3week trip to America in late October

[maverick01]

We are planning a 3 week trip to America in late October this year.

We are currently looking at hiring a campervan to suit 4people. Our problem is we have never been over there and we are looking for places to see.

So far on the list to see is

Grand Canyon (spending 2 days there)
L.A
Las Vegas
Disneyland (spending 3days there)


I would like everyone's ideas on things to see and do

[muzza01]

I am looking at doing a similar (destination) trip as yours in the next couple of years. I had also planned to go north to San Fran before heading back down south again to LA. we are also planning to go home via Hawaii on the way home.  I have been to all these places with my previous job but the wife has never been there. I love Vegas, spent a month there one time and had a ball.

[maverick01]

I also forgot mention we are doing Hawaii on the way back for a day or so

[xcvator]

We are planning a 3 week trip to America in late October this year.

We are currently looking at hiring a campervan to suit 4people. Our problem is we have never been over there and we are looking for places to see.

So far on the list to see is

Grand Canyon (spending 2 days there)
L.A
Las Vegas
Disneyland (spending 3days there)


I would like everyone's ideas on things to see and do

Las Vegas makes a great base to do day trips from, Gand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Hoover Dam, Zion National Park or even "area 51".
Accommodation, is very cheap for the quality that you get, you MUST do the strip at night  We paid a bit more and stayed at "The Belagio" and it was superb  There are some great shopping outlets that sell end of season/runs Nike. Addidas, etc for 25%/50% less than here 

Disneyland !!!! the 1st day you will walk around just looking in disbelief and getting lost and having a couple of rides. 2nd day you will be more organised, pick your rides and get in the q's early.  3rd day do "California Park" ( all the big thrill rides )
For digs we stay at "The Tropicana Motel" , nothing flash,has a pool, includes a breakfast, but the best bit is it's almost opposite the entrance to Disneyland, so only a 5 minute walk, plus there are several eateries just up the road within walking distance.
Don't forget Universal Studios, you can spend 2 days there doing the rounds of all their shows, and a trip to Venice Beach can be interesting
 
Don't forget that in late October that the US is going into winter mode even in California and a lot of places open late and will close early so check their opening times to plan for that.
You may be a bit too late in the year, but a lot of the motor home places will almost pay you to take a vehicle from Alaska down to the warmer southern states, you have to pay for the fuel, but these things a mobile homes, so thats your transport and accommodation for 3 weeks and a great adventure .

You said 4 people, any kids, generally in the US kids under 16 staying in the SAME room as the parents will stay free, so better check that out 

From Annaheim (disneyland) you can also do a day trip by bus to San Diego, I think it's about 2.5 hours each way

If you're in LA you can fly to San Fransisco in 45 minutes and have a couple of days doing tours and riding the cable cars then hire a car and drive back to LA via the coast (take 2 days)

I've been there a couple of times and there is no way I would be driving around LA 

Take lots of $1-00 notes, you are expected to tip for everything, the going rate is generally $1-00 per bag, so when you walk out of the airport to catch your bus/taxi and the porter loads your 6 bags onto the trolley and puts them in the taxi, that's $6-00, when you get there and the bellhop takes your bags to the reception that's $6-00, getting your bags to your room, another $6-00.

Have fun and enjoy 

[maverick01]

Thank you very much xcavator

I will defiantly look into those areas you mentioned. I forgot to mention there are no kids coming with us

[Ynot]

Just had a wonder around the discover America show at the convention centre, our trip is planned for June July.

This is a good site, click on any of the state names for the state travel sites. 

http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Travel-Tourism/State-Tourism.shtml

And this one for road trips out of California

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sunset/california_roadtrips2014/index.php#/24



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Shelbyright]

Firstly only take one set of clothes, you will not belive how much we get ripped off in Australia.

Go to Santa Monica while in LA. You will love it. Also as mentioned previously. Go to the outlets to the North of Las Vegas. While you are up there you should visit the old Vegas.

Good place to stay is the Cosmopolitan Hotel.

Disneyland will blow your m8nd no matter the age.

[fuji]

I'm leaving for New York on the 21st of October for three weeks but three days in Disney is overkill. Spend two days there and one at Six Flags north of LA. Only if you like rides. I am going to New York, Pennsylvania, Tampa Florida with a side trip to Orlando, Vegas to do the Grand Canyon as I missed doing it twice. Then San Francisco and LA. Roughly three nights in each spot. That's one week after We get home from Europe. phew! Definitely shopping south of Vegas strip. The shops are amazing. Santa Monica is a must as well as Alcatraz. Hollywood is another overkill. Lots of tourists just hanging around. Enjoy!
Wayne


And for the ladies, a trip to Sephora for your skincare is a must.

