Aussies2

Hi all, we are an 'Early Retired' couple from Australia, and travelling around for a few months (well, someone has to do these things!!!)-any way, our next trip after an Alaska Cruise (yes,its a hard life!!),will be San Francisco, then L.A. - thought about hiring a car and going to the Grand Canyon, then driving to Las Vegas to loose all our money (well, a couple of dollars!!), then go to Hawaii - so we need general info. from any one for accommodation; best way of travel and any thing else that we should see or do. Any info. would be appreciated. Thanks guys.

travelinwifey

What is your budget? Hotel rooms can sometimes double or triple in price on the weekends, it all depends on your exact travel dates. Try vegas.com for a general idea of hotel availibility.

hulajake

How many nights do you want to stay at the Grand Canyon and how about including Sedona while you're in the area? As TW says the hotel rates tend to go up on the weekends Fri-Sat mostly in high tourist areas.
Hawaii will depend more on which island and if you want beachfront or ?

TAW

What time of year do plan on coming?

janisj

When? And for how long?

Makes a huge difference. . . .

TAW

Also, what are your interests...what do you like to do on trips and what don't you like ?

Aussies2

Thanks heaps for the responses..apologies for not giving enough information...well, we will be in San Francisco from 23 - 27th Sept.2007, then L.A. from 28th Sept. to 3rd Oct,(do the Grand Canyon here) then Las Vegas from 4th-7th Oct. then off to Hawaii for 9 days - not sure what part of Hawaii/Honolulu to stop in. We also thought about hiring a car and doing Route 66 thing !!! Yes, I know, going back to our 2nd child hood!!! Also, heard that there is a good shopping strip for cheap designer gear in L.A. don't know where though, oh, and a perfume outlet - am after a 'Direct Warehouse' or something like that - does anyone know of these shops? As for hotel costs, well..average price - up to $150 per night I guess. So, over to you good people again... thanks

travelinwifey

Las Vegas is going to be a little tough for that time, there are a few conventions going on. The 4* hotels are going for around $220/nt. Again, check vegas.com and see what looks good to you. If at all you can avoid a weekend in Las Vegas you will save a lot of money. The convention checker is here:

http://www.lvcva.com/meetings/convention-calendar.jsp

I would use Priceline for the Hawaii portion of your visit, check out winning bids at www.biddingfortravel.com. This way you can stay at a nice hotel on the beach. I'd also consider Priceline for San Francisco. Hope this helps.

Aussies2

In reply to TAW - well, we generally do the "tourist" stuff, seeing special places of interest etc. not greatly in to Museums;art galleries etc. Like to try local wine and foods. Would like to go to a football game, as I believe the atmosphere at these are great.

MelissaHI

There's a ton of information on Hawaii--do a search for dusty's very helpful list. You would probably do well to get a hotel in Waikiki, then explore the various parts of the island: Pearl Harbor, North Shore, Aloha Tower Marketplace , Chinatown, Iolani Palace, etc. With 9 days you can probably take a trip to a different island, maybe the Big Island to see the volcano.

For events, take a look at
www.gohawaii.com