So we're thinking of visiting the US...

In My Humble Opinion
21

Well you’ll actually be taking a very very well traveled route and will be surrounded by cars the entire way. You MIGHT want to check with your cell provider to see if they even have coverage in the US at all? I know my (US) cell didn’t work when I went to Vancouver or London. There might be a coverage map on their website.

:confused: Did you read my post?

If you decide to drive to Vegas one thing my husband and I used to find fun was “guess the temperature at Bun Boy.” Now, Bun Boy is a diner about 2/3rds the way to LV (I was going to recommend it as a diner to stop at, but upon having Googled it I find it has closed down. SAD FACE.) Anyway, they have out front the World’s Largest Thermometer. (134 feet tall) And about halfway through our drive between LA and LV we’d start deliberating about what the temperature would be when we got to Bun Boy/Baker, CA. Another time-killer was “Are we playing ‘closest to the actual temp’ or ‘Price is Right’ rules: Closest without GOING OVER.” Well this might be a moot point if the thermometer is no longer working. (In the event it is, it will be in Fahrenheit.)

If you take highway 5 down through California there’s an interesting restaurant called the Apricot Tree. The only website I could find for it is a Yelp review page which seems to have absurdly harsh reviews of it. We’ve stopped there a couple times and the food and service has both been perfectly fine. The cool thing about this place is it’s JAM PACKED with vintage lunchboxes and thermoses. (Lots of great pix on that site.) I guess some of the gripes were that service was slow (no more so than any other “sit-down” restaurant near as I could tell) - who cares with all this great stuff to look at?

22

This is an OFT-DEBATED topic on this board, so I won’t get into that, but wanted to give you the “heads-up” that while in many parts of the US a 15% tip is considered the norm, 20% is the going rate in major cities these days. Obviously, if service is sub-par you scale down, but if service exceeded your expectations you scale up.

In my experience people in San Francisco are the rudest, most stuck-up people I’ve ever met, and I lived there for five years.

That having been said, no one in SF will notice you even HAVE an accent. So it’s got that going for it.

Also, hope you like the smell of pee and having to step over people passed out on the sidewalk at 2 in the afternoon.

23

Oh and no disrespect voguevixen! Your advice is much appreciated.

In fact, thanks to everyone who posted in this thread, and I hope more of you have tips to share! I’ll be sure to keep the tipping thing in mind. I once didn’t tip in Morocco, where I later realized I should have. Very, very embarrassing.

24

By the way, driving my rented drop-top Chevy into Vegas after several days in the desert was an awesome moment. I had Sinatra on the CD player, primed to play Luck Be A Lady Tonight at full volume as I cruised down the Strip.

Unfortunately it was so insanely hot that the top went back up again after two minutes so I could run the a/c again, but they were a memorable two minutes.

However, after 48 hours in Vegas I just wanted to get the hell out. We went to the Red canyon thingy and that was cool too. Bring lots of water.

25

There will be other answers, but STAY WITH YOUR CAR and pack in at least a couple gallons of water just in case. There will be traffic unless you somehow get horribly lost on a side road. The police do have airplanes and helicopters that do check the roads for stranded travelers. You might consider getting a couple road flares for night time use as signals of distress. Cell coverage is getting better and better, and the route to Vegas from LA is very popular and tends to have ok coverage.

26

You mention diners, drive-ins and dives, so perhaps I’m telling you something you already know.

Food Network has a list of the places Guy Fieri has visited on his triple D show. You might print the list off and try to fit some of those into your food choices. He really seems to find some hidden gems.

I do not like driving in SF. I was still too new with a stick shift the first time I drove there. Scary. I actually had to turn the wheel over to someone else when I couldn’t get up one of the more steep hills that happened to catch me with a red light.

I enjoyed Alcatraz enough to go twice and still want to take my husband, since he has not yet been there. I hope you’ll have a great time.

27

There are many threads on this topic. Here is a recent one (from a kiwi).

Visited Las Vegas without a car - there is a monorail to get around the strip, also free shuttles. Grand Canyon is a 5 hour drive from LV.

Intercity train and especially bus would not be advised. That said, the train up the coast can be interesting, but the drive is fantastic. A tour bus from SF to Napa or Yosemite would be fine.

Crime - don’t forget the ‘Hollywood’ effect. In 45 years of driving, I am still waiting to see my first high speed pursuit or gun battle in the street. ( but I see them every night on TV)

28

I can second this- it’s far easier to take a cab anywhere you want to go. Just don’t make the mistake I made- I looked down the Strip and said to myself, “That doesn’t look too far, I’ll just walk”. Distance is deceptive on the Strip- everything is bigger than it should be, so what looks like just a block or two is actually a mile or more. I got massive blisters on my feet from all the walking I did.

29

Yes. If you’re used to Singapore, the US is going to seem completely and utterly huge with vast stretches of empty or nearly empty space. Traveling with supplies would be recommended.

Are you planning on coming to the East Coast anytime soon? It is, on the whole, denser and you can see more with less travel (e.g. you can see New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, AND Washington, DC in a week with only a few hours between each.

30

The garlic rabbit was bland, but the garlic ice cream was really good.

31

A story: A FOF took a trip through the desert and her car broke down, (I can’t remember exactly where, but along a poorly traveled road, before cell phones.) They were stuck for about 4 hours before being rescued. Upon returning from their trip, she was describing to her invalid mom how they tried to get shade by crawling into and under the car but it was too hot to be borne. They were so thirsty by the time they were rescued they were drinking for an hour. She was expecting her mom to commiserate about her terrible sunburn. Mrs. H’s only comment was “What kind of an IDIOT goes into the desert without water?”

