Hoping for some advice from the experts. We are coming over to California in two weeks time for a holiday. We are flying into LA and want some advice on somewhere to stay for the night, someone suggested driving to Santa Monica, although we are open to suggestions, don't really want to stay in LA. Our plans for the two week vacation are to visit Vegas for 3 or 4 days then take off somewhere, again suggestions would be most helpful. I have bought a map of California and also one for LA (don't want to get lost if we can help it). Also what areas are best avoided. We love coming over to the States and although we have been to NY, Boston, Cape Cod, Rhode Island and Florida, have never been to the "other side", so really looking forward to it.

From Vegas, you could go the Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon, or you could head north up the coast of California; I recommend the tour of the Hearst Castle (you'll need reservations), the Pacific Coast Highway, Big Sur.

Really, there are dozens of options and possibilities. Depends on whether you want scenery, a city, etc. I would think after a few days in Vegas, you might want to see some the US's wide open spaces.

California is such a large state and there are so many nice areas. You could visit San Diego, you could visit the Palm Springs/Palm Desert area which is very nice. You could head north of LA to Santa Barbara then continue driving up the coast to northern Cal through the Monterey/Carmel area. Lake Tahoe is also a beautiful area. I have found California to be the prettiest state yet. It seems like you're visiting 3 or 4 states at once since there is so much variety in climates and terrain. With your map you'll do just fine. We spent a full month there with a side trip to Las Vegas as well and loved it.

Thanks for the quick reply. All the places you mentioned are on our list, it just trying to make our minds up whether to go north or south! Where do you recommend we stay on our first night, is Santa Monica a good choice - don't want to have to negotiate complicated roads after an 11 hour flight, on the map, SM looks like quite an easy drive.

Stay at an airport hotel - the 11 hr flight is not one we enjoy either (we go to the UK every year from the west coast) and it's really not safe to drive anyplace, let alone navigate streets you do not know,with jet lag. There are a lot of hotels at LAX, we've stayed at Sheraton Four Pointes, Hacienda Hotel, Furama, and Hilton - all have free shuttles, as do all the others around the airport. As long as you are not staying in LA anyway I would not go out looking for a place to stay. You will be missing some great places in LA tho by not seeing something of the city, but it's a pesonal decision. If you get in at rush hour the traffic will be hell too (our BA flight always gets in about 3:30 p.m. but when you finally get out of the a/p the traffic is rush hour type)

The west is nothing like the east coast and I hope you enjoy your visit.

Another thought - take a shuttle bus to your airport hotel and then in the a.m. go over to the car rental place-you will save a day's charges. From Sheraton Four Pointes you can actually walk to several of the rental places, get the car & come back for your luggage & check out.

Well, if you don't want to stay in LA longer than overnight, stay at one of the airport hotels, definitely.

I assume you are driving to Vegas? Be very careful and alert on the way there - the road can be treacherous; not because of its condition, but because of other drivers. Take it easy, and you'll arrive in one piece! Do NOT drive it at night, if you do not have to.

Do you have your reservations already set up for Vegas? If you can come in on a Monday or Tuesday, rates are MUCH better. The Rio is nice, and has great restaurants - however, they are at the "end" of the strip. Mandalay Bay is nice, too, and right in the middle of things. The newer hotels will all have decent rates for a non-weekend arrival; check them out here:
http://directory.premierhotels.com

You'll have to enter your own search data, since the string was ungodly long when I did it.

From Vegas, pretty much everything is open to you - why not take a real Road Trip, and just point your car in a direction that looks interesting? There's so much to see and do, you could easily spend a month just tooling around. I do recommend The Grand Canyon; from there, you could head out for a wildly scenic southern Americana, 'Old West' type trip. Arizona is incredibly gorgeous, as are any of the other states near there.

Triple A (AAA) has a terrific set of travel guides, too:
http://www.aaa-calif.com/travel/index.asp?cs=nav

Have fun!
-M

I don't know what your budget is, but there's a very nice Ritz-Carlton in Marina del Rey overlooking the harbor just a few minutes around the bend from the airport! Or, if you prefer to stay closer to the airport, the Renaissance is also a very nice hotel! In any case, I do hope you'll give us a trip report -- good or bad -- upon your return home! Have a wonderful trip!!

Thank you all so much for taking the time to reply, it is so much better to hear from people who have been to these places or live there than reading any travel books. I value your comments

hi julie,

sounds like you're going to have a great trip!

add my vote for santa monica. my other half is from england and loves it there. if you have time, you should drive out to the grand canyon (4-5 hrs from las vegas). you can do it in a day, but you will be very tired on the way back to LV. beware also the roads nearer to LV has lots of twists, be careful negotiating it in the dark. or you can overnight in the GC area or somewhere close like flagstaff, then continue on to phoenix. we did this once and got a one-way rental and a cheap one-way flight back to LAX.

another suggestion is san diego, one of my favorite places!

*

This is another vote for the San Diego Area. The Wild Animal Park, north of San Diego is excellent, and very different from anything in Britain. It has a jungle / desert setting with animal enclosures measured in acres. Definitely worth a day. Make sure you bring a hat.

Hi there. There is a Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza right by the airport with a courtesy shuttle. I park there when I fly. It's a nice hotel and you'll be there in 5 minutes!! Have fun.

Julie, Is Las Vegas a very big high point on your trip? If so you might be able to fly to Phoenix from UK and save some time. If you really want to see CAlifornia, I would suggest flying into LAX and then staying in CA, driving up the coast and forget about Las Vegas. That said, maybe combine Las Vegas with San Diego to compare/contrast the various parts of the West Coast. To me Las Vegas is totally artificial, like a Disney for adults, and while we love the UK and go about once a year, I can't imagine that you will really be thrilled with it. The west coast is toatlly different from D.C, NYC etc. Have a great trip and know that California is 1000 miles long and very diverse.

Julie,

I saw your post, and thought maybe I could help. I am a San Diego native who has lived in LA and has driven to Las Vegas many times. If you like you can contact me via email, and I will answer all of the questions I can. I'm sure your trip will be great.

Cheers,
Renee

Thank you all for your advice and help, Renee I have emailed you separately for some tips. If any of you need any advice on London, or England, I will try to help

What a great opportunity!

My suggestion would be to do a circle. L.A., Palm Springs (California), Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon, Sedona (a must see), Phoenix, Scottsdale (Arizona), San Diego and back up the coast.

You will need a car for which I would suggest you check www.bnm.com. I have found the cheapest rates there.

Good luck and have a great trip!