Where to start with west coast plan

[Bazinga 39]

Evening all, I’m after some advice on where to start on a west coast plan, can plan Florida easily but this is all new, me and DH have been on an escorted tour about 16 years ago but there was no real planning involved. This time we will drive ourselves and our kids 19,14 and 12 will be with us, we want to visit San Francisco, LA(with a Disney and Universal fix), Las Vegas, San Diego and The Grand Canyon, any tips on routes, hotels, anything really?😀

[buryboy]

How long have you got for the trip ?

[mrsnicola]

Following xx

[Bazinga 39]

Originally Posted by buryboy

How long have you got for the trip ?

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We will do 3 weeks

[buryboy]

In my signature you will see
Pre trip report
Small highs and lows
Photobook / storybook of our trip in 2014 , which may give you some ideas

We did all the above bar San Fran in 19 nights but had 5 Disney days which many will say is too many

We flew to Vegas ,drove to south rim Grand Canyon , long drive to Palm Springs mainly for the aerial tramway , then on to San Diego , up to LA and back to Vegas

To do your trip , I would fly to San Fran , go down the Pacific coast highway to La / Disney , then down to San Diego , across to Grand Canyon via Palm Springs and finally on to Vegas

But even then you will be missing out the two things I am most looking forward to on our next trip , Yosemite and Death Valley

[Bazinga 39]

Originally Posted by buryboy

In my signature you will see
Pre trip report
Small highs and lows
Photobook / storybook of our trip in 2014 , which may give you some ideas

We did all the above bar San Fran in 19 nights but had 5 Disney days which many will say is too many

We flew to Vegas ,drove to south rim Grand Canyon , long drive to Palm Springs mainly for the aerial tramway , then on to San Diego , up to LA and back to Vegas

To do your trip , I would fly to San Fran , go down the Pacific coast highway to La / Disney , then down to San Diego , across to Grand Canyon via Palm Springs and finally on to Vegas

But even then you will be missing out the two things I am most looking forward to on our next trip , Yosemite and Death Valley

See more...

I forgot about both of those, we did them on our escorted trip and I know my DH will want to them again, thanks so much for your suggestions that gives me a great starting point😀

[buryboy]

The risk them is trying to do too much so that it will be all driving and no ‘ seeing’
To do all what you want in 21 days is difficult and may feel rushed

Which is why we in the end split it into two trips , although life had got in the way and stopped us doing part 2 yet

[cornishfrogboy]

I guess that I did mine as follows (see trip report in signature).

WHEN AND FLIGHTS.
I was tied to school hols as you would appear to be. Basic research indicated that Easter came in general cheaper than high Summer and on this basis, I chose Easter. The downside of Easter was that it made Yosemite a marginal option, due to the possibility of there still being snow. I was happy with this. This decision also tied me to around 14 days. In your case, I reckon it would be 21 days and thus a summer holiday vacation. To pick your exact window (and save money), I would research US school hols which are shorter than ours and rule out some or all of that period.

Next, I worked out what I needed to see and where I would be best suited to arrive and depart. In my case, it was in to SFO and out of LAX, rather than San Diego . The reasons become clear in my trip report. I guess that in your case it would be in to SFO and possibly out of Las Vegas . The easiest way to decide would be to google driving distances between places of interest and list them, before then playing around with them in order to minimise those miles.
In your case, it may be
SFO before picking up car at the end and driving Monterey, route 1 to Anaheim etc, cutting in N of LA and going round the back to Anaheim. Driving from there to San Diego and then out East to Grand Canyon then finishing at Vegas. On the other hand, it May not, but we will assume that it is.

With your ambitious plan, at 10 months or so from your return leg, I would start researching real heavy on Google flights. I say Google flights ‘multi city’ because you can start on a 21 day split and then move either start or depart date by a day at a time by simply a single click on that date. For people going, I always start with just one person at this stage. Google also advise on each plot whether their best is high, low or about right in costing.
Your best solution may be a 22 day split rather than a 21, 14 or 10 as most people tend to search (and no doubt, all airlines are aware).

I would now try that same solution of dates with Skyscanner, Kayak, Expedia and any other search engine that I can think of, deciding on my ‘best price’ .

If I have a ‘to and from’ using the same airline (you need to know who owns who), and I find the best deal to be a Delta flight out and a KLM one home, but with one or both flights supplied by Virgin Atlantic, I would then try a direct search on Delta, Air France, KLM and Virgin Atlantic websites. The reason is that Delta own 49% of Virgin Atl and in any case, all these airlines codeshare.
For the sake of argument, let’s say that your best price is with Delta once baggage etc is taken in to account.
I would phone Delta with Credit card in hand and see if I could squeeze just a little concession out of them in order to book there and then. You may get offered seat selection, so have a seat map printed and sat next to you. If the deal is good, then buy it on your credit card (S75 Consumer credit act end user failure then applies).
If the price is near as damn it, then buy it direct in order to cut out the middle man operators that may exist on your google/Skyscanner or other solution. In this way you are reducing that risk of failure.

If the above isn’t enough, you may consider a BA flydrive as...
1. They are often very good deals with good car insurance (as opposed to Virgin where the insurance upgrade often costs more than the cost of booking a car separately).
2. You can pay off in instalments as it counts as a ‘package’.

It is also worth considering flights and just one of your accommodations with BA for the same ‘package’ reason.

HOW.
You have flights and also start/finish dates and locations.. Now you must plan the route, what you want to do, how long at each ‘attraction’ etc.

I make a spreadsheet and Insert the following columns..
Date and day I.e 15 August day 1.
Activities I.e Travel to LHR and stay at Prem Inn.
Comments I.e Booking number, postcode etc.
Cost I.e £29.50
Paid I.e Yes in black no in Red.
I build this spreadsheet over the months that follows, ideas in red that become black when formed up. Things change as we insert things, remove things and are open to new ideas and suggestions.

