Your help and advice on our first trip to USA/Canada would be greatly appreciated

[blaze]

Hi there

I'm asking for some help and advice on our very first trip to mainland USA and Canada in Sep 2017


We are 2 adults and 2 kids aged 10 and 14 - my kids are quite good travellers - having travelled extensively through Asia




We have been invited to a wedding in Winnipeg Canada on the 8th of Oct 2017 - we have to be in Winnipeg for a function on the 6th of Oct in the evening


The wedding falls on the last day of school holidays which begin on the 23 September


We have decided to take the first week in the last semester of school giving us a full 3 weeks on holidays
Thus we do not have to be back in Sydney till the 15 th of Oct


We were thinking of seeing the west coast of the USA before the wedding and New York after the wedding


Our travel agent has come up with this itinerary


All flight are with Delta airlines except for 2 which I will outline below


Depart Sydney Sat 23 sept arrive in LA 23 sept 645 am


We will spend time in LA - kids want to do universal studios and Disney land - 1 day each universal studios / Disneyland / sight see around LA


Drive up to San Fransisco via coastal route on Tues 26th of Sept - thinking to do this in one long day


Spend 3 full days in San Fran


Depart on Sat the 30 th September at 1135 am via Virgin America and arrive in Las Vegas at 105 pm


Spend 2 full days in Vegas


Depart on Tues the 3 rd of Oct at 145 pm arriving in Vancouver Canada at 428 pm


Spend one full day in Vancouver


Depart Vancouver on Thurs 5 th of Oct at 855 am ( flying Westjet) and arriving in Winnipeg 135 pm on the 5th


3 full days in Winnipeg for the wedding


Depart Winnipeg on Monday the 9th of Oct at 9 am flying to New York via Toronto with a 2 hour stopover arriving in New York at 4 pm


3 full days in New York


Leave New York - Fri the 13 of Oct at 615 pm - arrive LA at 950pm catch flight to Sydney at 1051 pm - arrive back in Sydney on Sun the 15 th Oct at 750 am


In summary


3 nights in LA
4 nights San Fransisco
3 nights Las Vegas
2 nights Vancouver
4 nights Winnipeg
4 nights New York


Prices for


2 adult tickets - $2956 each
1 student - $2759
1 child - $2553
Tentatively booked booked via Student Flights travel agents


All flights with Delta Airlines except


San Fran to Las Vegas - Virgin America
Vancouver to Winnipeg - Westjet




Now that I written it out - it sounds crazy but doable - just - feel free to tell me if I am wrong


I'm not expecting to see everything in every city we visit but I hope we get to see the highlights in the time we have


Any suggestions or opinions would be appreciated


I am thinking about leaving one day earlier and make the kids miss the last day of school to give me one more day on the LA / San Fransisco part of the trip


Is it too hard to drive from La to San Fran in one day via the coastal route


Is this a good price pay for the flights I've got - would it be better to wait a bit a see if any specials come up - I know it would be cheaper if we flew via say China but time is a issue and thus we wanted the most direct flight


I am thinking of extending my time in Vancouver by one night and reduce time in Winnipeg


I am thinking that the stopover in Toronto of 2 hours is sufficient to catch the connecting flight to New York from Winnipeg


But the stopover of only 1 hour at LAX of only 1 hour is not sufficient on our return trip home from New York to Sydney


In the time frame we have
- do you think we will have enough time for a day trip to Yosemite national park while in San Fransico
- do you think we will have enough time for a day trip to the Grand Canyon while in Las Vegas


I don't usually collect frequent flyers points - as I don't like being tied down to one airline - but I think I should start - I think Delta is Skymiles- is that right ?
i don't have any frequent flyer points but I do have 817884 CBA reward points and 279999 citbank reward points


Many thanks in advance

 

[Hvr]

A couple of basic points:

If you're driving from LA to SFO allow a day to enjoy the coastal sights. Just driving straight through means you'll only see them at speed, this negating what I assume you're trying to do; see some great views.


Your flights home:

Leave New York - Fri the 13 of Oct at 615 pm - arrive LA at 950pm catch flight to Sydney at 1051 pm - arrive back in Sydney on Sun the 15 the Oct at 750 am

Are these on one PNR? If not it's way too tight to risk. Unless of course it's the same flight from JFK to SYD with a LAX stop over.

