Itinary - California 2018

[lottiesmum0]

Hi

Had our trip booked a while but not shared my itinary. This is the first time I’ve done west coast- DH went a few years ago before he met me.
Here goes:
25th July- train down to Gatwick. I’m working that day so I’m expecting DH and the kids will have the house spotless!
26th July fly from Gatwick to Oakland San Francisco. We are staying at the Lombard plaza motel,
Have booked a city pass including trip to Alcatraz.
29th July- drive to Madera near Fresno for 5 nights. Staying in a staybridge suites hotel. Hoping to do Yosemite a couple of days and explore surrounding area.
3rd August- Las Vegas for 7 nights staying at mgm signature. Booked 3 day city pass, will do blue man group on this, stratosphere , high roller and trip to hoover dam.
We will go to Grand Canyon just going to book this later (can’t afgird helicopter for 4 unfortunately)
10th-17th August- LA- again have a city pass booked- hoping to do universal and have booked the Warner bros studio tour. Need to sort out itinerary yet. Staying in a rental property in Montebello
18th- 21st August- air band b rental in a wine country cottage in tempelton- no plans made
21st-25th August- best western in Watsonville - no plans
25th August- fly home from Oakland

Comments and advice welcome :-)

[tocpe321]

Looks like a fantastic trip and a whole month is excellent! I like the sound of the wine country!

I don't know if you have any flexibility regarding the accommodation but I've got a couple of suggestions.

We had the City Pass with Alcatra, which was really good. if you could get another night I would recommend the Dylan's tour that also includes Muir Woods and Sausalito.

A week in LA seems a bit long but obviously you may have other things planned.

Traffic into Yosemite can be really busy so it might pay to spend 2 or 3 nights within the park.

Happy planning and have a great trip.

[lottiesmum0]

Originally Posted by tocpe321

Looks like a fantastic trip and a whole month is excellent! I like the sound of the wine country!

I don't know if you have any flexibility regarding the accommodation but I've got a couple of suggestions.

We had the City Pass with Alcatra, which was really good. if you could get another night I would recommend the Dylan's tour that also includes Muir Woods and Sausalito.

A week in LA seems a bit long but obviously you may have other things planned.

Traffic into Yosemite can be really busy so it might pay to spend 2 or 3 nights within the park.

Happy planning and have a great trip.

See more...

Hi- yes, I think your points are valid ones, but I just couldn’t find any accommodation that appealed and was within budget for Yosemite!
LA- we have a pool at the condo so may well have some down time- also I think whale watching tours are on the city pass which we also fancy.

I’ve found west coast planning trickier than the Florida planning and more costly which has affected some of the acomodation choices especially when budgeting for just over 4 weeks

[tocpe321]

Originally Posted by lottiesmum0

Hi- yes, I think your points are valid ones, but I just couldn’t find any accommodation that appealed and was within budget for Yosemite!
LA- we have a pool at the condo so may well have some down time- also I think whale watching tours are on the city pass which we also fancy.

I’ve found west coast planning trickier than the Florida planning and more costly which has affected some of the acomodation choices especially when budgeting for just over 4 weeks

See more...

Good point re downtime. We changed accomodation several times within 3 weeks and it would have been good to break up the time between long drives.

Last year was our first time to California and I agree it's definitely more complicated and expensive than Florida.

[lottiesmum0]

Originally Posted by tocpe321

Good point re downtime. We changed accomodation several times within 3 weeks and it would have been good to break up the time between long drives.

Last year was our first time to California and I agree it's definitely more complicated and expensive than Florida.

See more...

Yes I’m starting to worry a bit now- I just want to make sure we see and do plenty! As I’ve never been before I just want to be organised and have a plan!

[tocpe321]

Originally Posted by lottiesmum0

Yes I’m starting to worry a bit now- I just want to make sure we see and do plenty! As I’ve never been before I just want to be organised and have a plan!

See more...

You’ll have a great time. You won’t see everything, but you’ll have lots of nice experiences and memories.

[lottiesmum0]

Originally Posted by tocpe321

You’ll have a great time. You won’t see everything, but you’ll have lots of nice experiences and memories.

See more...

Thankyou for your reassuring comments

[Disney Wishing]

Wow a month sounds very exciting. I'm a little concerned with your Yosemite accommodation. It's quite a way from the park (about 2 hours to the valley I would think) but the Mariposa Sequoia Grove area would be closer. I know accommodation can be very expensive but worth it if you can be a little closer. If your on a tight budget how about spending a few days in somewhere like Lake Tahoe that does good prices summer or maybe somewhere like Jamestown which is gold country or Angels Camp area for Calaveras Big Trees Park.