Cala Bona

The location of Cala Bona is in the East of the Island

We are staying at the Sunwing Cala Bona Beach which is located just north of the town and the main high street.

The hotel looks like it is the ideal place to have a relaxing week at the poolside with the views over the sea... This holiday was always going to be just to relax and relax in the sun...

Our last holiday was Greece and again just a relaxing week at the hotel... on this holiday we did not even make it outside the hotel complex... that was a first for me but it was perfect for us at that time :)

This holiday I feel that we need to break free at least for a few days...

I have heard that this side of the island has a beautiful coast but not many beaches...
Have also heard that there are caves to explore... somewhere... I really need to read a little...

Mallorca - May / June

Now it is time to totally change directions in this Blog and look towards our holiday that is coming up in a few weeks time.

Mallorca

A place that I have never had the chance to visit before but it has always been a place that I have heard about as a kid growing up in England.

While at school there was many families taking their summer holidays on Mallorca so it was a place that was always named by the kids in the early 1990's

It is a place that I never looked at... I knew that it was off the east coast of Spain but that is it.

Where to start... Google? Loney Planet? Travel Book?

A friend of mine was nice enough to lend me a book of the Island... Made by Loney Planet - So 2 of my options :)

All I know so far is that we are flying to Palma de Mallorca and then have a hotel transfer from the airport to the hotel in the area Cala Bona - hotel is called "Sunwing Cala Bona Beach"

UPDATE - Changes to the Grand Canyon

This was the other part of the trip that was playing on my mind... The hotel that was booked was a great location and I was happy with this until there was talk on the LP forum that it would be much better for us as a family to try and get lodgings in the actual park (same situation like it was with Yosemite)

The booked hotel was the closest that there was at Booking.com and I did not know that they actually had lodgings in the park... this I checked out via some links from the forum and found that there was a village on the rim of the south side of the canyon... This was run by the actual park itself and it looks great :)

The village is right on the rim with the hotels both at the rim and set a little back...
You also get shops / restaurants / info. center / shuttle buses / a train into the village...

Perfect :)

Then I read that you have to book 6-9 months in advance to secure a room...

We have 5 months...

Made the search and crossed my fingers...

Hotel after hotel came onto the screen as "Booked"

Then I remembered from the LP forum that someone named that they always keep some ADA (The Americans with Disabilities Act) rooms free... and I found a button on the search page to look for these rooms...

I thought that I would give it a go...

1 hotel came back with a room available for the 2 nights :)

I booked it wondering if it was actually ok to book.. I know our daughter has special needs and has a ID card etc... but would that be enough to qualify for the room ?
She is always tried and cant walk too far or do too much due to her needs - so for me to be so close to the rim was needed... I continued to book...

Then a question pops up that you have to accept to complete your booking... the question was asking if you need this type of room for someone in your group... I was in doubt again if I could book...
Then it says "or if no other room is available for your stay" :) this confirmed it for me and it is now booked :)

Could not be happier with this upgrade...

Bonus: Pizza Pub :)
The difference between a hotel on its own where you have to drive to see anything compared to a village where we can step out of the door and walk around with the kids is a huge difference to us.

Also the fact that many have told me that we NEED to see the sunrise at the rim looking over the canyon... from the old hotel it was a 15-20 minute drive and that early in the morning with the kids could be a problem... now we have just 400 meters - this is now possible...

UPDATE - Changes to the Yosemite part of the trip...

I have been reading more reviews from actual people that have visited Yosemite and I have also taken the advice from my Loney Planet forum link...

1) The original hotel that I booked was outside of the Yosemite park and this driving time would be wasted in and out each day... (4-6 hours a day)

So this would limit the time we were to spend in the actual Yosemite Valley.

2) The drive from Yosemite to Vegas was starting to play on my mind... it is a long drive and I want to spend the time enjoying the drive with stops when needed and taking the time in Death Valley to see it...

So now I have the following changes...

