West coast family holiday

jrar

Hi,

We're contemplating a family holiday (2 adults, 2 teenage girls) on the US west coast next Summer (most likely Aug. for 16-17 days in total) with a stopover in NYC either on the way, or more likely on the return leg. Looking for some input from those who may have done similar trips in recent years

Don't have an "dream" itinerary in mind but would like to see SF, LA, some of the other good spots in California, maybe also Yosemite/Death Valley - not interested in trying to fit in Vegas or G Canyon i.e. trying to avoid really long bouts of driving.

We're looking at possibly trying to do a house swop which would cut down on accomm costs but would of course mean we were anchored in one place and wold have to settle for doing mostly day trips or maybe the odd over-nighter from there, but it wouldl also mean having our own rental-free transport.

If we alternatively decided to fly into SF and out of LAX (or vice-versa) and to do a "road trip", how feasible is that ? Would we just spend too many daytime hours in a rented car coupled with the hassle and expense of either pre-booking or finding hotels on the hoof each night, or is it a lot more feasible than that i.e. good existing suggested itineraries coupled with cheaper motel/hotel accomm options ?

All told, we'd probably be looking at a budget of €5-€6k, and I'd be looking to start buying some dollars pretty much straight away given the "historic" low of 1.19/1.20 versus the euro

For NYC, I'm thinking 2/3 nights and using Air BnB and whilst it's not cheap, I think we can manage that element ok

Is that sort pf budget realistic given the cost of accomm/eating out/tipping etc. in the US, or would I need more if we don't have swopped accomm/car and have to fund everything ourselves from scratch ?

For flight options, I know EI flights cover the cities we want to go to, but in price terms, might it be cheaper to go via LHR/MAN, or would a routing using Delta, United etc. be a better bet ? If I go a diff. route other than via DUB/SNN, presumably that will add to the other end in terms of not having pre-clearance done before flying ? Would internal flights via the US carriers work out better for say getting from west coast to NYC, or are they just as expensive as external carriers ?

Sorry for all of the questions, but I'm trying to work out how feasible this all is - my girls are mad keen to go to the US and this might be our last chance to have a really good/big family holiday as future years will have exams/college clashing with them. My wife and I have been to NYC/BOS/CHI via work several times, but we'd like to see the west coast (even though I swore blind I'd not set foot in the country whilst that asshole is in the White House !)

Appreciate all comments and suggestion, positive or negative ! Thanks

Dave1442397

If you want to save money on flights, check out https://wowair.us/ too. Just watch out for all the extra charges you might have to pay as opposed to flying a regular-price airline. As for skipping pre-clearance, it can add a couple of hours when you land in the US, or you can get lucky and be through the lines in fifteen minutes...just depends how many other planes landed around the same time.

For internal flights, use something like www.kayak.com to check flights, but remember that there are airlines like www.southwest.com that will not show up on those search sites. I really like Southwest for internal flights.

As for the west coast, I would skip LA completely unless the kids really want to go to Disneyland. It's basically a sprawling mess of traffic jams, and with all the times I've been out west, I've never bothered with LA.

From SF, I would probably go to Lake Tahoe, then back down to Yosemite and Death Valley. If you still wanted to do LA, you could go there from Death Valley. 

As for your overall budget, you can save a lot on food if you try. We always get hotels with a small kitchen, or at least a microwave and fridge. We will go to a local supermarket and buy cereal, bread, milk, sandwich meat, etc, and maybe only eat out once a day. Either that, or book hotels with breakfast included.

jme2010

Dave1442397 wrote: »

As for the west coast, I would skip LA completely unless the kids really want to go to Disneyland. It's basically a sprawling mess of traffic jams, and with all the times I've been out west, I've never bothered with LA.

How can you write of the city if you've never been there?

There is a lot of charm to Venice and Santa Monica if you like the beach at all.

Cool rooftop bars downtown. UCLA, Warner Bro's Studio, be in the audience of your favorite TV show.

Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive. Malibu Beach for feck sake!

Universal Studios is supposed to be amazing. You can't just spout garbage about the traffic jams you've heard about and skip an entire culture of America.

Dave1442397

jme2010 wrote: »

Dave1442397 wrote: »

As for the west coast, I would skip LA completely unless the kids really want to go to Disneyland. It's basically a sprawling mess of traffic jams, and with all the times I've been out west, I've never bothered with LA.

How can you write of the city if you've never been there?

There is a lot of charm to Venice and Santa Monica if you like the beach at all.

Cool rooftop bars downtown. UCLA, Warner Bro's Studio, be in the audience of your favorite TV show.

Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive. Malibu Beach for feck sake!

Universal Studios is supposed to be amazing. You can't just spout garbage about the traffic jams you've heard about and skip an entire culture of America.

Spout garbage? Nice attitude - another reason to skip LA, I guess. According to this article, LA is only the 2nd worst place for traffic jams in the US, with Washington DC being #1. Of course, in DC you can at least get around easily on the subway system.  http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-is-los-angeles-traffic-the-worst-20150826-story.html
And yeah, I can skip that culture no problem. Let's see, Venice Beach - nice as long as you stay on the sand, apparently - http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-venice-arrest-20170317-story.html
Obviously plenty of people live in and like LA, but there are so many other places I want to see in the US that LA will never make it onto my list.

jme2010

Dave1442397 wrote: »

Obviously plenty of people live in and like LA, but there are so many other places I want to see in the US that LA will never make it onto my list.

I felt sorry for you when you said LA will never make it on your list, but before I get too sanctimonious I have a similar view towards Detroit.

I feel like I would never purposefully visit Detroit due to the run down areas, crime, and general disgust that most Americans and TV shows place towards Detroit.

But again, this is all based on articles and crap other people have written. If you have not visited Detroit I'd like to hear your opinion on the city and if you would visit it before LA?

él statutorio

I've been to LA plenty of times, The OP has 2 teenage girls so they might like having a wander around Rodeo Drive and the like. But to be honest, I'd avoid it too, there are nicer places outside of the city. Both northwards and southwards.

Dave1442397

jme2010 wrote: »

Dave1442397 wrote: »

Obviously plenty of people live in and like LA, but there are so many other places I want to see in the US that LA will never make it onto my list.

I felt sorry for you when you said LA will never make it on your list, but before I get too sanctimonious I have a similar view towards Detroit.

I feel like I would never purposefully visit Detroit due to the run down areas, crime, and general disgust that most Americans and TV shows place towards Detroit.

But again, this is all based on articles and crap other people have written. If you have not visited Detroit I'd like to hear your opinion on the city and if you would visit it before LA?

I'm not much into cities to begin with. When I go out west, Lake Tahoe is my go-to destination. I haven't been to Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon, and plenty of other scenic places I want to visit at some point. 

Detroit is not on my list   I have nothing for or against it, just no interest in going there. My idea of a fun vacation is taking my bike and riding around to see the scenery, like the ride shown below.