We have done that twice, both times with United Vacations. It was a few years back so cant help with price but we felt it was the best deal at the time.

Bridd

Hi

I priced this up last year for a friend and http://www.archersdirect.co.uk/content/touring/3520Z/2/41/8/index.html came out cheapest then. You can add on the Hawaii option for around £450.00 per person. Archers Direct are the direct sell arm of Cosmos.

Hope this helps!
P.S. Did the Las Vegas, LA, Pacific Coast Highway and San Francisco part of this tour last year as a self drive - awesome!

I live just a few miles from Highway 1 (the Pacific Coast Highway), close to Monterey, and about 2 hours from San Francisco. Let me know if you have any questions relating to the California part of your trip.

I would love some help! Me and my then husband will be in California in September for our honeymoon.

Starting in La, Las Vegas, Yosemite, Monterey and then San Francisco. We have booked all our hotels apart from the Monterey one and thought we'd just go with the flow for that. Is this advisable??

Hi,

We booked our trip with Virgin, and the trip was expensive.
5 Nights - Las Vegas
3 Nights - San Francisco
7 Nights - Hawaii
3 Nights - LA

Our original plan was to drive the whole trip, but changed our minds and booked internal flights.

Since then we have returned to Vegas with American Airlines (via Dallas), and would have no reservations about booking all the flights, this can be done on there web site or Expedia ect. This may take time to plan but you will be able to save money. We like Opodo for Hotels.

If you do not want to go this trip alone, take a look at the Virgin Website, they do Las Vegas/San Fran/Hawaii in two weeks, and arrange all internal flights.

If you require any other infor, do not hesitate to send a PM.

Kaz.

Hi

I would agree with bridd, we have also travelled many times with United Vacations, and cannot fault them.

The advantage is, you can add on / take off as many nights that suit you.

As for cost, this will depend on the amount of nights you choose in each location, also the type of accommodation you require, i.e. 3* hotels or 4* hotels, although we book 4* accommodation, to be honest 3* hotels in America are of a good quality, but each to their own.

One thing to bear in mind, if you want to do a "Fly Drive", you drop off you car at the same location that pick up your car up, if you drop off your car at a different location, you will incur a heavy drop off fee.

When you have created your itinerary, if your trip involves flying between cities, i.e. Los Angeles, San Francisco, etc, my advice would be to hire a car in each location, for example, if you fly into Los Angeles, and fly out of San Francisco, when you drop your car off in San Francisco, you may incur a large drop off fee.

Any further advice just ask.

Driver02

Poopina, it sounds like you have most of your trip figured out pretty well. Yeah, you can just turn up without booking a hotel in Monterey. There are plenty of hotels around the area (Salinas in particular, which is less than 20 miles away) and Monterey itself has hotels. Not as many as some might think but it does have some.

When you are in the Monterey area, take a day or half a day and drive south to Big Sur. The views along the coast are amazing and Big Sur isn't too far to go... it's a little under 30 miles from Monterey but the road is very windy with sharp corners so it takes quite a while to get there. And that's a good thing because you will be wanting to stop at all the vista areas to take photos of some of the amazing scenery. When driving to Big Sur you will also go across the Bixby Bridge which is a national landmark of sorts. It's up to you but, if you are then pressed for time after leaving Monterey and heading to SF, I wouldn't take Highway 1 or it will take a LOT longer to get to San Francisco. Take Highway 68 from Monterey to Salinas, then take Highway 101 (North) into San Francisco. Or, from Monterey, you can drive North on Highway 1 for about 10 miles until you get to Highway 156 which also links up to Highway 101 (and actually links up about 8 miles further North than 68 does, which would work out equally well).

So, basically, I'm saying that if you have a choice between going south down Highway 1 to look at the view or going North, I would pick the south option and do it in a day or half a day, then take the quicker route on 101 to get to San Francisco.

Great to see that you have Yosemite on your list of things to do. I've been there a couple of times and it's an amazing place. Unfortunately, the waterfalls will be mostly dried up by September but you might still get to see one or two. Waterfalls or not, the views are still amazing and make sure you go to Glacier Point: the only views that can compare with it are possibly those from the Grand Canyon.

juxtaposedwithu - I haven't been to Hawaii so I can't comment on that, but I hope you have fun! It sounds great.

