Holidays in San Francisco

masterboy123

Hello Everyone,

We are a couple and looking to visit San Francisco in March from Ireland (any airport with cheapest/shortest flight available).

We have a max budget of 2500-2700 euros. We are looking to spend 9 nights in a hotel (private room + bathroom) as well as to rent a car for the trip. We would also like to visit nearby towns that's why prefer car.

Any suggestions where i can get this deal with flight + hotel + car? Also if the above budget is sufficient to cover everything?

Many thanks and a very happy new year!

circular flexing

Is that budget per person or for both? If it's per person, you'd struggle to find anything approaching that price - SF is very expensive for hotels unless you stay a good bit out of the city and the dollar is very strong at the moment.

ProudDUB

Yeah, I really hope that is per person. San Francisco hotels are notoriously expensive. Have a look at Priceline. It's a good site for cheap hotels. It's unlikely you'll find anything in or near the city, not with that budget.

masterboy123

The budget of 2700 euros is for both of us.
We don't want to stay in a fancy hotel. I saw hotel + flight (KLM) on expedia for 850 euros per person.
If is 20 min drive from city it's no bother because we could use the car or public transport.

I find Priceline quite expensive to book. Expedia and TripAdvisor are giving good deals.

Hooked

masterboy123 wrote: »

The budget of 2700 euros is for both of us.
We don't want to stay in a fancy hotel. I saw hotel + flight (KLM) on expedia for 850 euros per person.
If is 20 min drive from city it's no bother because we could use the car or public transport.

I find Priceline quite expensive to book. Expedia and TripAdvisor are giving good deals.

I've been to San Fran twice (2009 and 2016) and would offer 2 pieces of advice...

Consider spending only some of those 9 days in San Fran and others along the PCH (Pacific Coast highway), that runs all the way to L.A. This is the 'coast' road not the interstate. Also referred to as CA1 or the 101.

California is simply stunning and if ye have the car, make the most of it. Driving in San Fran itself is pointless. The trams and buses service the whole city.

We booked a convertible mustang through 'economycarrentals.com' for 8 days for 220, booked all our flights for 1200 total (though we did go via NY (2 nights) Vegas (3 nights) and on to San Fran, drove the PCH and home from LA). We flew United. That would still leave 1300 for accommodation. 2700 total for flights, car and accommodation is do-able, in my opinion.

San Fran is expensive. Staying outside it, booking through airbnb or using booking.com if you venture down the coast will save some money on accommodation.

If you're staying in SanFran for the 9 days, perhaps look at some of the Motels on Lombard Steet. No frills but tidy, clean and ideally located for travelling out of the city over the Golden Gate Bridge (a must). We've used the 'Coventry Motor Inn' on both occasions. I just priced 8 nights there in mid March - 1049 euro.

A trip north to Napa (wine country) might be an idea. Any excuse to drive out over the Golden Gate!

Anything else, just ask!

masterboy123

That's a very helpful info. Yes, our plan is to travel to SFO > Los Angeles > Las Vegas > Ireland (home). We don't know yet whats the best route to cover all these places in 9 days.

Please see the attached photo from Google maps, is it the route you mentioned?

JupiterKid

San Francisco is a fantastic city. I did my J1 visa there back in the 90s. I'm very lucky that I have a couple of friends in and around the city that I can stay with whenever I'm visiting. It is unfortunately very expensive these days - much more so compared to the 1990s.

However, if you stay a little bit outside the city you will get better value. Definitely drive along the coast. The Napa Valley ( and Sonoma) is a must, as is the drive down to Monterrey and Carmel. Also check out the Muir Woods, across the Golden Gate. If you have the time, you should try to visit Yosemite - about 2 and a half hour drive inland from SF. Lake Tahoe is not too far away either.

gerbilgranny

In 2007, myself, husband, and two teenage daughters went to San Francisco. (My only trip to the USA).

