 Space Needle Below are the details of 2 day trip to Seattle, which will help you plan yours:
Day-1 1. Landed in the morning at Sea-Tac Airport (Seattle Tacoma International Airport) and started towards Space Needle (Space Needle, 400 Broad St. Seattle, WA 98109). Although we visited this on Day-2, but since this is near to other places of attraction we just went around the tower. 2. Next we went to Experience Music Project /Science Fiction Museum (325 5th Ave. North; in Seattle Center, near Space Needle) which is at short distance from Space Needle. The main intent of visiting this place was to experience the music from different generation and a special AVATAR exhibition going on at the time of visit. It was exhilarating to understand how the film making was done for Avatar at the same time give a shot at different musical instrument present in the Experience Music Museum. 3. The next stop was a visit to Pacific Science Center (200 2nd Ave. N., under the arches near the Space Needle). It is located at the foot of Space Needle. I would highly recommend spending half a day if possible at this wonderful place. If you have young kids I am sure they will enjoy this wonderful place. There are metro buses from the downtown that can take you to this place. 4. From here take a walk to the Olympic Sculpture Park (2901 Western Avenue, Seattle, WA 98121) which is built near the north end of waterfront. It has awesome art installed all over the place and you will love strolling over the park where folks come to revive their energy after a hard day at work. 5. We took the free waterfront trolley 'bus' route 99 running on Alaskan Way Street which runs parallel to water front to visit the Seattle Aquarium (Pier 59 at 1483 Alaskan Way). It has wonderful collections of various sea species including starfish which you can touch. 6. The next place we went to the Pioneer Square (603 1st Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104). As per wiki this was once the heart of city. It had all wooden structures which got burned in Great Seattle fire. There is underground tour available which takes you through the past of this amazing ciy. 7. It was near sunset and we decided to visit the Pike Place Market. It is located about 1 mile north of Pioneer Square and requires walking uphill. This is the place where you can get to taste the authentic local Seattle coffee as well as experience the sea food if you like it. Also the famous Starbucks original store (1912 Pike Place, Seattle, WA 98101) started in this market. It was time to head to the hotel after a wonderful Day-1 travel. Day-2 1. We started our day by visiting the Woodland Zoo Park. The best way to reach here is by taking route 5 to West Entrance at N. 55th St. and Phinney Ave. N. The bus driver would help you reach the destination. The Zoo has amazing collection of animals including the leopards and Penguins. Make sure you have enough time as it took us at least 5 hours to visit the entire Zoo. 2. The next place on our list was the Sea Cruise from Argosy (1101 Alaskan Way, Seattle, WA 98101). We took the harbor tour which shows various dock activities as well a view of Seattle downtown from the waterfront. Make sure about the timing’s as this tour are only 4 to 5 times a day. The Visitor Center is at Pier 56; ticket booth and dock is on Pier 55 (5-minute walk southwest/below Pike Place Market) 3. It was time to visit Space Needle as there was about an hour left for the sunset. This way you could get best of both views (Day & Night). We took amazing pictures of awesome Seattle before we headed back to our hotel. Thus returning back from this wonderful Seattle trip. You could also visit Klondike Gold Rush Museum, a National Historical Park run by the National Park Service. Also if you are art lover you can visit Seattle Art Museum right in the downtown. Below are the links for quick access of various places of visit. www.spaceneedle.com www.empmuseum.org/index.asp www.pacificsciencecenter.org [Metro Transit: Buses stop off at the entrance, including routes 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 19 and 24.] www.argosycruises.com [Argosy Cruises Seattle Harbor Tour - 12.15pm, 1.30pm, 2.45pm, 4pm] www.zoo.org www.seattleaquarium.org www.seattleartmuseum.org/
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 An amazing trip to a mile high city comes to an end. Below are the details of 3 day trip, which will help you plan yours.
