Cheapest & best time for vacation

neets · Mar 21, 2011

Hi,

We have visited a couple of places since the 2 years in Usa.This year we are planning to visit Las vegas & Los angeles & grand canyon.
i am still in planning stage,consolidating the things to see and do in all these three places.
i have hard time deciding when to go,i am very impatient and we were searching for tickets in april and may and its pretty much high.when do you guys think is the best time to travel..?cheapest and what would the weather be at that time.I have heard Las vegas is cheapest in Aug ,but how about the same time for grand canyon and los angeles,would it be to hot to drive and roam around..?

i have a list of top 10 attractions,can you tell me which is the least pleasing one and the ones i can strike off.i am not a big fan of wax museum ,i have seen the one @ New york.

TOP 10 Attractions
1. J. Paul Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Dr., 310 440 7300
2. Griffith Observatory, 2800 E. Observatory Road, 213 473 0800
3. Japanese American National Museum, 369 E. First St., 213 625 0414
4. Madame Tussauds Hollywood, 6933 Hollywood Blvd., 323 798 1670
5. Autry Museum of Western Heritage, 4700 Western Heritage Way,
Griffith Park, 323 667 2000
6. San Antonio Winery, 737 Lamar St., Plaza San Antonio, 323 223 1401
7. Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits, 5801 Wilshire Blvd., 323 934 7243
8. Universal Studios, 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, 800 864 8377
9. Simon Wiesenthal Center Museum of Tolerance, 9786 West Pico Blvd.,
310 553 8403
10. Hollywood Sign, http://www.hollywoodsign.org

Disneyland, 1313 Harbor Blvd.,
Disneyland Way, Anaheim, 714 781 4565

ROMANCE
1.Part of the Mulholland Scenic Parkway,
the Hollywood Bowl Overlook “affords
terrific views of the Hollywood Bowl and
much of Los Angeles.” On a clear day, you
might see past the city all the way to the
Pacific.
Hollywood Bowl Overlook, 7036 Mulholland
Dr., Hollywood

2.Capture the romance of old Hollywood at
the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre ????, “one of
the premium venues in the world to see a
movie.”
Grauman’s Chinese Theatre,
6925 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood,
323 464 8111

3.“We landed by chance at El Matador
Beach around sunset—a wondrous beach
not to be missed! Very romantic, beautiful,
many rocks and caves.”
El Matador Beach, 32215 Pacific Coast Hwy.,
Malibu, 818 880 0363

4.Temescal Gateway Park offers miles of
hiking, and rewards explorers with scenic
canyons, creeks, waterfalls and a gorgeous
view of the city and Pacific Ocean.”—
, Los Angeles

5.Temescal Gateway Park, 15601 Sunset Blvd.,
Pacific Palisades, 310 454 1395

6.At the J. Paul Getty Center, “the
architecture is as stunning as the art. There
are fountains and flowers, babbling brooks
and tall cactus plants. It’s easy to lose
oneself for the day here! Do look inside
the buildings; you will be treated to some
wonderful art. And it’s all free. What a gift
to Los Angeles!”
Los Angeles
.J. Paul Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Dr.,
310 440 7300

7.“Consider touring the peculiar Watts
Tower, a series of 17 abstract sculptural
structures (one nearly 100 feet tall)
composed of steel, wire, seashells and glass
shards.”
Watts Towers, 1727 E. 107th St.,

8.“Buried at the Hollywood Forever
Cemetery, in full view of the Hollywood
sign and at the back of Paramount Studios,
are some of the most famous and notorious
names of ‘Old Hollywood.’”
Hollywood Forever Cemetery, 6000 Santa
Monica Blvd., 323 469 1181

any thing that i missed..? any cheap and worth trying restaurants(thai,chinese,american,indian,anythingg.??.)NOn Veg!

We are planning a Week long Vacation and i dont know how to structure the itinerary.
How many days @ los angeles and how many days @ rest of the places..??

neets · Mar 22, 2011

no one been to los angeles or is staying @ LA.???

Ranchu · Mar 22, 2011

Neets,

Yeah I've not been to LA. but I can tell you about LV.
some tips :
before going to vegas , book the shows well ahead. you may think you will choose one after going there but they are always full and get booked early

also dont spend too much on staying in a casino, most of the time we will be out and we hardly spend time inside the room. So unless its your honeymoon or special ocassion I'd say no.

