My family Booked our holiday for next year yesterday there are 8 of us going november 2008 so i just thought id post our itinerary for everyone to look at and if people would like to leave a comment or a tip about anywhere im going that would be great,this is how it reads what the travel company have sent us

Day 1
Depart Manchester to Las Vegas. On arrival transfer to your hotel for a three night stay. we are staying at the stratosphere hotel

Day 2
Free in Las Vegas. We include a short sightseeing tour of this exciting city.Also Las Vegas by Night tour.

Day 3
tour by air to the Grand Canyon with staggering depths and strange rock forms. Not only will you fly over the Canyon itself, you can also visit the South Rim for magnificent views. Evening free in Las Vegas.

Day 4
Drive to Palm Springs via the ‘ghost town’ of Calico, a silver mining settlement abandoned by 1907. Continue to your hotel for a two night stay. staying in the Vagabond Motel

Day 5
Free to soak up the sunshine, explore Palm Springs, take the Aerial Tramway up Mount San Jacinto or visit the Desert Museum.

Day 6
Depart Palm Springs and drive to Los Angeles for a two night stay. visit to Disneyland, including entrance to all the attractions. we are staying at the Sportsmans lodge in LA

Day 7
Included morning city tour, featuring the Hollywood Bowl, Graumann’s Chinese Theater, Sunset Strip and the Farmers’ Market. afternoon visit to Universal Studios.

Day 8
Today is the first day of your spectacular two day drive up the magnificent Pacific Coastline. You follow Highway 1 to San Luis Obispo for an overnight stay.

Day 9
Continue northwards past the dramatic cliffs of the Pacific Coast Highway, through Carmel and Monterey and along the 17 mile drive to San Francisco for a two night stay. In San Fransico we are stopping in the Catherdral Hill Hotel

Day 10
San Francisco is one of the world’s most beautiful cities. We include a morning sightseeing tour. You will cross the fabulous Golden Gate Bridge and also visit Twin Peaks, Golden Gate Park, the Civic Centre, Chinatown and finally Fisherman’s Wharf. Optional excursions include a harbour cruise.

Day 11
Transfer to the airport for your return flight to the UK.

Day 12
Arrival in the UK.


well i cant wait to go i know its 14 months away but that will go pretty fast me and my cousin are both of drinking age as well so at night we can have a drink as well and a bet in Vegas,should be a great holiday.

Sounds great,im off to the US in March cant wait..

i cant wait to go mate ive never been to the west coast,where are you going?

Im going to Memphis, Tennessee to visit Graceland the home of the King Elvis Presley.

Can't wait

nice one

Chopper, that looks like a wonderful itinerary! You are definitley going to some really beautiful places.

i cant wait i wish it was this november and its the first time in the states for two of my cousins so im pleased for them as well.

Deoes anybody know of any of the hotels ive mentioned?

The Stratosphere



There is a rollercoaster ride at the top of the Stratosphere





Cathedral Hill Hotel

Chopper,

Sounds like a wonderful trip. I do know the Stratosphere. I have never stayed there but have gambled/eaten there when it was called "Vegas World". Like most Vegas hotels, it's fine. The only drawback is it is the far end of the strip but if you can easily get a cab or shuttle to the central strip. Or, you can walk if you don't mind walking several blocks. The weather should be cool which beats the 100 plus heat.

You're seeing a lot of neat things in CA. You'll love Disneyland, Plam Springs is very nice with a lot of shops and restaurants. The sky tram you speak of is very popular. Years ago, when I was fairly new to CA, my boss and I drove to Palm Springs to check out a "wet n wild" type swimming place to use as a 7th grade field trip. Her and andother gal were talking about this tram in Palm Springs. Well, we were going to eat at the restaurant on the mountain. Ha ha ha....I saw how high up it was and refused to go on it. (politely of course, but I'm petrified of heights). They laughed and obliged thankfully.

Of course, there's no place like CA. PCH (Highway 1)is very very beautiful.You can't get a much more scenic route. However, last I knew it'll take you at least twice as long to get to your destination because traffice is horrendous. I'd suggest traveling a while on PCH and maybe have an alternate route. It's totally up to you though. If you are not in a hurry, why not?

L.A. is a lot of fun. I just love Universal Studios and want to go again soon. Beveryly Hills, Rodeo Drive, The Chinese Theater/Hollywood Blvd. all a must see. Oh, and everyone needs to see Disneyland at least once. It amazes me how immaculate they keep that park, with all the traffic it sees daily. I haven't been there in years, but it is a neat place.

You'll love San Francisco as well. A totally different atmosphere than SoCal, but still such a wonderful city.

Well, I'be blabbed enough. Have a good time. You're right the time passes so quickly, that before you know it, it'll be here.

