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Original poster

California flights etc help

104 replies

Dinkydoos · 13/09/2014 07:39

Hi there
Have got a bit carried away and seem to have changed a fairly low key trip to NYC area into a cAlifornian odyssey.....
I have a quote for 2 adults and 2 kids (10 and 8) school summer hols for:
Birmingham direct to New York ( staying there a week as have relatives with a summer house on an island)
Then fly direct to San Francisco a week later and then after another 15 nights fly back from Los Angeles to heathrow. The flights plus a SUV car for all the time is £4500. Does anyone know how that seems, I didn't think it was too awful seeing as the lowest New York return I could find was £650 each.... But would hate to overpay.
And anyone any itinerary ideas, hotel, places tips for california who have been recently, I know loads of you had a thread and we're going this year so any info about what worked or not would we great.
Rough plan is
San Fran 4 nights
Yosemite 3 nights
Monterey 2 nights
Big sur 1 night
Santa Barbara or somewhere 3
La 2 nights

Any advice appreciated ( especially as I told DP we would just have stick at going to my relatives place and have a relatively low key holiday!)

OP posts:
dingit · 07/10/2014 13:48

Has anyone splashed out on a guidebook yet? I was having a browse in WH Smiths earlier, but will have a look and see if Amazon do them cheaper.

Tinkerball · 07/10/2014 14:00

I've got quote a few from last year, will need to look them out and see what they all were again!

dingit · 08/10/2014 08:27

Me again. Just found a really good free app, called originally, California and it works offline. Strangely it was produced by Turkish airlines.
It has lots of info, sightseeing, restaurants ( shows cheap ones!), weather and currency converter. Wildlife ( someone's Dc loved nature?) and Dennis the Menaces park in if I remember correctly, Monterey, which I think is free.

Might still buy a Guide book, but use the app to look up things quickly.

rootypig · 08/10/2014 08:35

Greetings from LA. If any of your DC want to try surfing, Santa Cruz is a great place to do it. You could just stop for the day on your drive from SF to Monterey (though I am a bit Confused at all the love for Monterey, never got it myself).

Santa Cruz boardwalk is also excellent for some retro fun, it's where they filmed that Kiefer Sutherland vampire film, what on earth is it called. They have summer concerts with 80s bands. And good access to easy day hikes in the redwoods.

aquawater · 08/10/2014 08:39

Sorry I haven't read the whole thread. We did this recently. I'd stay in Carmel rather than Monterey and Yosemite was soooo busy we cut our stay short. I'd recommend Lake Tahoe for outdoor stuff. You can take a cable car into the mountains etc. we could have spent 2 weeks there!

dingit · 08/10/2014 08:52

Dang it. I wished we'd booked Carmel instead of Monterey. I gather that it's nearby, we can just drive there.
Thanks for the tip about Santa Cruz, my two woosies don't surf, but me and dh are 80s teens, and dh wants to see the redwoods.

TarkaTheOtter · 08/10/2014 08:56

Please watch the film "Blackfish" before you decide to go to Seaworld.

TarkaTheOtter · 08/10/2014 08:59

rootypig I couldn't understand the attraction of Monterey either.

rootypig · 08/10/2014 09:08

Friends say the aquarium is good but the town itself - I wouldn't spend two nights of my time on the California coast there, that's for sure! Nor so much time in Santa Barbara.

There are some fantastic beaches between SF and Santa Cruz, and between Monterey and Santa Barbara, e.g. just north of Morro Bay. Places that are totally unspoilt. And I'd stop in Malibu for an afternoon on the way into LA, for a windswept walk, beer and seafood on the beach.

dingit look at Big Basin for an easy redwoods excursion

eightytwenty · 08/10/2014 09:49

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
Dinkydoos · 08/10/2014 12:48

Hello all, thanks for all you locals/recent visitors comments, it's so helpful!
As I said up thread somewhere, we have tons of holiday inn points ( and a few Marriott ones) so it really makes sense to use them unfortunately they seem to have hotels in more mainstream places on the coast.
We have 2 nights monterey but could change this to one night Santa Cruz as hol inn there and one monterey?
Then we have one at madonna inn as really fancy the craziness of it, and 2 in Santa Barbara (hol inn) .
Any other suggestions, maybe we could just forget about trying to use the points on the coast and just pay to stay somewhere if anyone has good recommendations?