Plan your Grand canyon visit on 1 day , so that you can spend the night at vegas casinos.

neets · Mar 23, 2011

thanks ranchu...

can you suggest any shows which is worth seeing,i guess there are both free and ones with fees.What are the sites for LV hotels and show deals.

grand canyon 1 day.watch sunrise.
las vegas :2 days
we will probably be riding from los angeles to las vegas.i am yet to make a itinerary

after researching so much my old LA list look less appealing.so here is updated spots

my spots would be:

Universal Studios
Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Sign
Hollywood
Griffith Park Observatory
Beverly Hills
Rodeo Drive
Sunset Boulevard
santa monica
hollywood bowl
and maybe a beach

we wanted to meet some friends at sfo.Still planning how to include it.

ramyav_cse · Mar 28, 2011

We live close to LA and your list seemed unfamiliar to me...
You can fly into LA, visit attractions like Hollywood(Universal Studios), Sea World, Disney Land, Sandiego Zoo/Wild Animal Park (You can get a 5 day pass for these attractions), drive to Grand Canyon (You might want to spend a night there and see the sunrise and sunset from there), next day drive to Las Vegas and spend like 2 days there and then drive back to LA.
Griffith Observatory has no entrance fee and thats the only reason we take people there...u can visit it if u have a lot of time...otherwise the rest of the places u have listed are less common for visitors especially if ur entire visit might be only for a week...ofcourse if u had visited the places around LA that I had listed in Florida, then u might wanna consider ur list...

Ranchu · Mar 29, 2011

Neets,

keep watching slickdeals website . They post some LV hotel deals. Or even Hotwire should help you get a deal.

The best show would be "O" by Cirque de soleil. I guess you can book it online in one of the casino websites. BTW kids may not be allowed for such shows. So plan according to your preference.

rosenav · Mar 29, 2011

we visited LA , my dh had some interview there.... so we stayed only a 2days, day one we took a bus tour fr a day.. they took us everywhere frm beaches to shopping n all hotspots, it was really good , the following day we spent the day shopping n took a bus to Las Vegas ..I guess it's abt 7 hr drive , so we reached Vegas midnight , next day mor we took this helicopter tour to canyon , tours guys picked us up frm hotel n they took us in a bus till hover dam , and later we went to grand canyon.

You dnt have much to do in the daytime in vegas ...it's like a dessert with no ppl during the day, it's all abt the nights in Vegas. Vegas rocks.

so u can plan on visiting grand canyon during the day n hit the Vegas casinos in the night.

neets · Mar 29, 2011

Thanks for the inputs friends..

We had booked hotels and flights for the trip.

2 days @LA
Drive to Vegas
2 Days @ Vegas
drive to Gc
1 day @ GC
drive back to LV,flight back to Chicago.

In LA we have booked a Hollywood tour and taken ticket for the Universal studio.
i have checked the weather channel and it predicts 60s-70s.
1.But is it windy..? or chilly ..? does it get cold from evening through night.??
2.is it safe to roam around through the streets at night..?is there any safe places @ downtown,i got the scared out of hell after i read some reviews at tripadvisor.So are there are dangerous areas where we should keep away from..??

@ Vegas
I really not decided whether to take the Show ticket or not.We have seen a popular show at Broadway New york($100),a musical one.it was just awesome one!i logged into the sites of cirque du soleil and saw the preview video and photos and felt its more of circus and acrobatic show,is that all..? are the shows something very different from the musical ones..??and still a must..?which is the best cheapest option for the tickets..online or from the shops there..?

how did you decide what to wear ..? i am still shopping for dressy to for my jeans and simple dress,and i have heard that sneakers and flats are not allowed and contrary to that i read wear comfortable footwear as there are miles to walk and taxi's are very slow and expensive...so i have run out of my footwear ideas,i need help on this.. what foot wears should i choose...?

@ GC
we are planning south rim,planning to watch the sunrise and stay the whole day there.Is it possible to cover north in a day.
Is it only the Lookout points that we are allowed to stay,have anyone done any hiking..?is there any way we could hike down to the ground from such an elevation and be near the colorado river...?? Have anyone done anything like that...???

@ramya
are u reffering to the seaworld @sandiego..?2 hrs drive ? if we go to sandiego ,would have to sacrifice roaming around the famous towns at LA.IS it worth .?i read that from the website that shamu show from may,so is it still good without shamu shows..??i have been to the shedd aquarium @ chicago and i tried comparing and i have no idea if its the same kind we will be dead bored
thanks Ranchu for the deal site.

rose,helicopter drives are tempting! i found out there are 30 min and 50 min tours.will try to do one,thanks!

Ranchu · Mar 31, 2011

Neets,

The Cirque de soleil show is no way compared to regular circus or NY broadway musical. Its very different and totally worth it.
Dont miss it ..

Only for such shows you may need a good Dress and shoes. For all other places you can roam in comfortable sneakers.
What you heard about Miles to walk is true. Dont do the mistake of packing only heels. youll end up walking barefoot .

@GC - yes you can hike , but its only for ppl who enjoy adventurous outdoors. I wont prefer doing it myself personally.