Help Req Please Planning West Coast Trip

Hi Guys - I really need some help here!

I am arriving in/out of LA from the UK mid April for 14 days and want to see as
much of the west coast as possible by car.

In my head....!!.... it would be nice to see a bit of LA, SanFran, A National
Park, Death Valley, Las Vagas & The Grand Canyon - In that order?

Can anyone help me estimate how much time I will need getting to and from the
following sights, how long I should stay at each one and where is the best mid
priced places are to stay? & accom websites to help? I have heard that at some
popular attractions it's best to book now such as the grand canyon.

I might be being a little ambitious with my wish list above, please let me know
if I am and what I should cut out on a standard see a bit of everything
vacation (we have no kids)

A lot to ask I know, and I have bought a guide book but it's all just swimming
on the pages ..theres so much to see there. It's such a long way to travel, I
will probably only do it once and want to get as much out of it as can.

Many thanks in advance for any help

Richard

Hmmm, I would say:

Two days in LA, drive up the coast to Monterey, spend a night there,
explore Monterey/Carmel/17 Mile Drive, then arrive late in SF. Two days
in SF and then on to Yosemite NP; you should easily arrive by mid
afternoon. Spend that day and the next exploring Yosemite. That takes
care of one week.

April is too early to go over Tioga Pass to the Death Valley area.
Frankly, I would give Death Valley a miss and spend an extra night in LA
or SF. You'll see plenty of desert en route to LV and the Grand Canyon.
I would leave Yosemite and head south on 99, cross the Sierras on
Highway 58 to Mojave, then head out to Vegas. Two nights in Las Vegas
would be more than enough for me, then on to the Grand Canyon...you'll
get there early in the day, spend two nights there. You could even
explore some of the interesting country east of the Canyon, like
Monument Valley and some of the prehistoric cliff dwellings. This whole
itinerary should take about two weeks, including a day spent traveling
back to LA for your flight out (the next day?). Good luck; sounds like
fun. Terri

Richardjlavender wrote:
Hi Guys - I really need some help here!

I am arriving in/out of LA from the UK mid April for 14 days and want to see as
much of the west coast as possible by car.

In my head....!!.... it would be nice to see a bit of LA, SanFran, A National
Park, Death Valley, Las Vagas & The Grand Canyon - In that order?

Can anyone help me estimate how much time I will need getting to and from the
following sights, how long I should stay at each one and where is the best mid
priced places are to stay? & accom websites to help? I have heard that at some
popular attractions it's best to book now such as the grand canyon.

I might be being a little ambitious with my wish list above, please let me know
if I am and what I should cut out on a standard see a bit of everything
vacation (we have no kids)

A lot to ask I know, and I have bought a guide book but it's all just swimming
on the pages ..theres so much to see there. It's such a long way to travel, I
will probably only do it once and want to get as much out of it as can.

Many thanks in advance for any help

Richard

"Richardjlavender" wrote in message
...
Hi Guys - I really need some help here!

I am arriving in/out of LA from the UK mid April for 14 days and want to
see as
much of the west coast as possible by car.

In my head....!!.... it would be nice to see a bit of LA, SanFran, A
National
Park, Death Valley, Las Vagas & The Grand Canyon - In that order?

Can anyone help me estimate how much time I will need getting to and from
the
following sights, how long I should stay at each one and where is the best
mid
priced places are to stay? & accom websites to help? I have heard that at
some
popular attractions it's best to book now such as the grand canyon.

I might be being a little ambitious with my wish list above, please let me
know
if I am and what I should cut out on a standard see a bit of everything
vacation (we have no kids)

A lot to ask I know, and I have bought a guide book but it's all just
swimming
on the pages ..theres so much to see there. It's such a long way to
travel, I
will probably only do it once and want to get as much out of it as can.

Many thanks in advance for any help

Richard

My suggestion would be to drive up the coast to SF, then back down thru
Yosemite Park to LA (or the other way around). Then take a flight from LA
to Las Vegas, and from Las Vegas take a tour to the Grand Canyon. Flights
from LA to Las Vegas are comparatively inexpensive, and it saves you the
driving time (4 -5 hours each way).

Don't spend too much time in LA. Just get in and out quickly.

Julie

"Peter L" wrote in message
...

"Richardjlavender" wrote in message
...
Hi Guys - I really need some help here!

I am arriving in/out of LA from the UK mid April for 14 days and want to
see as
much of the west coast as possible by car.

In my head....!!.... it would be nice to see a bit of LA, SanFran, A
National
Park, Death Valley, Las Vagas & The Grand Canyon - In that order?

Can anyone help me estimate how much time I will need getting to and
from
the
following sights, how long I should stay at each one and where is the
best
mid
priced places are to stay? & accom websites to help? I have heard that
at
some
popular attractions it's best to book now such as the grand canyon.

