Mark

Hi ....
We are coming to LA for our honeymoon (from London). Could someone have a look at my planned trip & see what they think ... This is mid July for 3 weeks.
1. Spend 6 nights at the Pacific Shore Hotel in Santa Monica ... take a day trip to San Diego... go to Hollywood etc.
2. Spend 3 nights at the Venetian in Las Vegas.... do a helicopter ride to the Grand Canyon & raft ride to Hoover Dam
3. Go to Death Valley (to hot ??)
4. Go to Yosemite
5. Go to Mono Lake
6. Go to Lake Tahoe
7. Spend 2 nights in San Francisco (long enough ?)
8. Fly home from SA.
I've booked the 1st 9 nights & the last 2. The rest I will book as I go along .... is this ok ??
Should I visit Carmel, Big Sur

Any info appreciated ....

Mark

meg

Skip Tahoe; no charm, too tacky and too crowded.

Add Carmel/Monterey area. Go hiking at Point Lobos south of Carmel. Do 17 mile drive at Pebble Beach. Eat at Casanova in Carmel and the FishWife in Monterey.

Emily

Mark, here's a couple of random thoughts:

1. Are you sure about Death Valley in July? You know, they call it "Death" Valley for a reason. If you're determined, I'd get in and out before 10 a.m.
2. July is a popular month for recreational camping in the U.S. and you say that you haven't made any reservations for Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, etc. You might want to do that, to be on the safe side; they could be pretty full.
3. No, 2 nights is not enough for San Francisco. I would suggest at least 3-4 full days.

Congratulations and have a wonderful time!

Ozzie

Mark:

This looks like a wonderful, well-thought-out plan. If it were me, however, I'd skip Death Valley (too hot) and Lake Tahoe. The lake is very beautiful, but it seems like a waste of valuable time to go Northeast then over to San Francisco for what amounts to a drive around a lake. Besides, after Yosemite, it may pale in comparison. The time saved could be used for Carmel and Big Sur. You might plan a two-day round trip from SF, spending the night in Big Sur (I'm assuming #8 is a typo, and that you're flying home from SFO).

I think we're all jealous. Good luck.

John

I'd skip Las Vegas AND Death Valley--both are miserably hot at that time of the year, add Mammoth Lakes to the Mono Lake leg, and stay on the more scenic California side of Lake Tahoe. I'd also spend the extra days either in San Francisco, Monterey, or Big Sur.

Ozzie

I definitely disagree. Yes, Vegas is very hot in July, but the town is like an biodome--only a few steps to the next air-conditioned space. Besides, the raft trip and the flight through the Grand Canyon are perhaps once-in-a-lifetime experiences for a Londoner. I say go for it.

Monica Richards

I love Lake Tahoe, but for you, visiting California from London, I don't think it's worth the time. It's a beautiful mountain lake, but you've probably seen plenty of those! Your time would be better spent in San Francisco, the Napa Wine country or Carmel.

Thyra

Hi Mark, Congrats on your upcoming wedding.Your trip looks great, just remember when you take your day trip to San Diego, it's at least a 3 hour drive and if you get to Irvine (about 1 1/2 hour South of L.A.) during rush hour (7:30-9:30 AM or 4:00-6:30 PM on weekdays) it could add over an hour to your trip. Here is something that not too many people know, if you go to Hollywood, the Hollywood Bowl season under way in July and on Tues, Wed and Thurs. They have classical music (unless they have some special event scheduled) you can get tickets for $1.00 in the back rows, but it makes for a wonderful evening if you bring a bottle of wine and a picnic style dinner and just sit out under the stars listening to the music and sharing your wine. There are loads of busses to and from the Bowl from all over town and it's very romantic. If you have any questions about Hollywood email me directly since I work there. Good Luck

Bill

Well I guess I'm a dissenter here, but I'm going to stick up for Lake Tahoe. I'm not sure where Meg has spent her time when visiting, maybe at the casinos or something, but I've spent several holidays at Tahoe in my in-laws' home and think it is one of the most beautiful and relaxing places in North America. I've been to the Alps (Swiss and Italian) 3 times and I don't think Tahoe is any less majestic. In the summer the tourist traffic is a fraction of that seen in winter. The hiking is great, there are good restaurants. It is somewhere to unwind, though, and enjoy nature. It's not for the Vegas-minded or those with an urban assault itinerary.
No charm? Crowded in July? Hmmmm. Eye of the beholder, I guess.
As for Death Valley, I'm in the 'skip it' consensus.
Hollywood's a letdown for those looking for the image projected by the media. 'Hollywood' is more of an attitude and a collage, not a physical place, in my view. Tour Beverly Hills, drive down Hollywood Blvd? Sure. Just don't plan on making a day of it. There are too many other things you'll enjoy more.
I think Las Vegas is worth the visit. I've been there in July and enjoyed it more than Nov-Feb visits.
Overall, a very good itinerary.

