Starting to plan a trip round the US. Advice greatly appreciated.

[timmyb]

I'm going to have some free time next spring and have decided to spend it discovering the US. I'm a Brit and my previous trips over the pond have been to New York, Washington & San Francisco, (the last of these being when I was about 14.) Now that I've just graduated I want to explore some more. I'll be travelling by myself and was thinking of going for 4-6 weeks, probably setting off mid-April or a bit later. I have some cash put aside and want to have an experience to remember, but obviously money doesn't grow on trees!

I've really only just started looking at this and below is a list of initial questions I've got. I'd love to hear any advice both from Americans and those who may have done a similar thing.


The obvious one - where to go?

How to get around? - organised trip/internal flights/bus or train pass/look at getting a car (though I imagine this last option would cost serious money) or a mix

How much to budget? - per day for living and in total (excl. getting to and from the States.)

What is the best way to meet others whilst out there? My only similar experience to this was inter-railing round europe for 3 weeks but it was with 2 friends.

[furcalchick]

1. the us is a huge country; the lower 48 is almost as huge as europe, so unless you are planning to travel non stop, you won't get to the whole country. since you are spending a while here, i suggest picking 5-10 places you really want to go to and we can probably help you a bit better after that.

2. you're best off with a combination of internal flights and a rented car. train service is pretty bad compared to europe, especially outside the northeast.

3. it depends on what part of the country you are in. san fran and nyc (and urban areas in general) tend to be the most expensive, while rural areas, especially in the south and midwest regions are the cheapest.

4. no clue. that type of thing doesn't really happen too much around these parts.

[TheHoff]

You've been to the three most interesting cities already. Of course the three are so large and dense that I'm sure you could make a return visit as an adult to any or all three and still be enthralled.

Basically, what do you want to do while you're here? See the sights? take photos? mountain biking? shopping in the city? Really, it is a big place... but lots of open space inbetween. It isn't like riding the eurorail and in any direction, in 3 hours you're in a completely different country, right? In the US that might get you out of the city and into the suburbs but not even close to the state line.

[JNB]

Go anywhere but a major urban center. Or at least visit one that cannot be replicated elsewhere, like New Orleans. Visit the Mountain states, the Southwest, the "flyover" parts of the country (Kentucky & Tennessee are particularly outstanding. Sip real bourbon, watch a Corvette being made, get a Louisville Slugger with your signature burned into it, explore a cave, and watch the Kentucky Derby, all in one day).

Amtrak has rail passes similar in concept to EuRail or BritRail, check into that. Pack half as many clothes and twice as much money as you planned on. ;)

Bottom line, we have citizens that spend their entire life here, and only see a miniscule fraction. Visitors can only scratch the surface, so don't try to shove "America" into one visit. Plan to come often, and leave lots of money behind. :p

The deeper into the nation you get, the more you'll find to explore. We're one big Mandlebrot set.

[teflon]

From my trips to the US, the East Coast and West Coast are definitely my favourite. I would visit NYC again, did you have time to get to all the boroughs last time? I could spend a month there in the museums and the art galleries. I would also suggest Chicago, my cousins went there and loved it. You can visit LA if you want to visit all the film studios and maybe catch a glimpse of a celebrity. But it all depends on your interests. I love metropolitan cities with a rich culture and tons of museums, but some people prefer to visit the small towns instead. The Great Lakes and the Niagara Falls are beautiful, or you can visit the Grand Canyon. Go to Oregon or Delaware for tax free shopping ;).
As for the price, that will vary quite a bit depending on where you're going to stay. Living in five star hotels vs hostels will obviously make a big difference. The train system in North America is far less developed than Europe, so you should expect to travel by car or plane, and count that into your budget.

[benflick]

Don't go to Cincinnati.

[dmr727]

I don't know how things are in the UK, but many car rental places in the States won't rent to someone under 25. Some will charge a fee. So make sure you do your research and find a place that'll rent to you - that way it won't be a surprise once you get here.

Have fun! I agree with the others that say to pick a half dozen places and concentrate on those. Otherwise you'll spend way too much time on the road.

[bradl]

Another thing to think about, since you mentioned mid-April, is that some places will be in the middle of thawing out from winter. So some places will be the equivalent of a mild winter in the UK (like the midwest/Mountain states). This would be the perfect time for the desert Southwest/high desert. Grand Canyon/Albuquerque/Santa Fe would be great. I would even go as far as mentioning Las Vegas.