I might be being a little ambitious with my wish list above, please let
me
know
if I am and what I should cut out on a standard see a bit of everything
vacation (we have no kids)

A lot to ask I know, and I have bought a guide book but it's all just
swimming
on the pages ..theres so much to see there. It's such a long way to
travel, I
will probably only do it once and want to get as much out of it as can.

Many thanks in advance for any help

Richard

My suggestion would be to drive up the coast to SF, then back down thru
Yosemite Park to LA (or the other way around). Then take a flight from LA
to Las Vegas, and from Las Vegas take a tour to the Grand Canyon. Flights
from LA to Las Vegas are comparatively inexpensive, and it saves you the
driving time (4 -5 hours each way).

You need to know that the city and county of Los Angeles are very
large, densely populated, and often jammed with traffic. Getting from
place to place can take a lot of time and stress you out.

What do you plan to do in LA? If you are seeing friends, they can help
you plan those two days. But you need to determine what you want to
see in LA.

Disneyland? That's in Orange County and a 1-2 hour drive, depending on
your starting point and the time of day.

Do you want to see Universal Studios? Hollywood? Beaches? Zoos? Art
Museums? Science Museums? Sports? Gardens? Shop? People Watch? Fine
dining? Hiking? Or just relax?

You can do most of these things in both SF and LA. You might decide
that Muir Woods, north of SF and across the Golden Gate bridge has
enough redwoods for you. Who knows? You won't find redwoods in LA.

I grew up in LA and now live in San Diego. But I and others can give
you suggestions and pointers, but it's hard to guide you when we don't
know where you're going.

DKM

PS: I don't know Arizona very well, but if you go to the Grand Canyon,
you might find the Painted Desert, Monument Valley, Sedona, and other
sites will make up for skipping Death Valley? Surely other readers can
help here.





On 16 Jan 2004 20:41:15 GMT,
(Richardjlavender) wrote:

Hi Guys - I really need some help here!

I am arriving in/out of LA from the UK mid April for 14 days and want to see as
much of the west coast as possible by car.

In my head....!!.... it would be nice to see a bit of LA, SanFran, A National
Park, Death Valley, Las Vagas & The Grand Canyon - In that order?

Can anyone help me estimate how much time I will need getting to and from the
following sights, how long I should stay at each one and where is the best mid
priced places are to stay? & accom websites to help? I have heard that at some
popular attractions it's best to book now such as the grand canyon.

I might be being a little ambitious with my wish list above, please let me know
if I am and what I should cut out on a standard see a bit of everything
vacation (we have no kids)

A lot to ask I know, and I have bought a guide book but it's all just swimming
on the pages ..theres so much to see there. It's such a long way to travel, I
will probably only do it once and want to get as much out of it as can.

Many thanks in advance for any help

Richard




To contact me directly, send EMAIL to (single letters all)
DEE KAY EMM AT CEE TEE ESS D0T CEE OH EMM

Thanks Doug

I don't unfortunately have any friends in LA - a complete stranger in town!

To be honest, I guess for a short stay of a couple of days I just want to see
the sights which LA it is internationally famous for. Hollywood Beverly Hills,
get a snap of the Hollywood sign etc. Bit of clothes shopping bit of walking
around, Not Disney or theme parks. More time in years to come on another trip
should show me other things to visit in LA.

The ideal of ideals would be to stay in a mid range hotel near the beach which
is not too hard find from the Airport after an 11 hour flight… that journey
between car hire desk and hotel reception stresses me out more than anything
else in the first few days…including bad traffic!

I have already decided to skip Death Valley and stay a minimum of one night in
Las Vegas.

So many thanks for you help

Richard

In article ,
(Richardjlavender) wrote:

Thanks Doug

I don't unfortunately have any friends in LA - a complete stranger in town!

To be honest, I guess for a short stay of a couple of days I just want to see
the sights which LA it is internationally famous for. Hollywood Beverly Hills,
get a snap of the Hollywood sign etc. Bit of clothes shopping bit of walking
around, Not Disney or theme parks. More time in years to come on another trip
should show me other things to visit in LA.

The ideal of ideals would be to stay in a mid range hotel near the beach which
is not too hard find from the Airport after an 11 hour flight… that journey
between car hire desk and hotel reception stresses me out more than anything
else in the first few days…including bad traffic!

The area around Santa Monica and Venice Beach is nice. When I go to Los
Angeles, I almost always stay in the Best Western Mansion Inn in Venice
Beach. Its a nice hotel with nice people only a brief walk to the beach.
I don't have contact info for you, but its easy to look up via the web.

In article ,
(Richardjlavender) wrote:

Hi Guys - I really need some help here!

