usa

[mojomaz]

Hi, we would like to go to las vegas, los angeles & san fransico. what price should i be looking at & is it cheaper to book by myself or with a travel agent? Would like to travel august 2010. thanks for any help.

[jno]

departure tax is shooting up next year so it's hard to say what prices would be, except that they'll be rather higher than now. Simplest way would be to fly to LA, which has the greatest traffic and so is usually cheapest - I think the fare at the moment is around �400 return. You could hire a car and drive to SF and LV in a couple of weeks. Personally, since the itinerary isn't straightforward, I'd use a travel agent, probably Trailfinders

http://www.trailfinders.com/

I'd be surprised if you came up with anything much cheaper yourself. They may also be able to advise you on the best airlines to take if you preferred internal flights rather than driving.

[trt]

Depends on how long you intend to travel, 1 month, 2 month and 2 star, 3 star, 5 star hotels etc?

[mojomaz]

Thanks very much. Its for 2 weeks & the cheapest hotels?

[jno]

if you're driving around, just stay at motels; there's a million of them. Econolodges are usually among the cheapest - I've stayed at many. Nothing fancy but $50-60 a night

[Oiverbotel]

Hi There

There are occasions when using a travel agent will be to your benefit, however for travel to the states, I would encourage you not to use a travel agent. They will always be more expensive as they must earn a profit from selling products to you. Long gone are the days when travel agents could solely rely upon commission from the airlines, hotels, car supplier, etc.

If you want best value for money, then there are some ideas you should consider over simply choosing the �cheapest.� In the states, thankfully, there is a far higher standard of quality over..well..many places, the UK included. But there can be many unanticipated aspects of choosing �cheap� over best value. - continued

[Oiverbotel]

May I ask please, are you possibly planning travelling again in the following year? If so, then it may be that the �cheapest� isn�t really the best for you. What standards do you accept? For the states you�ve mentioned, you could go �cheap� and use Econolodge, as JNO suggested, or another group called Motel Six http://www.motel6.com/ or Super 8 motels. However, I encourage you to keep in mind that occasionally along with �cheap� comes a customer base that is cheap as well. Whilst those econolodges and motel sixes have a �minimum� standard, it doesn�t mean the �guest� next door to you will have the same standards. I�ve stayed in all ranges of hotels in the states and have quite enjoyed some of the �cheaper� ones, but have had to accept that there may be a ring around the pool from the guests who failed to recognise that a bath at least once a month is considered polite etiquette, before jumping into the pool. Or you could be awakened in the wee hours of the morning to a blaring boom box from Huerve Villachez and the 8 amigos (formerly ten amigos, but one is in prison and the other one is�well..missing in action.)

If you are planning travelling in the following year, I would encourage you to consider participating in an orchestrated programme of enrolling in hotel and airline fidelity programmes and taking advantage of them. You can obtain upgrades, suites, free accommodation and even more benefits. continued

[Oiverbotel]

For the three cities you�ve mentioned, I would recommend flying American Airlines, particularly because you can take advantage of VUSA segment fares to Las Vegas. I would also recommend you use a primary car hire company such as Hertz, Avis, or National, over secondary companies such as Alamo, Thrifty, etc. the Americans have complex rules regarding car hire, insurance, intra-state travel etc, so please keep this in mind.

If you could tell me your age and whether you plan to travel (and possibly where) in the following year, I would be pleased to help you with some more specific details. I have been providing training and private travel services for thirty years and am pleased to share any thoughts with you.

Good travel