OP posts:
dingit · 08/10/2014 13:04

Dinky, I was looking to change our stay in Monterey to Carmel, but virgin don't do a room for 4. Carmel is only four miles from Monterey, so if we do like Carmel, we can just use our hotel as a base ( it looks quite a nice one)

Original poster
Dinkydoos · 08/10/2014 13:11

Dingit, its so easy to drive yourself a bit nuts with the planning isn't it! I have stayed in Carmel before, and actually was a tad twee for me, although lovely so not too upset we not staying there. Mind you it was prob 20 years ago!
Where are you staying in Yosemite and pismo?

OP posts:
dingit · 08/10/2014 13:40

Yosemite lodge at the falls, and Hilton garden view at Pismo.
It's the most complicated trip we have done with the dc. Dh and I have done a couple of road trips in Canada, before dc.

Ds is making noises about six flags magic mountain, but that to me seems like Thorpe park, which will leave me and dd cold. It's tricky getting a balance and keeping everyone happy! Mind you I would have killed for a trip like that as a teen, so they should just be grateful Smile

Original poster
Dinkydoos · 08/10/2014 14:06

Ooh you're lucky getting yosemite lodge! We are booked at curry village, but it want to get the last 2 nights of the 4 at the lodge but family rooms are booked up! I keep checking very day for cancellations
We aren't doing any theme parks actually as did FLorida this year so that box is ticked. Still slightly worried that the holiday is a lot of stop and start though!

OP posts:
dingit · 08/10/2014 14:51

We did Florida, albeit 7 years ago, and live just down the road from Chessington and Thorpe park, both of which I loathe, especially having to pay extra for a fast pass just to get on all the rides. Think Ds just wants to brag to his mates!

Yes it's going to be a bit bonkers unpacking and packing for four! Ds is banned from taking his dog comforter in case we lose the smelly thing, but at 13 he would kill me for telling anyone that.

Tinkerball · 08/10/2014 17:26

We stopped in Santa Cruz for lunch last year and DH was most disappointed we couldn't go on the rides on the beach Boardwalk as its only open weekends in September, as The Lost Boys (that's the Kiefer film you mentioned Rooty) is one of his favourite films. We were going to go back next year but decided on 2 nights in SF instead.

rootypig · 08/10/2014 17:59

Oh yes good point Tinker, was working on the basis that people would be there in August.

The religiousness with which they stick to the idea of summer here makes me Confused!!!

WorriedMutha · 08/10/2014 18:10
  1. Accommodation in Yosemite is at a premium
  2. Book Alcatraz NOW. Bookings are limited and probably not available by Easter.
  3. We included Vegas which is really too hot in the Summer but we used it as a base to visit the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam and Route 66.
  4. Agree with the poster above that Santa Monica is the best place to stay in LA with kids.
  5. Sounds like you're in for a fab holiday.
dingit · 08/10/2014 18:17

I tried to book Alcatraz but there are no dates available for August yet. Will try again next month.

TarkaTheOtter · 08/10/2014 18:38

I've stayed at Yosemite Lodge and also outside the park at Evergreen Lodge and location aside would recommend the latter every time. In some ways staying outside the park was better because we could escape the busyness and we could visit different parts of the park without having to negotiate Valley traffic madness.

Would really, really recommend the view at Glacier Point. I missed it the first time I went because of snow, but made it the second time and it is breath taking. Beats Grand Canyon easily IMO.

Tinkerball · 08/10/2014 19:13

I know Rooty! Still we got pictures taken on the street outside with the roller coaster in the background, next best thing! Grin

Tinkerball · 08/10/2014 19:14

The one thing I missed that I really wanted to see was the waterfall in the JP State Park on the Big Sur, DH had driven past it before we realised!

dingit · 08/10/2014 19:33

Not liking the sound of traffic madness, dh will completely lose the plot.

TarkaTheOtter · 08/10/2014 19:41

When are you going dingit? If it is US school hols it will be busy. When I was there last year it is clear that they are trying to discourage car use and get you to take their shuttle bus around the valley floor. The signage for private vehicles is useless and we spent quite a lot of time trying to work out how to navigate the convoluted one-way system to travel about 300m. This was just after kids went back to school for Easter, I can imagine it's pretty awful mid-summer.
But the valley is only one tiny bit of the park and in summer so much more is accessible.