8 Tips for organizing a Route along the West Coast of the USA

La West Coast of the United States It is one of the favorite destinations among those of us who like to travel the world.

And when in doubt as to whether it is more convenient to organize yourself the trip or hire an organized tripI can assure you that the West Coast of the United States It is one of the areas in the world where it will be easiest to make a travel on your own.

During your trip you will find highways and roads in excellent condition, as well as a incredible offer of hotels and motels and with a Great value for the price.

And the wide availability of restaurants, with a great gastronomic variety and at very affordable prices, encourages make the trip on your own It is a real enjoyment and an adventure that is enjoyed.

Furthermore, that does not prevent you from signing up for several events on your trip. excursions with guide in Spanish that allow you to make very specific visits.

Now, at plan the trip route, West Coast of the United States It offers us such attractions that it is important to take into account some prior considerations, always based on the maximum number of days that you will be able to dedicate to the trip.

Next, I am going to detail some tips that will be useful to you when it comes to plan your West Coast route.

Prerequisites for traveling to the United States

Before traveling it is important to take into account these requirements without which you will not be allowed to enter the country.

Visas and permits required to travel to the United States

For travel to United States It is essential that you complete the ESTA form, a document in which you give your information and prove that you are only going tourism, in addition to reporting possible medical, psychological or police records.

After paying a fee, a few days later you will receive an email confirming its approval, and from that moment you can enter the country without needing to renew the ESTA up to two years later.

El ESTA form It is completed online and they will ask you for it at the airport customs upon arrival in the United States, and without it you will not be able to access it.

It is also important that you know if you need the Redress Number, requirement of which you have here information to know if you need it.

Budget for a trip to the West Coast

The budget is a basic part when traveling, especially if you take a route in which many and varied expenses are expected.

Specifically, important expenses to take into account when planning your budget are the rental car, hotels or tickets to the various attractions and national parks.

We are finalizing a specific article in which we tell you everything you need to know when making your own budget for a route along the West Coast of the United States.

How to choose Travel Insurance to the United States

Something very important that you should keep in mind, do not travel to the United States without have taken out good travel insurance, with the necessary coverage taking into account that medical care in that country is especially expensive.

The costs of medical care in this country can be exorbitant, to the point that it can reach tens of thousands of euros.

There are many variants to take into account, that is why we leave you here this article in which we guide you on the travel insurance to the United States.

How to organize a route along the West Coast

Un trip to the West Coast of the United States Nowadays it is affordable for many travel lovers, but it is not like, for example, flying to London, which is easy to repeat.

Therefore, it is necessary to previously define whether the important thing is visit as many places as possible, or if you consider that it is a trip that you can repeat, which will allow you concentrate on some area, leaving other visits for a later trip.

Where to start the West Coast route

From the outset, the west coast route will be conditioned by the flight option that you have hired.

Specifically, if you must take the return flight from the same city where you arrived, or if you do it from another city.

For plan the route, it is not the same as, for example, arriving to the west coast by San Francisco and you have to take the return flight from the same city, or start the return trip from Los Angeles, Las Vegas or, for example, Phoenix, Arizona.

This will condition you to make a rue circular or a rue ruler, with the advantages and disadvantages that this has.

Circular route along the West Coast

Al plan a route circular, in some cases it will allow you to better cover certain areas of interest, but on the other hand it can condition you not to “go too far” from your city of arrival and departure of your flights on the west coast.

For example, if you start your trip in San Francisco, and from that city you must take the return flight, to go to Las Vegas you can make the way through the interior, for example. Yosemite and other national parks, and on the way back, you can pass through Los Angeles and subsequently, drive along the coast to San Francisco.

Of course, if you only have a few days, you may also be interested in taking a flight from, for example, Las Vegas to San Francisco, as domestic flights can be very cheap.

Linear route along the West Coast

If instead you plan a linear route, with different cities on the arrival and return flights, you can head to more distant areas of interest on the west coast.

For example, if you arrive in San Francisco, you could plan the route in a north-south direction, so that taking the return flight in Phoenix, southern Arizona, you could even visit the area of sedona.

And in the opposite direction, if your flight arrived in Los Angeles, you could propose a route in a south-north direction, ending the trip visiting the yellowstone national park and taking the return flight, for example, in Salt Lake City.

Leave open days on the route

Al plan the route It is obvious that you must have the most important milestones of the trip clearly defined, but it is not necessary to make a complete schedule for each and every day.

Does not matter leave some days “open”” and then, now ,, specify the routes.

This will allow you to adapt the trip to your tastes and needs, choosing visits and looking for hotels on the fly.

Take into account visiting hours

When making your travel plan, you must take into account the times of the visits you plan to make.

If they are monuments or parks with hours, they usually close at 17 p.m., which makes it advisable to schedule these visits for the mornings.