• Original hotel at "Yosemite Westgate Lodge" is cancelled for the 2 nights
• New booking made for 1 night in Yosemite Valley - Half Dome Village (Apartment)
• New booking for a tram sightseeing tour of the lower floor valley (2 Hours)
• New booking made for 1 night at Death Valley - Panamint Springs (Cottage)

With this new change I hope that we have a more relaxed part of the trip.

The cost has increased but I think that this will be paid for with quality time :)

Thinking that the drive from San Francisco to Yosemite Valley would be a nice trip that is only 5-6 hours and this will be broken up with stops on the way - we can take this relaxed in a day

Thinking that staying in that valley we will get so see so much more in a more limited time and to help this I have booked a 2 hour tram sightseeing tour with a guide so that we can see the highlights of the area and understand more of the area.

Thinking that the drive out of Yosemite will also be very beautiful, slow moving and we will be stopping a few times... then with the drive down to Death Valley I did not want to miss anything and it has been suggested to visit "Badwater" and this will add an hour or so onto the trip...

So I have now booked a night in a 2 bedroom cottage on the west rim of Death Valley... should be fun :) 

Back to catch the flight home from LA

This last drive back to LA from the Grand Canyon was the only part of the trip that I thought would be just a "long Drive" nothing to see or do and no where to stop...

I could not just end this trip in this way and I needed to find a fun way to end this... after a short time on the net I have found the way home :)

We will be driving on the Historic Route 66 once again... we will try as much as we can to follow it back to LA and this time it will be longer with some stops on the way.

For now I will just book the hotel and then like all the places booked I will look at the details later.

I thought that I would need to stop half way back to LA but from the forums I can see that this is not needed so I would rather book 2 nights close to LA than 1 half way and the other close to LA - this way we have a short rest before the flight home to Denmark.

When reading about the Route "66" I come across a chain of motels that were built on the route and they were called "Wigwam villages" and Built in the 1930's - 1940's
Back in the day there were 7 locations of these villages but today there are only 2 locations left and I have booked 2 nights at the village in California at the city boundary between Rialto and San Bernardino. I could not get a single wigwam for the 4 of us as they are already sold out (with 5 months in advance) so I have booked 2 Deluxe Queen wigwams.

Hotel Nr. 8 (2 Nights)

Wigwam Motel info.

Last leg of the trip to book - The Grand Canyon...

One of the highlights of the trip so lets make it a nice stay...

How close can we get ?

People have been saying that we need to see the sun rise over the canyon... For this with 2 young kids I think that we need to be close otherwise this will not happen..

I have found that the hotel "Best Westen Premier Grand Canyon Squire" is the one it will be...

Hotel Nr. 7 (2 Nights)

Grand Canyon Via Wikipedia

Now that this is the end of the trip we need to find out how to get back to Los Angeles..??

We have 2 more nights left of the trip and we need to find out how to use them.

I can see that the drive is 500 miles / 800 km

Las Vegas - Booked (2 nights for now - could be changed to 1)

Vegas booked

The Rita Suits - As close to the strip as I could get without spending all of our gambling money... Las Vegas has never really done anything for me, I have of course seen it on TV and in the movies but never had the urge to visit...

A city of Hotels / Casinos surrounded by a poor neighborhood of addicted gamblers and nothing much more... maybe I have been watching the wrong programs and there is more to it... maybe I will be surprised in a positive way...

Of course I would like to see the strip at night... the city come to life... But this could be a challenge with the kids... Isabella is normally asleep by 19:00 and Emil follows around 20:00-20:30 and if Maj-Britt is with them then she falls asleep... So I can go out then and party !!

We might have to take it in turns to go out at the evenings while the other stays at the apartment with the sleeping kids... Rock N Roll....

Hotel Nr. 6 (2 Nights)

Las Vegas Via Wikipedia

I love the first photo of the hotel in the ad.... it makes you think that the hotel is the big one in the photo...

But it is really the hotel on the right of the photo above...
The photo below is the hotel...

Looks like it will be Possible...

Yosemite to Las Vegas in 1 day looks like it is good to go...

