Road Tripping in the USA!

Bit of a change to the route, as one of the lads I'm going with is flying to LAX a day earlier and leaving a day earlier than the rest of us.

Day 1: Arrive LAX/San Diego
Day 2: San Diego
Day 3: San Diego/Las Vegas
Day 4: Las Vegas
Day 5: Las Vegas
Day 6: Las Vegas/Death Valley
Day 7: Death Valley/Yosemite
Day 8: Yosemite
Day 9: Yosemite/San Francisco
Day 10: San Francisco
Day 11: San Francisco
Day 12: San Francisco/PCH - Santa Cruz
Day 13: PCH - Santa Cruz/PCH - Pismo Beach
Day 14: PCH - Pismo Beach/PCH - Santa Barbara
Day 15: PCH - Santa Barbara/Los Angeles
Day 16: Los Angeles
Day 17: Los Angeles

Already booked a hotel for San Diego.

I've heard Las Vegas is much cheaper if you pitch up on the day and book, due to the sheer quantity of rooms going spare?
 
Where are you staying in SD?

Route looks ideal tbh, the right amount of time everywhere.

A guy in front of us tried to turn up and pay for a room for 3 nights (Monday, mid afternoon, Mirage) and he was quoted $199.99 per night + resort tax, he tried to get money off but didn't get anywhere so left. I paid $350 + resort tax for 4 nights and the $20 trick got me a room upgrade.
 
Peerzy said:
Where are you staying in SD?

Route looks ideal tbh, the right amount of time everywhere.

A guy in front of us tried to turn up and pay for a room for 3 nights (Monday, mid afternoon, Mirage) and he was quoted $199.99 per night + resort tax, he tried to get money off but didn't get anywhere so left. I paid $350 + resort tax for 4 nights and the $20 trick got me a room upgrade.
Click to expand...

About a mile from the centre/gaslamp so not too bad really.

Sounds like it might be best to book in advance and then try to upgrade? What's the $20 trick?
 
Where do you guys recommend staying in Las Vegas? I'm completely overwhelmed by the choice. After a couple of hours looking on Hotels.com I've narrowed it down to the following:

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino - £388
Hilton Grand Vacations on the Boulevard - £440
The Flamingo - £498
Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino - £581

For 3 nights/4 people.

Any obvious choices I'm missing?
 
Last edited:
We enjoyed the Flamingo, but we did go for the upgraded room (the front desk sweet talked us into it on arrival....). The upgraded rooms are nice with remote control blinds, nice hifis and TVs in the bath. :)
 
If you want to be in the action on the strip then go for Planet Holywood or Flamingo both are fairly close to (if not on) to the 'centre' the strip which is good for a visit to Vegas. (Prices probably reflect this).
You'll be taking long walks/cab rides/bus from Hard Rock and Hilton. Vegas is also cheaper when it isn't a weekend due to the American crounds from California going for the weekend (unless there is a convention or sporting event on).

I've always thought Flamingo was a bit older in terms of the interior (never seen a room) and Planet Holywood more modern. I haven't been for several years though and only to the lobby/casino area of each.
 
Last edited:
Robi said:
About a mile from the centre/gaslamp so not too bad really.

Sounds like it might be best to book in advance and then try to upgrade? What's the $20 trick?
Click to expand...

What's the name of the hotel in SD?

$20 trick is where you fold a $20 note into your passport so that when you hand them over to be photocopied on check in the employee gets the $20 and upgrades you to a nicer room.

http://www.thetwentydollartrick.com/

I've had it work both times I've stayed.

We've stayed in the MGM and Mirage. Mirage was better due to location and being a bit smaller. Location is everything in Vegas, walking from the MGM to Mirage can easily take 30-40 minutes despite it only being 2 blocks.

Out of those options I'd go for PH, but that's assuming the Mirage is loads more?
 
Peerzy said:
What's the name of the hotel in SD?

