I would like to thank you for organising such a wonderful holiday for us. We have never been to California before, and having booked all of my holidays previously via the internet, felt I was out of my depth organising such a complicated trip. (Two weeks in Tenerife this was not)
We wanted to visit Los Angeles, Las Vegas, The Grand Canyon, Yosemite National Park and San Francisco.
You arranged us fabulous Virgin flights from Heathrow to Los Angeles where we spent three nights in the Quality Inn, perfect location. We took a bus to Santa Monica on the first day which was very enjoyable, stopping in Beverly Hills on the way home. The next day we saw the Walk of Fame with the Chinese Theatre and Dolby Theatre.
We also took a sightseeing bus and then walked up into the Hollywood Hills to Canyon Lake Drive, where we got an excellent view of the Hollywood sign. We caught a taxi next morning to the airport where we collected the hire car you had arranged for us and drove to Las Vegas.
Las Vegas! Wow! what a place! the size of those hotels!! Our Hotel Excalibur was wonderful, a great choice. It was actually great having the car in Las Vegas because we could drive up and down the strip as we pleased. Caesar’s Palace and all the other hotels were just incredible. We went up the Stratosphere and I went on the green ride at the top….that was an experience!
We took a helicopter trip into the Grand Canyon and also flew over the Hoover dam…….Wow!!
After four nights in Vegas we travelled to Death Valley. En route we stopped off a Dante’s View…awesome… and artist’s palette…..lovely. We spent the night in Death Valley and boy it was HOT and very picturesque. We got an early start the next morning and drove to Yosemite coming in along the Tioga Pass.
I am running out of words to describe the views of California but they were just breathtaking!! We kept stopping every few miles to gawp at the view!! We drove right through the park out the other side where we stayed in the Yosemite View Lodge. Absolutely loved that place! They upgraded us to a riverside view and WOW! What a view that was!!
On the first full day in Yosemite we took the valley floor tour which was fantastic. That evening we checked into Yosemite Lodge at the Falls for two nights. It was great and so convenient to be in the park. The next day we took a bus up to Glacier Point then walked down the valley past Nevada and Vernal Falls. The sights absolutely took our breath away, just beautiful!!
Then it was time to leave beautiful Yosemite and drive to San Francisco. On the way out of the park we stopped at Mariposa Grove, those beautiful trees!!
We arrived in San Francisco at tea time and really cut it fine for dropping the car off, but we made it in time and dropped it off, seamless! We checked in to The Carlton Hotel. Loved it!! A great location and with free wine at tea time! Superb!
Oh wonderful San Francisco! What a place! We took the sightseeing bus tour and booked onto our Alcatraz trip that Vicky booked for us, thank you, fascinating and extremely interesting. We loved the Fisherman’s Wharf and ate Clam Chowder! The Golden Gate Bridge was majestic. We saw the beautiful crooked Lombard Street and the Painted Ladies and rode on the old cable cars. After three nights in San Francisco sadly it was time to fly home and you were so right about having an evening flight home. I slept on the flight and suffered very little jet lag as a result, even though there was an eight hour time difference.
Maggie, to sum up, this trip would absolutely not have been so awesome without your expert knowledge choosing great flights, perfect hotels conveniently located, and car hire at an extremely reasonable price. So thank you again for making our trip so memorable. The whole holiday ran seamlessly. Next trip the Rockies, but will have to save some pennies first!!!
With very best wishes, Janis & Pat Shakespeare 🙂