USA Holiday
 

Kids want to go to the US in 2012, we are thinking round the San Francisco area rather than the East coast, any tips on where to get reasonably price flights and any other tips ?

For cheap flights, http://www.flightcentre.co.uk/
Places to visit, apart from the obvious in the city itself:
Alcatraz Island
Napa valley (wine)
Big Basin Redwoods State Park (giant redwood trees)
Palo Alto space center (NASA)
Silicon Valley (lots of big tech company HQs - Apple, Cisco, Yahoo, etc)
Monterey Bay - Santa Cruz, Monterey, whale watching, etc

Hotel recommendation:
http://www.jdvhotels.com/hotels/all

A lot will depend on your budget and what you (and kids) want to do. I've stayed mostly in hotels down in silicon valley, where the rooms tend to be pretty enormous and good value, but in central San Fran I expect rates will be higher and space (and particularly parking) at a greater premium. Public transport in the city isn't too bad, but to go anywhere else you're ****ed without a car.

Love the area myself, although not sure if it's such an obvious destination for kids.

I never drove up to San Fransisco but I did stay at Malibu which I wouldn't recomend to visit but its a nice place to stay. We spent most of our time in Santa Monica which is really nice. The original Disney World is not far from there also San Fransico is about 280miles up from there and San Diego and Las Vegas are about the same distance away.
Also you are about 20 miles away from L.A where you have Holloywood studios and other places you could want to visit.

I stayed at this place and its on the beach they show on "two and a half men"

http://www.malibubeachinn.com/


My daughter loved Santa Monica as the beach is superb, its Venice beach and they even have a pier with rides and there is the muscle beach bit where you can laugh at all the people training :)

Last time i was in US seen a couple of shootings.. That was in Chicago

You saw.

But what has your juvenile imagination got to do with this thread?

bookit.com is a great website for holidays in the USA, many hotels that you wont find on UK/European sites and usually cheaper too

:lol1::lol1:

I have no fear of the wild wild west, or even the deep south, will be over there twice with work before this trip, after tips on how to keep the cost down, the brief from the kids is to see a gunshop with real guns, visit a Taco Bell and go to a proper Skate Park, no Disney stuff as they are 12, 14 and 16, I want them to see some America and possibly shoot a handgun in a controlled setting to get it out of their systems, they are gun obsessed which isn't my doing as I am anything but,

LA is the gang capital of the world so I'm sure they will see some gun action. Venice beach has a part where you rent bikes/skates and skate boards but most of it is flat but I dare say ther is a proper park there as they have a lot to do and as for shooting guns everywhere in America has a gun range. I saw more gun ranges in Orlando than anywhere else :)

Me mate has been to San Fransisco and loved it and he took his 17year old son and I think they were after the things you mention .

only if you go to the wrong parts.

You'll want to research this and get firm bookings before you travel, as the law on gun ranges was massively tightened up in the wake of 9/11. It used to be that just about anyone could walk in off the street, pay the day (or evening) membership fee and happily fire off rounds for a few hours on whatever guns the place had. Now you have to have legal US residency (ie. citizen, work-visa, etc), to go to an ordinary range, unless you know a local who can sign you in. As a tourist, your only other option is to find somewhere that offers dedicated visitor packages. I know these are quite popular in and around Vegas, but not sure about San Fran.

Staying on the gun theme, a boxed set of Dirty Harry movies would be a great way to try and spot some famous movie locations for when you get there :thumb:

Well i,ve been to Chicago many times. My old mate i went to school with moved over there and works as a steepljack and he,s been there 20 years now. Are you not aware gun crime is rife in US???:hjtwofing
And judging by your location you may well be one of those line dancing weirdoes:lol::lol::lol:.
Anyway hope the op has a nice holiday:thumb::thumb:

I went to Chicago just a few months ago, used public transport the entire time I was there, even late at night (all the travel guides say it's extremely safe), and never saw so much as heated words being exchanged.

As with any large city, find the wrong part of town where the dealers and users hang out, and you're bound to see some unpleasantness. Stick to the places that most normal people actually want to visit, and you'll be fine.

I stayed at the willows hotel last time which was very good . The shootings we witnessed were during store robbery,s and it wasn,t a rough area tbh.
The highlight for me was to play golf at the beverly country club.

I'll be spending a week in Cleveland, OH next week. A state where you can carry concealed weapons and many of my colleagues have guns. Few have told me 'tales' of shootings.

I will happily walk around downtown (as long as I don't freeze) without feeling threatened.

In NYC I will use the trains and subway even at night.

I walk round in Atlanta at night and feel ok, I walked up to a load of black guys on Chromed Gixxers with extended Swingarms, turbo's and nitrous, drag bikes and got chatting, a bit stand offish at first but quite happy to chat, watched them racing between the lights, I politely declined a pillion ride :D as I fear I would have **** myself and fallen off, having been on a standard one and nearly done so.

Feel more threatened in Stockport at night, full of Scallies, nobody walks in Atlanta so they just think you are a nutter.

I know its a long way from the West Coast, but if you were able to take in the Grand Canyon on the way, your children would never forget it.

Les

Fixed that for ya! :thumb:

I've been to Chicago too and I never got shot, died or anything! :)