I've been to some of the cities before with work - San Francisco and Las Vegas - so I'm pretty familiar with them but it will be my first time seeing the Grand canyon and also Yosemite which is why this holiday really appealed to me. I was a bit nervous on my first trip too but based on my experiences there's really nothing to worry about - I'm sure you'll have a fantastic time!

This will be my 5th trip with JustYou. The previous four were all excellent and I'm sure this one will be too. There's really no need to be nervous, everybody always has a great time. You meet up at the airport as strangers and finish the holiday like old friends.

I've been to LA before, but the other stops on this tour will all be new experiences for me. I'm really looking forward to visiting Las Vegas, San Francisco and the Grand Canyon, but I'll bet some of the other places will pleasantly surprise me too.

That's one of the good thing about these touring holidays that JY operate, they always include places that you would probably never have really considered going to if you were planning the trip on your own, but when you go to those places they can sometimes turn out to be the highlight of the whole trip.

Hi, I'm on this one and really looking forward to it. It will be my 3rd trip with JY and 2nd to the US having done the Heart & Soul tour last November.

I've been to some of the cities before with work - San Francisco and Las Vegas - so I'm pretty familiar with them but it will be my first time seeing the Grand canyon and also Yosemite which is why this holiday really appealed to me. I was a bit nervous on my first trip too but based on my experiences there's really nothing to worry about - I'm sure you'll have a fantastic time!

Hi, thanks for your reply and reassuring comment. Yes, Im really looking forward to it too. Whilst San Fran and LA are also 'must go' places, it,'s the landscape/scenery that I am especially looking forward to seeing. Look forward to meeting you on the trip. Are you going from Heathrow?

Yes, I've booked this trip, although I'll be on the Manchester departure so will catch up with you somewhere in the US.

This will be my 5th trip with JustYou. The previous four were all excellent and I'm sure this one will be too. There's really no need to be nervous, everybody always has a great time. You meet up at the airport as strangers and finish the holiday like old friends.

I've been to LA before, but the other stops on this tour will all be new experiences for me. I'm really looking forward to visiting Las Vegas, San Francisco and the Grand Canyon, but I'll bet some of the other places will pleasantly surprise me too.

That's one of the good thing about these touring holidays that JY operate, they always include places that you would probably never have really considered going to if you were planning the trip on your own, but when you go to those places they can sometimes turn out to be the highlight of the whole trip.

Thanks. Looking forward to meeting you, along with my other fellow travellers.

I've just come back from this trip, my first JU holiday.

It was a fabulous holiday, seeing amazing places and meeting lovely people.

It is hard to choose a highlight, there were so many. I'm sure you'll have a fantastic time.

One tip... if you want to visit Alcatraz when you're in San Francisco you need to book it independently in advance before you leave the UK (it is not a JU tour) as it usually gets booked up weeks in advance but well worth a visit as you should have a free day there.

I'm already looking in the brochure trying to decide where to go next!

Enjoy your trip.

Hi

I've just come back from this trip, my first JU holiday.

It was a fabulous holiday, seeing amazing places and meeting lovely people.

It is hard to choose a highlight, there were so many. I'm sure you'll have a fantastic time.

One tip... if you want to visit Alcatraz when you're in San Francisco you need to book it independently in advance before you leave the UK (it is not a JU tour) as it usually gets booked up weeks in advance but well worth a visit as you should have a free day there.

I'm already looking in the brochure trying to decide where to go next!

Enjoy your trip.

Hi,

Glad you enjoyed. Thanks for your tip.

1) Has the trip now been given the green light (ie confirmed to go ahead) ?

2) Can you give us an indication of the numbers booked so far - males/females, age ranges, numbers going from Heathrow and numbers going from Manchester?

3) Has a tour manager been assigned yet?

4) As has been noted in previous posts, the travellers have ample free time in San Francisco to arrange their own visit to Alcatraz Island, however the advice is to book the Alcatraz trips well in advance as they frequently sell out. I'm currently toying with the idea of booking an Alcatraz trip, but am also considering booking JY's optional "seaplane flight" around San Francisco (which also needs to be booked in advance). I obviously don't want these two events to clash, so is it possible to provide some indication as to when the seaplane flights take place? For example, are they always in the mornings (in which case I could book Alcatraz for the afternoon).

