Mmd Tussaud is a complete waste of time for adults, as is china town (OK for dinner but otherwise only shopping for tchotkes than no one wants)

The Central Park zoo is tiny - the real zoo is in the Bronx and would take a whole day to tour

royo

Sorry for the lack of information.

From Vegas I have a car, in Vegas I'm gonna be from Mon evening 'till Friday morning.

Afterwards I'm driving from Vegas to San Francisco & LA (All by the car I rented in Vegas, And I'm leaving the U.S from LAX after almost 5 days since I left Vegas.

royo

BTW, We like dinning, Bars/Clubs, The Beach, Great Views and any kind of cool attraction we can catch while we're in the Vegas/LA area

Thanks for the help.
Roy.

jamie99

Is it correct that you have five days to drive from Vegas to SF to LA? If so you do not have enough time IMO.
You need a night in between Vegas and SF, and at least one (two is better) nights in between SF and LA unless you drive the incredibly boring I-5 between them (you will be praying for billboards to read, at least I was the last trip).

royo

Hi Jamie,

Is the I5 is also the famous route #5 ?

I heard this is a most recommended place to drive from SF to LA and from what I understood its like 5 hours drive from SF to LA so I should be able to get out of SF during the late noon and arrive to LA at the evening... No?

Roy.

BarbAnn

I-5 (stands for Interstate #5) is the fastest from SF to LA. It takes about 7 hours depending on where in the LA area you are going. It is also the most boring drive. It takes you through the Central Valley of California...endless farmland and cattle ranches. Hwy 101/1 is the most scenic route. It is the coastal route that you may see in many advertisements. There are breathtaking views along this route. It however, takes a minimum of 2 days if you don't stop to sightsee.

In reality, I don't think you have enough days to drive from Las Vegas to SF and then down to LA. You would be better off to just drive to LA and enjoy the LA area for 4 days prior to your flight back home.

Congratulations and happy honeymoon.

royo

Hi BarbAnn,

It that long of a drive on route #1 ?
2 Days?! that's insane!

If it takes 2 days to get from SF to LA via route #1 how long does it take to get to SF from LV? (Route #1 is only between SF->LA and everything that is along the cost right?)

Thanks!
Roy.

michele_d

Hi Royo,
The drive from Vegas to SF is at a minimum 10 hours without stops. And this is not on HWy 101/1.

The drive from SF to LA on Hwy 101/1 is about 9 hours but the road is right along the coast so more twists and turns so it does take longer. There is beautiful scenery so you will want to stop along the way...hence the two days Barb Ann recommended.

If you want to drive straight thru from SF to LA on HWY 5 it is more like 6 hours, but nothing to see pretty much the entire way.

I would recommend you either go to SF or LA but not both. There is plenty do in each of these cities for 4-5 days.

California is a very big state and although these two cities have a lot to offer, you would be way to rushed to try and see both of them.

BarbAnn

Royo,

You have to take into account the traffic in SF and LA. These are BIG cities that have heavy traffic between 3PM -7PM. If you take Hwy 101/1, portions are one lane in each direction. If you get behind a very slow driver (like an RV), well, you end up going slower also.

I was born and raised in the LA area. I now live in Northern Cal and have driven these routes more times than I care to count. If you are in a hurry, fly between the cities (although sometimes that takes just as long).

Perhaps the best idea is for you to drive from Las Vegas to San Diego and then drive up the coast to LA. Driving north from San Diego you see beautiful views, beaches and cities with great nightlife...La Jolla, Carlsbad, Capistrano,Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, etc.

royo

Hi BarbAnn,

1st of all correction I have about 5 (Full days from May 17th - May 22nd) from when I'm leaving LV, I'm leaving LV around 11am on Friday and I have a flight back home from LAX.

Can you help out a bit more to allocate the time from the minute I leave LV?

Which places are called center in SF that I can walk around at night/go out etc?

How about the day time? Will I have the time to see the Alcatraz jail ? It's in SF right?

Thanks,
Roy.

explanation

5 days in Las Vegas is 3 days too long

You have as much time in Las Vegas as you do for the entire state of California.

Big mistake.

explanation

Fly from Las Vegas to San Francisco

I seriously doubt you will find tickets for Alcatrax if your trip is next week.

Rent car as you exit SF and drive down the coastline to Los Angeles.

jamie99

I like michelle's idea, drop SF and drive to San Diego (very nice town, nice beaches also) and drive up to LA. You just do not have enough time. Highway 1 is a two lane road, you will not
be able to drive 55mph like Google Maps estimates, you will be lucky to be able to drive 35-40mph between Carmel and Cambria.
Yes Alcatraz is an island near SF, you need reservations way in advance. It used to be a prison.

The only way I can see you fitting SF in is if you drop Miami and maybe a night in Vegas (add that night to your drive between Vegas and SF).

Google Maps assumes you always drive 55mph or 60mph, never hit traffic, never stop to eat or drink or use a restroom or gas. In other words, not dependable.

michele_d

I'd like to take credit for the drive up from SD, which is a great one...but it is BarbAnn's suggestion...although I will second it.

I don't know that Royo grasps how very very large California is and how much there is to do here. 5 days is such a very little amount of time for all he desires unfortunately

royo

As for the time in Vegas, I'm leaving Friday morning and arriving on Monday night so it basically have only 2 days there, I can leave Friday morning NP, around 9am this way I will arrive SF at noon right?

If you had to choose SF, SF or LA what will you choose?

Regards,
Roy.

michele_d

You will have three days in Vegas (Tues, Wed, Thurs) which is still a lot. Once you've seen the Strip you have basically seen the highlight of Vegas, unless you plan to see shows at night.

The drive from Vegas to SF is at a minimum 10 hours without stops. It is not possible to leave LV at 9am and arrive SF at noon on Friday.

BarbAnn

Sorry Roy, I do not understand what you mean by leaving "Friday morning NP, around 9am this way I will arrive SF at noon right?"

If this means you will be driving, there is no way you will be in SF by noon. It takes a minimum of 9-10 hours to drive it. A flight will take about 1h30mins(in the air).

Which city you choose to visit depends on what you like. I find SF to be more laid back and diverse (in attitude) than LA. LA (depending on which area...and LA is a HUGE area) tends to be more up scale in attitude and more beach oriented (warmer water in Southern Cal).

Just from the logistic stand point, I still contend that you would have more time (and less driving) if you visited San Diego, Orange County, LA and even Santa Barbara area (some nice wineries in this area).

If you truly want to visit SF, I would fly from Las Vegas to SF. If you want to see the redwoods, visit Muir Woods north of SF (north over Golden Gate Bridge). You could even get advance tickets to visit Alcatraz. Then fly down to LAX to catch your flight home.


Just remember that California is large and diverse with deserts, mountains, beaches, forests and everything between.
You will only be able to see a very small portion for the days you have allotted.