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#11
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USA December trip recommendations?
Terry Pinnell wrote:
[snip] Thanks all but I obviously made a crucial mistake in my wording, sorry! By "Those included..." I meant my PREVIOUS TRIPS, not places I'd missed. In other words a list of places I DON'T want to visit on this next trip. And also indicating the sort of places I've enjoyed in the past. Well, that certainly changes things, doesn't it?. ;-) Okay. Go crazy. Go to Hawaii! Find a three island, 10 day package. I suggest Oahu, Maui, The Big Island. Or book a 7 or 10 cruise to the Eastern Caribbean out of Miami or Fort Lauderdale. Or maybe a cruise from Miami to LA through the Panama Canal? Or get out the old guide book and see what just Southern California from Santa Barbara to San Diego has to offer. At least, go to Disneyland. Everyone should visit it at least once in their life just to put on the resume. Stef Thanks, but that's some way off my tentative ideas as described! No thoughts on itinerary to reach San Diego by car from the east? Okay. But you must realize the United States is BIG, even the shortest, most direct crosscountry routes are 2600 to 2800 miles (4000+ km). It will take you about 4 days and 3 nights, and that's going 80 mph (130 kmph), stopping only for gas, food and sleep. I know. I've done it 3 times by 3 different routes--northern, central and southern. In any case, if you really want to drive across country in December, here is my recommendation: take the extreme southern route, Interstate 10, for the best possible weather. Once you get past Tucson, Arizona, get on Interstate 8 and that will take you directly to San Diego. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. Stef Thanks Stef. I'll get the maps out and plan a suitable route from a location roughly east of San Diego that will allow comfortable driving distance of say 250 miles max and interesting stops with 1 or even 2 nights if local sights justify it. OK. For a 10 day trip, driving 250 miles only, every other day, that puts you about 1250 miles east of San Diego as a starting point or San Antonio, Texas. Unfortunately, most all of that 1250 miles is miles and miles of miles and miles: empty Desert Southwest. Not much to see using your 250 mile spacing. If I decide on New Orleans as destination #1 then I'll fly to destination #2, and that will obviously then be a little further west to allow for the couple of days less driving time. If fly-drive is an option, here's my suggestion: concentrate on the southern east coast-midwest area of the US. Driving, start in Savannah, Georgia to St. Augustine, Florida, then west on Interstate 10 across the Gulf Coast to New Orleans, onto Houston and finally terminate your driving tour in San Antonio. That's still about 1250 miles, but there's a lot more to see and do along that route than the western one. Fly to San Diego from San Antonio. Stef |
#12
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USA December trip recommendations?
Stef wrote:
Terry Pinnell wrote: [snip] Thanks all but I obviously made a crucial mistake in my wording, sorry! By "Those included..." I meant my PREVIOUS TRIPS, not places I'd missed. In other words a list of places I DON'T want to visit on this next trip. And also indicating the sort of places I've enjoyed in the past. Well, that certainly changes things, doesn't it?. ;-) Okay. Go crazy. Go to Hawaii! Find a three island, 10 day package. I suggest Oahu, Maui, The Big Island. Or book a 7 or 10 cruise to the Eastern Caribbean out of Miami or Fort Lauderdale. Or maybe a cruise from Miami to LA through the Panama Canal? Or get out the old guide book and see what just Southern California from Santa Barbara to San Diego has to offer. At least, go to Disneyland. Everyone should visit it at least once in their life just to put on the resume. Stef Thanks, but that's some way off my tentative ideas as described! No thoughts on itinerary to reach San Diego by car from the east? Okay. But you must realize the United States is BIG, even the shortest, most direct crosscountry routes are 2600 to 2800 miles (4000+ km). It will take you about 4 days and 3 nights, and that's going 80 mph (130 kmph), stopping only for gas, food and sleep. I know. I've done it 3 times by 3 different routes--northern, central and southern. In any case, if you really want to drive across country in December, here is my recommendation: take the extreme southern route, Interstate 10, for the best possible weather. Once you get past Tucson, Arizona, get on Interstate 8 and that will take you directly to San Diego. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. Stef Thanks Stef. I'll get the maps out and plan a suitable route from a location roughly east of San Diego that will allow comfortable driving distance of say 250 miles max and interesting stops with 1 or even 2 nights if local sights justify it. OK. For a 10 day trip, driving 250 miles only, every other day, that puts you about 1250 miles east of San Diego as a starting point or San Antonio, Texas. Unfortunately, most all of that 1250 miles is miles and miles of miles and miles: empty Desert Southwest. Not much to see using your 250 mile spacing. If I decide on New Orleans as destination #1 then I'll fly to destination #2, and that will obviously then be a little further west to allow for the couple of days less driving time. If fly-drive is an option, here's my suggestion: concentrate on the southern east coast-midwest area of the US. Driving, start in Savannah, Georgia to St. Augustine, Florida, then west on Interstate 10 across the Gulf Coast to New Orleans, onto Houston and finally terminate your driving tour in San Antonio. That's still about 1250 miles, but there's a lot more to see and do along that route than the western one. Fly to San Diego from San Antonio. Stef Great idea, thanks a bunch! -- Terry, East Grinstead, UK |
#13
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USA December trip recommendations?
