First Visit to California
My family and I went to California for the first time during spring break for a week and had a wonderful time together!
Needless to say, because of my pre-planning and exciting itinerary, we were able to go to all the places that we wanted to visit on this trip!
The most important thing that I recommend to do before planning a vacation, is RESEARCH!!!! Do your research about the destination you are visiting. Ask your family and friends for recommendations. Most of the time they are your best resource, if they have been to the destination you plan to go to.
Of course, another reliable resource is the INTERNET!!!! Go to sites like Travel Advisor, to read travelers reviews about the place you plan to visit. Sometimes you get tips on how to get discounts for hotels, attractions and many other things. I also highly recommend to check with the company you work at, to see if you are offered any kinds of perks, such as discounts, free entry to any attractions you plan to visit and the same goes for food and beverage. You may be surprised!! I was fortunate enough to take advantage of various discounts through the company I work at.
A company I did use to book one of my tours was Viator. I was very impressed with their service and the cost of most of their tours are pretty affordable. You do have to make sure to read the descriptions of their tours because not all of the tours they offer include pickup and drop- offs from the hotel you may be staying at. The tour we purchased was ¨The Best of Los Angeles¨ Tour. It was an all day tour and the bus actually picked us up and dropped us off at our hotel and the price was affordable. The service was great and the tour guide was very professional.
Another tip I highly recommend when booking flights to your destination, is to start checking rates at least 3 to 4 months out from your planned departure date. Based on my experience, thatś when I have gotten the best deals! Also another suggestion, when searching for flights, make sure you search either Tuesdays, Wednesday or Saturday evenings after 11:30pm. Supposedly thatś when the airlines drop their prices on flights. I really got a good deal on our RT flights to California and I
didn´t pay more than $300 per person!
These are some of the places we visited in California and highly recommend:
- Disneyland & Disneyś California Adventure
- Los Angeles, Hollywood Blvd, Madame Tuessandś Wax Museum, Venice Beach and Santa Monica
- San Diego Zoo is a must and best way to go their is taking the Amtrak. We did that and we enjoyed the scenery and did not have to deal with the traffic!
Finally, when searching for hotels, of course make sure to check your hotel membership program for any discounts or available points you can use to lower the hotel rate. Also check different travel sites for affordable hotel rates too.
If you are not a planner, and like to book your vacation last minute, I recommend searching for travel packages that include your flight and hotel through different travel sites that offer last minute deals that may be attractive to you. Just make sure to check more than one travel site before booking your trip.
I hope these suggestions are helpful to you when booking your next vacation!