Just to add to my comments about United Vacations, they give you a free stopover. We once used our to get a free flight from Los Angeles to Las Vegas as we couldnt be bothered with the drive. Another time we used it to Phoenix.
Bridd

Hi Poopina - Did the same trip a few years ago and it was great -especially travelling through Death Valley to get in Yosemite through the Tioga Pass (check whether it's likely to be open in September).
119 degrees one day - snowballing the next! A much overused word but Yosemite was truly awesome, jawdropping!
Like come to california says, Salinas is a better bet for hotels than Monterey- more variety and better value. Unless you will be there on a public holiday, you shouldn't have any problem getting rooms. We didn't book any on the whole trip.
Personally I found Monterey a bit of a let down-pleasant enough but you get spoiled over there. So much is "great" that when you come across the "good" you feel let down!
You're wise to book a hotel in San Francisco though - they're expensive and book up.
Have agreat trip

Hi - we are doing a similar trip in July - we went to the travel agents and booked with a company called Travel Pack. We have chosen LHR to san francisco for 4 nights then fly onto vegas for 4 nights then finnishing off in L.A for 4 nights. For the internal flights we could pick our times. Total cost of holiday is about £1250 which considering we are staying in 3* hotels except in L.A which is a 4* and is in peak season - we thought that it was good. This is flying with united airlines. I would have prefered to go for slightly longer. We bounced off all the travel agents to get better prices and we booked in January. Enjoy your trip x

Hi Guys,

For my honeymoon I have booked a 3 week trip to the west coast.

We are starting off in Vegas, staying in Bellagio for 2 nights. We are then making our way to San Franciso (flying) and have 10 nights to get down to San Diego before heading off to Maui for 6 nights.

This will be our 1st time in America and are obviously very excited!!!

Anyone got any tips for us, we thing about staying around Carmel for a few days on the way down.

Any help appreciated

Cheers
S

What kinds of tips are you looking for? I live in LA and used to live near Carmel. One tip (you can ask the rest): I would only spend a day or two in the Monterey and Carmel area. Unless you are really REALLY into antique stores, there isn't much to do in Carmel after you've been on the beach. Monterey is better but, again, you will run out of things to do after just a couple of days. Aquarium, wharf, drive down Highway 1 to Big Sur... those are the main attractions.

I agree.

2 Days max in the Monterey/Carmel area. Ya can really see it all in 1.

If ya want to take in Hearst Castle (Cambria) on your drive South you'll need advance reservations.

In San Francisco I'd avoid tourist traps like Fishermans Wharf or Chocolate square. It's awful.

Food and drink at the Fog City Diner is nice,, again, a reservation is essential, and a dress code.

I'd go North instead and visit Napa Valley, and the unknown, mostly unexplored Alexander Valley. Both outstanding wine country areas.

Alexander Valley has family run winerys/vineyards,, and everyone has a theme and character of it's own.

But that's just my humble opinion.
Enjoy your trip.

Thanks for the info guys.

Did hear that Carmel / Monterey was a bit slow paced.

In your opinion would it be better for me to spend more time around San Fran and San Diego.

I am really asking because as we are only around for a limited time, didnt want to waste time seing things and going to places that could be "awful"

I have hired a car from San Fran but understand that the parking is a real issue.

Thanks again guys

hey Skelts,

you'll have an amazing time doing the west coast. i was there for three weeks in november and had the time of my life! i visited los angeles, san francisco, san diego and las vegas. i went on my own, and spent some of my time with friends who live out there, and some of the time on my own. it was amazing!

after flying into L.A. and spending my first weekend with my friends in beverly hills, i went to san francisco on my own. it is just the best. it's everything you think it's going to be and more cos it's everything you've read about and seen on tv..all the landmarks etc... i wouldn't say going down to fishermans wharf is "awful", i'd say it's all part of the san francisco experience. yes, there is no denying it's very touristy, but it's also where you get the ferries to alcatraz/bay cruises etc, or where most of the organised tour companies have their offices, so you'll prob be down there at some point. go see the seals on pier 39, they stink but at hilarious to watch! have some clam chowder in a sour dough bread bowl..typically touristy, but you will be a tourist, so why not indulge? and also, the chocolate at ghiradelli square is amazing, but you can buy it everywhere in town for cheaper than at the actual place itself. i took a couple of day trips as i didn't want to miss the opportunities to visit some great places when i was so close. so i went to yosemite for the day. it was a long long day, but so worth every minute. it's breathtaking and i'd recommend it to anyone. i also took a wine tasting trip to napa and sonoma, and they too were worth every drop! in san francisco itself, golden gate park is lovely, as is the view from twin peaks, the highest point in the city i believe. i don't know about parking in the city itself as i didn't have a car. i just walked a whole lot ( much to the pain of my calf muscles!) and also took the cable cars, a must when in san francisco! the cable car stop was right outside my hotel, which was on union square. i loved the buzz of being around powell street/union square. lots of shops, lots of restaurants/cafes etc/ same beggars appearing every night! never a dull moment!!

