Help Plan Holiday to New York & San Francisco
My wife and I are planning to go on holiday to New York and San Francisco over the summer. She's a teacher, and term ends July 19th, so the earliest we can travel is July 20th, and latest we can be back is August 19th. We're looking at two weeks, one week in each city.
I would be very grateful for any help in planning the following:
1) Flights - what are good airlines that fly between UK and US, that aren't too expensive. Also, does anyone know if it's possible to get a ticket to fly in to NY, but return from SF?
2) Internal travel - What are the good, but not too expensive, airlines that fly between these cities? As an alternative, we'd consider going by train, assuming there's a passenger route between the two cites.
3) Places to stay - we'd be looking at reasonable quality, but again not too expensive. Any ideas?
Thanks,
Dave.
I would be very grateful for any help in planning the following:
1) Flights - what are good airlines that fly between UK and US, that aren't too expensive. Also, does anyone know if it's possible to get a ticket to fly in to NY, but return from SF?
2) Internal travel - What are the good, but not too expensive, airlines that fly between these cities? As an alternative, we'd consider going by train, assuming there's a passenger route between the two cites.
3) Places to stay - we'd be looking at reasonable quality, but again not too expensive. Any ideas?
Thanks,
Dave.
Comments
Also, the pilgrimage to 1 Infinite Loop is a must -- about 20-30 miles south of SF, also, going east, there are wineries up in the foothills of the Sierra-Nevadas.
Originally posted by dmz
Travelocity -- get airline tickets, but only your first night's hotel, then see what you like as far as accomodations go when you get there, sometimes the listings aren't very helpful and you find yourself locked in for however many days in some shlock outfit -- this just happened to me in Dallas. You can find that the location isn't exactly what you thought it would be as well, then be out, running around and see the perfect place. (of course you may want to check and see if things fill up completely -- it is actually that way during the summer up in Seattle)
Also, the pilgrimage to 1 Infinite Loop is a must -- about 20-30 miles south of SF, also, going east, there are wineries up in the foothills of the Sierra-Nevadas.
If you're going from the UK check lastminute.com.
And infinite loop is a bit further than 30 miles from SF.
And directly to the east you have Oakland. Not much wine there. If you want wine, go north.
--B
Originally posted by bergz
If you're going from the UK check lastminute.com.
And infinite loop is a bit further than 30 miles from SF.
And directly to the east you have Oakland. Not much wine there. If you want wine, go north.
--B
67km to Cupertino -- about a 30 minute drive. On the wineries, Bergz is right, I'm not familiar with Napa valley, but it's much closer than getting into the foothills of the Sierras -- and probably much better for the wine.
You have to drive about 80 miles due east to get into the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas, some wineries, some caves (not very big) you can tour -- and about 50 miles past that, are the Giant Redwoods -- among them, a stump that is literally big enough to 'square dance' on (an american form of dance that involves four couples in a square).
I guess I'll skip the train ride then!
Any suggestions for specific places to stay?
Originally posted by Dave Abrey
Thanks for the replies
I guess I'll skip the train ride then!
Any suggestions for specific places to stay?
The big thing now for (business at least) travelers are hotels which are "suites" i.e., they have a microwave, coffee maker, full size refrigerator, dishes, pots and pans, a sink and dishwasher, and sometimes even a stove. They can start at about $120-$150 a night. You can go to the grocery store and stock up then eat lunch/breakfast in your room and then go out for dinner -- and save money AND your colon in the process.
Originally posted by dmz
The big thing now for (business at least) travelers are hotels which are "suites" i.e., they have a microwave, coffee maker, full size refrigerator, dishes, pots and pans, a sink and dishwasher, and sometimes even a stove. They can start at about $120-$150 a night. You can go to the grocery store and stock up then eat lunch/breakfast in your room and then go out for dinner -- and save money AND your colon in the process.
They sound like a good idea, at least fot he business traveller. I know what my wife's reaction would be though - she firmly believes (and I'm inclined to agree) that one of ideas behind going on holiday is so that you can have someone else do the cooking / cleaning / washing etc.
If you do that New York to SF should be reasonably cheap. You have several different airports, three in each city to choose from. San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose and then NY-JFK, NY-LaGuardia, and Newark. Generally JFK and San Francisco are expensive so frequently a lot of the cheaper flights will go through Oakland and LaGuardia or Newark. I don't think JetBlue flies into SFO, just OAK and Southwest Airlines flies mostly if not completely into OAK. Check JetBlue, Southwest, Frontier, and AirTran. With advance planning you should be able to get round trip tickets between the two for maybe $250/person. United has some good deals these days as well amazingly enough. Generally Tuesday through Thursdays will be cheaper especially as your dates are flexible it seems. Just do a search on Travelocity, Expedia and Orbitz and you'll find that leg for cheap.
Train would be an awfully long trip. Not sure where you are coming from but I am guessing the UK and often people who haven't traveled much in the US arent familiar with the scale as was mentioned in another recent thread. Just as an example consider than London is closer to Cairo than New York is to San Fran. It's a ways.
Not as familiar with NY as I usually stayed outside Manhattan. But SF has a a wide range of stuff for hotels. You looking for a particular price range, or amenities or location?
Thanks for the info - lots of useful stuff there. The train idea was basically because I thought it might be a nice way to get across the country - I knew it would take a while, but I didn't realise it would be 3-4 days total.
I'm interested in your filght idea, I hadn't thought about stopping over in NY on the way back, you're right, it might make a nice break in the return trip.
As for places to stay, I guess in NY I'm not that bothered, as long as it's easy to get to the main attractions. So I guess that means anything below Central Park. I don't know that much about SF, as I've only been there once, and that was a few years ago, so I have no idea about what might be a good area to stay in - I don't know what tourist attractions there are in the city itself, and where they are located. So nay suggestions would be welcome.