[maverick01]

Thanks mate.

Looks like we won't have time to sleep

[gronk]

We went there 1 1/2 yrs ago.....started at LA...Universal Studios, Venice Beach, Santa Monica pier,....then hired a car and drove to Vegas....Grand Canyon, the strip etc.....then drove thru Death Valley to Lone Pine ( this is where a lot of westerns were filmed, as well as driving up to Whitney Portal ), then onto Mammoth Lakes, then Yosemite Nat Park, then onto San Fran ( Alcatraz, city tour etc ) then down the coast road  back to LA......then on a 1 week cruise to Mexico, then home...

We liked it so much, we have booked a 5 week tour next yr for the east coast...

Don't discount the idea of hiring a car ( we hired a Dodge Caravan....similar to a Chrysler Voyager people mover , as there was 4 of us ) and staying at motels.....good motels can be had for approx $60 /night...

[xcvator]

Some information that I have gleaned during my travels to the US

ALWAYS tip the barman 1st, spirits are just poured into the glass,not measured, so the more he/she likes you the further the 2 fingers get apart 

For good value small group day tours, we've had excellent value from "Viator tours" in the UK and Europe, not sure if they're in the US tho.

Universal Studios and the San Diego "Sea World" did a "behind the scenes tour" well worth the extra $$

If you can wrangle the times,eat in the casino buffet's about 10am, it's a bit cheaper then and you pig out for the day,  , no buying breakfast and lunch or afternoon tea 

Depending on your age, most places in the US honour senior citz (apra) discounts with our seniors card (got me free travel in Anchorage)

With the US citizens being a bit paranoid about security every time you get on a plane to go from a to b you will loose a day from your holidays

Cut all your food up using a knife and fork, then discard the knife, only eat with the fork in your right hand, otherwise you will be picked as an Ozzie or worse a Pom (true story)

What others have said, travel real light, bare minimum, you can buy 5 years supply of clothing and shoes over there, hard part is finding a suite case to buy, try walmart for that

The salad is served 1st seperatly from the main course, so eat it when it is brought to the table coz your next course won't get brought out till the salads gone ( usually shredded lettuce,diced tomatoe and croutons) I think it makes them feel good about the monster meal that is about to follow

When a meal menu says "served with chips" it means crisps NOT fries

The only place we found that had a package menu item  "fish and chips" was on Fishermans wharf Sanfrancisco, but when you went back to order just a serve of chips the waitress just looked blank at me, had know idea what I wanted until I referred her back to the menu item, duh.

Stand upwind of the seals in the Bay harbour

Try the crab chowder in a sour dough bread roll, just not at "Fishermans Wharf" a bit expensive there

Walk across the Golden Gate Bridge early in the morning if there's a bit of fog about 

Check out the "Mission District" in Sanfrancisco, also "China"town and the painted houses.

San Diego has a great zoo, several "theme" villages and an interesting museum complex that is about 10 individual mini museums within the complex. You could get a ticket to the lot or just pay for the ones you wanted to see.Just keep your head down, your on the flight path to the airport 

Americans generally want to be liked, and have a fascination of all things Australian, yes you could probably sell them the harbour bridge, along with skippy and crocodile dundee 

Generally, in public places ie; Disneyland, about 5pm, show respect at the lowering of the flag

cheers Keith 

[Alan Loy]

When we went I found it a lot cheaper to hire a car and motel it than hiring a van.  You can also travel a lot faster, I was sitting on 80mph on the interstates (and still getting passed).  We flew in to SF hired a car and did a loop around south west USA

Other places to consider, Monument valley (personal favourite), the coast road 101 between LA & SF (this is a must do if you are going to both places its more spectacular then the Great ocean road) Antelope Canyon near Page Arizona (Google the images you will see why we went) Santa Fe and Bisbee were both nice towns to visit and Palm Springs is something else, seeing the Grand Canyon with snow everywhere was spectacular

We had a great time and even survived driving in LA (watch the freeways)

[oldmate]

We spent 10 days in LA, San Diego, and Las Vegas, back in 2011. 

In LA, we spent 3 days

We spent the first (day we landed) ,picked up hire car and drove straight up to Malibu, then made our way pack down the coast and stopped at Santa Monica peir. From there we hired 2 bikes and rode down the beach to Venus beach. Saw all the shops etc, muscle beach, and all the interesting things along the way.
Day 2 we went to universal studios
Day 3 we did a Full day LA tour. It was well worth it, I learned so much about the history of lLA that you would never really know.
We staying in a best western, on sunset blvd and just walked around Hollywood for dinner at night.