i flew back to L.A. after san francisco, picked up a hire car, and drove down to my friend's just outside san diego. the drive was no hassle and san diego is a lovely city, i really liked it, and the weather was just the perfect! when down there, don't forget to go to la jolla, just about 10 mins or so north of downtown san diego itself. it's GORGEOUS and i totally fell in love with this place, the views and sunsets are just awesome. coronado is another part of san diego i loved, the hotel del coronado worth a nosey around ( great ice cream at a shop called moo something!). i also visited the zoo and sea world, exhausting days, but great to see. the beaches are lovely and there's just a superb relaxed kinda atmosphere around san diego. could be something to do with all the surfy dudes at the beaches!! all these places will be easy for you to get to if you have a car.

after my six days in san diego, i drove back upto los angeles back to my mate's place. her and her husband stay in a really nice area, and everything i needed/wanted to do around L.A. was in the good parts. i know you read/hear about the bad things in L.A. but i can honestly say that if you don't want to face these kinds of sights in this city then it is avoidable. the area around about west hollywood/beverly hills is very safe. when my friend and her husband were at work or out at night and i was left to cater for myself, i felt completely safe walking to the shops/restaurants around about this area. i know i am in the fantastic position of having friends who stay in favourable places, but even if i didn't i'd still spend a little extra cash staying in safe areas so that the threat of non-desirable sights/encounters were minimal. in my opinion, los angeles is a good city, i went expecting the pits because of what i'd read on here, and was happily surprised. i loved it in fact! santa monica is fab, i loved third street promenade and the restaurants/cafes down there. i indulged in all the hollywood stuff, the walk of fame, the kodak theatre, the chinese theatre, the tacky goods shops etc. i even did a cheesy tour of the movie stars homes which was, like i said, cheesy but funny! a trip upto the vista point at mulholland drive will also give you great views of the city. i didn't do any of the tours of film studios or go to any of the theme parks as i was there visiting friends, so we mostly went shopping, out for drives, out to dinner and generally hung out together. we also drove to vegas for the weekend which was so much fun, but two days was enough there! like i said, maybe i loved L.A. so much because of my good friends who stay there, so i'm seeing the everyday side of it and not just having to do the touristy things constantly, or stay in dodgy areas just to be near transport links etc. there's so much to do there i think i'll be heading back this november to do more.

one last thing before i wind up this eons long posting...two words. Jamba Juice. i fell in LOVE. go to jamba, grab a shake. you'll love it! enjoy your honeymoon!!!

daisy x

juxtaposedwithu (that's an unusual screen name!)

I can thoroughly recommend Archers Direct, who were mentioned earlier. We did a west coast tour with them a few years ago, which went to Las Vegas, Palm Springs, LA, Solvang and San Francisco, and it was fantastic value for money. They give you the option to extend your holiday in Hawaii, which we didn't do at the time and regretted.

We recently did their 'Hawaiian Islands' tour, which was also great value for money.

U2fan

I've just booked a touring west coast type holiday for july/august this year.

My destinations are LA, Monterey, Yosemite and SanFran, all with virgin travel.

One question i have is, i'm staying at union square when we get to sanfran and i've now heard that it can be quite 'rough' at night, is this true?

thank you

Duophonic

We've been to San Fran twice now and both times, we didn't see any problems around Union Square at night - in fact it's where a lot of the posher hotels in the city are located. It is where I'd choose to stay as it's so central to everything (and is at the heart of where all the shops are located).

By the way, I can highly recommend the Cheesecake Factory whilst you're there. It's located on the 8th floor in Macy's on Union Square. It's our favorite chain of restaurants in the US - there's a HUGE menu (it's not just cheesecakes!), the food's fantastic and the portions are massive. You might have to wait for a table, but it's definately worth it! Here's their website: http://www.thecheesecakefactory.com/

Enjoy

U2fan

We are thinking of doing an escorted tour of the West Coast of America this year so could anybody recommend a company?
We would like to spend some time in San Francisco, Las Vegas and have an opportunity to visit the Grand Canyon. I know the travelling can be intense but we would like to not spend all our time on the road. Is this actually possible in a 10 or 14 day break?

Your comments are appreciated.