We stayed in San Francisco for about 12 nights.

That was too long to stay in one spot.

It's a nice city, but I reckon you'd see the highlights easily in 5 days.

On one day, we went by train and bus to see a relative in the foothills of the mountains - at Placerville. That was magical, and we were sorry we hadn't spent more time away from SF.

Posting this purely for your info - make of it what you will. Have a good holiday.

ProudDUB

If you are planning on having the car for all 9 days, do your research on the parking situ. Don't take it for granted that you'll be able to park at the hotel for free. Most hotels (especially the ones in or near the city) charge a steep parking fee, even if you are staying there. Parking in the city itself is quite limited, is very expensive & can quite challening if you aren't used to parking on steep hills.

InTheTrees

SF is one of the prettiest cities in the USA but its also very small. I'd do three nights max then maybe drive down to Monterey for a night.

There's also the mountains and lake tahoe, or even Yosemite.

InTheTrees

masterboy123 wrote: »

That's a very helpful info. Yes, our plan is to travel to SFO > Los Angeles > Las Vegas > Ireland (home). We don't know yet whats the best route to cover all these places in 9 days.

Please see the attached photo from Google maps, is it the route you mentioned?

Sorry. I was confused, I thought you were going to be in SF for nine days.

First thing is dont take that route to LA. Thats interstate5 and is only if youre in a tearing hurry. The road you want is Highway One which winds down the coast from SF through Santa Cruz and Monterey and then down to Santa Barbara and LA. It'll take a couple of days but the road itself is one of California's major tourist attractions and it is spectacular.

3 nights in Sf, one in Monterey or Santa barbara, two in LA and Two in Las Vegas. Plus one extra for LA or Vegas. Its a well used itinary, there's actually quite a few threads on this forum on just that route.

gally74

InTheTrees wrote: »

SF is one of the prettiest cities in the USA but its also very small. I'd do three nights max then maybe drive down to Monterey for a night.

There's also the mountains and lake tahoe, or even Yosemite.

Lived there.

Use hotwire... Once you have your research. Works well on the day...

Some nice places... Yosemite. Carmel... Half Moon bay. Pismo Beach. Monterey. For shopping Gilroy. Livermore . Avoid rush hour.

InTheTrees

masterboy123 wrote: »

Yes, our plan is to travel to SFO > Los Angeles > Las Vegas > Ireland (home).

check on possible extra charges for returning a car in a different state to where you hired it. It used to be that most companies didn't charge extra between California and Nevada but that could change so make sure to check.

Hooked

masterboy123 wrote: »

That's a very helpful info. Yes, our plan is to travel to SFO > Los Angeles > Las Vegas > Ireland (home). We don't know yet whats the best route to cover all these places in 9 days.

Please see the attached photo from Google maps, is it the route you mentioned?

Oh god no! That's the interstate. You want the COAST road, that runs all the way to LA. Slower, limited to 55/65 mph, but absolutely breathtaking.



I thought you were staying all 9 days in SFO. If you plan to get to Vegas too, I'd personally do the following...

Hit Vegas first.

2 nights. 3 max. Hotels are dirt cheap. The Linq hotel is very central, and well priced. Then FLY to SFO. Southwest airline is about 50 bucks and less than an hours flight.

Rent your convertible mustang (lol) in SFO airport when you land. Stay a few nights in SFO (we did 2). See as much as you can. Most motels have free parking. Hotels don't! We stayed in the Covetry Motor inn on Lombard street. Bussed it to the pier/city centre. Don't forget the famous windy street at the top.

Then spend the next 4/5 days travelling the coast to LA. The drive down is much better than from LA to SFO, as you're in the right lane with a view of the ocean all the way. Stop a night or 2 on the way. I'd recommend Monterey as a stop. We just used booking.com as we drove, and stopped where it suited us. We stayed 2 nights in Santa Monica before we headed home but my was it expensive!!! You can always stay outside LA as you have the car.