WildBill

Las Vegas in July will be hot, but as others have said, almost everything is air conditioned unless you're outside. Even then most of the good pools have misters and/or cabanas available for use. If you're going to do a helicopter and rafting trip I'd add at least an extra day to the Vegas portion of the trip, especially if this is your first time to LV. Also, while I've never been to Tahoe in the summer, I have gone in the winter, and the area is very beautiful regardless of whether there is snow or not. Definitely worth a couple of days stay as you can at least relax, and do some hiking and shopping in the area. Also may want to consider flying from LV to Reno (closest airport to Tahoe) and rent a car hitting Tahoe and Yosemite before going to San Fran

Cal

You have a very ambitious trip planned. My recommendations are the following:

1. Cut Santa Monica stay to 3 nights. Spend 2 of the extra nights in San Diego. San Diego is much different than the Los Angeles area with lots to do and see.
2. Las Vegas portion is fine. Venetian is an excellent property and you will have a great time there.
3. Skip Death Valley as it is much too hot.
4. Yosemite is good.
5. Mono Lake is nothing worthwhile ging out of your way for. Assuming that you are going to take 395 to the east entrance to Yosemite than Mono Lake is right near.
6.Lake Tahoe is very nice and worth a visit if time permits. Travel from Yosemite up 49 ( old Gold Rush trail ) to Placerville. Very scenic and historical route. From here you will either go east to Lake Tahoe or west to Sacramento and on to San Francisco.
7. Spend at least 3 nights in San Francisco. It is a great city with lots to do and see. There are many interesting side trips in the area. San Francisco is certainly much more interesting than Santa Monica and warrants more time.

Cal

As a frequent visitor to Lake Tahoe, I can guarantee you that July is the most crowded month of the year period. There are much larger crowds in the summer than in the winter. It is just that the winter crowds ( skiers ) are more concentrated and much noisier.

Mark

Thanks everyone for the advice ....
1. I've got to go Las Vegas ... after all you cann't come all the way from England (12 hour flight and all) & NOT visit Las Vegas ....
2. Death Valley ... I'm tending to agree with most people & miss it out ... but my next question, is there somewhere in California that is similiar ... be aware that I have never seen a desert ...
3. San Diego ... maybe I should travel by train ???
4. Thyra ... thanks for the Hollywood Bowl idea .. great ...
5. Emily .... I won't be camping ... it'll be cheap motels eg. Econolodge
6. I know that Hollywood does not live up to its media image ... but what can you do when you have a future wife who is mad on "Pretty Woman" ... she wants to go that shop where Julia Roberts was refused service & say "Big Mistake, Big Mistake !!!" sad eh ...
7. Sounds like I should go to Carmel & do the 17 mile drive ... maybe miss out Lake Tahoe ....
8. What dolphin/whale watching ... wrong time of year ??
9. I thought about going & seeing the huge redwood trees ... isn't there one you can drive through ??
10 Finally (at last I hear you cry ...) do the casinos do lessons for people from little old England who never been gambled, let alone been into a casino ???

Thanks everyone for your help.

Mark

Ozzie

Mark:

RE: #2 Las Vegas is in the desert. It's not clear if you're driving or flying from L.A. to Vegas, but the entire distance is what is referred to as the "High Desert." It's just not as pure-desert-like as Death Valley.

RE #3 The train to San Diego is a pretty nice trip, once the tracks reach the coast. But, then, you'd have to take it back, too. Plus, you'd have to find transportation to the various sights once you arrived. Perhaps a SD resident can tell us how convenient that is--I've never been there (or anywhere) without a car.

RE #9: There are redwood forests near Santa Cruz (on the way to Carmel/Monterey). One can drive right through Big Basin Redwoods State Park.

RE #10: Most hotels have a TV channel that provides the basics of all casino games. Better yet, spend part of that 12-hour trip studying. Bookstores (at least, ones in the US) have inexpensive books that provide fundamentals of all casino games. Most include playing strategies. Plus, the dealers at the blackjack and, especially, the craps tables are reasonably helpful--they can tell if you don't know what you're doing. If you play craps, stand next to one of the dealers.

Emily

My turn now!

#3 -- Yes, you can take the train (the "Coaster") from LA to San Diego. It stops right in the middle of the downtown SD area, so there will be enough things within walking or taxi distance for you to see and do on a day-trip.

#6 -- As I recall, Julia was not shopping in Hollywood (which is just as "down at the heel" as everybody has been telling you. She was at Rodeo Drive. Big difference!

#8 -- No, you won't see any whales. Come back in December, when they're on their annual migration to Mexico.

#9 -- Some of the casinos do give gambling lessons, but I don't know which ones. If you do a separate post on this question, I'm sure there will be lots of people who know the answer.

Poor Mark, if we keep bombarding you with good advice, you may decide to chuck it all and take your sweetie to Blackpool, instead.

Caitlin

I would agree with previous posters who suggested cutting bsck your LA/Santa Monica time and increasing your SF time; even if it is at the end, Ipredict that after just two nights you'll wish you had more time; it's a beautiful city with much to see and do.

Emily is right: for "Pretty Woman," you want Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive; this will give you the movie star-chic feel you seem to be looking for, but the actual city of Hollywood probably won't.

