California Fly Drive
Discussion
We fancy trying something other than Florida this year and the idea of a California fly drive has been mentioned.
I see the usual routes of SF down to San Diego with a few stop offs in-between, but dont really know where to start.
My main thing is missing something epic that we just didn't know about.
Looking to go July or August this year, for 14-16 nights and would prefer to do it ourselves rather than be tied to the Trailfinders/Virgin deals.
Family of 4, 2 daughters aged 10 and 12. We love sports, action and adrenaline.
What are the main must see's and any recommendations on what to avoid?
I see the usual routes of SF down to San Diego with a few stop offs in-between, but dont really know where to start.
My main thing is missing something epic that we just didn't know about.
Looking to go July or August this year, for 14-16 nights and would prefer to do it ourselves rather than be tied to the Trailfinders/Virgin deals.
Family of 4, 2 daughters aged 10 and 12. We love sports, action and adrenaline.
What are the main must see's and any recommendations on what to avoid?
We did that trip in 2019 with our teenage daughters. Our itinerary was:
Fly to SanFran, couple of days in AirBNB near Golden Gate Park
Hired RV, drove to Yosemite, stayed a couple of miles from one of the entrance gates for a few days
Drove to Lake Tahoe for a couple of days
Back to Oakland, swapped RV for SUV.
Night in Monterey
Drove the PCH south through Big Sur
Stayed a night in Solvang
Drove to LA, stayed fairly central on Wilshire Boulevard in an Air BNB for 3 nights
Mooched around LA, Hollywood Hills, Beverly Hills, Rams game
Moved on to San Diego for a few days in a Sonder Apartment
Back to LA for flight home
It was a really memorable 16 day/1800 mile trip and whilst the girls didn't seem overly excited at the time, when you ask them now they say it was the best holiday ever. Highlights were SanFran, particularly Alcatraz which is a must do. SF has a bit of a bad rep / marmite opinion but we loved it. The RV was memorable and glad we experienced it but I wouldn't do it again. The distances are time consuming and the big one we had (32' 7L V8) made it difficult to manoeuvre & find parking. Yosemite was spectacular but mightily busy (and we went just as the US school holidays had finished), camping inside was impossible to find even 6 months out but the private site we stayed at was really good and the bus into the park stopped right at the entrance. Tahoe is a nice chilled spot. We had considered doing Nevada but the extra mileage put us off.
The road trip down Big Sur was also spectacular but we set off in fog from Monterey, luckily it cleared up. I wouldn't bother with Solvang unless you have a Danish connection. LA is LA, marmite again, but we spent the right amount of time there, not interested in theme parks. San Diego was the first US city I visited back in the 80's and I loved it back then, wasn't as good as I remembered but the area is really nice if you are into beaches.
CA is expensive and now it will be eye watering. We paid £13k all-in with economy flights on BA, think you'd struggle do it much under £20k now, even if the current insanity going on in TrumpWorld doesn't put you off anyway. Definitely try to go after 14th of Aug if you can, although if you are thinking RV be aware the Burning Man festival hoovers up most of the RV's for rent at the end of August.
Fly to SanFran, couple of days in AirBNB near Golden Gate Park
Hired RV, drove to Yosemite, stayed a couple of miles from one of the entrance gates for a few days
Drove to Lake Tahoe for a couple of days
Back to Oakland, swapped RV for SUV.
Night in Monterey
Drove the PCH south through Big Sur
Stayed a night in Solvang
Drove to LA, stayed fairly central on Wilshire Boulevard in an Air BNB for 3 nights
Mooched around LA, Hollywood Hills, Beverly Hills, Rams game
Moved on to San Diego for a few days in a Sonder Apartment
Back to LA for flight home
It was a really memorable 16 day/1800 mile trip and whilst the girls didn't seem overly excited at the time, when you ask them now they say it was the best holiday ever. Highlights were SanFran, particularly Alcatraz which is a must do. SF has a bit of a bad rep / marmite opinion but we loved it. The RV was memorable and glad we experienced it but I wouldn't do it again. The distances are time consuming and the big one we had (32' 7L V8) made it difficult to manoeuvre & find parking. Yosemite was spectacular but mightily busy (and we went just as the US school holidays had finished), camping inside was impossible to find even 6 months out but the private site we stayed at was really good and the bus into the park stopped right at the entrance. Tahoe is a nice chilled spot. We had considered doing Nevada but the extra mileage put us off.