We drove to san deigo then, stayed at a hotel just north of there on the beach, did see world the next day and then spent 2 nights at the hilton in San Diego. We went to Mexico on a day trip also, and checked out the USS Midway.

From there we drove out to LV. Stopped at Calico silver mine on the way ( ghost town) was worth he visit, and got to LV just on sunset.

We spent most of out time here on the strip, with a drive out to the speedway, and as we were on limited time, we choose a helicopter tour to Grand Canyon. It was about 4.5 hours and included a night flight over the strip on return. Flying into he Grand Canyon and landing inside just above the Colorado river was awesome. The other option for us was a bus tour, 18 hours return day trip. Nup.

Good luck you will have a ball, what ever you do. Get a navman for the rv and you will be fine. I didn't mind driving at all, including around LA.  LA was the favourite part for us, funny enough.

When we went I found it a lot cheaper to hire a car and motel it than hiring a van.  You can also travel a lot faster, I was sitting on 80mph on the interstates (and still getting passed).  We flew in to SF hired a car and did a loop around south west USA

Other places to consider, Monument valley (personal favourite), the coast road 101 between LA & SF (this is a must do if you are going to both places its more spectacular then the Great ocean road) Antelope Canyon near Page Arizona (Google the images you will see why we went) Santa Fe and Bisbee were both nice towns to visit and Palm Springs is something else, seeing the Grand Canyon with snow everywhere was spectacular

We had a great time and even survived driving in LA (watch the freeways)

I'll agree with Alan. We looked at an rv, but same, hiring a car and doing the motel was cheaper.
In LV we stayed at the Flamingo.

[oldmate]

Something else to remember is you have to pre pay fuel at the servo before the pump comes on, the easiest way is to swipe you credit card at the pump. If you want to pay cash you have to go in and pay first them pump will stop at that amount.

If you swipe your card number most pumps ask for your zip code, I just used the Beverly Hills one, as that's all I knew off the top of my head, 90210 lmao

[gronk]

Something else to remember is you have to pre pay fuel at the servo before the pump comes on, the easiest way is to swipe you credit card at the pump. If you want to pay cash you have to go in and pay first them pump will stop at that amount.

If you swipe your card number most pumps ask for your zip code, I just used the Beverly Hills one, as that's all I knew off the top of my head, 90210 lmao

??

We drove around LA, then over to LV and up thru Death Valley, over to San Fran and back to LA....always filled up then went in and payed, just like Australia !!

[oldmate]

??

We drove around LA, then over to LV and up thru Death Valley, over to San Fran and back to LA....always filled up then went in and payed, just like Australia !!

   got me stuffed then. i must look like a dodgy bugger. I must say it was only the first fill up i found that out, i then just used the card at pump. But i actually went in to the shop to ask him to turn the pump on and he said you have to pay first or swipe card.

[maverick01]

Thanks to everyone for there assistance.

I'm travelling with my wife (both of us are 29) also travelling with mum and dad so that should be exciting. Considering I have been told that I don't get a say in driving over there as nobody else is doing it.

Xcavator you mentioned about cutting up all your food first then only using a fork. What is the reasoning behind this.


By the look of it there are plenty of things to see and do over there

[fuji]

Mate, you will have a ball. Unfortunately you have to tip everyone. When giving a tip to say a restaurant worker make sure you give it to them personally.  I try to carry my own bags at the hotel. They will sometimes give the key to staff but I prefer to find my own way. It's junk food paradise over there. So if you are of the healthy type and have i.e. toast in the morning, don't use their whipped butter, it's evil stuff. Just ask for wheat bread and jelly/jam. We are flying out on the 21st to New York via LAX and Sydney with United.
Cheers
Wayne

[gronk]

  got me stuffed then. i must look like a dodgy bugger. I must say it was only the first fill up i found that out, i then just used the card at pump. But i actually went in to the shop to ask him to turn the pump on and he said you have to pay first or swipe card.

I went in 2012.......I haven't seen your face mate, but maybe they thought you were an ex crim !!!!!     

[D4D]

Considering I have been told that I don't get a say in driving over there as nobody else is doing it.

Just remember when turning, righty tighty, lefty widey

[achjimmy]

Cut all your food up using a knife and fork, then discard the knife, only eat with the fork in your right hand, otherwise you will be picked as an Ozzie or worse a Pom (true story)

Psml. I went to school over there  for a bit and I picked up this habit at 12 and have kept it all my life. Two things I remember most was using your right hand for the fork and that US girls were more forward than Aussie girls back then   

I travel to the US a fair bit. They are great and helpful hosts. Driving over there is great and I wish Australians were as courteous and considerate on the roads as yanks. There bars are great and as  Keith said they pour great drinks. Try just racking your notes up on the bar and as you order drinks the barman takes the notes and puts the change back 

Most of the places been suggested are all worth a gander. If your up for a bit of ummm adventure take in a Vegas nite club but they can get a bit exy to get in.