Day-1 1. Downtown Denver [http://www.downtowndenver.com/] – Our first visit was to 16th Street Mall which is a must visit for any visitor to Denver. This is primarily pedestrian only area so you can walk at your own pace. It’s like a big party time here and its nice walk and window shopping. There is also RTD Denver bus which runs on this street. We bought a day pass for RTD which served us well for the entire day. 2. Denver Art Museum [100 West 14th Avenue Parkway Denver, CO 80204] – This is a must visit if you love to see artifacts from around the world. Ideally you need a day to go through all what they have, but since we are short on time we spent half a day seeing artifacts of ancestral and modern era. 3. United States Mint [320 West Colfax Avenue, Denver, CO 80204] – As much as we would have liked to visit; the United States Mint was closed when we arrived and so we could not really get to see the place where dollars are printed. Day-2 1. Rocky Mountain [http://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/directions.htm] – We took a gray line day tour to Rocky Mountain National park. This is highly recommended unless you decide to drive all the way up. The tour picks up from Cherry Creek Shopping Center and consists of visit through Berthoud Pass at 11,314 feet above sea level. It takes through the Winter Park (ski resort place), Scenic Grand Lake and finally the Rocky Mountain National Park. Worth the money and recommended for anyone not planning to drive to the Rocky Mountain. You can book this tour online, but make sure that your credit card does not charge foreign transaction fees, as for some reason gray line charges you as UK merchant. The highest peak is Mt. Evans at 14,264 feet, but we could not visit this due to time constraints. Also if you plan to drive here do check if the road is open to the peak. Day-3 1. Manitou Springs: Garden of the Gods [1805 N. 30th (at Gateway Rd) Colorado Springs, CO 80904] – We rented the car to visit the Manitou Springs and its surroundings. Garden of the Gods was the first place we visited driving down the traffic of Denver. This is really cool place to visit where you get to see the giant rock formation, but wait do not miss the HD Video show they have which seems to be quite knowledgeable. We did not get a chance to watch the show due to time constraint but you will appreciate the Giant rocks better. 2. Pikes Peak [515 Ruxton Ave / PO Box 351, Manitou Springs, Colorado 80829] – This was our next destination where we were booked on the Cog railway to travel to the top of the peak. You can get a discount coupon from their website for some time slots, but make sure you take a printed copy of it [as they do not entertain the discount otherwise -- sigh]. The summit is at 14,115 feet which is an alpine beauty to watch. The cog rail is a fun as the rail ascends to the peak passing through aspen trees. We enjoyed the rail journey as we became chilled from being warm once we reached the top. Make sure you have nice shoes as the snow is thick and slippery. The cog rail ended our 3 day tour of this wonderful visit to destination Colorado. Useful links: http://www.downtowndenver.com/ http://www.rtd-denver.com/ http://www.denverartmuseum.org/ http://www.usmint.gov/mint_tours/?action=startreservation http://www.nps.gov/romo/index.htm http://www.grayline.com/Denver/View_All http://www.gardenofgods.com/home/index.cfm http://www.springsgov.com/sectionindex.aspx?sectionid=18 http://www.cograilway.com/aboutpikespeak.htm Below are the details for our 2-day trip to Hong Kong done in Jan-2011. We spent the 3rd day in Macau. The places of visit in Hong Kong were selected so as to minimize the travel time and maximize places to visit:
Hotel Stay - Bridal Tea House Hotel @ Hung Hom Winslow Street (Good for 2 persons stay on budget cost - ~700 HKD) Day-1 1. Causeway Bay Take the subway from Hung Hom and get off at Hongkong station. Transfer to Central Station and take “Island line” to Causeway Bay. Enjoy the bustle of shops and good food. Also you would get to see local artist performing in the streets. MTR Subway: http://www.mtr.com.hk/eng/homepage/cust_index.html 2. Repulse Bay Take Minibus No.40 (bound for Stanley) at Causeway Bay's Tang Lung Street (Corner of Percival Street and Hennessy Road), and get off at Repulse Bay. 3. Stanley beach Take Buses No.6, 6A, 6X, from Repulse Bay going towards Stanley beach. You also have option of taking minibus 40 to Stanley beach. NTWS Bus: http://www.nwstbus.com.hk/home/ 4. The Peak Take bus to Admiralty. From Admiralty take bus 15 to “The peak”. This will take you all the way to the top of the peak. If you want to take the peak tram, you can take one-way ticket on your way back home Day-2 1. Nong Ping 360, Po Lin Monastery and Giant Buddha Take “west rail line” subway from Hung Hom towards Tuen Mun. Get down at Nam Cheong and catch subway towards Tung Chung. Get down at last stop which is for cable car to Nong Ping 360. There is variety of tickets available and you can select as per your budget starting from ~110HKD/person 2. Nathan road famous golden mile Take MTR subway from Tung Chung to Tsim Sha Tsui via Nam Cheong. Get out from Nathan road exit and enjoy the walk on this road full of neon lights and modern shop. 3. Avenue of stars & clock tower (Tsim Sha Tsui) Walk from Nathan road to Salisbury road towards Avenue of Stars. This walk is modeled after Hollywood walk of fame and is located right near the Victoria waterfront. 4. Symphony of lights From the avenue of stars keep walking on the waterfront towards Star Ferry Pier / Clock tower. Every hour there is music and light performance famously called “Symphony of lights”. Enjoy the spectacular light and sound show. If you want to see this right from the deck, you can board on one of the star ferry’s boat. Make sure you ask them when does the show start, so that you are on the ferry when the “light show” starts. Travel Tips: 1. On arrival visa for most of the countries, so you can always plan a last hour trip 2. Easy entry and exit from Hong Kong to Macau and back. Just make sure you keep enough time margin for immigration check-in and check-out as both are different countries 3. Most airlines allow in-town check-in if you take the airport express. The prices vary as per the subway station where you plan to board the airport express. Boarding from Kowloon is cheaper than Hong Kong 4. If you are miles aficionado; you might want to check the 3-day subway pass, airport express tickets online, as they would earn Cathay miles for you. IPhone Apps: 1. Walkthetalk 2. HKMA Guide 3. Macaupedia 4. Hongkong travel guide Useful links: http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/trip-planner/travel-guide.html http://www.starferry.com.hk/services.html http://www.chinatouristmaps.com/travel/hong-kong/victoria-peak-maps.html http://www.thepeak.com.hk/en/5_5_1.asp http://www.nwff.com.hk/eng/fare_table/local-macau/?section=Macau http://www.macautourism.gov.mo/ This travel post is all about visiting San Diego for a weekend. I will discuss about the itinerary which will maximize your time spent in San Diego.