The road trip down Big Sur was also spectacular but we set off in fog from Monterey, luckily it cleared up. I wouldn't bother with Solvang unless you have a Danish connection. LA is LA, marmite again, but we spent the right amount of time there, not interested in theme parks. San Diego was the first US city I visited back in the 80's and I loved it back then, wasn't as good as I remembered but the area is really nice if you are into beaches.
CA is expensive and now it will be eye watering. We paid £13k all-in with economy flights on BA, think you'd struggle do it much under £20k now, even if the current insanity going on in TrumpWorld doesn't put you off anyway. Definitely try to go after 14th of Aug if you can, although if you are thinking RV be aware the Burning Man festival hoovers up most of the RV's for rent at the end of August.
Edited by Speed 3 on Tuesday 18th March 11:18
We did a west coast fly-drive back in 2019 so I'm happy to share my experience
We did Vegas > L.A > San Francisco.
My thoughts:
> Vegas is a love it or hate it place. The Grand Canyon was great and, if you're into action, there's loads to do although perhaps not so much for pre-teens.
We did a couple of days in Vegas, expecting to be a bit ambivalent about it, but ended up wishing we'd done a few days more.
> L.A - most opinions before we went were that L.A wasn't all that. However, we enjoyed it.
There's Disney, obviously, which we found better in terms of climate and crowds than in Orlando. Likewise Universal studios.
Sightseeing is cool although certain places (Hollywood walk of fame for example) are in some rough areas.
Advice here is to choose somewhere to stay carefully. We were in Santa Monica in an Airbnb apartment, which was fine. However, driving around at night felt a little uncomfortable tbh - L.A is one of those places where the border between rich and poor is extremely close together.
> We then took the PCH up to San Fran. We attempted to do the PCH in two days with one overnight stop. When we do it again, we will take an extra day as it simply wasn't enough time if you want to see Carmel and some of the coast.
> San Francisco was advised beforehand as the best place of the trip.
Book Alcatraz as far in advance as you can - we went in June and when we arrived for our booking there were people trying to book a slot for same day - they were told the next slot was in October......!
We went to see a baseball game - recommended
Pier 39 is good.
Ditch the hire car when you get there - parking is a 'mare and you won't need it. Public transport (Trams/buses) are perfectly adequate to get you about.
You can end up doing a lot of walking in SF but be advised that it's very hilly.
For us - SF is one of those towns that has great food, pleasant people and some big attractions, but once you've done the headline stuff there isn't that much left to do. We felt 3 days was enough but YMMV.
Regrets?
We should have had at least an extra day in Vegas (we arrived Saturday evening, left Tuesday morning)
I'd like to perhaps have compressed a few days out of the LA and SF sections so that we could have had time to go on to Yosemite.
I've heard people say you should do the trip we did in reverse so that passengers have the PCH on their right for better views. Can't say that bothered us.
When we go back again, we're going to explore LA more - particularly San Diego.
We did Vegas > L.A > San Francisco.
My thoughts:
> Vegas is a love it or hate it place. The Grand Canyon was great and, if you're into action, there's loads to do although perhaps not so much for pre-teens.
We did a couple of days in Vegas, expecting to be a bit ambivalent about it, but ended up wishing we'd done a few days more.
> L.A - most opinions before we went were that L.A wasn't all that. However, we enjoyed it.
There's Disney, obviously, which we found better in terms of climate and crowds than in Orlando. Likewise Universal studios.
Sightseeing is cool although certain places (Hollywood walk of fame for example) are in some rough areas.
Advice here is to choose somewhere to stay carefully. We were in Santa Monica in an Airbnb apartment, which was fine. However, driving around at night felt a little uncomfortable tbh - L.A is one of those places where the border between rich and poor is extremely close together.
