# Anyone done a West coast USA fly-drive



## LarryS. (14 Mar 2010)

The other half and I have been browsing the internet looking for ideas including LA, San Francisco, Grand Canyone e.t.c, just wondering if anyone has done similar and if you have any hints / tips

thanks


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## RobertMP (14 Mar 2010)

Did something very similar in 2006. SF.. grand canyon... Vegas...Yosemite...Zion etc.

Would like to go again some time. Missed out Monument Valley and a couple of other places that I'd like to see.

Depends what you are into really. we like natural wonders but included Las Vegas as a place you have to see. I hated Vegas.... many people love it. Grand Canyon is a place where you stand on the edge and look at it but still don't believe it 

My favourite place on the whole trip (and almost at the top of my best ever places so far) is Yosemite national park. beautiful place. Only just pipped to the post by the Canadian Rockies. Some of my pictures are here but I was too lazy to caption them properly 

Hmm tips... 250 miles in a day was OK . 300+ and the day seems like all driving. Stay a couple of days or 3 in one place or you end up living out of a suitcase. get a map for your satnav. not essential but it helps and they sting you for rental. jet lag hits when you get back. going its not too bad. I'll add more if i think of them


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## monkeybiter (14 Mar 2010)

About 20 years ago I did that with a mate, flew to LA, drove up to San Fransisco, down through Yosemite, Las Vegas, Death Valley, Grand Canyon and back to LA.

I had a great time, beautiful country, some of the natives weren't bad. 

After the natural beauty of Death Valley [where it rained!] descending out of the hills at night Las Vegas looked obscene with it's intense outpouring of light.

I would reccomend a very open schedule and to take your time where you want to. You'll enjoy it.


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## LarryS. (14 Mar 2010)

rob, those pictures are amazing and have made us even keener to go, we're looking to do a similar sort of journey to yours. Did you pay for a package or organise individually ? 

Packages seem to be quite a bit cheaper but they don't seem to give much flexibility, we think we'd want to spend more than a single day in places like san francisco and yosemite


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## LarryS. (14 Mar 2010)

monkeybiter":1x93f1x8 said:


> I would reccomend a very open schedule and to take your time where you want to. You'll enjoy it.



yup thats looking our best bet at present, just got to work out the relative costs


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## Mike.C (14 Mar 2010)

Hi Paul,

Someone asked the same question last year but for the life of me I cannot find the thread.

I would certainly recommend going, because if you are into sights it is the best country in the world. On your way to San Francisco you just have to nip along highway 1 or Pacific Coast Highway to Big Sur, and on the way back Yosemite national park.

Have you thought about renting an RV, because some of them are so posh they are a Hotel on wheels  It obvious depends how long you are going for, but they are certainly worth considering, because you could spend a month just traveling around California and its national parks

Cheers

Mike


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## LarryS. (14 Mar 2010)

thanks for the info mike, already raised the RV option with the management which was answered instantaneously with a "no chance", so looks like we're not going down that route !


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## RobertMP (14 Mar 2010)

Doing it again now we would just book it all ourselves on line. Flights, car rental, places to stay... it is all quite easy to do. Back then we went with a virgin holidays package which we then customised to change a couple of things.... but we know better now  

My wife is an avid user of Trip Advisor and manages to find some of the more interesting places to stay rather than boring package hotels. Don't forget when you stay somewhere for 3 days you use it as a base for exploring so you still get to see a lot but you are not constantly packing and unpacking.

Packages may be a bit cheaper but not much and doing it yourself you end up with a much better experience.

We flew out to san fran. (SF is often cold btw - street traders sell a lot of fleece jackets) and flew back from Vegas. Makes for a better trip if you don't have to go back to where you started.


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## Ironballs (14 Mar 2010)

We did a very similar trip to Robert, flew into SF and back from Vegas (hated Vegas but had to see it once) and did lots of national parks. We booked it all ourselves and only booked accommodation at places like Yosemite and Grand Canyon, plus booked our first and last nights.