Return the car to LAX a few hours before you fly home. Same state... So no extra charges. Economycarrentals.com are great in my opinion.

Just my thoughts!

masterboy123

Thank you for suggesting a great itinerary & providing the road map. It looks good to us. What about the stay while on the coast road? How many stops are required on the coast road till we get to LA? We prefer not to drive more than 4 hours at a stretch.

And while we are in Las Vegas, do we need a car to roam around?

I checked economy rental and looking to hire a SUV. But will check for Mustang rates as well.

A very happy new year to all here!!!!

Hooked wrote: »

Oh god no! That's the interstate. You want the COAST road, that runs all the way to LA.



I thought you were staying all 9 days in SFO. If you plan to get to Vegas too, I'd personally do the following...

Hit Vegas first. 2 nights. 3 max. Hotels are dirt cheap. Then FLY to SFO. Southwest airline is about 50 bucks and less than an hours flight.

Rent your convertible mustang (lol) in SFO airport when you land. Stay a few nights in SFO (we did 2). See as much as you can. Most motels have free parking. Hotels don't!

Then spend the next 4 days travelling the coast to LA. The drive down is much better than from LA to SFO, as you're in the right lane with a view of the ocean all the way.

Return the car to LAX a few hours before you fly home. Same state... So no extra charges. Economycarrentals.com are great in my opinion.

Just my thoughts!

Hooked

masterboy123 wrote: »

Thank you for suggesting a great itinerary & providing the road map. It looks good to us. What about the stay while on the coast road? How many stops are required on the coast road till we get to LA? We prefer not to drive more than 4 hours at a stretch.

And while we are in Las Vegas, do we need a car to roam around?

I checked economy rental and looking to hire a SUV. But will check for Mustang rates as well.

A very happy new year to all here!!!!

I guess it depends on what you like to do/see. My thoughts are always to pack in as much as I can. It's a long journey to California from Ireland, which is why (like you) I wanted to see Vegas, SFO and LA.

I personally had no need for a car in Vegas. We took in the strip (you can walk or bus it) and only ventured as far as the Hoover Dam for some sightseeing. 'Old Vegas' and Fremont street is a MUST! Take a trip to the top of the Stratosphere hotel for some amazing views!!! Others drive from Vegas to LA, taking in the dessert sights, and go up to SFO on the interstate. Me personally - I love the coast.

We did the coast with 2 stops. Leaving us 3-4 hours driving. You really don't feel it... It's stunning. We stayed in s beautiful spot in Monterey for very little. And stayed in Lompoc for night 2. That motel was a bit rough n ready. But fine for a rest!

I'm getting so nostalgic replying to this thread that I'm now pricing my third trip. I was gonna put it off till 2018, but new year, new me! I might just take my wife for our anniversary in April.

Rashers72

For SF accom, I recommend Air BnB. We hired a place for the week in 2015, near Pacific Heights and that worked out great. Price was reasonable, but I had a kitchen etc. On a bus route about 20 mins to Financial district.

InTheTrees

masterboy123 wrote: »

What about the stay while on the coast road? How many stops are required on the coast road till we get to LA? We prefer not to drive more than 4 hours at a stretch.

And while we are in Las Vegas, do we need a car to roam around?

The coast road is Highway One. If you're limited to 4 hours then Monterey would be your first night and then the next night in either San Louis Obispo or Santa Barbara, the next day you'll be plunging into LA so the closer you can get the day before the better.

You wont need a car in las vegas. Unless you do the grand canyon first, you could do that and then return the car in vegas.

masterboy123

We could drive 7-8 hours easily a day, with a food/drink break at 4 hours. What would be the best stop in this case? So we could reach LA next day. Don't want to throw away limited time we got.
I found cheap flights from Cork to SFO and Return Las Vegas to Cork. We will pick up car in SFO. Do the pacific coast over 30 hours. Spend 2 days in LA. Then head to Las vegas for 2 nights and return the car at Las vegas airport. Getting Chevy Impala V6 engine for 350 euros for 11 days. Do we need to buy EZ toll pass gadget for this route?