> We then took the PCH up to San Fran. We attempted to do the PCH in two days with one overnight stop. When we do it again, we will take an extra day as it simply wasn't enough time if you want to see Carmel and some of the coast.
> San Francisco was advised beforehand as the best place of the trip.
Book Alcatraz as far in advance as you can - we went in June and when we arrived for our booking there were people trying to book a slot for same day - they were told the next slot was in October......!
We went to see a baseball game - recommended
Pier 39 is good.
Ditch the hire car when you get there - parking is a 'mare and you won't need it. Public transport (Trams/buses) are perfectly adequate to get you about.
You can end up doing a lot of walking in SF but be advised that it's very hilly.
For us - SF is one of those towns that has great food, pleasant people and some big attractions, but once you've done the headline stuff there isn't that much left to do. We felt 3 days was enough but YMMV.
Regrets?
We should have had at least an extra day in Vegas (we arrived Saturday evening, left Tuesday morning)
I'd like to perhaps have compressed a few days out of the LA and SF sections so that we could have had time to go on to Yosemite.
I've heard people say you should do the trip we did in reverse so that passengers have the PCH on their right for better views. Can't say that bothered us.
When we go back again, we're going to explore LA more - particularly San Diego.
Edited by Muzzer79 on Tuesday 18th March 11:51
Check these guys out.
They gave us a great trip in 2018 when we drove from San Francisco to Seattle.
We've used them again this year for a National Parks trip starting in Las Vegas and taking in parks in Nevada, Utah and Arizona. We're flying back from Phoenix.
https://www.theamericanroadtripcompany.co.uk/
They gave us a great trip in 2018 when we drove from San Francisco to Seattle.
We've used them again this year for a National Parks trip starting in Las Vegas and taking in parks in Nevada, Utah and Arizona. We're flying back from Phoenix.
https://www.theamericanroadtripcompany.co.uk/
You don't mention a budget. We did a fly drive (wife, me and son) but the main event we planned around was this 3 day trip >
https://raftarizona.com/trips/3-day-motor/
We all loved it > Fly into the ranch, overnight stay with some activities, helicopter into the canyon early morning, all day rafting, overnight on a sandbar under the stars in the canyon, half day rafting and jet boat out again.
https://raftarizona.com/trips/3-day-motor/
We all loved it > Fly into the ranch, overnight stay with some activities, helicopter into the canyon early morning, all day rafting, overnight on a sandbar under the stars in the canyon, half day rafting and jet boat out again.
Composer62 said:
Check these guys out.
They gave us a great trip in 2018 when we drove from San Francisco to Seattle.
We've used them again this year for a National Parks trip starting in Las Vegas and taking in parks in Nevada, Utah and Arizona. We're flying back from Phoenix.
https://www.theamericanroadtripcompany.co.uk/
Thanks, enquired with them.They gave us a great trip in 2018 when we drove from San Francisco to Seattle.
We've used them again this year for a National Parks trip starting in Las Vegas and taking in parks in Nevada, Utah and Arizona. We're flying back from Phoenix.
https://www.theamericanroadtripcompany.co.uk/
We did something like the above.
Flew to LA
Santa Monica
Monterey
Up the Coast Big Sur etc
SF
Yosemite
Death Valley
And finished off in Las Vegas
Had a Grand Cherokee which was ridiculously cheap. Generally stayed in budget hotels which were all fine.
We then flew to Barbados for a week to chill out.
We booked our own flights but travel agent recommended itinerary and hotels https://travelnation.co.uk/
Probably the best holiday we have had.
Flew to LA
Santa Monica
Monterey
Up the Coast Big Sur etc
SF
Yosemite
Death Valley
And finished off in Las Vegas
Had a Grand Cherokee which was ridiculously cheap. Generally stayed in budget hotels which were all fine.
We then flew to Barbados for a week to chill out.
We booked our own flights but travel agent recommended itinerary and hotels https://travelnation.co.uk/
Probably the best holiday we have had.