You absolutely should not come to CA and miss the redwoods. There are several possibilities you could work into your itinerary, depending on how much time you spend where.
1. Sequoia Nat'l. Park. Not actually the same as CA redwoods, but that's nitpicking for your purposes. You could spend half a day en route to Yosemite (um, do you have accommodations yet? Inside the park may be impossible, except for cancellations; you should firm this up ASAP. Lots of info oon the web). Sequoia has some of the largest and oldest trees in the world, including, yes, one you can drive through.
2. Big Basin State Park, in the Santa Cruz mountains, if you go Carmel; en route from Carmel to SF, it's a smaller park that's full of spectacular redwoods, nice hiking trails. If you drive Carmel-SF, definitely plan a stop at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, it will be worth your while.
3. Muir Woods, if you lengthen your stay in SF and can rent a car for a day or two. North of SF, again a smaller park with redwoods galore and good day hiking. The adjacent coastal area is beautiful and has some quaint towns and romantic B&Bs, if you're interested.

Congratulations and have a great trip!

jamie

hi mark,

agree with emily. while in most instances i would not recommend amtrak to my worst enemy, the short train trip to san diego is nice. I really like the San Diego Zoo, and you can see the pandas there, which you can't see in a lot of other places. Try www.amtrak.com, I just looked and they appear to be having a sale through August where you buy one ticket, get one free.

Although I am a Southern Cal native born and raised, I have to agree to spend more time up North. You have GOT to do at least part of the drive on Coast Highway 1, like Monterey to Carmel & Big Sur. Both Carmel & Big Sur are beautiful, start looking now for places to stay if you are on a budget, most places are not in Econo Lodge price range in those cities.

I agree, skip Death Vally & Mono. Also vote for a day trip to Napa or Sonoma wine country out of SFO (Sonoma has less tourists, you can visit a few wineries, cheese factories, have lunch, then drive out past Russian River, over to US Hwy 1 and drive south along the beautiful coast back to SFO. Great trip.

Just my opinion.

Thyra

Mark, you've gotten some great advice and I know I will take heat for this but since you indicated that your fiance was interested in Hollywood I will *gasp* defend it. Everyone is correct if you want a real feeling like in "Pretty Woman" you will find more of that feel in Beverly Hills. However Hollywood does have something to offer IF you know the right places to go. If you go against all other advice and decide to strike out into Hollywood allow me to offer some tips.
#1: If you want to go to Hollywood Blvd. to see the Stars on the Walk of fame, stick to the block that is near Grauman's Chinese (now Mann's Chinese) theatre. That area is nice and there are loads of tourists there, you can still see all the hand/foot prints in the cement and it's actually kind of fun. But don't travel too far east. Also the El Capitan theatre across the street from the Chinese has been renovated and is owned by Disney, they do shows and it's also worth a visit.
The best place to get the flavor of Hollywood is the West Hollywood portion of the Sunset Strip, near the House of Blues, there are about 4 miles that are home to some wonderful places frequented by celebrities the famous Sky Bar which is above a restaurant called the Asia De Cuba is very expensive but really "Hollywood". Also, one of the hottest clubs is called Luna park on Robertson and Melrose also in West Hollywood, the food is fab and it's got a very hip, Hollywood crowd.
In short avoid anything East of Highland or south of Wilshire and you should be OK. Further, drive or take cabs from place to place in Hollywood since we don't walk here. Hollywood gets a terrible rap, and rightfully so it is one place, more so than other places where you have to know where to go and where not to go, but it still has much to offer and I love working here and being part of the Entertainment Industry.

kam

Oh poor Mark, here's one more Californian's opinion!(I've lived in southern and now northern so am a bit less biased, hopefully) So far, your best advice is coming from Cal--I would skip Las Vegas, but that's my own thing having been there many times, and I can understand how you might want to go. A nice desert experience, which many don't do, is Joshua Tree National Park down near Palm Springs and that could be combined with your time in San Diego. Check the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego for a historic, romantic place. Having spent a summer in the Lake District, I know you have lovely lakes in the UK and while they are not quite the same as Tahoe, I would recommend you skip Tahoe in favor of the Monterey coast.(you don't have anything like this wild coast in the UK!) Death Valley is definitely not recomended in July! And, while I love LA, don't expect to find the Hollywood you anticipate, but do visit Venice and the Speedway and the new Getty museum. Six days in Santa Monica is a bit too much though. Three to four days in SF is mandatory. Very romantic for a honeymoon---and you do want romance, right? If you'd like some romantic hotel recommendations in SF, check the archives here. My best recommendation for a honeymoon is not to try to do too much--focus on the romance instead and store up some wonderful memories for the future. Congratulations!

Kaja

Hi Mark,
I just wanted to comment on the Death Valley answers. I don't think you should avoid it. What you should do is to plan on going, but have an alternative plan if it is too hot. We were in Las Vegas and Death Valley in July last year. It was not that hot then, and we are norwegians!!!
We called the Death Valley national park the morning before we went and checked if it was OK to visit.
You should visit Bodie ghost town which is near Mono Lake. That is an awsome place! We also went to Big Pine which is south of Mono Lake. There you can see the oldest living things on earth: The Bristelcone Pine forest! Great!
Have a wonderful time....
Kaja