Assumptions: This is a two day travel itinerary and focused on sightseeing mainly on 59 mile route. You need to have a vehicle to drive around. The itinerary does not include visiting Museums, Sea-world, Zoo or Legoland. You can add them as per your availability of time!! There is a public google map available for 59 mile Drive [credits to vegas-online] which will be handy. Apart from that there are blue and yellow signs with white seagulls which could guide you through the route: Day 1: 1. Embarcadero: You would want to stroll in marina park and visit "Star of India" before you begin with your scenic drive. You can also walk along Harbor Drive to enjoy the wind and the cruises lined up. Location: Cross section of West Broadway and North Harbor Drive. Parking: You can use metered street parking if you find a spot. You can park for free at Embarcadero Marina Park Time Spent - 1 hour 2. Harbor Island Drive Park Exit to Harbor Island drive from N. Harbor Drive, It’s a picturesque Island to drive on. There are less people and great view of San Diego. Location: You can feed Sheraton hotel address to your GPS. Its 1380 Harbor Island Drive, San Diego, CA 92101 Parking: Free and available on the Harbor Island Parking lot Time Spent – 30 mins 3. Spanish Island and Shelter Island Drive Return to N. Harbor Drive and drive further north on N. Harbor Drive to reach Spanish Island. It’s different from Harbor Island as you will see lot of folks fishing here and having leisure time. Continue further north and take left on Scott St towards Shelter Island Drive. There is Yokohama Friendship bell at the end of the island to signify the Japanese Sister City of San Diego Location: 1401 Shelter Island Dr., San Diego, CA – 92106 Parking: Free and available facing the water. Time spent – 30 mins 4. Point Loma & Cabrillo National Monument Drive back to Scott St and go towards Cabrillo National Monument. On the way you will observe National Rosecrans Cemetery and Historic Point Loma Light house which began operating in 1855. Further down you will reach Cabrillo National Monument built in memory of Rodriguez Cabrillo. Also you would see new point Loma lighthouse which is the Southwestern tip of Continental US. This park is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., so make sure you are in time. It also has a show at 10 a.m. depicting history of Rodriguez Cabrillo and San Diego Location: 1800 Cabrillo Memorial Dr, San Diego, California 92106 Parking: There is a $5 entry fee to the park, but parking is free. Time Spent – 2 hours 5. Ocean Beach Drive back on Cabrillo Memorial Drive which later becomes Catalina Blvd. Drive through Sunset Cliffs Blvd to Ocean beach. You might want to eat out at South beach Bar and Grill if you like seafood. It’s nice Ocean front Grill house. It is also an excellent location for Ocean Side walk. Location: 5059 Newport Avenue # 104, San Diego, CA 92107 Parking: There is free street parking available Time Spent – 1 hour 6. Mission Bay Aquatic Park Continue your drive on Sunset Cliffs Blvd and then drive North on Ingraham St to reach Mission Bay Aquatic Park. Enjoy the drive and continue towards Soledad Mountains Location: Intersection of La Cima Drive and Crown Point Drive Parking: Not needed Time Spent – 30 mins 7. Soledad Mountain If you want to have 360 degree view of San Diego than this is the place to visit. You can continue to drive north on Crown Point drive which eventually lead to Soledad Road. Enjoy your drive to the mountain Location: 6905, La Jolla, California 92037 Parking: There is parking available right across Soledad Cross. Also there is ample of parking about 200 yards before reaching the peak. Time Spent – 1 hour 8. UCSD Campus and Salk Institute The UCSD campus comes on the right side of N. Torrey Pines Road. The easiest way to reach there is to look out for La Jolla Playhouse which is very close to the campus. The architecture of different buildings are stunning and do watch out for the library. We will conclude Day-1 here Location: Close to La Jolla Playhouse, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093 Parking: Campus parking lot Time Spent – 30 mins Day-2 9. Scripps Park and La Jolla Cove Drive South on La Jolla Shores Drive which ends into Torrey Pines road. Continue through Prospect Pl, where you might want to stop for some breakfast and then drive to Scripps Park and La Jolla Cove. You might want to check out