Edited by craig1912 on Tuesday 18th March 11:53
Thoughts for stuff while you're out there.
- Detour to Canepa (not far north from Monterey) to see their museum AND nose into their workshop. Petrolhead heaven.
- Yosemite if you can afford the time - utterly stunning. But need to book accommodation really early, and best to be in park early too, and it's a good few hours across from the coast unless you can make it part of a trip to somewhere else
- If you like big trees then one of the Redwood groves - Henry Cavell (sp?) is close to the coast and Canepa - only a couple of hours but definitely awe-inspiring
- Aviation museums? Bunch around down there. I did Castle on the way from Yosemite across to Carmel, which had some real gems.
- Whale watching - one of the best parts of the world to do it from - either near San Diego or out of Monterey (or better - Moss Landing just north)
- Mooching around Carmel for an afternoon - expensive place but just imagine living there.
- Death Valley is on the way to/from Vegas, but likely to be stupidly hot at that time of year unless you can make it an early morning visit or a stargazing visit after sunset
- ...talking of which, a few great dark skies locations out there - Yosemite and Death Valley being just two of them - if that's your thing?
- Detour to Canepa (not far north from Monterey) to see their museum AND nose into their workshop. Petrolhead heaven.
- Yosemite if you can afford the time - utterly stunning. But need to book accommodation really early, and best to be in park early too, and it's a good few hours across from the coast unless you can make it part of a trip to somewhere else
- If you like big trees then one of the Redwood groves - Henry Cavell (sp?) is close to the coast and Canepa - only a couple of hours but definitely awe-inspiring
- Aviation museums? Bunch around down there. I did Castle on the way from Yosemite across to Carmel, which had some real gems.
- Whale watching - one of the best parts of the world to do it from - either near San Diego or out of Monterey (or better - Moss Landing just north)
- Mooching around Carmel for an afternoon - expensive place but just imagine living there.
- Death Valley is on the way to/from Vegas, but likely to be stupidly hot at that time of year unless you can make it an early morning visit or a stargazing visit after sunset
- ...talking of which, a few great dark skies locations out there - Yosemite and Death Valley being just two of them - if that's your thing?
We did the coastal drive some years ago and I really enjoyed it. Loved that whole area around Monterey and pebble beach, always thought it would be a beautiful place to live.
Carmel-by-the-sea was nice too, the town where Clint Eastwood was Mayor for a while (and still lives there I believe).
Carmel-by-the-sea was nice too, the town where Clint Eastwood was Mayor for a while (and still lives there I believe).
Keeping an eye on this thread with interest as we are doing the same this year. Flying in to SFO and out of LAX in October. Just working through all the logistics of it now inc one way car hire. At the moment our outline plans are
3 nights San Francisco
2 or 3 nights Yosemite
2 or 3 nights Monterey
1 or 2 nights somewhere after Big Sur
2 nights Santa Barbara
4 nights Santa Monica
3 nights San Francisco
2 or 3 nights Yosemite
2 or 3 nights Monterey
1 or 2 nights somewhere after Big Sur
2 nights Santa Barbara
4 nights Santa Monica
SoliD said:
I believe Highway 1 experienced another landslide over the winter so you can't yet travel all the way from SF to LA uninterrupted and will have to do the awful detour.
This seems to always be a thing now. I'm not sure many visitors realise this before going. Personally I don't find PCH between LA/SF to be that incredible to warrant significant amounts of time. I think the coast road is more interesting elsewhere on the west coast. I'd perhaps skip a lot of it and dip in from the top south of Carmel to Big Sur.I'd recommend checking for launches out of Vandenberg if you want to see a rocket launch. They often get cancelled or delayed (this happened to me last year), but there's a chance of seeing one. https://www.spacelaunchschedule.com/category/vande...
We did san fran - Yosemite- Monterey- San Luis Obispo- Santa Barbara- LA- San Diego for our honeymoon, absolutely loved it.
Yosemite and Monterey bay aquarium were the highlights, and really enjoyed San Diego. Gaslamp quarter has loads of cool bars and music venues, and the zoo and museums are a good day out. Coronado island was cool sitting on the beach with f18s and ospreys flying over at low level. Pfeiffer beach along highway one south of Monterey was stunning.
