Booked my flights!

[Vinniecat]

Thank you jdouds I actually meant Yosemite to Los Angeles. Would we need a stop between these?

[jdouds]

Hi again yosemti to LA 5 to 5 1/2 hours add in lunch and comfort brakes 6 1/2. We would do that but not for everyone . Have you booked flights , if not have a think about what you want to see and then decide where to fly to. Most people do a circular route , LA , PCH, San Fran ,yosemite , vegas ,La. In and out of LA usually cheaper flights, but into LA and out of vegas popular or of course reverse

[tonymc]

We have just returned from the West coast with one teenager in tow, and the best thing we did was to book condos/apartments (wherever possible) rather than hotels.

In Marina del Rey, we had originally booked the Hilton but found a one bed condo in the Shores complex through hotels.com about 20% cheaper (plus 10% cashback from Quidco). The condo had a separate bedroom, comfy double sofa bed in the living room, full kitchen and laundry facilities as well as access to the swimming pool etc.

In Vegas, we had originally booked a hotel, then changed it to a Hilton Grand Vacations one bed (again with full facilities), but realised this hotel was a little too far from the strip, so we finally booked a one bed at Polo Towers. Not quite as modern as out first stop, but gave us plenty of space, and at a fraction less than our original hotel price.

In San Francisco, I had sufficient Hilton Honors points to book a room there, so for the 4 nights we had a two-doubles room which after our condos felt very tight. We did upgrade to a balcony room with a fantastic view over the bay to Oakland though.

The other thing that came to light whilst in the condos was that it is much cheaper for eating, as you can sort out your own breakfasts, lunches (if not out and about) and the occasional dinner. We found that after free Disney DDP, food costs were a bit of a shock, and certainly in the morning, it was nice to be able to lounge around whilst having breakfast rather than have to find somewhere to eat.