Everything else was decided by the progress we made and we pulled in at whatever motel looked good. Camped out at a couple of places, think it was Bryce and Arches, worth doing. Accommodation in Yosemite is at a premium and in some cases you need to book a year in advance.

Get guide books (with pictures) from National Geographic and the Sierra Club to help you plan out the route/locations.

You'll have a great time, keep meaning to go back and do it again


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## Harbo (14 Mar 2010)

Did it a few years ago - booked a car and hotel at our first stop San Fran in advance, then everything else as we went along.
3 days in SF and a day trip to Yosemite (fantastic).
Then 2/3 days travelling down the coast with stops at Monterey, Hearst Castle, Santa Barbara, etc. to LA (stayed at Venice Beach).
Few days at LA (did not like the place) then to Vegas for a couple of days with a trip to the Grand Canyon.
Drove back to LA via Death Valley (awesome) then flew home.
We stayed mainly in Best Western Hotels and booked ahead each time for the next stop.
Great holiday and well worth doing

The pound was very strong and petrol cheap when we went but sadly not so good at the moment!

Rod


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## cutting42 (15 Mar 2010)

I am flying to SF tomorrow, I'll have a look around for you 8)


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## devonwoody (15 Mar 2010)

if you enjoy a more serene tour, N.Calif. Oregon and a ride across the Cascades to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons is much more picturesque. The south is good also :wink:


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## woodbloke (15 Mar 2010)

Haven't done the 'fly-drive' but we booked a Branson package deal that included two nights in Vegas (awful but needed to be seen) staying at the pointy Egyptian hotel, then a week in Hawaii...fabulous, returning with three nights in SF, which was also great.
Best tip I can give you is to book all your excursions in the UK at the time of booking the hol as we found this was the cheapest way to do it.
Branson does offer some good stuff to the States and we had no complaints in any way - Rob


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## Oryxdesign (15 Mar 2010)

I did it in about '02 my advice is to do loads of research before you. I missed a top fuel event in Vegas, when I was there, which I would have liked to have seen. I didn't like Vegas either but I had a great time in a Gun shop where I fired several hand guns and sub machine guns.

Big Sur and the Pacific Coast Highway is amazing, wished I had my sports car there but still enjoyable in an RV. I also enjoyed visiting a couple of ghost towns in the desert.

Simon


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## pren (15 Mar 2010)

Mike.C":1477dwir said:


> Hi Paul,
> 
> Someone asked the same question last year but for the life of me I cannot find the thread.



That was me. https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/amer ... t=american road trip

Our original plan was to 'do' new york and Washington before flying to SF for a few days and then drive down the PCH to LA via some of the national parks. When we added up the mileage and time/cost needed we decided to chop out the east coast part and 'just' complete a loop between SF, LA, parks and back to SF. We were going to allow ourselves a couple of weeks, spending a few days in the cities and camping around the park areas.

Unfortunately, unemployment bit and we've had to postpone the trip until funds appear  

I really hope you have a great trip! I've always wanted to see California. Hopefully we'll get to do it next year [-o<


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## Peter T (15 Mar 2010)

We did a west coast trip a few years ago. I got a really good deal on some out of season flights to LA so we had 2 weeks in California at the end of October/beginning November. 

We did everything independently, flights, car hire, hotels, and it worked out fine. We prebooked a hotel for 2 nights in LA so we didn't have to start looking for somewhere after a 12 hour flight. After that we worked our way up the coast through Santa barbara, Carmel, Monterey, Big Sur and SF. We stayed in SF for a few days and did the Nappa Valley during that time as well and then did the drive back to LA. 

We were advised that the tourist information offices were good places to find deals on hotel rooms so, whenever we decided to stop somewhere, we found the nearest office and, sure enough, they knew which hotels had good deals. 

The thing to remember is that the US is huge. I think that many people try to do too much and end up spending all their holiday driving from one place to the next. 

Enjoy,


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