Motels and Airbnb
 

So thinking of binning off our dec trip to wdw as I’m not feeling the love for it, with all the new charges and less for the money, so thinking west coast, my husband has wanted to do this for years, but haven’t a clue on how to plan it properly and don’t want to be tied staying somewhere longer than we need, can you just rock up to motels over there or is it a bit dodgy, have had a quick look at hotel prices in SFran but I didn’t realise how expensive they could be, also is air b&b still a thing or is it illegal and not worth the risk of booking a few different places, any advice gratefully received

You can just rock up to motels (assuming you’re booked in advance for the first night at least) but it’s the usual gamble of an event meaning prices are sky high or worse in some areas no rooms being available at all, or the rooms being a complete bargain.

Places like Yosemite need booking well in advance and they do sell out.

San Francisco can be very expensive and that’s one I would book in advance.

Where else would you be going?

We were planning to fly to San Francisco, have maybe 2 nights there, then drive down route 1 maybe stopping at Santa Cruz, I wanted to stop around Monterey and a stop at solving, then down to Santa Barbara, then somewhere to do Disney for a couple of days and universal and go to Hollywood, then go down to Santa Monica, so lots of different places but have no idea where to start planning or if we have a spare about £4000 to spend on hotels for 3 weeks!

I found looking at maps really handy to plan this kind of trip.

I haven’t actually done Route 1 (we always went a different route) so I’ll let others make suggestions on that. I think I would tend to want to book in advance for places that have limited accommodation though.

Universal and Hollywood are near to each other and Santa Monica is much nearer to both of them than Disneyland. Disneyland can be easily an hour’s drive (or more….) from those three places. So I would reorder the route you have there.

Disneyland area hotels are very cheap, relatively. Santa Monica was too expensive for us! Hotels are more than Orlando in general especially in San Francisco.

We always look at Airbnb first where ever we go and have stayed in some fantastic places all over the west coast. Look at plenty of reviews and for super host. In San Fran we stayed in a third floor apt on chestnut st with off st parking, fisherman’s wharf 10/15 mins walk, 5 mins to coast walk to bridge. For Yosemite if it’s adults only have a look at the blue butterfly bb or Yosemite view lodge. For Monterey,Pacific grove,Carmel lots of good ones

A hopefully decent start would be to read the California Trip report for 2018 in my signature. That is pretty much the bog standard 14 day journey with hopefully a few minor ‘extras’. It is all in a single thread, not over complex and should give you a basis from which to work.
Many of the things missed, you can then view in the cancelled pre trip report in my signature. It is all in a single entry and should be relevant to you down as far as flying out of Burbank.

The other really big deal out West is Yosemite. I have not been there, not researched it and cannot advise you. Many others can.

Top tip…. You may never have considered San Diego (we hadn’t). It is simply stunning.

One thing is for sure, you will not regret it. I loved my vacation and there will be many more!

We always plan thoroughly in the USA, book our hotels very early, with free cancellation and then repeatedly research, cancelling and rebooking when there is a decent favourable price change, either in the same hotel or a different one.

San Francisco is yes, pricey, but there are some decent deals not so far back from Fishermans Wharf (imho the place to be on a first visit). The Hotel Riu springs to mind, but remember you may have to sacrifice (a little) quality for location.
Avoid Tenderloin (rough) and Mission.
You do not need a car in San Francisco, using the BART to get in .. or a taxi if you are minted.

Monterey is a must, with Whale watching, aquarium and cannery row. Steinbeck liked it with good reason.

The drive south from Monterey, certainly as far as Pismo is stunning.

LA? Hmmm.

Thank you for replies, we definitely want to go to San Diego, don’t want to spend to much time in LA just enough to do the main touristy things really, universal, Disney, quick visit to Hollywood sign, and maybe a stroll down rodeao drive, and the Chinese theatre to see some stars on the pavement, and a day or 2 to visit the beaches, the planning seems mammoth compared to WDW and I am a little stressed as will need to use our flights by end of August 2022 but not even sure when the best time to go would be! My husband is worried about how bad the fires have been at this time of year, but dd11 starts senior school this year and feel like we can’t take her out for 3 weeks especially as she has missed so much school due to covid! I have bought a map so I will sit down tomorrow and try and work some stuff out🤞🙂

Hi again how long will your trip be and what are the things you most want to see.
The drive up or down the coast is fantastic. Monterey,Carmel,Santa Barbara,Yosemite,San Fran,San Diego. So much to see.

Short term rentals like Air BnB are a minefield in CA. Many have been banned following Covid (Northern California - Lake Tahoe latest and Palm Springs still have their party house and short term rental ban in place) My friends that rely on income form theirs are now looking into residential longer term rents for this year but you may get lucky but you also may find bookings pickles at a short or no notice. I was after buying in PS before the pandemic but now with the housing shortage many Cities want home for the residents - I keep my eyes peeled on a fast changing situation but personally wouldnt book one for myself . Cheap motels are plentiful around Southern CA - not really needing to book in advance