Hello,

I’m from London and am thinking of treating myself to go and see Prince at Las Vegas at the end of April. I want to fly into the States hire a car and spend Sunday to Friday driving to experience America - ending up in Las Vegas on Friday. Could any American fans recommend a route or pointers to a good way of doing this? And any info on cheapish hotels in Las Vegas would be highly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

That sounds like fun! It depends on how much driving u want 2 do and how much sightseeing along the way. If u wanna drive coast 2 coast, that's 3,000 miles. If ur driving alone that's 2 much. Chicago is about 2,000 miles away from Vegas.

I think a good Sunday to Friday road trip could begin in San Francisco, with stops in Monterey, Napa Valley, Santa Barbara, L.A., Pasadena, and onto Vegas.

yeah....spend a day or two in San Fran and head down highway one.....down to l.a. and then over to vegas

did it last year and it was beautiful

check the weather though because you don't want to get caught on highway one in a rainstorm

stayed at the Ragged Point Inn on highway one and for like $90 got a room with an ocean view on top of a cliff.....it was amazing

Fly into San Francisco International - Sunday.

Stay: Fisherman's Wharf area or Union Square.
Monday - SF - See the famous Haight Ashbury by day, and eat at the "Stinking Rose" at night. Check for shows at the Filmore, Ruby Skye, etc...

Tuesday - Drive to Monterey from SF - 90 minutes? Stay in Monterey but shop and eat in Carmel. Do the "17 mile Drive" which includes the Pebble Beach area.

Wednesday AM - See the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Wednesday - Drive to Los Angeles - three and a half hours. Stay in West Hollywood on Sunset. Eat at LaLa's on Melrose.

Thursday - Pick your fun - you are running out of time. Do either Santa Monica, Venice Beach, or Disneyland?

Drive to Vegas.

Friday - Stay at Terrible's off the strip. See Prince. Buy some Cinnamon Bagels from the California Club.

What a vacation!

Thanx people, I think the San Fran option sounds good.

I'll let u know how I get on.

Cheers!

I think I'm gonna do the San Fran to Las Vegas thang - what sort of prices are motels/hotels out there and what is the weather like this time of year?

Three star motel/hotels run between $99-$200 per night. Weather is nice right now. A little chilly still at night but days are warm.

http://www.onlyinsanfrancisco.com/

www.vegas.com

www.weather.com


Now, leave us alone.

I lived in SF while going to school before moving back home to LA.....

Here's my list of favs in San Francisco

RESTAURANTS

Izzy’s Steaks & Chops (on Steiner)
Marina District
http://www.izzyssteaksandchops.com

Beach Chalet
Sunset District
http://www.beachchalet.com

Boulevard
http://www.boulevardrestaurant.com

The Fly Trap
Downtown
http://www.flytraprestaurant.com

Dotties True Blue Café
Downtown
http://www.mrbreakfast.co...estid=3533

The Stinking Rose
North Beach
http://www.thestinkingrose.com

Hawthorne Lane
South of Market
http://www.hawthornelane.com

The Buena Vista
Marina District
http://www.thebuenavista.com

Osaka
Marina District
http://www.osakaonfillmore.com

HANG-OUTS

North Beach (fantastic eateries and coffee houses)
http://www.sfnorthbeach.org

Union Square
Downtown
http://www.sfgate.com/tra...onsq.shtml

Golden Gate Park
Richmond District
http://www.sfgate.com/tra...park.shtml

Haight-Ashbury
http://www.sfgate.com/tra...ight.shtml

Vesuvio
North Beach
http://www.vesuvio.com

Union Street
Marina District
http://www.unionstreet.com

Chestnut Street
Marina District
http://www.chestnutshop.com

Fillmore Street
Marina District
http://www.fillmorestreetsf.com

Twin Peaks
http://www.sftravel.com/t...cisco.html

Pier 39
Marina District
http://www.pier39.com

Japantown
http://www.sfjapantown.org

HOTELS W/ GREAT TOP FLOOR LOUNGES

Grand Hyatt – Union Square
Downtown
http://grandsanfrancisco..../index.jsp

Mariott Hotel – Downtown
http://marriott.com/prope...page/SFODT

Thanx again for all your help.

Lordy said:

I will recommend the Orleans as a cheap hotel in Las Vegas. The rooms are quite large, but the prices are reasonable. It is off the strip by 2 miles or so, and about the same distance from the Rio and 3121, but since you will have a rental car that is not such a problem.

vanessabfly said:

I live in Santa Barbara, a very nice place to visit, BUT very expensive hotel prices! I would make Santa Barbara a day trip.

Lordy said:

How are you gettin' on, Lordy? Are your plans made? Do you have tix for a show? I'm going the 21st. Wondering if I'll get to meet you...

Yeah, I've just booked my tickets and plane ticket - I'm going to see the 27th & 28th April shows!! I'm flying in on Saturday 21st evening staying in Vegas that night and am planning to drive to San Fran, stay there a couple of nights, drive to a couple of different west coast towns and staying the night, then onto LA and then the last 2 nights back at Vegas.

It's all rough planning at the mo, but very exciting I must admit. I'll probably bug the hell out of some orgers by asking for advice and tips for a Londoner driving round California for the first time!

Lordy said:

You do realize Vegas to SF is an 11 hour drive.....just wanna make sure you're informed.

The drive from San Francisco to Las Vegas is not 11 hours. It's actually somewhere in the 8-9 hour range (depending on the traffic of course). Might not make that much of a difference to some, but to others every minute counts.

Thanx for the warning, I believe it's 380 miles.

when you get to the show, I'd suggest going to your left when you go into the club and getting near the stage. I think that is the best place because Prince plays to the left a lot... at least he did when I was there.

It is Prince's right, but the audience's left and get close to the stage. You also may want to dress appropriately. You'll be sitting on the ground for about 2 hours at least, but you still need to be dressed for a nightclub (no sneakers or t-shirts, not sure about jeans).

Have a blast. Enjoy America. Los Angeles is a lot of fun.

Thanx for the tip Bsunshine.

I'm WELL excited about coming, and driving around California. However I've only allocated one day & night (Weds - if I make it) for LA. How should I spend my time there?

Lordy said:

I would see Venice beach and the Santa Monica Pier. Depending on the tourist sort of things you like, there is Universal Studios, Disneyworld or just Grauman's Chinese Theatre. I don't know what to tell you about the nightlife because the bars I occasionally go to aren't for everyone!lol

Bsunshine said:

Correction- Disneyworld is in Florida, Disneyland is in California.

PaisleyPark5083 said:

blonde moment! ooops!

Thanx again for your help.