Enjoy and use commonsense it is very easy over there to end up in an ordinary neighborhood when wandering around. I use the Tom Tom app on my iPhone. For $70 odd bucks it works well and I have it with me all the time. But I might be over there 2-3 times in a year so it has paid for itself .

[muzzy66]

Just came back from a similar trip minus the motorhome.
I went over last year with 6 mates for SEMA and Automotive trade show,there was little sleep.

In April went with the wife and 2 other couples.

We landed in LA and drove straight to San Diego,I wouldn't advise that though.
A good few days in San Diego,Spend some time in the Gas Lamp district lots of bars and restaurants,cool spot.The aircraft carrier is cool...If you have done SeaWorld here I wouldn't waste the day unless someone is desperate to see the whales.

We travelled to Vegas via Palm Springs,This place surprised me and I will return,a great cable car ride up the mountain with snow still on the peaks while we swam at 8pm at night at the foot...I cannot recommend Palm Springs enough.

Vegas I stayed at Mandalay Bay and Excalibur both down the same end,Id suggest looking into the RV parks as the ones I seen didn't look to great,Not that I was really looking for them its just you see them everywhere...A lot of them appear to be just old industrial factory areas with some amenities applied.

We then spent a few days in LA,Went to the Baseball,Universal,Santa Monica,Rodeo Drive.

They can have LA....

[oldmate]

I went in 2012.......I haven't seen your face mate, but maybe they thought you were an ex crim !!!!!     

An old photo of me bird posted
Maybe this had something to do with it lol.

[Mikeb62]

We did a 5 week trip this past Dec/Jan. 3 weeks touring and 2 weeks skiing, a family of 5 in a hire car. Loved the entire experience!

Started SF for 3 nights - stayed near Union Square.
Drove coast road to LA staying Monterey and Morro Bay, then easy day Santa Barbara and Santa Monica in the afternoon, onto Anaheim in evening   
3 nights at Disney land - stayed at a Disney resort to get guest only 1 hour "early entry" into parks as we at busiest time of year. Early entry and using fastpass system we were able to ride all major rides without queues. 
2 nights Burbank (Hollywood and universal studios..really enjoyed back lot tour)
1 night Grand Canyon.. we drove direct from LA and got there late day to see sunset and then early morning before day trip buses from Vegas arrived. This worked out beautifully..then drove to Vegas via Hoover Dam. Could have done helicopter from Vegas but they only go west rim GC which is NOT the south rim view that most associate with GC.   
2 nights in Vegas. Great even for families. Shows, outlet shopping, walk the strip
Then did a few days via the Utah national parks Zion, Bryce, route 12 to Capitol Reef. This was ABSOLUTELY stunning scenery and I reckon all SWAGGERS would love it.
We then headed north via SLC to Jackson Hole WY for a week skiing and the down to Park City UT for a second week skiing.
Last few days we had spare and headed down to Moab to see more parks Arches and Canyonlands...totally worth it. Dead Horse Point state park was unbelievable.
flew home from SLC. what a trip!!

Tips.
- get a sim card over there I used ATT $60 a month pre paid lots of calls and data.
- either take a GPS or buy one there. made driving so easy.
- we booked hire car using Budget UK website...CHEAPEST and includes necessary insurances. Most US sites don't include insurance.
- stayed at Best Western motels mostly. low season rates ..so cheap. superior rooms to Aust standards, always 2 queen beds in a standard room..just the way it is in the USA. Look for Hot breakfast included in rate..only in America!! My kids still talk about the breakfasts!!
- camper van hire?  Frankly I would car and motel again.
- Tipping - embrace it. Service staff paid very low in US and tipping is expected. Although it seems painful initially I can actually see the upside in the fantastic level of service you receive everywhere you go..as people go the extra mile to earn you tip. 15-18% in restaurants in the norm now...but the food is Sooo cheap. so just pay the tip and live like a king!

I'm looking forward to doing more trips over there.   

[Alan Loy]

Re Food

we bought an esky at Walmart and then shopped at supermarkets to get a break from the junk food.  Every Motel had ice so seldom had to buy any.  It made for easy breakfasts and we had lunches in some interesting places out of town.   The esky paid for itself easily.  (You can use it for drinks too  )