In certain national parks, such as Grand Canyon, Monument Valley o Bryce Canyon, you will better enjoy the beauty of its landscapes by doing the sunset visit.

But you must not forget that the time of sunset changes depending on the time of year in which you make the trip (it is not the same in July as in November!!!).

How much time is needed for activities on the west coast

If you want to do specific activities in any of the places visited, you must plan well the time these activities require, and it may be advisable to reserve up to a full day for them.

For example, if you are in the Grand Canyon and you want to do the Helicopter tour and, in addition, a hiking route or the rafting excursion, that requires you to stay in the area throughout the day.

The best thing to do is hire the helicopter first thing in the morning or at dusk, and dedicate the rest of the day to the excursion.

And if you are going to visit, for example, the theme park Universal Studios Hollywood, you must reserve a full day.

Flights within the United States

Obviously, for travel the west coast You will plan to rent a car, but you can also avoid traveling by road and plan flights to reach certain destinations.

In this regard, a determining factor will be whether or not you like to take long trips by car, and the extent of the area of ​​​​the west coast that you want to cover.

It will be useful for you to have information about the internal flights what you have, as well as knowing which companies are low cost most popular and work best.

Depending on your trip, you may have to take an internal connecting flight between two destinations, which is why we leave you these articles that may interest you.

In our case, for example, on one of the trips we rented the car in Seattle and after traveling the entire west coast, we made a circular route through the Grand Canyon of the Colorado and Monument Valley, to end in Las Vegas.

We left the car there and returned to Portland by plane, where we were going to spend a few extra days.

Here we leave you some topics that may interest you if on your route you are going to have to book internal flights in the United States.

Low cost airlines for internal flights in the United States

Tips for booking flights

Don't try to cover too much

And the last tip is not to plan the route trying to cover too much.

In general terms, You must finish visits and activities around 17 p.m., and although you can take the opportunity to continue on the road, it is not advisable to delay too much arriving at the hotel planned to spend the night...and even more so if we do not have a prior reservation.

To make the most of your time on your West Coast trip, it is advisable to get up early every day and, instead, arrive early at the place of rest.

Rent a car in the United States

For your West Coast road trip, here is some practical information to keep in mind when planning your trip. rent the vehicle.

Keep in mind that you are going to spend many hours driving, so it is important that your car is comfortable and, above all, that it consumes little, because in the United States cars consume a lot of gasoline.

In this regard, in its favor it has the fact that the price of gasoline, which is measured in gallons, is quite cheap compared to European countries.

Don't forget that when you reserve it you have to add that you are going to leave the state in which you rent it, just as if you return it to another state other than the state of origin, because it has an extra expense.

And in this other article we leave you some tips on how to take a trip along the West Coast without needing to rent a car

Tips for driving in the United States

In addition to the information about the rental itself, it is important that you are clear about some concepts when it comes to drive across the United States.

Each country has its peculiarities when you drive on its roads and cities, and the United States was no different.

Here you have useful information with tips for traveling by car and driving in the United States.

Roadside Motels on the West Coast Route

La hotel search It is one of the points in which the most time is spent in the organization of this trip, despite the fact that the West Coast It is a very appropriate destination to leave days open during the route to reserve the hotel on the fly.

You have a wide range of hotel establishments, and you will surely frequent those offered by the numerous motel chains.

It is important that you book the nights you are going to spend in big cities and around natural parks in advance.

Beyond the fact that hotels may be more expensive, there are places, especially in the desert, where there is little hotel offer because there are hardly any populations.

On the other hand, there are many other areas where it is not so necessary to make a reservation before the trip, but you can reserve along the way.

The west coast is riddled with chains of roadside motels They are very good and are designed for people who travel the west coast by car.

Here you have extensive information with Tips for staying in motels in the United States, accommodation formula so popular in that country, especially when you are doing a route by car.

and here you can search and book the hotel for your trip.

National Parks Annual Pass

If you are going to make a route through the national parks of the western United States, you may find it interesting to purchase the tourist pass known as Annual Pass.

Assess it depending on the route you take, but it is important to know the information we leave you here.

Tours in Spanish along the West Coast

As we have mentioned, a large part of the trip consists of doing different activities, whether in the cities or in national parks.

There are hundreds of options available for guided tours and activities that you can sign up for, but each person inside knows which ones they want to do.

In our case we were very clear about some excursions that we did not want to miss, including when we did the Helicopter flight over the Grand Canyon of the Colorado.

Here you have detailed information about Tours and excursions in the United States, which includes the different areas of the West Coast.

Essential visits for a first trip

And as a personal tip, if it is the first time you are going to travel to the west coast, I am going to “get wet” in recommending my totally essential visits:  San Francisco, Hollywood y Universal Studios, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon of the Colorado y Monument Valley.

And in between, many other places…