TIS

Wow the stratosphere is amazing,

Tis the trip is pre arranged by a travel operator so they the way we go and times are pre arranged but to be quite honest waiting doesnt bother me,i just cant wait to get there my cousin shes 21 is looking forward to shopping on Rodeo drive well so is my mum and Auntie as well,me im looking forward to the whole trip but Vegas and Universal will be the Best for me,ive done Disney land in Florida are they pretty much the same? even if they are i loved it anyway you going to be 8 yrs old again.So we go on November 9th will the weather still be nice (shorts t-shirt weather?) are there tips for keeping safe in LA etc...

i better lose some weight as well to keep up with all the Beautiful people in LA!!

And then you will put it all back on in the states.lol

true

Chopper,

I'm sure the travel agency you booked with probably has it set up without any unecessary driving, so I wouldn't worry about that then.

As far as the weather, well you are probably asking the wrong person because it's always cold to me in the winter. When I first moved to CA, it was October, and we were walking my girls to the bus stop for school. My husband and I laughed at all these kids with warm winter coats on. We thought what idiots. We got rid of our winter coats when we moved here.
Well, guess what.......now I don't laugh and I always have a winter coat on hand.

I don't know the UK weather, but I think for any/most tourist, November will seem like spring if you are coming from a cooler climate and to be honest, I can tell tourist most of the time anyway, if I'm in L.A. in the winte, because they have shorts on. Not a bad thing at all, just an observation. So I'd say pack your shorts, but bring a jacket/long pants just in case.

TIS

Edit to add: Chopper, the person that would know much more about the L.A. area is Letizia. She lives in the vicinity and can give updated info.

Rain, rain and rain

you forgot the wind,snow,sleet,hail and more rain

Hey that's Ohio weather.

Chopper, that's a great itinerary! A few tips:
--As TIS said, the tram ride in Palm Springs is great. You'll find the temperature at the top terminal to be about 30 degrees cooler than at the bottom. There are some nice hikes at the top, and a great view of (I think) the Salton Sea.
--I'd be real interested in your reaction to Vegas. As H.P. Lovecraft would have said: "The product of a diseased fancy...not of this nor of any sane planet." But I like it because of that.
--If you're going to stay in San Luis Obispo, go the Madonna Inn and use the men's room. See if you can get them to show you some of the guest rooms. You'll see why California used to have the reputation as "the land of Nuts and Fruits."
--Can your tour operator stop at San Simeon during the trip up the PCH? If so, you can visit the Hearst Castle, truly the Ninth Wonder of the World.
--Look out for huslers in San Francisco. Don't go to any of the strip or topless clubs unless you like drinking "champagne" that's seltzer mized with Ripple.

TB, you're a mind reader. I was trying to find the thread that was posted a few months back which included pics from the Madonna Inn. The wife and I were there back in 1986. A crazy place. A lot of fun. I believe that back then it was a big honeymooner's place.





Caveman Theme Room





Old West Theme Room




Love Nest Theme Room





Madonna Inn PHOTO GALLERY of rooms

Wow thanks for the great tips guys :D,growing up as a kid all i ever wanted to do was visit the states so ive done the east coast(well a little anyway) but i cant wait to see the west coast it seems so mysterious to me and with the history of the wild west and things like that i just cant wait i think this is going to be a trip of a life time! hopefully bye then ill have learnt how to post pictures

im looking forward to visiting ‘ghost town’ of Calico, has anybody ever been or heard of this place?

Thank you Don Cardi looks an interesting place

That Madonna Inn looks nice. You can request a certain "themed" room?? I have never been to San Luis Obispo but hear it is very nice.


TIS

The Madonna Inn is a real trip!! It has the gaudiest rooms I've ever seen but its a fun gaudy!

Also, the Hearst Castle at San Simeon is a must see! Besides being the basis for Citizen Kane's castle (where "Rosebud" was burned) its a real treat to see how this ultra-rich guy (Hearst) lived.

There's plenty of it going around then Mig....

I agree on both parts. The Madonna Inn is a lot of fun and Hearst Castle is a must see. Let me add that the pool and the veranda at Hearst Castle which overlooks the mountains and the valley was used in a scene for the movie Spartacus.






That whole trip dwon the California coast is just amazing.

Your bus also can take the famous 17-mile Drive between Monterey and Carmel--beautiful. Seal-watching, too. Clint Eastwood was the mayor of Carmel.

Yes! An Absolutely breathtaking trip! Those seals were just amazing to watch, and that little town of Carmel is just so quaint and beautiful. I'll never forget seeing one of the Golf Holes at Pebble Beach, and only a few hundred feet away from the hole you could see the seals sitting on the rocks. Just amazing.

TB, have you ever been up to wine country?

Yes, once, in '86. Visited several interesting wineries in Santa Rosa. Very worthwhile. They didn't charge you for your samples then.

Chopper, given all the enthusiasm and helpful advice that your thread has generated, I think you should post a full review of your trip after it's done. I'm sure we'd all appreciate it.

We were there in '87. We did the Wine country and the coast trip and planned it so that we would be in Los Angeles at the time of the Superbowl. It just so happened that my New York Giants made it to the Superbowl that year!

I have to admit though, as much as I enjoyed Wine Country, San Fran and the whole coast thing, my favorite part of California is San Diego.