"Terry Pinnell" Thanks all but I obviously made a crucial mistake in my wording, sorry! By "Those included..." I meant my PREVIOUS TRIPS, not places I'd missed. In other words a list of places I DON'T want to visit on this next trip. And also indicating the sort of places I've enjoyed in the past. -- Terry, East Grinstead, UK Here's a road trip I did in fall of 2006. Skip Mt Ranier and Yosemite due to snow. ( Roads heading to Ranier from Cougar,WA close in winter) http://tinyurl.com/PNW2006 Depending on time, fly into Seattle,WA or Portland,OR. Lewis and Clark trail, if history buff To give idea of time to allow, I spent 6 days and made a loop from Portland,OR to Columbia River Gorge Hotel, Mt Hood, Mt St Helens, to the coast,down to Joshua Redwoods,back up thru Crater lake, Oregon Caves, to Mt Ranier Astoria,WA, Timberline Lodge, back to Portland for a day. ( guessing now at exact itinerary flow) Days of driving beautiful coastline, sunsets. MANY places might/will ?? require reservations that time of year. From the Redwoods then hop onto I-5 highway down to San Francisco. Then head to San Diego via Pacific Coast Highway. Stop in Monterey, Carmel, Pebble Beach, then for the most scenic drive of your life, head to Hearst Castle via Pacific Coast Highway. Money not a problem ? - stay in Monterey on the water. Seven Gables and other big,old houses are B&B's and nice to chat with others there. In San Simeone stay across from Hearst at the Best Western Cavalier Oceanfront - on the ocean with firepit in back. Same price as others - excellent place to stay AND , if you like apple pie, in their restaurant they have THE best homemade apple pie you'll ever eat ( IMHO). At Hearst you can buy a tour - there are several options so review the options rather than just getting the standard tour - you might like the upgraded ones for a few bucks more. From there, if you want to play tourist with the crowds: Malibu, LA and Anaheim, Disneyland, Hollywood are on the way on your final drive to San Diego. If you have the time, I'd recommend taking PCH down to Malibu, then hop onto I-5 for rest of ride, avoiding rush hour. Enjoy. |
#14
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USA December trip recommendations?
If cutting through San Francisco, check out
http://touringsfo.info/ An old member here, he has info on ANYTHING about SFO "Terry Pinnell" wrote in message ... Stef wrote: Terry Pinnell wrote: "tim....." wrote: "Stef" wrote in message ... Terry Pinnell wrote: I'm visiting my son and grandsons in San Diego for a week or so from about 23rd December. Before that I'd like to take 7-10 days on my own elsewhere and would much appreciate recommendations please. Basically I'd like to fly from London Gatwick to an initial destination and then hire a car and work my way to San Diego, sightseeing en route, staying at motels. Or if the initial destination was too far away, do *some* driving but then fly the remainder. If it wasn't winter then I'd probably elect to visit Canyonlands, Moab, Yellowstone etc, places in the West that I missed on previous trips. Those included Boston, Bryce Canyon, Death Valley, Grand Canyon, Joshua Tree National Park, LA, Las Vegas, Meteor Crater, Miami, New York, Niagara, Palm Springs, Phoenix, San Francisco, Sedona, Sequoia National Park, Yosemite, Zion - and I may have missed some. I haven't got the maps and guides out yet so I'm wide open to all suggestions please. Tentative thoughts include maybe New Orleans (if it's no longer too depressing after the flood catastrophe?) or starting at some mid America location and traveling via a southerly (warm!) route westwards. If I wasn't on my own then I'd want to do some hiking but I reckon on this trip I'll stick to a 'drive and stroll' style. All ideas warmly appreciated please. Here's the most efficient routing for the majority of the destinations you list. Leaves out Boston, New York, Niagara, New