I am arriving in/out of LA from the UK mid April for 14 days and want to see
as
much of the west coast as possible by car.

In my head....!!.... it would be nice to see a bit of LA, SanFran, A National
Park, Death Valley, Las Vagas & The Grand Canyon - In that order?

Check a map. You would probably make better use of your time by heading
north to south. Start at San Fran, then drive south along the coast to
Los Angeles and than the Grand Canyon. Then head east to Las Vegas.
There are numerous national parks in California so decide which one you
want to visit, then place it in the proper order in your itinerary based
on its location.

Can anyone help me estimate how much time I will need getting to and from the
following sights, how long I should stay at each one and where is the best
mid priced places are to stay? & accom websites to help? I have heard that at
some popular attractions it's best to book now such as the grand canyon.

What you want to do can be done in two weeks. There are tons of web
sites. Just do a google search and you'll find lots of them. I am a
fairly frequent Las Vegas visitor and one of my favorites for that area
is http://www.cheapovegas.com

I might be being a little ambitious with my wish list above, please let me
know if I am and what I should cut out on a standard see a bit of everything
vacation (we have no kids)

Two weeks is reasonable, depending how much time you want to spend in
each area. Keep in mind that you will be doing an enormous amount of
driving. Its ten hours just between Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon
with very little to see between the two. Its five hours between Las
Vegas and Los Angeles, probably more due to road construction. You will
also want to alocate at least two days driving from San Fran to LA
because there is a lot to see and do along the way. If you are in good
health, be sure to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge in San Fran.

A lot to ask I know, and I have bought a guide book but it's all just
swimming on the pages ..theres so much to see there. It's such a long way
to travel, I will probably only do it once and want to get as much out
of it as can.

Your guidebook will have info on the different sites. Some do require
advance tickets such as San Simeon and Alcatraz, but most do not.

Richard,

I would think you would enjoy the beaches and sunsets (and the drive)
between Malibu and Santa Monica (or Venice as someone else has
mentioned).

Santa Monica isn't far from Beverly Hills. You would probably enjoy
driving Sunset Blvd between the coast and Beverly Hills. There are
beautiful homes in this area, though you probably should turn off the
main street (which is a moderately high-traffic non-freeway street)
where you can drive more slowly without annoying the other drivers.

Wilshire Blvd will also take you into Beverly Hills, but it is more
commercial. Go Sunset toward Beverly Hills and return via Wilshire (or
vice versa)?

The Hollywood sign is farther east, not far from the Hollywood Bowl.
To my surprise I see that it has its own website:
http://www.hollywoodsign.org/

For (window?) shopping in Beverly Hills, go to Rodeo Drive. Here's
another website:
http://www.seeing-stars.com/ImagePages/SaksPhoto.shtml
This page shows where Winona Ryder was arrested for shoplifting, but
follow some of the other links for Rodeo Drive and other shopping
sites.

Melrose might be more to your budget and more modern/hip. Maybe other
readers can point you in the right direction.

The LA Times and LA Weekly and LA Reader (is it still in business?)
will have lots of listings for events, culture, restaurant reviews,
movies, etc. For a visitor, the Thursday and Sunday LA Times would be
best. The other two are free weekly newspapers, published Thursday?

For an offbeat site to see, visit Watts Towers. Read the guidebooks to
see if it would interest you. It's not too far from Santa
Monica/Beverly Hills, but a bit off-track also.
http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildi...ts_Towers.html

DKM


On 17 Jan 2004 10:44:34 GMT,
(Richardjlavender) wrote:
snip

To be honest, I guess for a short stay of a couple of days I just want to see
the sights which LA it is internationally famous for. Hollywood Beverly Hills,
get a snap of the Hollywood sign etc. Bit of clothes shopping bit of walking
around, Not Disney or theme parks. More time in years to come on another trip
should show me other things to visit in LA.

The ideal of ideals would be to stay in a mid range hotel near the beach which
is not too hard find from the Airport after an 11 hour flight… that journey
between car hire desk and hotel reception stresses me out more than anything
else in the first few days…including bad traffic!

I have already decided to skip Death Valley and stay a minimum of one night in
Las Vegas.

So many thanks for you help

Richard


To contact me directly, send EMAIL to (single letters all)
DEE KAY EMM AT CEE TEE ESS D0T CEE OH EMM

In article ,
Doug McClure wrote:

For (window?) shopping in Beverly Hills, go to Rodeo Drive.

Speaking of Beverly Hills, I went there recently to watch a
film at the Museum of Television and Radio. They have a bunch
of carrels where you can sit and view any of their thousands
of tapes. Unfortunately, their catalog isn't available online,
but if there's something particular you're interested in, I'm
sure you could call and find out whether they have it. Their
website, btw, is www.mtr.org.


Patty