It became a family joke whenever going to Vegas, Arizona or wherever: we took water because we didn’t want to be called an IDIOT by Mrs. H. But water is an inexpensive hedge that becomes priceless when you’re stuck in the desert. Make room for at least a gallon per person.

That said, I agree with aruvqan. The route to Vegas is almost a well traveled as any in LA. Even in the middle of the night, I don’t think more than 5 minutes pass without traffic. The same goes for any route between SF and LA. You won’t be alone for long.

32

I can attest that Arches and Bryce Canyon are absolutely beautiful. Hope your trip is great.

33

And about an eight hour one-way drive from Las Vegas.

34

Depends on your tolerance for walking, though. I had no problem walking to the Stratosphere (though it gets kind of sketchy once you pass the two Wynn hotels), but I walk fast and it wasn’t that hot that day. It is a fair hike, I’ll grant.

35

I’ll vote for driving from SF to LA, along either 101 or 1 or some combo. There are some wonderful wine producing areas along the central coast (think Sideways).

36

I understand that’s about right, if you don’t encounter any major traffic tie-ups or other impediments traffic-wise. I don’t know if I’d go so far as to call it a crap drive, but it’s not a terribly great one either. If you take the I-5 you’ll be traveling the length of California’s Central Valley, which is mostly farm country, and not along the coast. California State Route 1 is considered by most of us to be a lot more attractive in terms of scenery and general interest, but it’s much slower overall, because it becomes the main drag of many of the small towns that it passes through; in those places it’s just another street with stops and signals and cross traffic. If I were do take that road I’d want to make it a two-day drive and stop somewhere in between, like Pismo Beach.

I wouldn’t recommend the bus; regular intercity bus service in California has a pretty bad public image, and unfortunately it’s fairly well deserved by all accounts. As for trains, yes, there is the Coast Starlight, but it’s notoriously slow. You’d be boarding in Oakland, across the bay, around 7AM, and you wouldn’t reach L.A. until 10PM. On the other hand if you want to take the time, it’s well worth it for the scenery. If you want to do this you’ll need advance reservations. IMHO it’s more of a tourist attraction than a practical transportation alternative, but since you’ll be tourists, why not? It’s a great way to see California.

Las Vegas is completely without intercity train service these days. I agree with those who have said it’s a boring drive. On the other hand, if you can leave L.A. early enough, it’s probably not too bad, and you’ll arrive right around the check-in time for most of the hotels.

37

Highway 1 is the most scenic, but if you get motion sickness or are on a tight schedule it is very curvy and meandering in some places and it adds a significant amount of time to the trip.

Also I want to apologize for my dickish remarks earlier in the thread - I was in quite the mood last night apparently.

38

The Petrified Forest National Park is worthwhile, too, if you’re in the area.

39

Yeah, don’t have a car in SF. It’s horrible.

I’d say drive down 101 part of the way and then switch to 1 if you want the amazing scenic route. 101 is nice too and faster (and not freaky-scary on a cliff!)–part of the way they are the same road.

I have no advice about LA, haven’t been there in years. :slight_smile:

40

I agree with many of the above posts, and maybe I have a few other ideas to add.

How long is your vacation here? If you have enough days, you can stay in either SF or LA for a few days and see many of the sights. Also, if you like the drive, you can drive from SF to LA and take several days. I have done that.

I always recommend: Visit places that are different from anything you could see at home. For example, SF and LA have fine zoos, but you can probably see a fine zoo near home. Some people like to hang out at big shopping malls. But if that’s what you like, you don’t have to visit USA for that. I’m sure there are big malls near you. You should look for things that are different.

In San Francisco:
Some places to see:
– I think you said you aren’t into museums. But you might like The Exploratorium – It’s definitely interesting. There is a fine classical art museum at the Palace of the Legion of Honor.
– Visit Golden Gate Park. Plenty to see and do there. California Academy of Sciences, several more art museums, a large botanical garden, many other specialized gardens, picnic areas – You could spend a whole day here.
– If you are interested in California history, visit the old missions like Mission Dolores. They all have historical displays.

If you have the time, you could spend a few days in areas around San Francisco – from the Napa Valley and Sonoma County wine country to the north, to Santa Cruz, Monterey, and Carmel to the south. If you like getting out of the city and exploring the smaller towns and country, and seeing the scenery, there is plenty of that if you just drive an hour or two out of town.

In Napa Valley and Sonoma County, there are many wineries, and many bed-and-breakfast places to visit if you like that. The drive up Highway 1 is spectacularly pretty, both north and south of SF. If you like hiking and other outdoor recreation like that, there are mountainous redwood forests with public parks and miles and miles of hiking trails. There are stables where you could go horse riding. You could visit Calistoga for wineries, spas, mud-baths and massages – there’s a spa in just about every block.

In Monterey, there’s the Monterey Bay Aquarium and many nearby places of California historical interest. Redwood forests, hiking, horse riding around there too. You could visit the beaches if the weather is nice.

Some people don’t like driving, and just want to get from SF or LA of Los Vegas as fast as possible. Other people think the drive is part of the vacation, and you might enjoy all the places and all the scenery. If you drive, I-5 is the fastest but also rather boring. Highway 101 is slower, but prettier, with much more variety – parts are in big cities, small cities, farmland, and by the ocean. Route 1 is the longest and slowest, and runs right along the coast most of the way. My suggestion: Take 101, with occasional side-trips to the coast. You could stop in San Luis Obispo (about half-way from SF to LA), and visit various cities around there. You might also stop in Santa Barbara and visit there.

My personal feeling is, you could spend your entire vacation in and around San Francisco and never run out of things to see or do. I don’t care much for southern California (LA and area). If you do go there, and if you like getting away from big cities, you could go to Big Bear, a small resort town up in the mountains near LA, where you could rent a cabin in the pine trees and go fishing by the lake.

That should give you a lot of ideas to think about!