Orleans, Miami. All East Coast ciities and all about 2600 miles (4000 km) from San Diego. Fly directly into San Francisco and spend a few days seeing it and the surrounding areas. Then, depending on the weather: Yosemite, Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Death Valley, Las Vegas. Using Vegas as a base: Zion and Bryce and return to Vegas. Can't visit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. It's closed from mid-October to mid-May. South Rim open year-round. Depart Vegas for Grand Canyon (South Rim), Flagstaff, The Meteor Crater is about a hour east on Interstate 40, return to Flagstaff to Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon, Phoenix, then Interstate 10 to Joshua Tree, Palm Springs, and finally to San Diego. This is an ambitious trip for 7 to 10 days. I'll say ISTR I spent 3 weeks doing the same and everybody thought that I was doing too much Also, the days are short in December: the sun sets about 5pm. So take that into account. And if you go as far inland as Grand Canyon, it does snow. It fell overnight though the main roads were completely clear by lunchtime, but there was lots of evidence that early in the morning conditions were too severe for some US drivers :-) And I missed out on Bryce completely because that was absolutely covered (though Bryce is definitely a step to far in this itinerary) tim Thanks all but I obviously made a crucial mistake in my wording, sorry! By "Those included..." I meant my PREVIOUS TRIPS, not places I'd missed. In other words a list of places I DON'T want to visit on this next trip. And also indicating the sort of places I've enjoyed in the past. Well, that certainly changes things, doesn't it?. ;-) Okay. Go crazy. Go to Hawaii! Find a three island, 10 day package. I suggest Oahu, Maui, The Big Island. Or book a 7 or 10 cruise to the Eastern Caribbean out of Miami or Fort Lauderdale. Or maybe a cruise from Miami to LA through the Panama Canal? Or get out the old guide book and see what just Southern California from Santa Barbara to San Diego has to offer. At least, go to Disneyland. Everyone should visit it at least once in their life just to put on the resume. Stef Thanks, but that's some way off my tentative ideas as described! No thoughts on itinerary to reach San Diego by car from the east? -- Terry, East Grinstead, UK |
#15
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USA December trip recommendations?
On Sun, 25 Aug 2013 10:47:42 -0400, "- Bobb -"
wrote: From the Redwoods then hop onto I-5 highway down to San Francisco. Then head to San Diego via Pacific Coast Highway. Stop in Monterey, Carmel, Pebble Beach, then for the most scenic drive of your life, head to Hearst Castle via Pacific Coast Highway. Money not a problem ? - stay in Monterey on the water. Seven Gables and other big,old houses are B&B's and nice to chat with others there. In San Simeone stay across from Hearst at the Best Western Cavalier Oceanfront - on the ocean with firepit in back. Same price as others - excellent place to stay AND , if you like apple pie, in their restaurant they have THE best homemade apple pie you'll ever eat ( IMHO). At Hearst you can buy a tour - there are several options so review the options rather than just getting the standard tour - you might like the upgraded ones for a few bucks more. From there, if you want to play tourist with the crowds: Malibu, LA and Anaheim, Disneyland, Hollywood are on the way on your final drive to San Diego. If you have the time, I'd recommend taking PCH down to Malibu, then hop onto I-5 for rest of ride, avoiding rush hour. For the record, California Highway 1 between San Francisco and Santa Barbara is *not* the Pacific Coast Highway, it is the Cabrillo Highway. But Ca-1 is the PCH from near Santa Barbara south to San Onofre, but does not extend to San Diego. |
#16
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USA December trip recommendations?