If we start off from the morning (10:00am) and take the Tioga pass out to Lee Vining then the Highway 395 down to Death Valley - Through the Valley into Vegas - this should take 7-8 hours so say 10 with stops...

With this we will see the beautiful Mountains and valleys in the day light and then the evening lights as we enter Vegas... I would love to enter Vegas for the first time in the evening dusk and the place lit up as it should be...

Day Vs Night

So... that is what we are to do... Now to book the hotel (1 Night or 2 Nights ??)

Colourful start to the day...

After work today I will be sitting down to plan the last part of the trip...

From Yosemite down to Las Vegas on to the Grand Canyon (then all is left is the trip back over to Los Angeles)

This is the part of the trip where I need to work out the driving times and if any over night stops are required between places... also have a open question with regards to if we should drive North from Vegas to Zion and around the right side of the Grand Canyon (this will only give us a single over night in Vegas) not sure if we need 2 ?

What to do... What to do... ??

Yosemite National Park Booked :)

Pulled the trigger and booked up 2 nights...

We had 3 options for this stop over:

1) They have tented huts right in the heart of the park but these are only available until around the start of October (if the weather is ok) other lodges were also available but I found it hard to find my way around the whole thing... so went back to the tried and tested Booking.com

2) Closest cabins to the gates of the park were very nice but with this the price was also high

3) The lodge a few miles further out from the no. 2 option and a much better price

We went for the 3rd option... thinking Vegas would be the next big stop and I need to save a little money so that I have at least 500USD to try to make back the increasing costs of this holiday in the casino's :) I think that I could do this...

Hotel number 5 - Yosemite Westgate Lodge

Hotel No. 5 (2 nights)

Yosemite National Park Via Wikipedia

This is booked for now but I will be looking over the next few days to see if I can get a better location... I have thought about the information from my last post and I would like to get as close as possible... the cost would increase but lets see...

Planning of the 2 nights at Yosemite National Park...

Yosemite National Park is one of those places that everyone has heard of... a place that just had to be plan into the visit.

When you google "Yosemite" and click on "photos" it comes up with this...

How can you not stop here for a few nights... Falling in love...

So, what options do we have here ?

At the booking site I am using the closest that I can get for an ok price is 12miles from the park gates... sounds good right...

The LP forum gave me a good link to information about staying close to Yosemite:



This has come up in a few recent trip planning threads, so I thought I'd put it out there for general info.

If a hotel etc. says "X minutes to Yosemite" on their website, they are usually talking about the drive to the park border. For example, Groveland properties will often say "20-30 minutes to Yosemite!" This is technically true, as it's only about 20 miles to the border. However, it's another 45-60 minutes from there to Yosemite Valley [1], not including wait time at the gate (which can be substantial if you arrive in the middle of the day), traffic, getting stuck behind someone who's never driven on mountain roads, going slow because you yourself have never driven on mountain roads, and time to find parking (which can also be substantial if arriving mid-day).

The same is true for Mariposa and Oakhurst properties - after entering the park, you're looking at a minimum of 30-60 minutes to Valley attractions, depending on which entrance you use. The most egregious example is the "Yosemite View Lodge" in El Portal, from which, yes, you can see the park boundary, but still have to drive at least 20-30 minutes to see the main park features.

My recommended time allowances from your hotel to the Valley, assuming average summer gate wait, traffic, and parking time:
Mariposa: 1.5+ hours
El Portal: 45 mins-1 hour
Groveland: 1.5-2 hours (currently 2-3 hours due to road closure)
Oakhurst: 2 hours
Fish Camp: 1.5 hours
Mammoth Lakes: 3 hours (when Tioga Rd is open)
Lee Vining: 2.5 hours (when Tioga Rd is open)

Add more time if you're planning to arrive late morning or mid-day - or better, plan to arrive early, especially on weekends.

Here is the park's drive time estimate to lots of places from the Valley: https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/upload/mileages9-2007.pdf

(My times are longer than theirs because I factor in entrance gate waits and time to find parking.)

