We took advantage of the fact that Celo had a conference in Las Vegas at the end of November and we decided to spend an extra week in the US also visiting the California. The plane trip from Dublin was going to be very tiring (almost 15 hours of flights with a connection in London) and the jet lag It would also be stressful (the time difference is 8 hours), so just one week of traveling wouldn't be very productive. So off we went to enjoy 2 weeks in California and Nevada!
Summary Itinerary
Since he took a road trip along the California coast in 2012, we put together an itinerary with other attractions/cities so it wouldn't be too repetitive for him. We started in San Francisco, we went through Yosemite Valley (inside Yosemite National Park), Death Valley and we ended in Las Vegas. All this by car with the following rest stops:
Detailed Itinerary
Taking away the 15 hours on the road (with me at the wheel, with him it would have been much less) and the stops in cities that weren't very interesting just to rest (Visalia and Lone Pine, for example), we can summarize our trip in these 4 posts:
Car Rental
We rent the cheapest car available in website from the RentalCars with the company Poplar and when we went to take it out, we had a upgrade for a car sedan A very comfortable automatic instead of the small manual we rented. According to Celo, Americans don’t like manual cars, so hope you also get an automatic without having to pay for it. It really is much more comfortable to drive…
We picked up the car in San Francisco and drove all the way to Las Vegas, as the map above showed. We took full insurance (always!) and chose the Poplar precisely because they did not charge that delivery fee to another location – pay attention to this, the amount is a stab (something around 100 dollars). For those who like numbers like us, our 6 days with the car cost 230 dollars, including insurance.
Fuel + toll + parking
Good news for us and for you who are interested in following our itinerary: we don't spend a penny on tolls. Nothing. We also didn't have any parking expenses, including in Las Vegas, and in post of the city (1 week in Las Vegas) I told the tip.
For the almost 1000 miles – or 1600 km – that we drove (we drove a lot through Yosemite and Death Valleys and these trips are not counted on the map above), we spent 70 dollars on regular gasoline. The gas stations in Nevada actually have better prices than those in California, but if you don't fill up at the gas stations right next to the entrances to the Valleys, you'll get reasonable prices too.
Accommodations
I found the accommodations to be much more expensive compared to what we usually get in Europe, but I didn't see much of a way to get around it. The daily rates are expensive for what they offer, but what bothered me the most were the extra fees that are quite high (more than 10%, for example) that we normally pay at check-in. checkout. (Booking warns you in advance, but I didn't pay much attention, I confess).
All of our hotels/motels were good, but they left something to be desired in some aspect. I'll tell you the details of each one in the comments. posts respective, but for now here is the list of places where we stayed:
- Hotel Stratford in San Francisco (excellent location, very standard room with carpet and continental breakfast, i.e. weak)
- Yosemite View Lodge very close to the entrance of Yosemite Valley (excellent location, super cozy room with full kitchen, no breakfast)
- Motel 6 in Visalia (like every Motel 6 in the US, basic rooms without breakfast)
- Dow Villa Motel in Lone Pine (great location near the entrance to Death Valley, very cozy room, no breakfast)
- Vdara in Las Vegas (good location, large and comfortable room with a poorly functioning kitchen, no breakfast)
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Meals
Just like hotels and stores, restaurants also charge extra fees and depending on the state, they can be more than 10% (Nevada is 8,15%). On top of the total bill with this extra fee, you are expected to pay a tip of at least 15% (some restaurants suggest 22%), that is, any sit-down meal is a stab (except for the hammocks). fast food, of course). I miss Europe at times like these, where you can sit anywhere and the price on the menu is the price you pay at the end and in some places no tip is expected.
We were shocked by our first restaurant bill in San Francisco and decided to take it easy on our meals, having only one main course and snacking on the others. We bought a lot of stuff at supermarkets (Walmart and Walgreens, mainly) and took advantage of the facilities in our rooms to store things in the fridge and make quick meals on the stove. We also stopped at several In-n-Out (network of fast food with fresh ingredients) and I found the burgers much better than those at McDonald's or Burger King. I recommend them! I'll tell you about the restaurants we went to posts detailed, but I can already say that none of them changed my life and that the service left a LOT to be desired. I think we are getting spoiled with Ireland. <3
Cell phone chip (GPS)
We bought a chip from the company in San Francisco T-Mobile suitable for tourists in the USA. They advertise the chip advertised as $30, but it ended up costing $36 with the extra fees. We used it in cities and on major highways, but we couldn't use it on smaller roads or in more remote places like Yosemite Valley and Death Valley. Judging by the amount of people we saw using their phones in those places, I believe other carriers work better, but I don't know if they have cheaper plans.
Visited Attractions
Travel details will be in the posts of the places we visited, but I can't help but talk a little about the places we went through. Here is a very brief list:
- San Francisco – Lombard Street (a cute winding street), Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf, Ghirardelli Square, Union Square, Ferry Building, Golden Gate, Salsalito and Alamo Square Park (where the cute little houses, The Painted Ladies, are).
- Yosemite Valley – We hiked 4 trails to see the waterfalls, lakes and giant sequoias inside the park. We drove a lot and stopped at several lookouts with spectacular views too. What an incredible place! Definitely the best part of the trip.
- Death Valley – we drove for hours through this arid and beautiful national park, stopping only to hike the Red Cathedral trail and see Badwater Basin. We also took a road with incredible views, Artist's Drive. It's quite a dirt road…
- Las Vegas – we went into practically all the famous hotels and walked around their shopping malls, casinos and of course we played, right…and the best part: we made a profit from the games! In addition to the hotels, we also went to a outlet interesting, the Las Vegas North Premium Outlets, and also in a stand shooting range (!) called Battlefield Vegas. We ate at the Brazilian steakhouse Fogo de Chão (I miss picanha!), a restaurant with buffet released at Caesars Palace, Carmine's, Settebello's pizzeria, The Cheesecake Factory and also at Burgr, chef famous Gordon Ramsay.
Our trip in photos
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