Yosemite and Monterey bay aquarium were the highlights, and really enjoyed San Diego. Gaslamp quarter has loads of cool bars and music venues, and the zoo and museums are a good day out. Coronado island was cool sitting on the beach with f18s and ospreys flying over at low level. Pfeiffer beach along highway one south of Monterey was stunning.
Edited by lufbramatt on Tuesday 18th March 17:38
We did a big loop around California starting and finishing in Vegas last summer, helped by there being far more availability for BA reward flights to Vegas than to SFO or LAX.
We have two pre-teen kids, and my advice would be to avoid Vegas, unless it's for just a night to see it first hand, experience a luxury hotel with 5000 rooms, or as a base to do helicopter trips to the Grand Canyon. It's insanely expensive, mostly non-kid friendly (they aren't even allowed in hotel bars, for example), but there are some spectacular things like the Sphere to partially redeem it. That's the "avoid" bit mostly out of the way.
Otherwise our itinerary was:
If not obvious from the above, I would heartily recommend it. My kids were deprived of wifi or mobile data when out of hotels or in the car, so they had to look at the scenery or talk to us, and enjoyed seeing a huge variety of real America. Just be prepared that for everywhere you go, you'll have a list twice as long of more places you couldn't fit in.
We have two pre-teen kids, and my advice would be to avoid Vegas, unless it's for just a night to see it first hand, experience a luxury hotel with 5000 rooms, or as a base to do helicopter trips to the Grand Canyon. It's insanely expensive, mostly non-kid friendly (they aren't even allowed in hotel bars, for example), but there are some spectacular things like the Sphere to partially redeem it. That's the "avoid" bit mostly out of the way.
Otherwise our itinerary was:
- Vegas - see above!
- Death Valley - staying over in Lone Pine, a lovely one-street town where a huge number of westerns were filmed, at the foot of Mount Whitney. A great novelty driving from the lowest point in the US to the foot of the highest (in the lower 48) in a couple of hours. Also fun to experience 125F and a strong wind; like standing in front of an open fan oven.
- Yosemite - an absolute must see in my view, and pretty much the whole family's favourite. Book accommodation and a pass to get your car into the park well in advance; it's deservedly busy. The main area around Yosemite Valley is as busy as Bowness on Windermere on a bank holiday, but you can walk for 15 minutes, or go almost anywhere else, and not see a soul. We didn't see any bears though.
- San Francisco - worth a couple of days, to do Alcatraz, and *defintely* take a ride in a Waymo
- Monterey - our trip coincided with the Motorsports Reunion, which was an unplanned surprise. Didn't get tickets for the Pebble Beach concours d'elegance (about $500 each!), but there's loads for petrolheads on that week, especially the racing. August 13-16 this year!
- Paso Robles - Big Sur was closed due to the landslide, so we did a horrible inland diversion through a dustbowl valley, and spent a night in SoCal wine country
- Beverly Hills - a base to do Hollywood Studios, Santa Monica, Hollywood, etc. If you've done Florida theme parks, Universal Studios Hollywood is a little disappointing, but you can do it in a day, which is a refreshing change. The kids are only impressed by the whole LA / Hollywood thing in retrospect when they see places in films they've been to in real life
- San Diego - another place I can't recommend enough. A lovely relaxed city, downtown right on the water, with one of the world's best zoos. Great food, good beer, good climate, also the USS Midway for more geekery
- Joshua Tree National Park - another really spectacular spot that I'd recommend. You can get to it easily from Palm Springs, but we stayed in a very cool old desert inn / motel in Twenty Nine Palms. Like something out of a Wes Anderson movie, in a good way.
- Back to Vegas, via a bit of old Route 66 for mandatory photos of Roy's Motel.
If not obvious from the above, I would heartily recommend it. My kids were deprived of wifi or mobile data when out of hotels or in the car, so they had to look at the scenery or talk to us, and enjoyed seeing a huge variety of real America. Just be prepared that for everywhere you go, you'll have a list twice as long of more places you couldn't fit in.
