Road Tripping in the USA!

[lee1101]

Thanks, I think we may go for it then. Unless Death Valley is worth it? Looks like it’s just a long road through a desert though.

Can’t believe how expensive car hire is now! We looked at booking a few years ago and it was about a third of the price!

 

[b0rn2sk8]

Thanks, I think we may go for it then. Unless Death Valley is worth it? Looks like it’s just a long road through a desert though.

Yes, 100% worth it. If you have not need to Death Valley before, you are absolutely missing out. As an environment, it’s entirely unique and you’ll not find anything else like it.

Here is a random shot I took from Dante’s view overlooking Badwater basin.

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The only reason the road to get up there exists to for that overlook.

Edit: you can skip vegas and still do Death Valley

Edit2: the other reason to go the Vegas is it enables a trip to the hoover dam, red rock canyon, valley of fire and lake mead or a day trip to the Grand Canyon.

 

[lee1101]

Has anyone flew with United Airlines? They seems to be the cheapest for Premium Economy (or whatever it’s called these days) but some of the reviews are pretty terrible.

 

[geekman]

Has anyone flew with United Airlines? They seems to be the cheapest for Premium Economy (or whatever it’s called these days) but some of the reviews are pretty terrible.

I have several times but only in standard economy which wasn’t any different from most other airlines I’ve flown with. I wouldn’t have any issue using them again.

 

[OllyM]

Yes, I've done a few domestic flights with them in economy and once in Polaris to the UK.

They were no better or worse than any other airline really, I'd happily fly with them again.

 

[lee1101]

Thank you

 

[SoliD]

Many years ago, once in business and once in economy. Was like any of the main airlines really, friendlier crew in general than BA/Virgin.

 

[timmothy]

We have a national parks pass for the USA . Not going to use it this year so would be great if someone could make use of it. It's not signed but does technically say not transferable. Would the mods allow that? Would be a shame to see it go to waste. It expires at the end of June. Would be free and would only ask for postage costs.

 

[SoliD]

We have a national parks pass for the USA . Not going to use it this year so would be great if someone could make use of it. It's not signed but does technically say not transferable. Would the mods allow that? Would be a shame to see it go to waste. It expires at the end of June. Would be free and would only ask for postage costs.

Pmed

 

[Ste]

Hi

Slightly different but looking for a more 'interesting' family holiday next summer (mid July) and thinking of a mini fly drive West coast trip.

Will have a 7 year old and 4 year old with us. Aim is to do a mix of fun stuff for them (disney, universal, perhaps one or two others) as well as some down time for a few days in somewhere with nice (but tolerable for the kids) weather. I wanted to do vegas or palm springs but they just seem too hot...40+!!

Thinking of something like -

Fly into LAX, day to recover
4/5 days disney/universal with a day off in between

South to legoland. Possibly stay here for a few days? Seem to be some nice hotels around the park. Place is called carlsbad, any experience?

South to Dan Diego for SeaWorld and the Zoo
Back to LAX

Have two weeks in total. Really want a few days downtime in a family friendly hotel / resort and if anyone knew of any good places (ideally 30c ish and sunny) would base the rest of the itinerary around that... I guess if it was central LA it would save on car hire but can't tell if that's a sensible idea!

Thoughts very welcome

 

[Peerzy]

Hi

Slightly different but looking for a more 'interesting' family holiday next summer (mid July) and thinking of a mini fly drive West coast trip.

Will have a 7 year old and 4 year old with us. Aim is to do a mix of fun stuff for them (disney, universal, perhaps one or two others) as well as some down time for a few days in somewhere with nice (but tolerable for the kids) weather. I wanted to do vegas or palm springs but they just seem too hot...40+!!

Thinking of something like -

Fly into LAX, day to recover
4/5 days disney/universal with a day off in between

South to legoland. Possibly stay here for a few days? Seem to be some nice hotels around the park. Place is called carlsbad, any experience?

South to Dan Diego for SeaWorld and the Zoo
Back to LAX

Have two weeks in total. Really want a few days downtime in a family friendly hotel / resort and if anyone knew of any good places (ideally 30c ish and sunny) would base the rest of the itinerary around that... I guess if it was central LA it would save on car hire but can't tell if that's a sensible idea!

Thoughts very welcome

You'll 100% want a car regardless of where you stay in LA. Absolutely everything is a 30 minute drive from anywhere basically, the scale of the place is massive.

Personally I'd spend a bit more time in San Diego rather than LA, it's got a much nicer chilled atmosphere. Aim to stay near the Gaslamp quarter and this is actually a place you will rarely need the car (just for the Zoo and SeaWorld).

La Jolla (just north of San Diego) is good for a visit on your trip down.

 

[FerretBoy]

100% agree on San Diego over LA. I landed in San Diego and it was a much much better place to chill and get over the jet lag. Also possible to manage without a car for a couple of days there. LA was fairly dull imho and I won't bother visiting it again, San Diego we loved.

 

[Ste]

Thanks both!

 

[Shadowness]

Monterey is a really nice place if you want a stop if driving the PCH.

Santa Barbara too.

That's what I didn't like about LA. Too big. Nothing is near each other. Not a city you can just wander around and explore.

 

[Maccy]

Monterey is a really nice place if you want a stop if driving the PCH.

Santa Barbara too.

That's what I didn't like about LA. Too big. Nothing is near each other. Not a city you can just wander around and explore.

Both good shouts.

 

[SoliD]

Just be cautious currently the pch is closed for parts due to landslides and reconstruction required.

 

[Lethal`]

Which comparison site is the go to for US car hire at the moment?
I've not had to hire a car myself for about 10 years... back then uscarhire.com was good. The site looked old then and looks even older now

Also, anyone per chance done a one way rental from Canada into the US? Some research suggested there's basically no chance but just in case...

 

[Capt Doufos]

Hey everyone, wondering what everyones current opinions are on needing to get a US SIM /e-SIM for data? Haven't done a road trip since 2016 and don't remember really struggling back then. This trip is more theme park oriented so wondering if data might be more useful. They don't look particularly cheap.

 

[SoliD]

I just got a three PAYG sim when I went earlier this month 10GB for £10, yeah it's not super speedy but it worked just fine for browsing when out and about and google maps.

 

[Maccy]

My O2 sim worked fine over there and used my UK allowance, I had a 3 one as backup but didn’t need it in the end. This was in 2019.