Travel : United States

[Lynn2]

Thank you 3boys.


Cheers
Lynn2

3Boys:

If I may suggest, please do not turn your trip into one large circuit of theme parks. You are visiting a foreign land for the first time, do try and take in the culture and a feel for the place. Disneyland, Universal Studios, you can do in Singapore, HK, Osaka and Gold Coast.

San Fran, in my view is a must do. Your boys are not that young. Go see some of the sights, Alcatraz in my view is so interesting, and so is the Museum of modern art, they can get a feel for some of the issues of American history like slavery and how that impacts race relations. I can give you some tips of interesting cuisine. My DW and I had dinner at Kokkari, a Greek place, it was fabulous. If are inclined, you can take a drive up to Napa Valley and do some of the vineyards. Do check ahead if they allow underaged persons on the premises. If you go a little further north, you can get into the parks with Giant Redwoods. They are a fantastic experience to see and feel, and cannot be gotten anywhere else in the world.

Driving 2-3 hours at a stretch is manageable, perhaps just try not to do that on your first day as you arrive. If you want to do a longer stretch, break it up with lunch break somewhere. LA to LV is manageable in one day, start at 9 in the morning, take a lunch and another mini-break somewhere and you should be fine.

SF to LV, on the other hand, is too long a drive, unless you take a night stop somewhere.

LV is another thing altogether! Glitzy, but in a fun way. Go catch Cirque de Soleil at the Bellagio. Great show. Take a walk up and down the strip, bear in mind though, the distances between hotels are long. Shopping is another thing you can do. There are a couple of outlet malls you can get to with really good prices for designer wear, and with the US dollar the way it is, you can get some fabulous deals. Kids clothes in particular, wonderful quality for prices that you would cry for compared to the exhorbitant charges in Singapore.

I've never had issues with break-ins with my car rentals, and I have probably rented in the US 5-6 times in the last 2 years. But do use common sense.

If you are doing the West Coast, then keep it there, you do not really want to be shuttling back and forth between East and West coast with such a short time. Your boys are young, you can bet they will be back to the US again some time in the future, no need to pack too much into the itinerary and diminish the experience. You'll be spending all your time packing/unpacking, checking in, transferring, and that eats up all the vacation time.

Do you really want to fly Phillippine Airlines? I think UA and SQ have flights through HK, if that really matters to you. Seoul, Shanghai are other ports of transit.

Great time to be visiting the US. Keep your wits about you, and you will be fine! Americans are generally helpful and friendly people.

[jingle69]

My family and I would be travelling to US this coming school holidays (June) but we haven’t quite decided yet which airline to take. My husband wants to take ANA to take advantage of the cheap fare… But I’m quite hesitant because the connecting flight will be in Japan. Anybody knows if it is really ok to fly to Japan now? Would love to hear your views… Thanks!

[3Boys]

jingle69:

My family and I would be travelling to US this coming school holidays (June) but we haven't quite decided yet which airline to take. My husband wants to take ANA to take advantage of the cheap fare.... But I'm quite hesitant because the connecting flight will be in Japan. Anybody knows if it is really ok to fly to Japan now? Would love to hear your views.... Thanks!

Civil Aviation authorities have cleared the flying, and if airline pilots who fly the route on a regular basis were uncomfortable about it, it wouldn't be operational would it?

[quirkymum]

Hi jingle69,


Just came back from USA, I stopped at Japan for a few hours. No issue. Have a great hols

[Lynn2]

Hi there,


Am planning to travel to US in oct, on a free and easy trip.

Hoping to drive around.Some places have in mind are san francisco, LA, Lake tahoe, disneyland and las vagas.

Anyone has itinary to share, cos we hope to move around via gps.thanks

rgds
Lynn2

[3Boys]

Lynn2:

Hi there,


Am planning to travel to US in oct, on a free and easy trip.

Hoping to drive around.Some places have in mind are san francisco, LA, Lake tahoe, disneyland and las vagas.

Anyone has itinary to share, cos we hope to move around via gps.thanks

rgds
Lynn2

San Fran is a gorgeous city, and reasonably easy to get around, so you might not really need a car whilst there. If you are into wines, take a drive up to Napa valley or Sonoma county, really scenic, and great wines, of course. You can also see the Giant Redwoods in a few parks north of SF. Lake Tahoe is also very pleasant. LV is a real hoot! Well worth a few days. Catch a Cirque de Soleil (there are a few, I recommend 'O'). If you want a little more adventure, Grand Canyon is reachable from LV. I've not been to the southern parts of California though.

[Lynn2]

Hi 3Boys,


Thank you for sharing.

Now , am worry about the snow storm in Lake tahoe in oct, so driving may not be feasible.

Still trying to work out the itinerary.


Cheers,
Lynn2

3Boys:

Lynn2:

Hi there,

Am planning to travel to US in oct, on a free and easy trip.

Hoping to drive around.Some places have in mind are san francisco, LA, Lake tahoe, disneyland and las vagas.

Anyone has itinary to share, cos we hope to move around via gps.thanks

rgds
Lynn2

San Fran is a gorgeous city, and reasonably easy to get around, so you might not really need a car whilst there. If you are into wines, take a drive up to Napa valley or Sonoma county, really scenic, and great wines, of course. You can also see the Giant Redwoods in a few parks north of SF. Lake Tahoe is also very pleasant. LV is a real hoot! Well worth a few days. Catch a Cirque de Soleil (there are a few, I recommend 'O'). If you want a little more adventure, Grand Canyon is reachable from LV. I've not been to the southern parts of California though.

[CayennePepper]

Lynnn2

If you do decide on driving...remember to get out of the lane right next to the road shoulder, if you see a police car/emergency vehicle(s) there. You need to give them one whole free lane, or be prepared for them to come after you later

[verykiasu2010]

CayennePepper:

Lynnn2

If you do decide on driving...remember to get out of the lane right next to the road shoulder, if you see a police car/emergency vehicle(s) there. You need to give them one whole free lane, or be prepared for them to come after you later

there is also a lane for car-pooled vehicles.....

[ghostz]

verykiasu2010:

there is also a lane for car-pooled vehicles.....

and to my amusement, in california, car-pooled lane means at least 2 people in the car