The Travel Advice And Recommendations Thread

[AussieDodger]

I think one of these threads would be handy, and also.......................

Me and my g/f are looking to travel to America in August/September. We are hoping to go to Los Angeles + San Francisco + Las Vegas.
Anyone have any good places to go or not go?

So far...............

Los Angeles:
Disneyland - Anaheim
Conan - Burbank?
Dodger Stadium and Slegna stadium
In and Out burger ?
Universal Studios?

San Francisco:
See the mighty A's play (maybe even get a $2 Wednesday )
Pier 39
Ghirardelli Square
Golden Gate Bridge/Golden Gate park
Alcatraz
Segue Scooter tour of San Fran

Las Vegas:

Lose money

?

And if anyone wants to know about a holiday to Australia/New Zealand just ask in here I'm your man

[KCollins1304]

Australia:
Kangaroos
Koala bears
Dingos
Outback


That about covers it.

[knapplc]

I lived in Frisco for a couple of years. You should have a nice time there. Pier 39 is just a tourist trap - there's a bunch of shops and restaurants, but you're going to spend more money than you'd like, and overall it's not worth the effort if you're not in to that kind of thing. There are a bunch of harbor seals in the bay all around the pier and it STINKS, especially in the summer.

Definitely do a bay cruise on one of the dozen-ish boats that provide such things. Go to the Golden Gate bridge, and if you've got an hour or two to kill, walk across the bridge.

If you've got an afternoon or a whole day, and you're in to wine, you can't beat going to Napa or Sonoma. There are several tours that depart from the city, drive you up there, then drive you back.

Ghirardelli Square is all right, but touristy. Definitely do Alcatraz - I lived there and never went there. You could walk along the Embarcadero or walk up the stairs from the Embarcadero to the top of Coit Hill and see the tower. You could catch the Metreon for movies/shopping/food. Get a sourdough sandwich while you're there - just about any place in town makes a good sandwich. I worked on Market and there were about a dozen within easy reach and they were all good.

Bring a jacket to San Fran. They have an odd climate, and often at that time of year it gets pretty cold. We froze our butts off at a Niners game one night in August.

[AussieDodger]

Australia:
Kangaroos
Koala bears
Dingos
Outback


That about covers it.

You've been?

I lived in Frisco for a couple of years. You should have a nice time there. Pier 39 is just a tourist trap - there's a bunch of shops and restaurants, but you're going to spend more money than you'd like, and overall it's not worth the effort if you're not in to that kind of thing. There are a bunch of harbor seals in the bay all around the pier and it STINKS, especially in the summer.

Definitely do a bay cruise on one of the dozen-ish boats that provide such things. Go to the Golden Gate bridge, and if you've got an hour or two to kill, walk across the bridge.

If you've got an afternoon or a whole day, and you're in to wine, you can't beat going to Napa or Sonoma. There are several tours that depart from the city, drive you up there, then drive you back.

Ghirardelli Square is all right, but touristy. Definitely do Alcatraz - I lived there and never went there. You could walk along the Embarcadero or walk up the stairs from the Embarcadero to the top of Coit Hill and see the tower. You could catch the Metreon for movies/shopping/food. Get a sourdough sandwich while you're there - just about any place in town makes a good sandwich. I worked on Market and there were about a dozen within easy reach and they were all good.

Bring a jacket to San Fran. They have an odd climate, and often at that time of year it gets pretty cold. We froze our butts off at a Niners game one night in August.

Thanks knipples that's very helpful

[Art Vandelay]

Depending on how much time you have to get from LA to SF, take Hwy 1, not 101, and definitely not I-5.

[RugbyD]

Rent a car for LA. you'll go broke and nowhere trying to take a cab. get a GPS with it.

[Tavish]

Australia:
Kangaroos
Koala bears
Dingos
Outback


That about covers it.

Don't see the dingos. They might eat your baby.

[Curtis Pride]

Yeah, don't go to Vegas/LA in July/August - it will be 100 degress (40)

If you are out there:
Grand Canyon - which isn't that far from Vegas is a must. You can camp out there. Hiking down the Grand Canyon (on mules) and camping over night is pretty bad-ass - like the Brady Bunch. You can also white-water raft down the Colorado river.

Driving down from San Fran to LA on US 1 would take you like 2 days. It probably takes about 10 -12 hours of drive time. Drive for a few hours, stop off at a beach - go shopping, whatever. Find some little bed & breakfast or beach hotel and stay for the night, finish up the ride the next day.

In terms of "tourist" spots in LA and San Fran those are pretty easy to find.

You'll probably want to go to a show in Vegas - so you'll want to research which ones are good (there's a Beatles Cirque Du Soliel that's supposed to be good. If you are going to do, it would probably behoove you to book the hotels (especially in Vegas) sooner rather than later. My brother was there this weekend, and said that it was empty. They are desperate for people to come so the prices for hotels are really cheap. Like $90 a night for the top hotels which normally are around $150-$200.

[stevethumb]

if you have a coupla xtra bucks and want a special romantic night, try NICK's COVE 23240 calif rt 1 marshall, ca 415-663-1033.. no foolin'..google it

i've always wanted to see san simeon the hearst castle (estate)

[ThatDude]

Regarding Vegas.....

I personally never get a hotel on the Strip. I always stay at Arizona Charlie's on Decatur Blvd with the dirt cheap rooms. If you are spending more than 3 hours in your hotel room a day (including sleeping time), you are doing things completely wrong, so there's no sense in paying $100 when you could pay $40, or $200 when you could pay $90. It's within spitting distance of Freemont St, which I prefer to the more touristy Strip area for my gambling.

I'm not a big Vegas shows guy, but i had great times at both Penn & Teller and Amazing Jonathan, so I'd definitely recommend those. They aren't running 52 weeks a year though, so you'd need to check out their schedules.

As for strip clubs, well, there's good places and bad places. I haven't been there in about 3-4 years, and things change fast. No idea where the best spots are right now, but I'd imagine Olympic Garden is still near the top.

Also, prostitution is not legal in Vegas, despite all the flyers you'll see. Doesn't mean it doesn't happen of course, but if you want it legal, you'll need to get out of town and into some other county.