I'm sure others will have ideas so happy travelling and don't forget to allow for a day or two of just catching up and smelling the roses.

 

[blaze]

Thanks for the quick reply

On thinking about the itinerary overnight - I think it is too ambitious and I need to cut the number of cities down that I am visiting - I will look at doing this

I am not sure if the flight from New York to LA is on the one PNR - I will check with the agent - makes sense if it the same flight but obviously not doable if it's not

Cheers

 

[RooFlyer]

Definitely too tight a connection in LA on the way back, even if it is on one PNR. If one PNR you will be 'protected' if you miss the flight, but that's not much fun with a family and you don't know when they will fit you into the next flight. Also, September weather should be OK, but storms in the USA really messes with flights. Change the 1 hour LAX transit to at least 3 hrs.

I'm not sure you have too many cities, but it will certainly be busy!! Remember queuing for security and check-in in the USA is frequently much longer than we are used to in Australia.

Yes, you can do Yosemite in a day from SFO (I've done it) but it will be a long day and you won't be able to do everything - better if you can overnight there, or at some place near the exit? Check daylight hours and opening times - be there early!! Ditto the Grand Canyon from LAS.

4 nights in Winnipeg I guess can't be avoided but personally I'd try to squeeze another day in Vancouver in, maybe at the expense of 1 in SFO.

EDIT: October will be NHL pre-season. If you are lucky, there will be a Jets game on in Winnipeg while you are there. Except maybe if it directly clashes with the wedding , get the locals to get you tickets to the game - its a fantastic experience and the kids will love it!

LA to SFO drive is do-able in one day, even with the sights.

Re transiting Toronto en route to New York. Travelling from Canada to the USA you actually 'pre clear' USA customs and immigration in Canada, so it effectively becomes a domestic flight. I've never done it with a Canadian transit port, so I'm not sure how it will work, but I'm guessing you'll have to go from the Toronto domestic arrival terminal to the USA departures terminal, and clear customs and immigration and then proceed to your flight. Two hours is just enough - I'd like to see three at least, in case of a delay arriving. See if you can widen the transit time.

Re collecting Delta miles - can you use them if you get them? I think you can also collect Virgin points on Delta - they would be more useful I think and you can 'family pool'.

Is the timing in Nth America holidays? Nothing you can do about it if it is, but be aware that hotels etc are very busy, so book well before.

I'm sure your TA has told you all about ESTAs etc ... and now also the Canadian eTA.

 

[elogic]

HI
We did a recent trip down from whistler to la
Stopping San Francisco then driving to la via yosemite
Our kids the same age as yours loved yosemite
If you like to see the outdoors then drop 1 day in San Francisco and overnight in yosemite or squeeze an extra day from somewhere else, you won't be disappointed .

 

[Denali]

I would skip Vegas and spend more time on the west coast - Yosemite.

Youre spending a lot of time in airports.

Sounds like an exciting trip!

 

[eric2011]

More time in Vancouver if possible, 1 day just isn't long enough. Also it sounds like you are driving up country to SFO then flying down country to LAS then going up country again to YVR. Remember you as the driver between LAX and SFO are not going to see anything of the scenery.

 

[Dr Ralph]

Some comments:

1) A single day at Disneyland is just not sufficient. Did you realise that there are two separate parks? People usually buy at least a 3vday pass when visiting.

2) You don't mention where you are staying whilst visiting for a single day 'Universal studios / Disneyland / sight see around LA' You need to be aware that there are big distances (time wise) between these locations and that will impact upon the time you have at each location given its just one day for each of these things.

3) The drive to San Francisco from LA is at least 7 hours via the coastal route not including stops. Given you've never been to the US this will be a very long time in a car in a foreign country.

4) 3 days in San Francisco will be sufficient to see a few of the major things on offer.

5) When have you factored in shopping? Particularly recommend saving some time to stop at the outlet malls you'll see along the major routes you have planned. These will all take time to explore.

6) Having been to the US more than 30 times. I can say from considerable experience that you are trying to do too much on the one trip. There are often very good prices on flights to the US at different times. I'd strongly recommend that you cut down your itinerary and plan to go back in 1 to 2 years time. Spending more time in fewer locations is essential for an enjoyable trip.