InTheTrees wrote: »

The coast road is Highway One. If you're limited to 4 hours then Monterey would be your first night and then the next night in either San Louis Obispo or Santa Barbara, the next day you'll be plunging into LA so the closer you can get the day before the better.

You wont need a car in las vegas. Unless you do the grand canyon first, you could do that and then return the car in vegas.

InTheTrees

masterboy123 wrote: »

We could drive 7-8 hours easily a day, with a food/drink break at 4 hours. What would be the best stop in this case? So we could reach LA next day. Don't want to throw away limited time we got.

It depends! Either way you'll want to get an Early start from SF.

The drive from SF down to monterey through Santa Cruz is scenic. In the monterey area , the Monterey Bay Aquarium shouldnt be missed. There's also the pretty little town of carmel, and there's a scenic drive through the area of Pebble Beach.

That can all take four or five hours, and then you've got the drive down big sur (the scenic portion of Highway one south of monterey) which isnt much fun at night.

You can save a few hours by taking the freeway down to monterey from SF and heading onto highway one without stopping in monterey.

I think I would plan on not having a plan. Once you get south around SLO area you'll be onto more busy and faster roads with motels all over, you may want to power on to LA or just get as close as you can.

InTheTrees

masterboy123 wrote: »

Then head to Las vegas for 2 nights and return the car at Las vegas airport. Getting Chevy Impala V6 engine for 350 euros for 11 days. Do we need to buy EZ toll pass gadget for this route?

Check with your hotel in vegas about parking charges. You can always return the car when you arrive in vegas and get a cab to your hotel. You wont need a car there.

Also you wont encounter any tolls except for the golden gate bridge.

Make sure to go to this view spot across the bridge:

https://goo.gl/maps/uNPtMHYuGw52

masterboy123

Cool. I heard hotels in Vegas are cheap and has parking. I will check it out again. Prefer to gave the car, otherwise need to wait for public transport and taxi might even cost more than hiring the car itself.

Thanks for the maps link. We ate looking forward to be there soon

Are the motels relatively safe on pacific coast drive? And do we need to book in advance?

InTheTrees wrote: »

Check with your hotel in vegas about parking charges. You can always return the car when you arrive in vegas and get a cab to your hotel. You wont need a car there.

Also you wont encounter any tolls except for the golden gate bridge.

Make sure to go to this view spot across the bridge:

https://goo.gl/maps/uNPtMHYuGw52

Mr.Ed

One of the best holidays you'll ever have a group of us did it last year! You could try hostels in SF to stay under budget(depending on what ye prefer) we stayed in one and had our own private bathroom and was roughly $350 each for 5 days.
If you want to see Alcatraz (I'd highly recommend it!!) you'll have too book in advance it sells out quick especially during the summer
A bike tour is another thing I'd recommend think bike rental was $30 each for the day and the city is very bike friendly you can cycle across the golden gate bridge and down to Sausalito a little town where you can store your bike to let you wander around!
If you do hit LA you'll need a car for sure as it's so spread out and public transport isn't great
Try get into some of the national parks on the way down the coast inexpensive but some unbelievable scenery Sequoia national park is great to see se redwood trees
Maybe try catch a baseball game as well but tickets can be pretty expensive

All in all one of the best holidays you'll ever have can't recommend it enough!!

InTheTrees

masterboy123 wrote: »

Cool. I heard hotels in Vegas are cheap and has parking. I will check it out again. Prefer to gave the car, otherwise need to wait for public transport and taxi might even cost more than hiring the car itself.