On 8/12/13 3:10 AM, Terry Pinnell wrote:
... on previous trips. Those included Boston, Bryce Canyon, Death Valley, Grand Canyon, Joshua Tree National Park, LA, Las Vegas, Meteor Crater, Miami, New York, Niagara, Palm Springs, Phoenix, San Francisco, Sedona, Sequoia National Park, Yosemite, Zion - and I may have missed some. Okay, you've been to above places on previous trips. So on this trip you could do the following: Fly N/S to SFO and drive down to the Monterey Peninsula and spend a couple of days enjoying it. Then take Hwy 1 down to San Simeon and take a half day tour of that famous mansion. Then take Hwy 1 south and then Hwy 46 east to visit the wineries and vineyards around Paso Robles. Spend a night and a day there and then head down Hwy 101 visiting Pismo Beach, Solvang, and Santa Ynez. Depending on your specific itinerary, stay overnight in Santa Ynez or continue on south on Hwy 101 to Santa Barbara and stay one (or two) nights there. Then continue south to Los Angeles. There's a lot to see and do in Los Angeles, so visit places in Los Angeles that you did not get to see on your previous visit. Then if you hadn't visited it before on an earlier trip, spend a whole day in Disneyland. Then head off to San Diego. - Peter |
#17
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USA December trip recommendations?
Peter Lawrence wrote:
On 8/12/13 3:10 AM, Terry Pinnell wrote: ... on previous trips. Those included Boston, Bryce Canyon, Death Valley, Grand Canyon, Joshua Tree National Park, LA, Las Vegas, Meteor Crater, Miami, New York, Niagara, Palm Springs, Phoenix, San Francisco, Sedona, Sequoia National Park, Yosemite, Zion - and I may have missed some. Okay, you've been to above places on previous trips. So on this trip you could do the following: Fly N/S to SFO and drive down to the Monterey Peninsula and spend a couple of days enjoying it. Then take Hwy 1 down to San Simeon and take a half day tour of that famous mansion. Then take Hwy 1 south and then Hwy 46 east to visit the wineries and vineyards around Paso Robles. Spend a night and a day there and then head down Hwy 101 visiting Pismo Beach, Solvang, and Santa Ynez. Depending on your specific itinerary, stay overnight in Santa Ynez or continue on south on Hwy 101 to Santa Barbara and stay one (or two) nights there. Then continue south to Los Angeles. There's a lot to see and do in Los Angeles, so visit places in Los Angeles that you did not get to see on your previous visit. Then if you hadn't visited it before on an earlier trip, spend a whole day in Disneyland. Then head off to San Diego. - Peter Thanks a bunch all for those helpful later suggestions, and my apologies for slowness in acknowledging. My plan still remains wide open, although the following start/end elements are now firmly booked: Thursday 12th December Fly into LA.(Virgin return Heathrow/AX to make use of previous 2010 air miles.) Intend to book 2 nights in LA hotel, not yet decided on which hotel. Whatever else it offers, I'll want room wifi, so word-of-mouth recommendations welcomed please. See note below about car rental. I'd also appreciate recommendations for one full day in LA please. I have previously visited LA but saw little except Santa Monica. Forty years ago enjoyed Universal Studios and would probably do so again unless better options emerge. (But note that it's a mere #20 on Trip Advisor page at http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attract...alifornia.html Maybe a guided bus tour? No theme parks etc as I'll get more than my share with grandsons when I get to San Diego. And for the evening? (Concert, dinner, show?) Saturday 14th December Collect rental car from Avis at LAX. Ford Mustang. Didn't have a hard top so booked convertible - without considering weather. I suspect that Californian day time temperatures 14th - 21st Dec likely to prompt a request for alternative vehicle. Any information appreciated. Last trip in summer 2012, 'compact' booked wasn't available in San Luis Obispo and got bumped up to Ford Mustang (hard top). Pleased me greatly, if not my wife. On my own this time but still fancy a performance car. Preferences are for scenic driving, canyons, desert, atmospheric towns, comfortable motels (with wifi). Haven't planned to book beyond LA because of current uncertainty about itinerary. Which will depend largely on prevailing weather forecasts on 14th Dec onwards. If possible would love another look at Grand Canyon, despite two previous visis (including return hike to Phantom Lodge on Colorado). Or Canyonland, which I've never visited. Or... Saturday 21st December Return car to Avis at San Diego airport. Then a week with my family before flying back to London 28th December. -- Terry, East Grinstead, UK |
#18
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In December my father wants to go for New York, Niagara Falls and Grand Canyon tour. He wants to stay there for whole December and enjoy the new year with his friends. Have you any knowledge about any tour organizer who can arrange this tour and provide all the facilities like hotel accommodation.
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#19
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San Diego is a very major city of California. It is the most famous city of California. I have visited the place when I was on my last tour to the United States. I really enjoyed myself a lot while visiting the San Diego. It is the eighth largest city of the united States, and the second largest city of California. I think that everyone should visit the city who visits California.
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