1st timer to USA

hi all,

i have just started reading the postings in this forum and it will take a while before i finish up..

i%26#39;m planning a trip to USA (for the 1st time) and could use some help. we are a group of 2 adult plus 1 child (12 yrs old)

my plan is as follows:

2/6/06 - arrival in LAX

3/6/06 - Universal Studio

4/6 to 6/6 - Las Vegas (join a tour to grand canyon), back to LA

7/6 to 9/6 - SFO (join a 3D2N package from LA, incl Yosemite)

10/6/06 - LA free %26amp; easy (joint a city tour)

11/6/06 - home sweet home

some questions i have:

- any budget and clean accomm in LA? (not more than $60/nite)

- is it worthwhile to join daytour to Universal Studio? how much does it cost to go there on our own?

- staying in circus circus in LV, good choice?

- u%26#39;ll see that i%26#39;m using LA as a base, LA-LV-LA, LA-SFO-LA, that%26#39;s because we can%26#39;t drive, does the itinerary looks logical?

i need a lot of readups on USA/LA as i have never been to this part of the world... care to drop me some word of advice, pls?

Thanks!

1st timer to USA

Here are a few suggestions:

1. In the U.S., we show dates differently than in the rest of the world. 2/6/06 is February 6, 2006 in the U.S (not 2 June 2006) like in the rest of the world. I would suggest that you use the NAME of the month so that you don%26#39;t confuse us here in the U.S,

We do customarily put the name of the month first (June 6) but if you were to show it as 6 June, most of us would understand what you mean.

2. Ok, now regarding your questions:

a. While the tour to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon is a nice idea and the tour to SF and Yosemite is also good, you are slicing Los Angeles into little pieces and are packing and unpacking in L.A 3 times!!

See if you can go from Vegas directly to San Francisco rather than having a single day (or less) in Los Angeles in between. There is a discount airline known as Southwest airlines (southwest.com) that flies between Los Angeles and Las Vegas and Las Vegas and Oaklland (an airport close to San Franciso) for very little. Fares start at $59. You could even arrive at LAX from Singapore and immediately connect with the southwest flight (after a suitable ';check in period';) and start your holiday in Las Vegas. This way, you can group together your stay in Los Angeles.

I just checked the southwest flights from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and there are seats available. Book early! I also checked Las Vegas to Oakland for the days you wanted and most of the inexpensive seats are already sold for June 9 although June 10 looks better.

In addition to saving time between cities, you%26#39;ll avoid some of the single days in Los Angeles and be able to put the L.A. days together so that you can stay in one place without checking in and out so much.

For example, see if you can fly from L.A. to Las Vegas, pick up a Grand Canyon Tour from Vegas (that returns to Vegas) and then fly to Oakland from Vegas. You can make your own accommodations in Vegas. (Check out our hotel rating system by going to TRIPADVISOR.COM, typing in LAS VEGAS into the space BELOW the NARROW green stripe towards the bottom of the page where it says ';City';. You can select a price range).

As far as an affordable hotel in Los Angeles, it will be difficult to find anything for $60 per night except some very, very, modest hotels and hostels in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles. Hollywood is a great place to use as a base for Los Angeles as there is very good public transit in Hollywood to most areas. Universal Studios, for example, is only one metro stop from Hollywood. You do not need to join a tour for Universal if you stay in Hollywood (or, anywhere in Los Angeles, for that matter) since the tour will end up costing you about $30 PER PERSON for the transportation portion of the tour. If you go by metro or bus, the most it will cost you is $3 (which is the cost of a DAY PASS which gives you unlimited rides on the buses and metro rail trains).

Be sure to buy your Universal tickets from the Universal Studios website since the tickets are cheaper that way. There are also discount coupons available from Burger King restaurants here in L.A. that will save you $12 off the admission price at the gates but I don%26#39;t know how long those coupons will last!

Check out the Hollywood hotels at:

tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g32655-zfn6-Los_Angel…

They are listed in DESCENDING order of preference by your fellow travellers -- so the first hotel is the most desirable. Look for the two very narrow green stripes toward the bottom of the page of the above link and click on OTHER LODGING for accomodations in your price range. Keep in mind that Los Angeles is expensive. In most parts of the city, hotel rates start at around $100 for a simple hotel.