But the others have a good point. With the US being as broad as it is, it isn't like the Europe, where you can jump on a plane, and have crossed over 3 countries and land in a 4th in a 2 - 3 hour flight. It's just that long of a flight from Vegas or Phoenix to Chicago! So it totally depends on what you're looking at doing, as you have at least 6 distinct cultures to choose from (loosely): New England, Southern/Deep South, Amer. Indian, Heartland, Southwest/Hispanic, and Western.

You could just say "screw it all!" and head over to Hawaii. ;)

BL.

[dukebound85]

i HIGHLY reccomend visiting Moab, Utah if you are an outdoors person

[akonradi]

I'll just chime in on getting around. If you can narrow your choices down to a small number of destinations (and the surrounding areas, of course), I'd strongly suggest getting an airpass from either One World or Star Alliance (depending on how you get over here, they'll give you the better deal if you use them to hop the pond). This would also give you the chance to see Hawaii, Alaska, Canada, or parts of the Caribbean if you're so inclined. You might run into a lot of trouble trying to rent a car and crossing some parts of this country while driving would just kill you (Kansas, Utah desert, et al). If you plan far enough out, you could work in some smaller trips on scheduled bus service as well.

And one more thing to save you the hassle of booking it across the nation (and maybe a bit of money, too): when you're booking your flights to and from the US, call your airline of choice to get an invalid segment. They'll essentially book you on a route that doesn't exist and remove the charges for it. So then you can arrive in one city and depart from another (travel west, start in New York and leave from west coast) without suffering through the wasted time of having to go all the way across the country twice.

[r.j.s]

The Grand Canyon is an amazing sight, but it may be rather difficult to get to in your time frame.

[bradl]

The Grand Canyon is an amazing sight, but it may be rather difficult to get to in your time frame.

Not entirely, and this is what fits in beautifully. Depending on where the OP is in the UK, they could hop a flight on Virgin from Gatwick straight to Las Vegas (flight 43 to Vegas, flight 44 back). From there it is 30 - 45 minutes by helicopter to the Grand Canyon, let alone 25 minutes in a puddle hopper from North Las Vegas airport. Also, any other major city they'd like to go, either Southwest Airlines (what Ryanair wishes they could be! ;) ) or Virgin America can handle.

But definitely see if you can get something through Star Alliance, One World, or SkyTeam (If going Virgin, try Star Alliance, as they are partly owned by Singapore Airlines, which is part of Star Alliance).

BL.

[furcalchick]

here are my suggestions for what to do for your trip. stay south of the mason-dixon line, avoid the rust belt (it's still cold in april up there). i think the deep south would be your best bet. try hitting savannah, it's a hidden historic gem of american history, and i suggest staying at least 2-3 days there. spend a week in florida (although you can easily zap your whole trip in the state), explore the everglades and try to hit all of the major attractions of the state (not orlando). go to new orleans (it was better before flood k though) and some other southern cities. texas is another week (it takes a whole day of driving just to cross the state, it's bigger than most european countries). and the best part, prices are lower in these parts of the country than up north, typically.

[Counterfit]

Another thing to think about, since you mentioned mid-April, is that some places will be in the middle of thawing out from winter. So some places will be the equivalent of a mild winter in the UK (like the midwest/Mountain states).
I think the Rockies get more snow in April than the UK does all winter. ;)
here are my suggestions for what to do for your trip. stay south of the mason-dixon line,
If you're into history at all, you MUST go to Philadelphia and Boston.
spend a week in florida
God's waiting room. :p

[timmyb]

First of all thanks for those who have contributed so far - some really useful stuff.

I realise that America is absolutely huge. I'm now thinking more like 6-8 weeks to give me a greater opportunity to see things, (I understand it's pretty straightforward to get up to a 3 month travel visa,) but I know that that won't really scratch the surface.

Broadly speaking I was planning on flying to the east coast and then back from the west coast, but possibly zigzagging a bit on my way across. I had a quick look on BA's website and there are just under 20 routes over the Atlantic from London, so where I start and finish is very flexible - I won't be booking anything for a while.

Some more specific responses:

Go anywhere but a major urban center. Or at least visit one that cannot be replicated elsewhere, like New Orleans. Visit the Mountain states, the Southwest, the "flyover" parts of the country (Kentucky & Tennessee are particularly outstanding. Sip real bourbon, watch a Corvette being made, get a Louisville Slugger with your signature burned into it, explore a cave, and watch the Kentucky Derby, all in one day).

Amtrak has rail passes similar in concept to EuRail or BritRail, check into that. Pack half as many clothes and twice as much money as you planned on. ;)

Bottom line, we have citizens that spend their entire life here, and only see a miniscule fraction. Visitors can only scratch the surface, so don't try to shove "America" into one visit. Plan to come often, and leave lots of money behind. :p Great post John. The first paragraph really sums up what I'm looking for. I'm used to big cities in of themselves, (I live in London and have visited the majority of western-European capitals.) Having said that I don't want to completely avoid them, but would want to go for something more than it just being a big city, with the attractions that brings. NYC, New Orleans and Las Vegas stand out as examples of cities with something extra. I'm not planning on this being my only visit - I think I'll be depositing plenty of my money in the US over my lifetime, don't worry about that! However I'm unlikely ever to do so on the same scale.

i suggest picking 5-10 places you really want to go to and we can probably help you a bit better after that. Leading on from above this is perhaps a bit trickier, as the cities are obviously what I've heard more about but I don't just want to go on a tour of the big US conurbations. Here are a few off the top of my head: NYC; New Orleans; Las Vegas; Grand Canyon (have to see it in my lifetime); the lakes; Yellowstone/Yosemite; Des Moines (my only basis is hearing someone waxing lyrical on it); Kentucky (having seen the Derby is on in May this is something I'd love to see.) I want to see bits of America that are often missed out or harder to visit on shorter trips. Additionally I'd love to see things that only happen in the time period I'll be there, (around April/May/June,) such as the Derby.

Basically, what do you want to do while you're here? See the sights? take photos? mountain biking? shopping in the city?See the sights and take photos would probably sum it up! It sounds pretty corny, but I want to experience the sights & sounds on America.

Another thing to think about, since you mentioned mid-April, is that some places will be in the middle of thawing out from winter. So some places will be the equivalent of a mild winter in the UK (like the midwest/Mountain states).The weather doesn't really bother me, so long as I'm prepared! I'm currently trying to get a job in the Alps for the winter so should be used to the sight of snow!

I don't know how things are in the UK, but many car rental places in the States won't rent to someone under 25. Some will charge a fee. So make sure you do your research and find a place that'll rent to you - that way it won't be a surprise once you get here.I had a quick look at the Avis website and you're right, they will rent to under 25s but add a (pretty hefty) surcharge.

I'll just chime in on getting around. If you can narrow your choices down to a small number of destinations (and the surrounding areas, of course), I'd strongly suggest getting an airpass from either One World or Star Alliance (depending on how you get over here, they'll give you the better deal if you use them to hop the pond).I'd never heard of these before, they sound quite good. The pricing (http://www.oneworld.com/ow/air-travel-options/single-continent-fares/visit-north-america) is done on distance. As a comparison, how much do one way flights tend to cost? (I realise this is a very broad and badly put question! An answer from personal experience of any route would help to illustrate though.)

[CalBoy]

You've been to NYC, DC, and SF, but what about Chicago?

I doubt you could fit it in if you are planning a deep South type trip, but you should consider it.

Now for pure culture shock value, I might say you should see Texas. ;)

If you are looking for something different, I think the Southwest offers you a very different perspective.

Overall, I think you should definitely keep Texas in mind, because it has a mix of urban and rural that you might find will give you a nice balance.

[Cinematographer]

My recommandations: The national parks, especially Yosemite, Yellowstone and Arches Park.

[wordmunger]

With that amount of time it'd be really cool to get a car and drive across the country. I haven't looked into this myself, but I imagine you could buy a used car on the east coast, drive across the country, then sell it on the west coast, perhaps only losing $500 total (plus gas) -- much cheaper than renting. But you'd have to have enough money at the start to afford this. Plus you might end up having to repair the car somewhere along the way.

For Europeans, the American Southwest is unlike anything they've ever seen. Arizona, New Mexico, the Grand Canyon, Arches National Park, Death Valley, are going to be the most unusual. Places like the Rockies are more like what you're used to seeing in Europe (though they are spectacular too).

Consider driving down the east coast to Florida for some beaches. Then through New Orleans. Then finish with the Southwest.

Sounds like an awesome trip!

[samiwas]

Some have mentioned taking a bus. Be prepared to meet some VERY VERY interesting characters if you choose this route. And by "interesting", I mean "scary".

If I were to do the same trip, I would start in the west, and work my way east. Maybe start in Washington or Oregon, and drive down the Pacific Coast Highway into California. Check out a redwood forest, and maybe hit the 17-mile drive around Monterey and Pebble Beach.

From there, head over to Las Vegas to see excess to the extreme. Then, head north into Utah for it's beauty or Colorado to see the Rockies.

Next, head down into Arizona and New Mexico to see the grand canyon and other amazing scenic sights (this is the one area of the country I have yet to hit).

Head thru Texas, maybe see the Alamo or something. I never was a fan of Texas, so do some research on that end to see what you want to see. Follow that with a trip to New Orleans...stay a few nights and have a good time on Bourbon, and out in some of the lesser known, but wonderful areas.

You could hit Memphis for some great blues and barbeque and general southern goodness. But you might be better served heading on east to Savannah, which, as someone else mentioned, is true south.

Head up the east, maybe going through the Blue Ridge mountains and into Virginia, where there is some great history. There is plenty to see and no once you get into the Northeast.

That's just a few ideas. A few days in each place would get most everything in.

Just skip Atlanta...the traffic is horrible, and we're all jerks! :p

[Dave00]

The real key is deciding what your interests are, as others have said. You can take a number of tacks. If you tell me your favorite parts of Europe, I can tell you what you'll like in the U.S. You can focus on a number of areas. History, culture, or nature. The big U.S. cities are similar to European cities; lots of great museums, a multi-ethnic populace, and usually a pretty good public transportation system. I'd say the one thing you can really see in the U.S. that's unsurpassed is the natural wonders, especially in the West. Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, Yosemite/the Sequoias&redwoods, Grand Canyon, the Colorado river, the Painted Desert. There's nothing like these anywhere else in the world, in my opinion. Especially Yellowstone. If you're a history buff, you can explore how the world's longest-running democracy was formed in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. However, our idea of "old" is very different than Europe's. Florida and California both have fantastic beaches.

A visit to New Orleans, Vegas, or any of the other large cities is going to feel much more tourist-y. Derby would be fun, although again very tourist-y.

Your method of transportation should probably be by car. There's lots of stuff to see on the roads. If you're the adventuresome type and want to save some money, you can make some trips via Greyhound bus, although there are sometimes some real characters on board. Another option would be doing a tour with a group like Contiki (all under age 35). A little young for me now, but I've had great fun with them in the past, and I'm sure you would too.

If you like snow, April would be a great time to visit Colorado ski slopes or Lake Tahoe. (Simply gorgeous winterscapes.)

Dave

[bobfitz14]

visit: Boston, Massachusetts; New York City, New York; anddd somewhere in California, say..San Diego, California.

i can't really help with the other information. But Boston, NYC and CA are hot spots in the US...check out Florida too.

[dukebound85]

Savannah, Ga and Charleston, SC are very cool places to see

[synth3tik]

If your driving don't speed through Wis. Yes you will want to but out of state gets you a huge ticket.

If you like out doors I would suggest visiting the BWCA in northern MN, right now it will be a little cold, but come mid late spring it will be just perfect. Wonderful camping, hiking and canoeing. You can even still canoe your way right into Canada and back again without seeing a soul. The black bears and moose are also really fun to watch. The bald eagles and loons seen from the water are just awesome.

I would also suggest hiking or horse back riding in Wyoming. My family took our horses out there for a week when I was like 15 or 16 and it was really the trip of a life time. I mean we were out there really weathering it out. 2 canteens of water, a satchel full of dried fruit and nuts, a compass and a side arm for each person. Truly old school. I would suppose that if you went with some sort of recreational party you would be more in a tour and would not get to really travel the mountains.

[dmr727]

I'm really jealous - I'd love to have the time and means to travel for a few months straight. :)

I'd consider setting up a blog of some sort (or perhaps simply a 'timmy is traveling' thread) to chronicle your travels. Almost every hotel in the U.S. has free high speed internet access in the rooms. The cool thing about MacRumors is the sheer volume of users - there's bound to be someone that can give you insight into any city or town you happen to be in. And a blog would allow those people can give their advice as you move around the country.

[akonradi]

I'd never heard of these before, they sound quite good. The pricing (http://www.oneworld.com/ow/air-travel-options/single-continent-fares/visit-north-america) is done on distance. As a comparison, how much do one way flights tend to cost? (I realise this is a very broad and badly put question! An answer from personal experience of any route would help to illustrate though.)
The cost of a one way segment really depends on the markets that you're traveling between, not necessarily the length of the trip. For instance, I live in Indianapolis, which doesn't really have a hub status for any airline which produces a lot of competition. Airlines tend to keep their prices down a lot here in order to get passengers. I booked a trip on Delta from here to Orlando to attend a conference for $98 round trip. Orlando is mainly a vacation market, though, which caters to people who tend to fly for cheap. So on that end there's competition as well. If I were to fly on the same dates (same airline, too) from Cincinnati to Miami, roughly the same distance, it would cost over $700 with fees.

If you buy an airpass, be sure to consider luggage fees into the total cost. Typically, the savings of the airpass will be much greater than the $50 needed to check two bags, but the cost should be considered nonetheless. Comparing the airpass rate with those of other carriers on the same route (Southwest would be a good one to compare with) would allow you to strategically use the airpass most effectivly on the more expensive segments. If you book a dead segment on your ticket across the pond, you'll be able to save yourself the need for an extra $330 transcontinental flight as well. I do lots of timetable work for Lufthansa and I'm consistently hearing success stories about these airpasses with Star Alliance (one world's seems very similar) so they're probably a pretty good deal. I'd also try to compare these with what SkyTeam offers as they have three major US carriers (Continental, Delta, and Northwest) on their network, resulting in what is probably the greatest amount of choices.

[leekohler]

Yeah, definitely come to Chicago. There are a lot of us MR members here, and we like to take care of out-of-town guests. We'll show you around and make sure you find fun things to do.

[r.j.s]

Unless you can seriously drive, I would not recommend driving through Texas - crossing from West Texas to CenTex to East Texas will absolutely kill you with boredom.

[dmr727]

Yeah, definitely come to Chicago. There are a lot of us MR members here, and we like to take care of out-of-town guests. We'll show you around and make sure you find fun things to do.

Heh - if the OP is up for meeting people from MR, I don't think he'll have to buy a beer anywhere he goes. :)

[leekohler]

Heh - if the OP is up for meeting people from MR, I don't think he'll have to buy a beer anywhere he goes. :)

That's true! :)

[bradl]

Lemme clear up something..

As a resident of the city, I mentioned Las Vegas not because of it being a tourist trap (because it is).. I mentioned it because of it being a major launching pad to various places in the southwest. Like I mentioned before, you're 30 minutes by puddlehopper or helicopter to the Grand Canyon, an hour's drive from Route 66 (a HUGE piece of Americana), the Valley of Fire, Death Valley, Bryce Canyon Nat'l park, Sedona, Jushua Tree Nat'l Forest, and an hour's flight to just about every desert southwest place you'd ever want to go; and you can get there directly from Vegas, not to mention get to Vegas directly.

If anything, the best thing you can do in Las Vegas, is eat cheaply. ;)

BL.

[OutThere]

From my traveling experiences in Europe, I've really enjoyed sticking around in cities more than trying to see it all...so my advice would be to pick a limited number of places you'd like to see in depth and stay in those places for a decent period of time. Trying to hop city to city and see 10000 different things will only leave you exhausted and penniless (there's no equivalent to Ryanair with £0.00+tax tickets).

Unfortunately America is not very friendly to people without cars...you can get around but not nearly as easily as in Europe and you are much more confined to city centers. The city centers are, generally speaking aside from a few cities, less concentrated and developed than European cities, as americans love to live in suburbs.

The problem you run into there is that the best cities to stay in are also the most expensive. Spending a week in New York as a 20-something will blow not only your mind but also wallet if you're not careful.

April is a rather messy month in the north...it'll be drizzly and cold, maybe with some nasty spring snow, so if you're there in the springtime you might do best staying south (which would also be considerably more of an eye opening experience culturally).

As for meeting people....I'm not sure how it is in the states really but in traveling Europe I've met tons of really cool people from all over the world staying in hostels.

[akonradi]

there's no equivalent to Ryanair with £0.00+tax tickets
Never say never: Ryanair has recently announced their intended expansion into North America. Scary, eh? :eek:

*hides from Michael O'Leary and friends*

[bradl]

Never say never: Ryanair has recently announced their intended expansion into North America. Scary, eh? :eek:

*hides from Michael O'Leary and friends*

I read about this.. $13USD flights..

If they want to see how a real LCC is run, Southwest is going to run circles around them.

BL.

[nickspohn]

Come to Chicago. Best city IMO :D



If you have a decent car get a skirt or put some painters tape all over the front of the car. It's fun

[Counterfit]

visit: Boston, Massachusetts; New York City, New York; anddd somewhere in California, say..San Diego, California.

i can't really help with the other information. But Boston, NYC and CA are hot spots in the US...check out Florida too.

Well, the OP's been to NYC before, so maybe Washington instead?

[teflon]

Well, the OP's been to NYC before, so maybe Washington instead?

The OP has been to Washington before as well :p.

[iGav]

I think the Rockies get more snow in April than the UK does all winter. ;)

I think the Rockies get more snow in July than we do all winter. ;)

I had a quick look at the Avis website and you're right, they will rent to under 25s but add a (pretty hefty) surcharge.

You shouldn't have a problem renting even if you're under 25, all of the major hire companies should provide a motor to us foreigners. ;)

The surcharge doesn't necessarily tell the whole story either, it's perfectly possible to get an upgrade, for the cost of a cheaper car, which can offset some of the surcharge. ;) You actually want a Mustang, but you request a car in the class below, you negotiate from there, that's what I did anyway. ;)

I say don't plan too vigorously... when I went driving in the U.S. I bought a ticket to San-Francisco, with a return from Seattle a couple of weeks later, and that's it. I didn't prebook any hotels, nor a car, I just turned up in San-Francisco and went from there... ;)

[timmyb]

Heh - if the OP is up for meeting people from MR, I don't think he'll have to buy a beer anywhere he goes. :)Haha, now there's an idea!

Once again thanks for all the advice - it's fantastic. However it does have a downside of making me want to go everywhere! There'll be some tricky decisions to make down the line, (I can't do anything at the moment as am waiting to hear on a job up until april that will contribute significantly to the funding.)

I had a look at Contiki tours but they look pretty pricey and seem to involve spending a lot of time on a bus - 26 days to go from LA to NY! :eek: However they look good for shorter trips getting around less accessible areas such as the Grand Canyon.

I'm leaning towards the suggestions of picking 5-6 areas and spending a week or so in each, moving between them using the air pass, (though the downside of this is having to book all the legs at the same time before I set off.) Grand Canyon area will be one; Yosemite/Yellowstone another (which is better, or is that like picking which of your children you prefer?!); SF a third (I have some family there so the accomm would be free); then 2-3 more - perhaps between NYC (I was 12 when I went there before), Tennessee/Kentucky, New Orleans, a more rural area or Chicago. I'll look at renting a car to get around the more rural areas.

Is there a good website for hostels across the US or do there tend to be more state/city specific? Would be good to get an idea of prices so I can start to budget, be horrified by the amount and work extra hard to earn it!

How do visits to the National Parks 'work'? Getting there; accommodation (I won't be lugging my own tent/sleeping bag around with me) etc.

[itcheroni]

If you want to go with the flow, you can try the rideshare section of craigslist.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/rid/

[OutThere]

Is there a good website for hostels across the US or do there tend to be more state/city specific? Would be good to get an idea of prices so I can start to budget, be horrified by the amount and work extra hard to earn it!

I've used hostelworld for booking in Europe with good results...they also do bookings for the US as well:

http://www.hostelworld.com/

[dmr727]

Yosemite/Yellowstone another (which is better, or is that like picking which of your children you prefer?!)

How do visits to the National Parks 'work'? Getting there; accommodation (I won't be lugging my own tent/sleeping bag around with me) etc.

I haven't spent any time in Yellowstone, but Yosemite is pretty awesome. I can't imagine you'd go wrong whichever way you choose.

In the case of Yosemite - you don't have to camp there. There are plenty of places to stay in the valley. The closest airport with airline service is Fresno, and it's about a two hour drive from there. If you're going to spend any time in California anyway, I'd probably just drive the rental car there. It's not a bad drive from either the Bay Area or Los Angeles.