Hope this helps some folks in your trip planning. If you only have one day to spend in the park and you're staying in one of these communities, you need to know how much time you'll be spending in your car.

1 Right now, of course, the Big Oak Flat road is closed, so you have to drive round the long way anyway, which adds another hour. The road will open May 1 2017 but with additional work yet to be done, involving 15 minute delays during the day and some entire closures at night (7pm-5am).

This is very good information to have and understand so that we are not let down when we get there...

But whatever the situation and place that we book all I need is a few hours of this....

San Francisco is now in the mix...

When I first looked at San Francisco I was not crazy about the place... The only things that popped into my head were the Golden Gate Bridge & Alcatraz - I could not justify to myself that we needed more that just a single night there...

BUT...

The more I look into the city the more I start to like :) Some parts of it remind me of New York... I am not sure why but I have the feeling that there is something special about the place, I could be wrong but lets go with this... 3 Nights it is...

Hotel is booked - Hotel Zephyr San Francisco (This is a non refundable booking so this is here to stay) It looks great and in a perfect location... Very happy about this, it feels right :)

Bonus info. our first and only dog who passed away just after my father was called Zephyr so this is ment to be...

Hotel No. 4 (3 nights)

San Francisco via Wikipedia

I understand that the place is just hills... but how much?
Thinking with regards to our Daughter and it will be a good guess that she will be in her pushchair so I would like to find out the best routes around the city... the trams will be an issue with the pushchair so we will have to leave it at the hotel one of the days... just for a short trip out...

I have 5 months to join a gym and get fighting fit for the workout that will be Isabella + pushchair & a lot of hills...

Next hotel will be in the Yosemite area... this could be expensive...

Visual plan of the route

The numbers indicate the stops that I have planned (overnight stays)

The solid black line is the way we plan the route now

The dotted line is what we are thinking about

The Route is being planned

I have been advised to roughly plan out the route and get some of the most important dates booked and then work around these dates with the stops between...

My planned route:

• Los Angeles - 5 nights (BOOKED)

• Drive up Highway 1 with 2 planned overnights (BOOKED)

• San Francisco - 3 nights (Close to being booked)

• Yosemite - 2 nights (Close to being booked)

• Las Vegas - 2 nights (Amount of nights could change)

• Grand Canyon - 2 nights (Looking at booking)

• Los Angeles - 2 nights (This could change ?)

From Los Angeles we will be heading North... Highway 1

The original plan was to take 2 overnight stops so that we can really enjoy the coast. The stops would be Cayucos (at the bottom of the map) & Monterey (at the top of the map) both ends of the most beautiful part of the highway.

We have booked the first overnight at Cayucos Beach Inn (This hotel is open to be changed or removed at no cost)

Hotel No. 2 (1 night)

Cayucos via Wikipedia

The second overnight at Motel 6 Monterey North Fremont Street (This hotel is open to be changed or removed at no cost)

Hotel No. 3 (1 night)

Monterey via Wikipedia

After these 2 hotels were booked I found out from a very helpful person on the LP forum that the Bridge @ Big Sur was broken and needed to be taken down and a new temp. bridge is to be built. This is huge as there is no way around this Bridge and the de-tour as I understand it will be big !! A back up plan is needed...

The new temp. bridge is set to open on the 30/09/2017 and we are planned to drive over it on the 08/10/2017

So any delay to this could be costly for our trip... what to do, what to do ??

News - Big Sur Bridge

A lot of great advice is coming through from the Loney planet forums - My quest for advice is not falling short and lots of great advice on how to get around with Isabella.

Our daughter Isabella has a rare form of epilepsy (CSWS) that makes her very tired (even when she has just woke up in the morning) a new country, new people, new things to see and do will make this worse.. She will be tired, we know this... so there is some great links and advice coming in that we can look into so that we can make this trip as easy and relaxing as possible for us all...

You can follow the advice at the link below to see if you are in agreement... I think that it is very helpful and hope it can be used to shape the trip :)

lonelyplanet