Click on the QUICK CHECK button for each hotel to get a current quote for the room rates since the ';Average Price'; listed may be old.

Take a look at our ';frequently asked questions'; section for useful info at:

http://tinyurl.com/j9uuz

Good luck!

Let us know what else you need!

1st timer to USA

Hopskipjump gave some great advice already!

As for Circus Circus, it%26#39;s okay, it%26#39;s cheap and it%26#39;s clean. I wouldn%26#39;t have high expectations of it. It%26#39;s at the end of the strip. I wouldn%26#39;t expect too much, but for an economy accomodation, it%26#39;s not too bad. If it%26#39;s your first time in Vegas, you%26#39;ll be out exploring than being at your hotel room anyway.

I agree, $60/night would be hard to find. You can try priceline. My friend had gotten the Westin Bonaventure hotel for $60/night few months ago, its located in downtown LA, but not sure now.

As for Universal Studios, if you are staying in Hollywood or downtown LA you can take the metro redline to Universal City station. Get out of that station and take the free shuttle to Unviersal Studios. It%26#39;s $3 to take the train for the whole day. It would be cheaper to do it this way. Otherwise, if you don%26#39;t have a car, I%26#39;ve seen starline tours can pick you up from the hotel and drive you there for about $80 or more including admission ticket to Universal Studios.

have fun!

Hello!

Thanks for the information, am still planning the itineraries.. hopskipjump was right, probably the hassle of to and fro LA is too much especially when travelling with mum.

hi hopskipjump, i checked the airflight site, seem connection flight between SFO and Vegas is abit steep (for me), about USD190.. you know of any bus connection between san francisco and vegas? i don%26#39;t seem to be able to find something in that route, its all originating and returning to LA, it seem.

some choices of hotels/motels i found:

1. Best value Inn - Hollywood

2. Hollywood Hotel

is Hollywood Hotel a good choice?

Anaheim seem to provide more budget accom., how far is anaheim from Universal Studio and how har is Hollywood hotel from Disney?

someone recommended Stratosphere in Vegas (and is cheaper!) Circus circus and stratosphere, which is better? (location/convenience wise)

is it better to book day tours for Vegas over the internet or will the deals be better if we book locally?

Thank you for bearing with me.. greatly appreciate all these info. thanks again. :)

1 more question: if i were to give San Francisco a miss, do you think it%26#39;s fine? (because i am concern with the connection between vegas and san francisco and then back to LA again).. i%26#39;m a 1st timer.. :P

did you try www.iflyswa.com for airfares. Southwest Airlines is a local airlines that has cheap commuter flights between Oakland and Las Vegas as well as LA %26amp; Las Vegas. Oakland is right on the other side of the bay as SF so is easy to fly in and out of if you are visiting SF.

The Stratosphere is even farther north on the strip than Circus Circus. You may want to look into the Orleans Hotel. It will run about $70 nightly - it is a couple of miles off the strip, but has free shuttles, is clean, and very family friendly.

Southwest Airlines

Burbank to Las Vegas on June 4th is $59

Las Vegas to Oakland on June 6th is $91

Oakland to Burbank on June 9th is $79

You can also fly in/out of LAX, but Burbank is a much smaller airport and easier to get in and out of, especially for the local flights.

I%26#39;m not sure if this itinerary is final.

You might want to try ivymedia tours. It does cater to Asian passengers but there are other nationality groups on these tours. But it%26#39;s cheap and they cover a lot of territory. I went when I was still in college with a friend to the Grand Canyon.

There%26#39;s a 3 day Las Vegas and Grand Canyon tour, including hotel accommodations, tours, and r/t transportation for $99 per person. They leave every Wed/Saturday. On 6/3, Saturday, you can take that tour. It should be back by 6/6 to LA. On 6/7 then join your SF tour. When you get back to LA on 6/10, you can do a tour of LA and/or Universal Studios. Only bad part, if you do both tours, you probably only have 2 days in LA. Which are 6/2 when you arrive at LAX then a free day on 6/10 before leaving for home on 6/11.

Here%26#39;s the link to the tours:

http://www.ivymedia.com/

Good luck!

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