Edited by pete on Tuesday 18th March 17:51
There’s as much of California north of SF as there is South, with two weeks you could start in Seattle and do the entire coastline from Olympic National Park to San Diego.
The weather will have turned by October but the roads will be much quieter.
You may be a little too late in the year to travel the mountain passes around Yosemite but they do keep a road into the park open on the western side.
We love San Diego, we’re there in a couple of weeks as part of a road trip around the South West starting and ending from Houston. Head to the Del for lunch at the Sun Deck. There’s a pretty good Best Western on Shelter Island, right opposite is the tiny Fathom Bistro, perfect spot for a cold beer and to watch the Pacific Fleet glide by.
Palm Springs is a scenic drive over the mountains and then of course Vegas, you can drive a stretch of RT66 at Roy’s Cafe but the road eastward (towards Goffs) has been closed for a little while now.
I subscribe to Matt Laidlaws (it’s Harley Davidson biased) channel on YouTube, he’s based in LA and they head out for 2-3 day trips and gives a good idea of the scenery in the LA, SF & LV triangle.
Edit, ignore October, you’ll be fine around August time but book in advance
The weather will have turned by October but the roads will be much quieter.
You may be a little too late in the year to travel the mountain passes around Yosemite but they do keep a road into the park open on the western side.
We love San Diego, we’re there in a couple of weeks as part of a road trip around the South West starting and ending from Houston. Head to the Del for lunch at the Sun Deck. There’s a pretty good Best Western on Shelter Island, right opposite is the tiny Fathom Bistro, perfect spot for a cold beer and to watch the Pacific Fleet glide by.
Palm Springs is a scenic drive over the mountains and then of course Vegas, you can drive a stretch of RT66 at Roy’s Cafe but the road eastward (towards Goffs) has been closed for a little while now.
I subscribe to Matt Laidlaws (it’s Harley Davidson biased) channel on YouTube, he’s based in LA and they head out for 2-3 day trips and gives a good idea of the scenery in the LA, SF & LV triangle.
Edit, ignore October, you’ll be fine around August time but book in advance
This is our 21 day trip last year.
Grass Valley trips
1. South Yuba Trail
2. Lake Tahoe
3. Hannah Winery
4. Lassen Volcanic national park
5. McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial park (B&B overnight)
6. Jedediah Smith Redwood state park
7. Fern Canyon (B&B overnight)
8. Drive through tree road (privately owned, so fees applicable)
Squaw Valley trips code
1. Yosemite ( Possibly Mariposa Grove for the tall trees)
2. Sequoia Giant Forest
3. Kings Canyon
4. Ubehebe Crater Trail Head, Mosaic Canyon trailhead, Death Valley National park.
PCH is part blocked, so we did the whole trail from SF upwards in about 4 days, having to loop in and out.
All in all I drove 4800 miles; and loved every minute of it.
Grass Valley trips
1. South Yuba Trail
2. Lake Tahoe
3. Hannah Winery
4. Lassen Volcanic national park
5. McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial park (B&B overnight)
6. Jedediah Smith Redwood state park
7. Fern Canyon (B&B overnight)
8. Drive through tree road (privately owned, so fees applicable)
Squaw Valley trips code
1. Yosemite ( Possibly Mariposa Grove for the tall trees)
2. Sequoia Giant Forest
3. Kings Canyon
4. Ubehebe Crater Trail Head, Mosaic Canyon trailhead, Death Valley National park.
PCH is part blocked, so we did the whole trail from SF upwards in about 4 days, having to loop in and out.
All in all I drove 4800 miles; and loved every minute of it.
pete said:
We did a big loop around California starting and finishing in Vegas last summer, helped by there being far more availability for BA reward flights to Vegas than to SFO or LAX.
We have two pre-teen kids, and my advice would be to avoid Vegas, unless it's for just a night to see it first hand, experience a luxury hotel with 5000 rooms, or as a base to do helicopter trips to the Grand Canyon. It's insanely expensive, mostly non-kid friendly (they aren't even allowed in hotel bars, for example), but there are some spectacular things like the Sphere to partially redeem it. That's the "avoid" bit mostly out of the way.
Otherwise our itinerary was:
Where did you buy your entrance pass for Yosemite? Was it just one pass you needed or did you need to get daily entrance tickets too? We are going this summer and all i can see is you buy it at the one of the entrance gates, cannot see anywhere that you can buy online unless you are in the US military.We have two pre-teen kids, and my advice would be to avoid Vegas, unless it's for just a night to see it first hand, experience a luxury hotel with 5000 rooms, or as a base to do helicopter trips to the Grand Canyon. It's insanely expensive, mostly non-kid friendly (they aren't even allowed in hotel bars, for example), but there are some spectacular things like the Sphere to partially redeem it. That's the "avoid" bit mostly out of the way.
Otherwise our itinerary was:
- Vegas - see above!
- Death Valley - staying over in Lone Pine, a lovely one-street town where a huge number of westerns were filmed, at the foot of Mount Whitney. A great novelty driving from the lowest point in the US to the foot of the highest (in the lower 48) in a couple of hours. Also fun to experience 125F and a strong wind; like standing in front of an open fan oven.
- Yosemite - an absolute must see in my view, and pretty much the whole family's favourite. Book accommodation and a pass to get your car into the park well in advance; it's deservedly busy. The main area around Yosemite Valley is as busy as Bowness on Windermere on a bank holiday, but you can walk for 15 minutes, or go almost anywhere else, and not see a soul. We didn't see any bears though.
- San Francisco - worth a couple of days, to do Alcatraz, and *defintely* take a ride in a Waymo
- Monterey - our trip coincided with the Motorsports Reunion, which was an unplanned surprise. Didn't get tickets for the Pebble Beach concours d'elegance (about $500 each!), but there's loads for petrolheads on that week, especially the racing. August 13-16 this year!
- Paso Robles - Big Sur was closed due to the landslide, so we did a horrible inland diversion through a dustbowl valley, and spent a night in SoCal wine country
- Beverly Hills - a base to do Hollywood Studios, Santa Monica, Hollywood, etc. If you've done Florida theme parks, Universal Studios Hollywood is a little disappointing, but you can do it in a day, which is a refreshing change. The kids are only impressed by the whole LA / Hollywood thing in retrospect when they see places in films they've been to in real life
- San Diego - another place I can't recommend enough. A lovely relaxed city, downtown right on the water, with one of the world's best zoos. Great food, good beer, good climate, also the USS Midway for more geekery
- Joshua Tree National Park - another really spectacular spot that I'd recommend. You can get to it easily from Palm Springs, but we stayed in a very cool old desert inn / motel in Twenty Nine Palms. Like something out of a Wes Anderson movie, in a good way.
- Back to Vegas, via a bit of old Route 66 for mandatory photos of Roy's Motel.
Edited by pete on Tuesday 18th March 17:51
With it being busy during the summer months I was hoping to have the pass ready before we get there.
Thanks
We always had an annual pass when we lived in the US, select the full price pass at https://store.usgs.gov
It looks as though from outside the US you have to send in the application by mail/fax, not online, and allow time for post in both directions as well as a couple of weeks processing time
Cost is $80
https://store.usgs.gov/international-orders
It looks as though from outside the US you have to send in the application by mail/fax, not online, and allow time for post in both directions as well as a couple of weeks processing time
Cost is $80
https://store.usgs.gov/international-orders
mikef said:
We always had an annual pass when we lived in the US, select the full price pass at https://store.usgs.gov
It looks as though from outside the US you have to send in the application by mail/fax, not online, and allow time for post in both directions as well as a couple of weeks processing time
Cost is $80
https://store.usgs.gov/international-orders
With all the Doge anarchy I doubt you'd get anything done in advance now, especially from a pesky foreign country.It looks as though from outside the US you have to send in the application by mail/fax, not online, and allow time for post in both directions as well as a couple of weeks processing time
Cost is $80
https://store.usgs.gov/international-orders
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