This bit has to be discussed at great length and to be honest, is the first part in which the family gets involved. The flights are purely done by my wife and I.

The above can be paid for as and when you have spare cash at end of month. It covers car hire(s) Hotels, Air bnb’s Park tickets, attraction tickets and even meals locations. You can put in as much as you like... and take it out if you change your mind.

RULES/TIPS.
1. Research is king. I read trip reports and planning copiously in order to get ideas.
2. Many will book hotels with free cancellation, rebooking if there is a price drop. I don’t. I research and when I like a price, then I book, cash up front if possible and then leave it alone. I understand that this is a good idea, but hopefully research has got me a good price in the first place. Anyway, it is one less thing to worry about.
3. Sometimes you find yourself voted down. We do the plan democratically.. this means that we can discuss at length, but Mum and Dad have final say as they are paying.

Hoping this gives you an outline and framework from which to work out your own best practice.

[Bazinga 39]

Originally Posted by cornishfrogboy

I guess that I did mine as follows (see trip report in signature).

WHEN AND FLIGHTS.
I was tied to school hols as you would appear to be. Basic research indicated that Easter came in general cheaper than high Summer and on this basis, I chose Easter. The downside of Easter was that it made Yosemite a marginal option, due to the possibility of there still being snow. I was happy with this. This decision also tied me to around 14 days. In your case, I reckon it would be 21 days and thus a summer holiday vacation. To pick your exact window (and save money), I would research US school hols which are shorter than ours and rule out some or all of that period.

Next, I worked out what I needed to see and where I would be best suited to arrive and depart. In my case, it was in to SFO and out of LAX, rather than San Diego . The reasons become clear in my trip report. I guess that in your case it would be in to SFO and possibly out of Las Vegas . The easiest way to decide would be to google driving distances between places of interest and list them, before then playing around with them in order to minimise those miles.
In your case, it may be
SFO before picking up car at the end and driving Monterey, route 1 to Anaheim etc, cutting in N of LA and going round the back to Anaheim. Driving from there to San Diego and then out East to Grand Canyon then finishing at Vegas. On the other hand, it May not, but we will assume that it is.

With your ambitious plan, at 10 months or so from your return leg, I would start researching real heavy on Google flights. I say Google flights ‘multi city’ because you can start on a 21 day split and then move either start or depart date by a day at a time by simply a single click on that date. For people going, I always start with just one person at this stage. Google also advise on each plot whether their best is high, low or about right in costing.
Your best solution may be a 22 day split rather than a 21, 14 or 10 as most people tend to search (and no doubt, all airlines are aware).

I would now try that same solution of dates with Skyscanner, Kayak, Expedia and any other search engine that I can think of, deciding on my ‘best price’ .

If I have a ‘to and from’ using the same airline (you need to know who owns who), and I find the best deal to be a Delta flight out and a KLM one home, but with one or both flights supplied by Virgin Atlantic, I would then try a direct search on Delta, Air France, KLM and Virgin Atlantic websites. The reason is that Delta own 49% of Virgin Atl and in any case, all these airlines codeshare.
For the sake of argument, let’s say that your best price is with Delta once baggage etc is taken in to account.
I would phone Delta with Credit card in hand and see if I could squeeze just a little concession out of them in order to book there and then. You may get offered seat selection, so have a seat map printed and sat next to you. If the deal is good, then buy it on your credit card (S75 Consumer credit act end user failure then applies).
If the price is near as damn it, then buy it direct in order to cut out the middle man operators that may exist on your google/Skyscanner or other solution. In this way you are reducing that risk of failure.

If the above isn’t enough, you may consider a BA flydrive as...
1. They are often very good deals with good car insurance (as opposed to Virgin where the insurance upgrade often costs more than the cost of booking a car separately).
2. You can pay off in instalments as it counts as a ‘package’.

It is also worth considering flights and just one of your accommodations with BA for the same ‘package’ reason.

HOW.
You have flights. Now you must plan the route, what you want to do, how long at each ‘attraction’ etc.

I make a spreadsheet and Insert the following columns..
Date and day I.e 15 August day 1.
Activities I.e Travel to LHR and stay at Prem Inn.
Comments I.e Booking number, postcode etc.
Cost I.e £29.50
Paid I.e Yes in black no in Red.
I build this spreadsheet over the months that follows, ideas in red that become black when formed up.

This bit has to be discussed at great length and to be honest, is the first part in which the family gets involved. The flights are purely done by my wife and I.

The above can be paid for as and when you have spare cash at end of month. It covers car hire(s) Hotels, Air bnb’s Park tickets, attraction tickets and even meals locations. You can put in as much as you like... and take it out if you change your mind.

RULES/TIPS.
1. Research is king. I read trip reports and planning copiously in order to get ideas.
2. Many will book hotels with free cancellation, rebooking if there is a price drop. I don’t. I research and when I like a price, then I book, cash up front if possible and then leave it alone.
3. Sometimes you find yourself voted down. We do the plan democratically.. this means that we can discuss at length, but Mum and Dad have final say as they are paying.

Hoping this gives you an outline and framework from which to work out your own best practice.

See more...

Thank you so much for all that information it really is very helpful😀

[jdouds]

Hi have a look at flying in and out of San Fran or LA and do a circular route. We have done a couple of trips and really enjoyed the west coast experience.
Rough idea
3/4 days San Fran
2. Days Monterey definitely go whale watching
2 days on coast to Santa Barbara
2-4 Days for Disney fix
3/4 days San Diego
1 n Palm Springs
3 n. Vegas and perhaps a n at canyon
1 n Death Valley
3 n Yosemite
This hopefully gives you some food for thought.