Out of those options I'd go for PH, but that's assuming the Mirage is loads more?
Click to expand...

Best Western Plus Marina Gateway.

I read through all of the threads on OcUK and as the Platinum Hotel & Spa is so highly rated we ended up booking 3 nights in a suite for £440 on Booking.com. I also managed to save 10% due to being a Genius member.

I was close to booking Planet Hollywood (@ £581) and the Mirage was around £800 so I'm glad I held off.
 
Last edited:
Any recommendations for accommodation in Yosemite?

We're looking at cabins/lodges but the choice is overwhelming.
 
Last edited:
Robi said:
Any recommendations for accommodation in Yosemite?
Click to expand...

I stayed here for 1 night www.tenayalodge.com

It is a good location about 2 miles from the entrance to the park, but probably wouldn't rush back. We had one of the cottages in the woods, a small walk from the hotel complex, but I found the restaurant odd in that you had to queue and wait for a time slot with the masses and it just feels like a holiday camp. Now there was nothing specifically wrong, it was clean and the cottage was nice but just a bit meh.
 
We've booked the Tree House Lodge for 2 nights using Scenic Wonders - looks amazing and not too pricey at $299/n compared to some of the others. It's only a 15-20 min drive to the valley which isn't bad.

EDIT: I've just received an email from management and Tree House Lodge is not for rental on our dates due to scheduled maintenance, even though it let us book. They offered us a complimentary upgrade to a different lodge and we ended up picking this beauty:

https://www.scenicwonders.com/yosemite-rentals/places-in-paradise

A lot more spacious and comes with a jacuzzi hot tub :D-
 
Last edited:
Gents

Anyone know of a cabin-sized duffel bag with organised pockets for phones, passports, wallets etc including a 15" laptop holder?

Something like this or a bit bigger but must be cabin-sized (up to 50cm) Organised Duffel Bag

Ideally something on Rainforest Prime or equally fast delivery as I'm flying out on Sunday and need it before then
 
Is the best option for sat nav still a PAYG SIM + Google Maps? If so, where did you guys buy the cards from?

Or how does Nav Free fare? It has an offline mode so data not required while travelling.
 
I've ordered a 3 SIM, then will be buying the £20 add on which gives you 12GB of data for 30 days.

I've used Nav Free, it's good for finding places which you've stored the address details for. But if you want to find something on the fly, you'll need internet, which is why I'm sticking with the SIM + Google maps option
 
How does fuelling work?

Read some conflicting stories.

Do you park up, put the hose in the tank, then walk to the cashier and ask for $X, then proceed back to the car to fill up.

What happens if you go over or under $X?
Do you really leave the fuel pump in the car and walk away???
 
rossk26 said:
How does fuelling work?

Read some conflicting stories.

Do you park up, put the hose in the tank, then walk to the cashier and ask for $X, then proceed back to the car to fill up.

What happens if you go over or under $X?
Do you really leave the fuel pump in the car and walk away???
Click to expand...

Yep, go in, hand over card / cash and tell them how much you want, go back out and fill up. Alternatively, you can give them a card and ask them to "leave it open" or "fill the tank" or anything similar, and they will authorise you for as much as you need.

If you overfill, I imagine it will stop.

If you underfill, you can go back in to get your change.

Also, many pumps have card machines that let you use a card without going inside, however most will ask for a US zip code and will often reject any that you put in. However, if you're using a Revolut card, they do suggest a zip code to use that will allow it to work (don't have it to hand).
 
I:

- park at pump
- make note of pump number
- walk into shop
- ask to pre-authorise $x (usually quite a bit more than I need), and hand over credit card*
- walk out
- fill up
- drive off

If I've pre-authorised too much then it only charges for what you've used. (If you can see pending transactions on your credit card statement online then you'll often see the higher amount until it's confirmed. if you've not authorised enough then it wont let you fill past that point).

:)

*normally at this point they'll say: "British, right?" or "You're not from around here are you?" or something like that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom