USA West Coast California Los Angeles – Las Vegas – San Francisco Trip Summary

23 June, 2012

Planning for our May/June United States of America (USA) West Coast trip had turned out to be easier than expected – we have always heard of the necessity to rent a car for the cheaper cost and convenience of getting around attractions within the USA. However we were quite concerned with driving in a foreign country especially with the left hand drive (which is opposite from the right hand drive of Singapore) and the need to familiarise with local road customs and rules.

We decided instead to adopt a mix of internal flights and day tours to avoid the hassle of driving. Surprisingly, this is quite a cost-efficient, easier and less stressful approach and we were just able to cover most of the key attractions in West Coast America. Our tour of West Coast America covers Los Angeles, Las Vegas and San Francisco with day trips to Grand Canyon and Death Valley.

USA MAP Itinerary West Coast 2 Weeks 14 Days Las Vegas San Francisco Los Angeles

If you are planning a trip to West Coast USA and would like to avoid driving and maximise your time covering the key attractions in these area, you can consider downloading (Word docx version) our United States of America West Coast Trip Itinerary (no driving required) featuring these cities – Los Angeles, Las Vegas and San Francisco (includes Disneyland Park at Anaheim, Grand Canyon and Death Valley).

With the right trip preparations and resources e.g. CheapTickets.sg multi-stop trip functionality, you will be able to pick up bargain deals e.g. discounts off day tours and cheap airfares within the USA and even to & fro USA (as we did with Cathay’s promotion)!

For a more economical way of seeing more attractions at Hollywood and San Francisco, we also picked up CityPASSes from CityPASS Hollywood and CityPASS San Francisco – see USA West Coast itinerary for more info.

Even with the savings from the CityPASS and affordable airfares, such a trip will cost about upwards of S$6000 (after  factoring in accommodation, food and entrance fees).  For better cash flow control, I recommend  OCBC Cashflo Mastercard which allows customers to defer payment for their holiday in the States without incurring any interests (if they pay back on time of course!)

OCBC Cashflo is designed for people who are looking to manage their cash flow smartly and pay for expenditures in instalments.  OCBC Cashflo customers can break expensive holidays into 3 or 6 months instalments without any interests. That way, it helps to manage their customers to manage cash flow better and smarter.  Furthermore, you can earn rebates of up to 1% to offset your bill (treat it as a 1% discount for your United States holiday! – potential saving of at least S$60 just by using OCBC Cashflo).  Plus you can enjoy movie discounts, dining and motoring privileges when you use OCBC Cashflo Mastercard!

For more information on OCBC Cashflo and how it can help you plan your financials for your holiday, see this link: http://www.ocbc.com/personal-banking/Cards/Cashflo-Mastercard.html

OCBC Cashflo Credit Card

The following pictures provides a quick preview of some of the places covered with our itinerary. Do stay tuned to our next few posts for our journey around the West Coast USA – Los Angeles, Las Vegas and San Francisco.

Checking out the birthplace of Mickey Mouse and the original Disneyland Park at Anaheim, California (an hour away from Los Angeles) which others were modelled after e.g. Hong Kong Disneyland and Paris Disneyland

USA United States of America California Disneyland Anaheim Sleeping Beauty Castle

The beautiful sights of the Grand Canyon at Arizona state – do you spot the eagle in the rock behind us; this is called Eagle’s Point which is well known for the eagle-like rock formation behind us…

USA United States of America Grand Canyon Arizona Itinerary Fly Plane Tour Eagle Point

… and of course the Golden Gate Bridge – the icon of San Francisco.

USA United States of America Flag Golden Gate Bridge San Francisco California

Zhiqiang & Tingyi

Comments (29)

  • KyleReply

    26 June, 2012 at 11:27 am

    Great article, thank you for sharing all of the information.

  • JesseReply

    27 June, 2012 at 3:33 pm

    You must be very lucky to top the Grand Canyon and the legendary Golden Gate on your travel in West Coast.

  • juliemargReply

    29 June, 2012 at 1:45 am

    This is a great blog! Thanks for sharing the beautiful photos!

  • JessieReply

    1 July, 2012 at 11:20 pm

    looking forward to more posts of your West Coast adventure!

  • gratisReply

    2 July, 2012 at 6:39 am

    Nice weblog over here! I’ll just wanna thank you for that.

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  • oemReply

    19 August, 2012 at 3:13 pm

    Thanks for the article.Much thanks again. Great.

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  • Western TripReply

    8 November, 2012 at 4:39 am

    Great article and site. I didn’t realize you could go to those destinations in such a short amount of time. You guys also got a great shot of the Golden Gate Bridge. I wish I was able to be there with y’all! If you’re interested in new ways of traveling to the west or east coast, be sure to check out this new form of travel called Mauiva AirCruise.

  • Exploring “The Rock” Prison with the Alcatraz Cellhouse Tour | Singapore Travel BlogReply

    27 April, 2013 at 1:36 pm

    […] For flights to the States, you can consider CheapTickets.sg multi-stop trip functionality which effectively serve as a one-stop for us in planning our flights from Singapore to Los Angeles and internal flights to Las Vegas and finally from San Francisco back to Singapore.  Please click on link for our USA West Coast trip itinerary. […]

  • Exploring Grand Canyon West Rim by Air & Ground Tour from Las Vegas | Singapore Travel BlogReply

    16 July, 2013 at 4:15 am

    […] For flights to the States, you can consider CheapTickets.sg multi-stop trip functionality which effectively serve as a one-stop for us in planning our flights from Singapore to Los Angeles and internal flights to Las Vegas and finally from San Francisco back to Singapore.  Please click on link for our USA West Coast trip itinerary. […]

  • MelissaReply

    3 August, 2013 at 6:35 am

    Hi there, great blog, really helpful.. I wanted to know if you would have included Seattle for a west coast trip as I’m debating on that..

    • Zhiqiang & TingyiReply

      3 August, 2013 at 9:30 am

      Hi Melissa – for a 2-week trip, covering 3 cities e.g. Los Angeles, Las Vegas and San Francisco seemed a comfortable pace. adding in Seattle will be quite a stretch and too tiring (with all the transfers); another consideration that i had was flying into the States with an open jaw itinerary (where i will fly in from Singapore to Los Angeles and back to Singapore from San Francisco) so i dont waste time backtracking. Unless there is a flight from Seattle to Singapore, I wouldnt consider the city for my trip (it is too far north – even further upstate than San Francisco).

      • MelissaReply

        3 August, 2013 at 6:05 pm

        Thanks for the advice 🙂 I’m flying from Dubai to San fran and leaving Los angeles to Dubai, straight flights that really shorten the air time.

        And my plan was just like yours, san fran, vegas, la 🙂

  • LooReply

    12 August, 2013 at 12:24 pm

    I like reading your website. Many thanks!

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    17 November, 2013 at 11:55 pm

    […] neon lights and nebulus cities, the USA is home to some of the most spectacular natural scenery on the planet. Much of this is protected by […]

  • LollyReply

    18 May, 2014 at 1:24 am

    Hi

    thanks for sharing such gd info! The link the to the itinerary doesn’t work. Wonder if u are able to share it again?

  • Exploring Sights of Downtown Los Angeles – Little Tokyo, Olvera Street, Angel’s Flight Railway | Singapore Travel BlogReply

    2 June, 2014 at 11:46 am

    […] For flights to the States, you can consider CheapTickets.sg multi-stop trip functionality which effectively serve as a one-stop for us in planning our flights from Singapore to Los Angeles and internal flights to Las Vegas and finally from San Francisco back to Singapore.  Please click on link for our USA West Coast trip itinerary. […]

  • debbieReply

    2 March, 2015 at 5:07 pm

    Hi, may I know how much did you guys spend in total for the entire trip? Thanks!

    • Zhiqiang & TingyiReply

      2 March, 2015 at 9:30 pm

      about S$4000 for 2 persons excluding airfare but we stayed at our relative’s house for part of the trip so cannot really compare the budget

  • Top Things to Do when Visiting Las Vegas | Singapore Travel BlogReply

    23 May, 2015 at 8:40 am

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  • FonReply

    15 August, 2015 at 1:41 am

    Great informative article. I prefer to visit first Golden Gate Bridge when in San Francisco, California.

  • Singapore to San Francisco Nonstop in 15.5 Hours: The United Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner On-board Experience - Singapore Travel BlogReply

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  • Lara JackReply

    25 February, 2017 at 6:11 pm

    This is awesome! I love California, and I can’t wait to check out some of these cool spots when I go back in April! Thanks so much for all the info!

  • daniel nashReply

    25 February, 2017 at 6:13 pm

    It’s really a cool and helpful piece of information. Thanks for share.

  • MelanieReply

    24 September, 2017 at 2:45 pm

    Hi,

    The link below no longer valid. Do you mind to share again your itinerary?

    https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/89974209/Blog/Itinerary/Download/PassportChop-LA-LV-SFO-USA-Itinerary.docx

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