Have you picked a hotel in vegas? I would seriously recommend staying on the strip. "The Strip" is the main tourist/hotel area, its about 3-4km long and thats where everything happens, most of the hotels are internally connected and there's raised outside walkways criss crossing the street. Its all very pedestrian friendly.
DONT be tempted by lower prices elsewhere or you'll spend all your time in the car and walking to and from massive parking lots.

https://goo.gl/maps/RqfXfaknSQ72

Save

InTheTrees

masterboy123 wrote: »

Are the motels relatively safe on pacific coast drive? And do we need to book in advance?

Safe? Yes. 99% of them are major chain motels and you'll start recognizing the names pretty quickly. They're numerous and there's no need to book in advance.

On US freeways, you'll find blue info signs detailing which motels/ gas stations/ food are available near each exit. (Note that they dont have them in larger urban areas.)

Take a look at the example.

https://goo.gl/maps/2MMHiVSfj6U2

https://goo.gl/maps/EyBb3dHQcV92

Save

masterboy123

No, i haven't picked a hotel yet. Hotels on THE STRIP are very expensive. What website do you guys recommend? I am looking at ebookers and skyscanner. Will the price go down later?

Re: motels on pacific coast highway, is it not better to book in advance as online prices are better rather than just showing up at the reception?

Thanks for the Google links. I have saved them up.

Also, what sim card do you suggest? For Internet access only and to use navigation/Google maps.

Mr.Ed

Definitely stay on the strip taxis are pretty expensive and the convenience of being in the middle of all the action pays for itself pretty quickly!
Regarding the motels on the way down what I did was book the next nights hotel just as I was leaving the previous hotel (use the free wi-fi!!) I found this to be a good way of doing it because you dont get stuck in a rigid plan if something goes wrong and booking online gives you the widest possible number of options. Most just need a deposit or card and you pay the balance on arrival and as said by previous posters 99.9% of them are safe and perfectly acceptable!
I'd rent a GPS unit from the car rental company its what I did and cut a lot of hassle out re phones,data,sim cards etc.
Most it should set you back is 40-50 dollars but its invaluable really if you want to head off the beaten track or find somewhere to get food/gas etc.

masterboy123

I am unable to find hotels for less than 150e per night in las vegas. Is there any broker who could offer better rate?

Mr.Ed

When are you going? I don't think you've mentioned it in the thread

Hotels in Vegas will always be more expensive on Friday - Sunday
If you can work your trip around it you could try go during the week when prices will be the lowest
Staying off strip in my experience will cost much the same as getting a hotel on the strip once you factor in the getting in and out

I usually use SkyScanner when I'm booking hotels but maybe try book direct with the hotel themselves it can work out cheaper sometimes! Also you'll be charged resort fees for staying in Vegas hotels just to keep that in mind some sites prices don't include these until you go to book the room!

athtrasna

masterboy123 wrote: »

I am unable to find hotels for less than 150e per night in las vegas. Is there any broker who could offer better rate?

I have always managed to get a 5 star on the strip around $100 on hotwire. Have been to Vegas 5 times, usually end up in the venetian

masterboy123

our plan is to travel to SFO > Los Angeles > Las Vegas > Ireland (home). Do the pacific coast drive from SFO to LA.

Actually las vegas will be from Thursday and Sunday. Maybe that's why it's coming up expensive.
I found a cheap one for 65e but it's 25 min from The Strip. I will have a car, will it possible to park on The Strip? Want to see the Wax Museum & do the giant wheelie trip too.

Mr.Ed wrote: »

When are you going? I don't think you've mentioned it in the thread

Hotels in Vegas will always be more expensive on Friday - Sunday
If you can work your trip around it you could try go during the week when prices will be the lowest
Staying off strip in my experience will cost much the same as getting a hotel on the strip once you factor in the getting in and out

I usually use SkyScanner when I'm booking hotels but maybe try book direct with the hotel themselves it can work out cheaper sometimes! Also you'll be charged resort fees for staying in Vegas hotels just to keep that in mind some sites prices don't include these until you go to book the room!