different cliffs in La Jolla Cove and enjoy some seaside activities. From here drive down south along the Coast Blvd and enjoy the scenic route Location: 1155 Coast Boulevard, La Jolla, CA 92037-3627 Parking: Scripps Park Time Spent – 1 hour 10. La Jolla Scenic Drive From Coast Blvd turn into Pearl Street and then continue to La Jolla Blvd. Drive down south and turn left on Nautilus St. Continue your drive on this road till you hit La Jolla Scenic Drive South. From Here continue onto La Jolla Mesa Drive which in the end converges to Mission Blvd. Location: 2390 Nautilus Street, La Jolla, CA 92037-6421 acting as a mid-point for merging into Scenic drive. Parking: Not needed Time Spent – 30 mins 11. Pacific Beach and Mission Beach On the right side of Mission Blvd is Pacific Beach. You might want to enjoy the beach by taking a stroll or jogging along the ocean front. Relax and enjoy your time here. Later you can continue on Mission Blvd to reach Mission Beach. Near Mission beach there is also Belmont Park. You can park your vehicle and enjoy the giant roller coaster or if you wish get your meal at any of the ocean front restaurant. Location: Start from 704 Garnet Avenue, San Diego, CA 92109 and drive to 3105 Ocean Front Walk, San Diego, CA 92109 Parking: light and park parking lot near Ocean Front walk Time Spent – 1 hour 12. Sports Arena Blvd You can pass near this Arena to go to Old Town State Historic Park. If you are a shopping buff you might want to visit the Sports Arena shopping center Location: 3500 Sports Arena Boulevard, San Diego, CA 92110-4973 Parking: Not needed / Shopping Center Complex Time Spent – 15 mins 13. Old Town State Historic Park You would want to visit Whaley house and heritage park row. There are lots of restored Victorian styles houses which you would get to see. There are lot of early Californian habitat style restaurants and shops which you can visit Location: 4005 Taylor Street, San Diego, CA 92110 Parking: There are several building parking lot which you can use Time Spent – 30 mins 14. Hillcrest Continue on to Taylor Street and take a right on Presidio drive. You will pass Sierra Museum. Continue right on Fort Stockton Dr to West Washington Street. You are now in Hillcrest which is one of San Diego’s first suburbs. Location: Via Point is 2727 Presidio Drive, San Diego, CA 92103-1053 and destination is 405 West Washington Street, San Diego, CA 92103-2111 Parking: Not Needed Time Spent – 30 mins 15. Balboa Park You will find many Spanish and Mexican style buildings here and there in about 13 museums if you want to visit. Or you could rather drive through from here to the Financial District which starts at intersection of B Street and Park Blvd Location: Via Point 1439 El Prado, San Diego, CA 92101 and destination is 1100 B St, San Diego, CA 92101 Parking: Balboa Park Parking lot Time Spent – 30 mins 16. Seaport Village It is a nice cozy place of eateries and entertainment. It opens daily from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. If you enjoy jazz, guitar or folk music this is the place to be. Unfortunately it is also very crowded on the weekends, so you would want to rush in early here Location: 849 West Harbor Drive, San Diego, CA Parking: Seaport Village (First 2 hours are $1 with any purchase) Time Spent – 1 hour 17. Horton Plaza Located between 1st Avenue and 4th Avenue is Westfield Horton Plaza. It is a must visit as it has a blend of unique modern era architecture. You will find all the stores in quite an exemplary style. Location: 4th Avenue and F Street Parking: Paid parking in Horton Plaza parking lot Time Spent = 30 mins to 1 hour 18. Gaslamp Quarter District This is one of the historic places and boasts of 19th Century Victorian Architecture. It has lot of stores with metal shutters and brick walls. You will find lot of restaurants and antique shops on this route. Start your drive or take a walk from Market St & 5th Avenue all the way south to Harbor Drive. Enjoy the gone by era here. We conclude our 2 day tour here. Location: Market St & 5th Avenue Parking: Hard to find but can use metered street parking. Time Spent = 30 mins Hope this was useful information. Below are some useful links: 25 Things to do http://www.sandiego.org/article/Visitors/795 59 mile drive http://www.sandiego.org/article_set/Visitors/11/338 San Diego Transit http://www.sdmts.com/ |
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