San Francisco ,LA & Vegas
Discussion
Flying out to San Francisco next month.Few nights there,then driving(hire car) to LA via coast road.Overnight stop in Morro Bay.
few nights in LA then driving to Vegas for a 4 night stop over,before flying home.
Any tips would be welcome,as not been to this part of US before.
Also a little paranoid about LA /crime.
Have got some idea of what area's of LA to avoid etc.
Would you wear a decent watch in LA ,or should I wear my Seiko 5 or something!?
few nights in LA then driving to Vegas for a 4 night stop over,before flying home.
Any tips would be welcome,as not been to this part of US before.
Also a little paranoid about LA /crime.
Have got some idea of what area's of LA to avoid etc.
Would you wear a decent watch in LA ,or should I wear my Seiko 5 or something!?
Same as anywhere really, there are nice bits and bad bits. You'll be fine dressing flashily in Rodeo Drive and Beverley Hills, but in Compton you'd be better off with one of those £10 Casio digital jobbies that terrorists wear.
So long as you don't dress like a tourist you'll get left alone.
So long as you don't dress like a tourist you'll get left alone.
Dunno about LA to be honest, but:
In San Fran, the open top bus tours are pretty good, you have to go on a cable car, (sit on the right hand side going from Union Square to Fisherman's Wharf for the best view down the zig zag hill,) and Alcatraz is a must.
In Vegas, make sure you get out to the Grand Canyon in some way, it's very impressive, as is the view from the top floor of the Belagio Parking Lot. The Pleasure Pit in Planet Hollywood was good a few years ago, but might have changed, and visit the Venetian to see their indoor canal shopping area. The Treasure Island show is quite good, as are the fountains at the Belagio.
In San Fran, the open top bus tours are pretty good, you have to go on a cable car, (sit on the right hand side going from Union Square to Fisherman's Wharf for the best view down the zig zag hill,) and Alcatraz is a must.
In Vegas, make sure you get out to the Grand Canyon in some way, it's very impressive, as is the view from the top floor of the Belagio Parking Lot. The Pleasure Pit in Planet Hollywood was good a few years ago, but might have changed, and visit the Venetian to see their indoor canal shopping area. The Treasure Island show is quite good, as are the fountains at the Belagio.
sb-1 said:
Have got some idea of what area's of LA to avoid etc.
All of LA. Well as a place to stay anyhow, I’d choose one of the many sea side towns such as Santa Monica. I’m often surprised at the amount of people who say they didn’t rate it or hate it but when you find out where they’ve stayed it’s always LA proper. Taking the above advice I’d commute in to see the sites you want to see, loads of tour operators operating out of places like Santa Monica. Letting someone else do the driving for you will save allot of stress, I’ve driven all around CA but LA takes some beating, with the usual zero lane discipline synonymous with the rest of CA just 100x more cars.I really like the vibe of Santa Monica, predestriaised streets, loads of restaurants and bars; I think the only place to avoid by night is under the pier, I’d adopt the same street smarts as anywhere else in the world in a major city. We were never in the city later at night but I think you’d really have to go looking for the bad areas rather than accidently stumbling upon one! Rodeo Drive and Beverly Hills area was nice and I bumped into Tandy Newton………
louiebaby said:
Dunno about LA to be honest, but:
In San Fran, the open top bus tours are pretty good, you have to go on a cable car, (sit on the right hand side going from Union Square to Fisherman's Wharf for the best view down the zig zag hill,) and Alcatraz is a must
That would be Lombard street? I really like SF, have always had cracking weather when I've been there and day trip to the wine areas of Sonoma and Napa are easily do-able.In San Fran, the open top bus tours are pretty good, you have to go on a cable car, (sit on the right hand side going from Union Square to Fisherman's Wharf for the best view down the zig zag hill,) and Alcatraz is a must
I found Vegas a bit meh TBH.
Edited by a311 on Wednesday 21st March 13:35
Never been to San Fran or LA but I think you have had enough good tips here anyway, in terms of Vegas everything you would need to see is on the strip apart from the Grand Canyon which is a must visit.
You could easily spend 4 days just looking around the different hotels which are something else, although some are a lot better than others (Venetian, Cosmo and Aria were my favorites). Shopping is good but expensive, would recommend visiting Yosmite if your driving over and time allows for it
You could easily spend 4 days just looking around the different hotels which are something else, although some are a lot better than others (Venetian, Cosmo and Aria were my favorites). Shopping is good but expensive, would recommend visiting Yosmite if your driving over and time allows for it
In San Fran we did the bridge, Alcatraz, boat tour, a baseball game, sealife centre, Haight Ashbury, a winery in Napa Valley and a walk around a redwood forest
I don't like wine and wasn't 21+ at the time so didn't think the winery was fantastic. Sealife centre was ok. The excursions out (boat and Alcatraz) we booked in advance, and very glad we did - great trips.
The redwood forest was nice but can't remember where it was. There's a pub you can hit on the way back down to the city with loads of ales. Needless to say, the other half wasn't very well that day ¬_¬
I don't like wine and wasn't 21+ at the time so didn't think the winery was fantastic. Sealife centre was ok. The excursions out (boat and Alcatraz) we booked in advance, and very glad we did - great trips.
The redwood forest was nice but can't remember where it was. There's a pub you can hit on the way back down to the city with loads of ales. Needless to say, the other half wasn't very well that day ¬_¬
BIg Sur just south of Monterey is beautiful, make sure you spend some time there on your trip. Muir Woods and Sausolito (sp?) north over the Golden Gate are good too. So much to do and see there. I drove down Highway 1 a couple of weeks back from Half Moon Bay - fantastic and relatively traffic free, for a Saturday.
Viper_Larry said:
BIg Sur just south of Monterey is beautiful, make sure you spend some time there on your trip. Muir Woods and Sausolito (sp?) north over the Golden Gate are good too. So much to do and see there. I drove down Highway 1 a couple of weeks back from Half Moon Bay - fantastic and relatively traffic free, for a Saturday.
Just remember to bring a CD with you - there's no radio reception on most of the Big Sur road.davepoth said:
Viper_Larry said:
BIg Sur just south of Monterey is beautiful, make sure you spend some time there on your trip. Muir Woods and Sausolito (sp?) north over the Golden Gate are good too. So much to do and see there. I drove down Highway 1 a couple of weeks back from Half Moon Bay - fantastic and relatively traffic free, for a Saturday.
Just remember to bring a CD with you - there's no radio reception on most of the Big Sur road.Gassing Station | Holidays & Travel | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff