For my honeymoon my husband and I toured California, visiting Carmel, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Francisco and Yosemite National Park. I had a wonderful time and would Love to revisit all of these places.
Carmel & LA
A three and a half hour drive from Yosemite National Park brings you to Carmel, a quaint coastal town by the Sea. It really is like stepping back in time. Buying your own slice of Carmel won’t come cheap, with average house prices in the area hovering around $1.6m, but it is well worth a visit. I can only describe the town as a cross between Salcombe and a little Cotswold village. The beach is absolutely stunning, with clean, white, soft sand, and walking along it one sunny afternoon I saw wild dolphins bobbing in and out of the sea very close to the water’s edge. They didn't seem at all bothered by the people in the sea.
There are some lovely restaurants in Carmel covering a range of palettes. Carmel has everything from gourmet hamburger diners to Mexican restaurants to an oyster and champagne bar. The jewellery shops are equally as beautiful with some pieces I’m sure being as expensive as a house!
Carmel is gorgeous, and has plenty to do if you enjoy traipsing around art galleries and antiques shops. Just don’t expect much nightlife after half past ten.
Going even more upmarket the nearby estate of Pebble Beach has average house prices of $5m, and is characterized by it’s many great golf courses. Access to Pebble Beach is along a $7 toll road along the coast called 17 Mile Drive.
The next town along is Monterey Bay. This larger town and has a lovely marina full of yachts and fishing boats just waiting for you to have a look at. Monterey Bay is great for families with an aquarium, boats offering day trips, and horse riding. The Bay is also a great hub for whale watching between the months of November and April.
Our drive out of Carmel down to Los Angeles took us through 'The Big Sur'. With the roof down on the car and the sun blazing down on us the passing scenery was stunning dramatic cliff edges. At just over 6 hours the coastal drive to L.A is a long one, but a lovely and fairly easy journey with the sat nav guiding us along the way.
We finally made it to our hotel, the 5* Loews Hotel in Hollywood. We couldn't have asked for a better location, and with a free upgrade to a suite and chocolate covered strawberries waiting for us on arrival it was perfect. Hollywood is crazy! It is busy but full of interesting things to do and see, including the many street entertainers and artists that block the pavements with their nutty acts. It is great fun spotting all the names on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
We took a minibus tour of Los Angeles and the surrounding areas, stopping at Downtown LA, Venice Beach and the famous Hollywood sign. We also took a bit of a detour past some celebrities’ homes up in the Hollywood hills.
I would highly recommend renting a car in Los Angeles. We found it a great help as there isn’t much in the way of public transport and the distance between each point of interest can be as much as ten or 15 miles. Los Angeles is a very interesting place with plenty to do for families and couples of all ages. I will definitely be returning again.
Las Vegas
Until I had visited Las Vegas I thought New York had everything you would ever need! How wrong was I?! They even have New York in Las Vegas... well they have a hotel called New York New York built to look like the Manhattan skyline.
I'd heard mixed reports on Las Vegas. Some saying it's a bit tacky, others absolutely raving about it. I think it all depends on where you stay and personally I’d say it’s more like Disneyland for adults.
We were very happy to be staying at The Mirage, 5* hotel in the centre of the strip. We upgraded to a view over the Las Vegas strip and our room on the 17th floor looked out over the manmade volcano that erupted every 30 minutes. The Las Vegas strip is 4 miles from one end to the other and the hotels that line it really have to be seen to be believed. It is hard to describe the scale of the size of them and what each one features. As I said before The Mirage has a volcano that 'erupted' every 30 minutes from dusk until midnight. It also has a dolphin enclosure and 3 white lion cubs. The Bellagio is one of the better-known hotels on the strip and stands behind Lake Bellagio with a fabulous fountain display that goes off to music every 15 minutes. It is a spectacular thing.
We also had a gondola ride INSIDE The Venetian Hotel (which is my favourite). There are a great choice of eating and shopping outlets to suite most budgets. We dined one evening in one of Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants in Caesars Palace. Each hotel also has its own buffet restaurant, which are good value for money. To save money you can buy a ticket for the buffet restaurant, which includes breakfast and dinner for the duration of your stay.
If shopping is your thing you won’t be disappointed. There is every single designer shop you can think of, or you can head to one of the outlet malls to pick up a bargain!
You must also try and book a show for one evening. We had pre booked a Cirque du Soleil show based on the life and songs of Michael Jackson. It was an incredible performance and very cleverly done.
We took a sunset helicopter ride over Lake Mead, Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon. The four-hour round trip was a great experience. We chose the helicopter flight that lands in the canyon for around 45 minutes, which allowed us time to get some great photos and have a champagne picnic. The pilot timed it just right so you fly back over the strip as the sun is setting and all the lights come on.
As my husband is somewhat of a petrol head, we hired out a Lamborghini for 4 hours and took it into the desert for the obligatory drive up and down the strip!
I had never been overly fussed for going to Las Vegas on holiday. I only really wanted to see the hotels but I am so glad we went and it was the perfect end to a wonderful honeymoon.
San Francisco & Yosemite
We arrived fairly refreshed after our 10 and a half hour flight with Virgin. As we had upgraded to Premium Economy we managed to get a comfortable few hours sleep.
We had a swift and easy check in to the Fairmont San Francisco. The location is great, one mile down hill to lively Fisherman's Wharf and just a short walk in the opposite direction to the posh shops of Union Square.
The next day we purchased a 48-hour hop on hop off bus ticket for $50. I am a big fan of these tours as I think they are the best way to see the city. Some of the stops included Fisherman's Wharf, Union Square, Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory, China Town and, of course, a VERY windy 3 mile journey across the Golden Gate Bridge.
You can't come to San Francisco and not go to Alcatraz. The ferries leave from pier 33 down at Fisherman's Wharf and take 12 minutes. As you step off the ferry you listen to a quick briefing about the island and choose the type of tour you wish to do. We chose the audio tour, which is narrated to you by former inmates of the prison. I won't tell you too much else, as I don't want to spoil it for you if you are planning a visit, but it is well worth it. It is very important to pre book the Alcatraz Tickets prior to leaving the UK as during the peak season the tickets can get booked up for weeks in advance.
After picking up our car hire, we just HAD to have a Ford Mustang Convertible, we stared our three-hour drive out to Yosemite National Park. The scenery en route to our hotel was absolutely stunning. The humongous granite mountains at that point were around 5000ft and towered above us. We were staying at the Yosemite View Lodge, which is located two miles from the main park entrance. The entrance fee into the park is just $20 per car and lasts for 7 days. Once in the park there is a tourist information centre and park rangers helping you decide which walks or hikes to do. I would recommend planning which walks you would like to do in advance, as the park is so big. We had planned to do Upper Yosemite Falls and Glacier Point which takes you up to around 7000ft, but unfortunately there had been fires in the park a day before so we were advised not to climb to high due to all the smoke and ash in the air. Instead we walked to Lower Yosemite Falls and still managed to get a climb in to the bottom of the falls. There are lots of other activities in the park if strenuous walking isn't for you. You can go horse riding, water rafting down the river, take guided walks through nature trails or just sit back in the peace and quiet of the park and take in the stunning surroundings.
I would 100% recommend a holiday to San Francisco and a couple of days out to Yosemite. I will definitely be returning to Yosemite but maybe during the spring when the waterfalls and lakes are at their fullest.
Travel Blog by Amy Probert
Phone Amy: 01242 808549
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