LA Trip Bookings - Any Recommendations

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  [Deactivated] on 12/07/2015 - 10:48

  Universal Studios VIP tour, expensive but worth every penny

  Since you're on San Francisco, do a day in Sonoma going around the wineries…

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  mayo88 on 12/07/2015 - 12:28

  Which bus company you traveling from from Las Vegas to LA?

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    easternculture on 12/07/2015 - 12:31

    Too early to book for me. Bus schedule doesn't go till March. But here is the website i was looking at

    http://www.gotobus.com/los-angeles-to-las-vegas-bus/

    Will sure be a nice 6 hr road trip

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  Paul Atreides on 12/07/2015 - 16:01

  EC

  i recommend doing the coastal drive from sf to la. it was very nice for us, esp in a convertible mustang. limited luggage space for this
  for vegas, i had a few friends watch coppafeel(copperfield), and said it wasnt worth it for the price. me and the misses went to watch cirque (love) at mirage and it was good. we paid $100aud ea for our tickets, being seated in section 204 U1 U2 and these were really good seats.

  the flamingo seemed to be in a really good location. Not sure if the price you've put here includes resort fees. if it doesnt, you might want to check out agoda.

  SF was fine for us without a car. a ride sharing service there (lyft) had a promotion where it was $5 off the first 10 rides. if you travel in the cbd area, lyft LINE (carpool) is a flat $5pp or $6 for both of you BEFORE the $5 off promo. Hopefully this will still be on. LA, we felt like we somewhat needed a car here.

  for renting cars, dont be afriad to haggle with the counterstaff if you are offered an upgrade. we got a nissan pathfinder and was offered an upgrade to a chevy surburban. originally they wanted an extra $46 usd per day, but we negotiated down to $15 per day.

  If you like your amusement parks, you should check out six flags. X-2 was great.

  if you plan on going to a gun range, LA gun club was good for us. cali does have some strict gun laws, so the gun you want to run might be different (e.g. auto vs semi).

  for disneyland, make good use of their fastpass. the way this works is that you get the pass which will have a time you can come back, once you reach this timeframe, you get placed in a priority queue. you can get a new fast pass when your most recent one reaches its timeslot, or 2hours, whichever comes first.

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    easternculture on 12/07/2015 - 16:28

    Thanks for the tips

    i recommend doing the coastal drive from sf to la

    we are taking a 3 day tour but ill have a look if any tours go that way

    the flamingo seemed to be in a really good location. Not sure if the price you've put here includes resort fees. if it doesnt, you might want to check out agoda.

    Yes it includes resort fees. It was like ~ $24 per day for the rooms, and ~ $25 per day resort fees + Taxes. I booked directly from the chains website, they had 20% off and then an extra $5 off if you signed up to their member program. Ill call them back at a later date and pretend i found a better deal and see if they can offer me free breakfast as an incentive for me to stay.

    SF was fine for us without a car

    we are not planning on renting a car in SF

    for renting cars, dont be afriad to haggle with the counterstaff if you are offered an upgrade

    Like a true ozbargainer would , Ozbargain for life :)

    for disneyland, make good use of their fastpass

    Do you know of any place that sells these for a discount

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      [Deactivated] on 12/07/2015 - 22:06

      If you're going on a bus to San Francisco, I doubt very much they will go down PCH and likely the i5 or 101 if you're lucky.

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        easternculture on 13/07/2015 - 01:09

        We are looking at booking this one http://www.taketours.com/los-angeles-ca/3-day-san-francisco-…

        It takes the 17 Mile Drive and Monterey Bay Returning to LA, seems to be on the coast line when looking at google maps

        17-Mile Drive: This breathtaking stretch of coastline along California's Monterey Peninsula takes visitors through a maze of beautiful scenery, unique wildlife, and amazing mansions. Enjoy shopping and dining along the way in addition to taking in the vistas

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        [Deactivated] on 26/07/2015 - 15:24

        @easternculture:

        Cool, so about 20 minutes along the bay.

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        easternculture on 26/07/2015 - 15:50

        +1

        @Drew22:

        I can only work with what is available.

        If you gave better suggestions, why don't you enlighten me instead of being sarcastic

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  petestrash on 13/07/2015 - 00:15

  Your car rental rates are good, but I don't think Expedia includes Supplemental Liability Insurance (SLI) or Uninsured Motorist Protection (UMP) insurance in those packages. Just in case you thought all coverage was included. SLI and UMP can add up to around US$25 a day together if you want them.

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    easternculture on 13/07/2015 - 01:09

    Thanks , ill look into that

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    mayo88 on 16/07/2015 - 22:55

    Do i need SLI or UMP if i have travel insurance tho?

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      petestrash on 17/07/2015 - 00:13

      It depends on your Travel insurance policy. If it covers your liability for other people injured or property damaged while you are driving a car, then SLI is not needed. Same with UMP, if your travel policy covers damage to you, people in your car and the car itself, if an uninsured person causes the accident, then you are covered.

      Like most insurances, you don't have to have either one, but you also bear the risks which are higher in the US than here.

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        zappy32 on 17/07/2015 - 12:52

        Most travel insurance I've seen only covers the excess on LDW or similar.. definitely worth checking out before you book!

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        easternculture on 17/07/2015 - 14:15

        @zappy_32:

        My credit card insurance covers the excess for rentals

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        zappy32 on 17/07/2015 - 14:36

        @easternculture:

        So in that case you'll need some sort of insurance on the car to be covered, unlike Australia rental cars in the US come with no insurance.

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  ols108 on 14/07/2015 - 09:08

  You really won't want or need a car in San Francisco, Public transport is pretty good and parking fees at hotels are $40+ a night.
  Fast passes at DL are included, once you have your DL tickets make an account at Disneyland.com and you can plan your day and choose your FP+ times.
  Its important to have a really good plan for DL or else you find yourself missing out on lots. You can book 3 or 4 Fastpass tickets per day and once you've used them you can book others as well. make sure you have the disneyland app on your phone and you can do them from there. be aware that you can book the fastpasses 30 days in advance and 60 days if you're staying at a disney hotel so usually the most popular attractions can already booked for the day( like parade or fireworks preferred seating, meeting Anna and Elsa etc) You might find the parks SUPER busy during that time as a lot of schools are on spring break and its just before Easter.

  Also if you have time jump onto myvegas facebook game, its a slots game that gives you REAL rewards for playing, i've never spent a single dollar on the game and I've had 100% comped 3 nights at MGM Grand in 2013 2 Nights at Aria comped in 2013 and last year 4 Nights comped at MGM Grand, not to mention like 6 buffets for 2.

  I am going back on the 9th of March with wife and kids again for our 3rd trip and I totally can't wait. ( Thanks Qantas)

  Maybe there should be a thread for US bargains?

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    easternculture on 14/07/2015 - 11:06

    +1

    maybe we can meetup in LA. We will be in LA,SF and Vegas between 15/3 and 31/3

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      ols108 on 14/07/2015 - 11:30

      We're in Anaheim 9-14th but we're going to be between LA-SF-Vegas- San Diego between 15th and 30th :-)
      We're still planning our trip but it sounds like a plan :-)

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  ols108 on 14/07/2015 - 09:10

  -1

  Oh and for Disney tickets I got mine the last two times from http://www.mousesavers.com/

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    petestrash on 15/07/2015 - 23:15

    +2

    LMTClub was cheaper for us in 2013, usually can find free joinup codes.