Overwhelmed any advise !

Guest · 3 Nov 18, 08:53 PM

Hi I've been a dibb lurker for a number of years but I've never posted, me, hubby and 2 teenage boys have been to orlando for the past 8 years travelling all around, evey year we say we want to go somewhere different and before i knew it my finger pressed book and the card came out🤩, i couldnt resist the bargain flights with virgin to las vegas. So to cut a long story short we fly in and out of vegas and we have a total of 19 nights in school holidays, we don't intend on doing any disney or universal ☹, I remember the first time going to florida and we were all excited and blown away and everthing was magical, im hoping to get that feeling in California ,we've decided this is going to be a big adventure .
We know we want to experience a bit of LV, Hoover dam, grand canyon ( stay 2 nights at a horse ranch hubbys bucket list)palm springs, San Diego,we all enjoy kayaking, and a sneaky bit of shopping in there, but I'm quite open to options of where to stay I feel very overwelmed ! When we have been to orlando in the past we just booked flights and our first 2 nights accommodation and from there on we have just winged it but I know we can't do this and we have to plan 🤗 Any recomendations would be really appreciated thanks so much in advance and I'm sure I'm going to be on here asking loads of questions 🤔xx

Wordsworth · 4 Nov 18, 02:03 PM

There�s a lot of distance between some of the places you�re talking about - it�s doable, as we�ve done a lot of it, but the first thing I always do when planning a road trip holiday is write down a column of dates, with one line for each day we�ve got between the flights. Then I think about how many days I want to spend in each place, and how long the journey from 1 place to the next is. That way I know if I have to dedicate a whole day to travelling or if I can plan activities (I might look for shopping spots between the two points, for example, to have s break from the car). By the end I have a rough outline of the trip to then tweak to be completely what I want, and can start looking for accommodation.

YorkshireT · 4 Nov 18, 09:51 PM

Originally Posted by molly26

Hi I've been a dibb lurker for a number of years but I've never posted, me, hubby and 2 teenage boys have been to orlando for the past 8 years travelling all around, evey year we say we want to go somewhere different and before i knew it my finger pressed book and the card came out🤩, i couldnt resist the bargain flights with virgin to las vegas. So to cut a long story short we fly in and out of vegas and we have a total of 19 nights in school holidays, we don't intend on doing any disney or universal ☹, I remember the first time going to florida and we were all excited and blown away and everthing was magical, im hoping to get that feeling in California ,we've decided this is going to be a big adventure .
We know we want to experience a bit of LV, Hoover dam, grand canyon ( stay 2 nights at a horse ranch hubbys bucket list)palm springs, San Diego,we all enjoy kayaking, and a sneaky bit of shopping in there, but I'm quite open to options of where to stay I feel very overwelmed ! When we have been to orlando in the past we just booked flights and our first 2 nights accommodation and from there on we have just winged it but I know we can't do this and we have to plan 🤗 Any recomendations would be really appreciated thanks so much in advance and I'm sure I'm going to be on here asking loads of questions 🤔xx

Utah is good, Zion. Also Sedona. I tend to book hotels that have a same day cancellation policy and if I really like somewhere maybe extend a day and cancel off a day etc.
Once we were in LA and weather was poor (June) so on spec we booked a room and had a great 4 days in Phoenix.

flo-tinka · 7 Nov 18, 11:09 AM

Those LV flights were a bargain for sure! I was tempted but we went this year.
We did
Disney (6)
San diego (5)
Palm Springs (1)
LV (5) for GC and Hoover
Death Valley (1)
Hollywood (4)
Lots of driving but also do much to see and do
SD was awesome, the rest was great. Enjoy planning

shack69 · 7 Nov 18, 12:55 PM

You say you want a BIG adventure. Hoover dam you can do as a trip out from LV. As for the grand canyon that is a long drive and so a couple of nights makes sense, but do you want to do the horse ranch at the same time, will that give you time to see the canyon. Do you want to be travelling every other day or want a few days in one place?
You could do a loop LV , canyon, phoenix, san diago , palm springs and back to LV.
But before you decide sit down with the family and put down a list of the things you really want to do. Then consider your budget as this could be a factor in where you stay. For example if budget is not an issue then how about a helicopter to the canyon and then maybe up through death valley to mammoth for a few days (ranch) not cheap. before booking a tent in Yosemite for a few nights.
But the key is as a family what do you want to get and also what is the max amount of time you want to spend in the car as distances can be large.

grant_w · 7 Nov 18, 01:23 PM

You can do kayaking in Monterey and Moss Landing (with the same company)
We did a nature tour, and we saw sea otters, sea lions, seals and loads of birds. I believe you can take the kayak out afterwards on your own too.

3 Nov 18, 08:53 PM	#1
	3 Nov 18, 08:53 PM Guest Guest
Guest Guest	Overwhelmed any advise ! Hi I've been a dibb lurker for a number of years but I've never posted, me, hubby and 2 teenage boys have been to orlando for the past 8 years travelling all around, evey year we say we want to go somewhere different and before i knew it my finger pressed book and the card came out🤩, i couldnt resist the bargain flights with virgin to las vegas. So to cut a long story short we fly in and out of vegas and we have a total of 19 nights in school holidays, we don't intend on doing any disney or universal ☹, I remember the first time going to florida and we were all excited and blown away and everthing was magical, im hoping to get that feeling in California ,we've decided this is going to be a big adventure . We know we want to experience a bit of LV, Hoover dam, grand canyon ( stay 2 nights at a horse ranch hubbys bucket list)palm springs, San Diego,we all enjoy kayaking, and a sneaky bit of shopping in there, but I'm quite open to options of where to stay I feel very overwelmed ! When we have been to orlando in the past we just booked flights and our first 2 nights accommodation and from there on we have just winged it but I know we can't do this and we have to plan 🤗 Any recomendations would be really appreciated thanks so much in advance and I'm sure I'm going to be on here asking loads of questions 🤔xx

4 Nov 18, 02:03 PM	#2
	4 Nov 18, 02:03 PM Wordsworth Very Serious Dibber
Wordsworth Very Serious Dibber Join Date: Sep 18 Location: Auld Reekie	There�s a lot of distance between some of the places you�re talking about - it�s doable, as we�ve done a lot of it, but the first thing I always do when planning a road trip holiday is write down a column of dates, with one line for each day we�ve got between the flights. Then I think about how many days I want to spend in each place, and how long the journey from 1 place to the next is. That way I know if I have to dedicate a whole day to travelling or if I can plan activities (I might look for shopping spots between the two points, for example, to have s break from the car). By the end I have a rough outline of the trip to then tweak to be completely what I want, and can start looking for accommodation.

7 Nov 18, 12:55 PM	#5
	7 Nov 18, 12:55 PM shack69 Imagineer
shack69 Imagineer Join Date: Sep 11	You say you want a BIG adventure. Hoover dam you can do as a trip out from LV. As for the grand canyon that is a long drive and so a couple of nights makes sense, but do you want to do the horse ranch at the same time, will that give you time to see the canyon. Do you want to be travelling every other day or want a few days in one place? You could do a loop LV , canyon, phoenix, san diago , palm springs and back to LV. But before you decide sit down with the family and put down a list of the things you really want to do. Then consider your budget as this could be a factor in where you stay. For example if budget is not an issue then how about a helicopter to the canyon and then maybe up through death valley to mammoth for a few days (ranch) not cheap. before booking a tent in Yosemite for a few nights. But the key is as a family what do you want to get and also what is the max amount of time you want to spend in the car as distances can be large.