In relation to your questions:

'- do you think we will have enough time for a day trip to Yosemite national park while in San Fransico '

Absolutely not. It's at least a 4 hour drive each way + any time you spend in the park and some of the roads in the park may be closed at that time of the year. Having said that, I've done it in a day on a bus trip and this is why I'm not recommending it. Especially given how few days you have in SF to do other things.

'- do you think we will have enough time for a day trip to the Grand Canyon while in Las Vegas'

Yes, but it will mean that you will miss out on other things whilst in Las Vegas given how few days you plan to spend there. I'd consider a helicopter tour. It's not as much as you'd think.

 

[GDSman]

From my experience that's an enormous amount to try to pack in (as well as the extras you're contemplating like Yosemite and GC).
Driving Universal to Disneyland is about 1.5hrs if traffic is ok. 1 day is fine for Universal (might want to consider upgrade to front of line tickets) while 1 day at Disney land would be a 'highlights of' visit and wouldn't allow time for California Adventure park.
LA to San Fran is about 7hrs straight (per above) but it would mean not much time for stops (Hurst, Big Sur, Carmel, Pebble Beach etc) - maybe change order to LA to LAS then fly to SFO instead?
We did a be similar trip a few years ago to U.K. That included a family wedding which we packed stuff around. At the end we were all totally exhausted, and while we loved seeing the sites we swore we would find a way of doing it differently next time!
Having said that, it sounds like a great trip and you sound excited by it - look forward to hearing what you decide to do!

 

[Denali]

OP. So what do you hope your kids will remember from this trip?

Lots of airports, lots of driving without stopping, lots of lightening visits but didnt get to enjoy where they were?

I appreciate you wanting to see as much as you can but sometimes slowing down is best. Spend more time on the west coast and enjoy. Everyone is going to need down time to relax or there will be meltdowns.

 

[blaze]

Thank you to everyone for there very helpful replies

It really seems that we are trying to jam to much in

I will have a very close look and see what we can do to spread it out more

I agree that the conections appear to be to tight and will look into it

And yes we are really excited - I feel like I've been to these places already having seen most of them on tv some many times - but to see it in real life would be fantastic!

 

[blaze]

Does everyone feel that the price for the airfares we got quoted is about right or should we wait for a better deal

To me it seems good but I'm not sure

 

[Matt_01]

Lots of good feed back. I think you are trying to squeeze in to much.

Just some thoughts
Disney? there are 2 parks there, you could easily spend 3 days there alone. I personally not worry about universal studios.
Take a look at your flight times you seem to be mid morning to early afternoons, have you considered traveling in the evening so there is more time on the ground.
The US is big and remember the more you fly east the more time you loose in timezone changes
Not knowing your exact situation, you may be better off taking a week off school at the end of term 3 and staying on the west cost go to the wedding and then come back rather than trying to squeeze in NY. Yes NY is great but you could easily spend three weeks just on the east coast.

I agree with Dr Ralph, cut it back and go again in the future.

 

[RooFlyer]

Does everyone feel that the price for the airfares we got quoted is about right or should we wait for a better deal

To me it seems good but I'm not sure

Depends really on the conditions - pay up front, pay later, able to change, change with penalty etc.

How well do you know your Travel Agent? How tightly did you specify the conditions you wanted to book under? For instance, cheapest flights that day between the 2 ports, OR travel at a particular time of day OR must stick with Delta etc etc.

If you just said "give me an itinerary", then go back and maybe ask for the cheapest one, using same dates (this might throw up some horrors, like 6am departures, that's 4am at airport, that's 3:30 departure from hotel!!!). Maybe get the same itinerary costed using, say United or American.

A TA should not mind doing this and definitely shouldn't charge you to do it - however if you just walked off the street and asked for the itinerary, they may not want to give you much time to do all this, but one other option at least should be OK. of course if its a regular TA (your Asian travel), then they should know your preferences BUT should always give/suggest options.

Since you'll be going back and at least opening up some of the connections, and maybe dropping some places# then you can ask "pls cost and schedule this itinerary, but this time can you quote and schedule both <convenient flight times, preferred airline(s)> AND <cheapest (any airline)>". Compare. You may be able to mix and match OR take the cheap schedule and substitute some of the horrors with better ones.

# Personally if I had to drop one city, it would be Vancouver. Vancouver is fantastic, but only 1 day there isn't worth it. Better to concentrate on the USA this time and go back and do Western Canada another time.

