Wow! Can’t believe the prices! Is it out of reach for us!

[Mrs Toolman]

Originally Posted by cornishfrogboy

Mrs Toolman.
I have tried to send you a personal message. Unfortunately your mailboxes are full and you cannot receive it... It may be of assistance to you.

As regards W Coast, it really is a swings and roundabouts thing and it must be born in mind that Orlando has some of the best value accommodation in the USA, due possibly to oversupply. I have visited NY, Washington, Boston, Dayton, Several Gulf Coast, Keys, Pensacola, Destin, San Francisco, Monterey, La San Diego etc etc. All were markedly more expensive than Orlando.

Plusses of W Coast budgeting.
1. I find flights in School Hols much cheaper, even multi cities such as in to SFO and out of LAX etc.. by hundreds PP. As an example, I am flying into SFO and out of Vancouver next Easter hols, direct with BA at £395pp.
2. You will not be investing so heavily on Theme Park and other Attraction tickets.
3. You do not need a car for the SFO part of a W Coast vacation and it is generally first or last destination. You either dump on arrival if flying home from there or pick up as you leave if it is your first destination. I have also found cars cheaper per day.
4. You wont be paying extortionate amounts to park your car in theme parks every day (10 or more x $27 hurts). You will pay much more than that if unwise enough to have a car in SFO. Our 3 star in Union Sq SFO would have wanted $75 per day.

Minusses of W Coast budgeting.
1. Accommodation is generally hotels or BNB on short stays and can be expensive.
2. Food in Restaurants costs more, although many of the chains with which you are familiar are in evidence. I always search for Hotels with complimentary breakfast.
3. You will buy much more petrol and it costs a little more.

Overall, I do not think I paid more for my California Road trip last Easter than I would have paid to be in Orlando. You just have to research everything thoroughly, take the advice of other DIBBERS and enjoy!

You can see how we got on if you read my single thread trip report, 'California N to South at Easter'.

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Thank you! Have just had a message telling me about my inbox. Have cleared it out now. Your info is fantastic. We had started off saying we would ho back to Florida but due to my DD not finishing Uni until end of June we had a rethink on it. Decided we would look at West Coast as we have never seen that side. We are keen to go but didn't want to book flights and then panic about accommodation costs etc. DH not keen on all of us sharing a room but DS and DD happy to share a room so at least we are looking at 2 rooms, not 3!

[landandword17]

Originally Posted by Mrs Toolman

Thank you! Have just had a message telling me about my inbox. Have cleared it out now. Your info is fantastic. We had started off saying we would ho back to Florida but due to my DD not finishing Uni until end of June we had a rethink on it. Decided we would look at West Coast as we have never seen that side. We are keen to go but didn't want to book flights and then panic about accommodation costs etc. DH not keen on all of us sharing a room but DS and DD happy to share a room so at least we are looking at 2 rooms, not 3!

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I didn’t realise you wanted 2 rooms. That will add to the cost alright. You will be looking at more than $200 per night for 2 rooms almost everywhere. Have a play around on Expedia and the like now so you know what your getting into. Airbnb could work although when we looked there aren’t too many 2 bedroom apartments but I’m sure you could find some options there with a bit of searching but $200 would be pushing it. Our average has been around £170 per night for our West Coast trips. £300-400 average for 2 rooms would be a starting point to start looking at. You’ll get an idea of the standard in that range and what locations it will get you and it will give you more confidence proceeding with the trip (or not).

[Mrs Toolman]

Originally Posted by landandword17

I didn’t realise you wanted 2 rooms. That will add to the cost alright. You will be looking at more than $200 per night for 2 rooms almost everywhere. Have a play around on Expedia and the like now so you know what your getting into. Airbnb could work although when we looked there aren’t too many 2 bedroom apartments but I’m sure you could find some options there with a bit of searching but $200 would be pushing it. Our average has been around £170 per night for our West Coast trips. £300-400 average for 2 rooms would be a starting point to start looking at. You’ll get an idea of the standard in that range and what locations it will get you and it will give you more confidence proceeding with the trip (or not).

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I think once DH sees the price difference he will see one room makes sense. But we will see.

[400ixl]

Take a look at hotels like Staybridge Suites. Part of the IHG group (Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza etc) as they do apartments.May just be in slightly different locations to the typical tourist hotel.