 

[TraceyK90]

I agree, its too much. Can you squeeze in extra time off?

Have you considered organising it yourself? I usually find its less $$ and you get exactly what you want.

I'd concentrate on either Canada (my pick) or West Coast. You will need some rest days. We just did 5 weeks in mostly Canada Sept-Oct, you will probably run into some snow anywhere outside Vancouver.

We all sit down and work out where we want to go and what we want to do, so we get some kids activates and grown up ones covered.

I credit our Delta flights to velocity as I find they are more useful that way.

You need 3 days for Disneyland/California Adventure. It really is magical.

Enjoy your planning.

 

[Milboo]

I would not do LA to SF in one day. It's a stunning drive and you want to stop and explore - Hearst Castle, Santa Cruz, Monterery Aquarium, 17 Mile Drive, Carmel, Big Sur, Bixby Bridge and the national park.

That aside - also pays to remember that driving up the coast means you're not on the sea side so if you want to stop and look then you need to cross the left lane to do so.

 

[Bundy Bear]

Sounds like a great trip, but I think you are trying to fit too much in.

I would skip a city either Vancouver or Las Vegas or New York, (but I note you want to do the Grand Canyon.

As much as the drive up the west coast would be fun, it has its own attractions, and to me they are good but maybe not as note worthy as the others you have already mentioned. I would not drive in one day.

Going to Disneyland or universal on your first day could work,

Another option is take 2 days to do Disney Land, you arrive in the morning then drive down to Anaheim, about 1 hour, and then do some of the park everyone will be running on adrenaline, but around 5pm-6pm you will be tired and want a bed, then you can have another day at Disneyland or the other park, or if the flight is good or bad(tiring) then you have 2 days, one to do some small things without making it a day to do something.

On Las Vegas make sure you avoid the Friday/Saturday night as those nights can be expensive.

If you want to do Vancouver you could drop New York, one option is LA to Las Vegas 5 hour drive then fly to Vancouver then to Winnipeg, then to San Francisco, drive down the coast road and back to LA to fly home.

You don't need a car in San Francisco unless you only use it to drive to Yosemite.

You could then do Universal studios on your last day before catching your flight.

There are so many possibilities, but air travel in the US is not as good as Australia, I can turn up at the airport less than an hour from departure and still have lounge time. In the US it is closer to 2 hours.

I am planning a US trip this year and my original plan was to do 4 cities in 2 weeks, and that idea got shot down,

Travel agents are good for multi flights and cities as just researching options and book them yourself can take a bit of time.

 

[clazman]

Sounds like a great trip, but i would look at dropping some locations to give you more time at others.

Despite NY being a awesome location, probably one that will give you the most time back.

As suggested by RF, definitely plan to go to a ice hockey match ...

Clearing customs in Toronto is relatively a non event, have done it twice and both times took less than 15 minutes

Remember you may have jetlag on the first few days

 

[sausagefingers]

I've done SF-LA via the coastal road and I am not sure if it's because I was sick at the time, but that road really tired me out. its seldom straight road and you're always turning and slowing down etc.
I did SF-Cambria in one day and I was shattered that drive was only like 5 hours. in comparison I've done Orlando-Dallas in a single drive stopping only for fuel and lunch that was 17 hours but its all highway plus i've done countless 12+ hour drives in the US in one go but never as tired as I was after that SF-Cambria drive.

 

[Boca68]

I'd agree with the general consensus, perhaps just squeezing a little too much.

Perhaps , without the wedding commitments, it would be different. But, I'd personally drop the Las Vegas part. Admittedly, it is more family friendly these days. But, it can be quite expensive, I've found. (although the shopping can be good!) Its very overrated on the whole. Unless you have something specific you want to see there (e.g. Grand Canyon, A stage show etc..) then its not really worth it.

I'd do the LA - SF drive, brilliant!

The theme parks in LA might need an adjustment as others have said. Universal is really not that great itself. But the mall outside is usually lots of fun, I've found. As juddles suggests, do Universal on the return day. Disneyland needs 2 days or at least a long full day. (i.e. 8am to 10pm) Don't think you could do it by turning up at 10 and be gone by 5 kind of day.

Vancouver is great. But with only 1 day, I'd use it only a transit. Save the day elsewhere, (LA to SF drive I'm thinking).


Anyway, hope you guys enjoy the trip.