With thanks in anticipation

Dave

Sorry it's taken awhile to come back to you on this one, but hopefully I have all the information you need...

1. Yes, there is a green tick in the system next to the 30th August departure

2. There are currently 26 travellers booked on this date. The group is made up of 7 men and 19 women with ages from mid-30s to early 80s and it looks like 12 of the group are flying from Manchester.

3. The Tour Manager provisionally allocated to this tour is Eileen Williams and it looks like she will be meeting the group overseas.

4. And finally my colleague in our Overseas team has mentioned that an afternoon Alcatraz visit would work the best if you are planning to take the seaplane flight.

Have a great weekend

Julia.

Hi Dave,

Sorry it's taken awhile to come back to you on this one, but hopefully I have all the information you need...

1. Yes, there is a green tick in the system next to the 30th August departure

2. There are currently 26 travellers booked on this date. The group is made up of 7 men and 19 women with ages from mid-30s to early 80s and it looks like 12 of the group are flying from Manchester.

3. The Tour Manager provisionally allocated to this tour is Eileen Williams and it looks like she will be meeting the group overseas.

4. And finally my colleague in our Overseas team has mentioned that an afternoon Alcatraz visit would work the best if you are planning to take the seaplane flight.

Have a great weekend

Julia.

Many thanks Julia... I asked for quite a lot of information and you've come up trumps yet again. Your tireless assistance is much appreciated!

Cheers

Dave

Kindest regards,

Julia

Hi Dave,

Sorry it's taken awhile to come back to you on this one, but hopefully I have all the information you need...

1. Yes, there is a green tick in the system next to the 30th August departure

2. There are currently 26 travellers booked on this date. The group is made up of 7 men and 19 women with ages from mid-30s to early 80s and it looks like 12 of the group are flying from Manchester.

3. The Tour Manager provisionally allocated to this tour is Eileen Williams and it looks like she will be meeting the group overseas.

4. And finally my colleague in our Overseas team has mentioned that an afternoon Alcatraz visit would work the best if you are planning to take the seaplane flight.

Have a great weekend

Julia.

Many thanks Julia... I asked for quite a lot of information and you've come up trumps yet again. Your tireless assistance is much appreciated!

Cheers

Dave

Hi Julia,

I too am interested in pre booking a trip onto Alcatraz island as well as going on the sea- plane flight. What is the earliest time in the afternoon that you would advise booking this for, allowing time to get there after seaplane flight?

Thanks

Ann

So I have had a chat with my colleagues, and there are two departures for the sea-plane (weather-permitting and routes may change). So, we would recommend that you book for an Alcatraz slot from around 1:30, this should mean, if you are in the later sea-plane group, there is time for you to get back and perhaps have something to eat too.

Kindest regards,

Julia

Hi Annie Ann,

So I have had a chat with my colleagues, and there are two departures for the sea-plane (weather-permitting and routes may change). So, we would recommend that you book for an Alcatraz slot from around 1:30, this should mean, if you are in the later sea-plane group, there is time for you to get back and perhaps have something to eat too.

Kindest regards,

Julia

Hi Julia

Thanks for your help with this

Ann

Hi Julia

Thanks for your help with this

Ann

Ann, in case you're not aware, the site for booking Alcatraz Cruises can be found at:

https://www.alcatrazcruises.com/website/tour-comparison.aspx 

At the moment it looks like there are plenty of spaces available for the tours in September, but a lot of the tours for the first half of August have already sold out, so if you're going to book one I wouldn't wait too long.

http://www.seaplane.com/  (I'm guessing it's the same company JY use, if not it's bound to be very similar).

I've had a long hard think about all this and much as I'd like to do both, I think it would take up too much of the day and leave me with very little time left to explore the rest of San Francisco, which I really want to do.

As the Seaplane is £122 for a 30-minute flight, I've reluctantly decided not to go ahead with it and plan to go on the 'early bird' Alcatraz tour to avoid the crowds. That should leave me with a full afternoon to wander around San Francisco, and I won't have to keep looking at my watch worrying if I'm going to catch my pre-booked activity on time. I know we have a guided tour of SF the day before when we arrive there, but I want to make sure I have the opportunity to see as much as I can at my own pace.

The Seaplane does get very good reviews on TripAdvisor, I'm sure it's a great experience.

Dave

Are there still spaces on this trip and what are the numbers and ratios now?

many thanks,

There are currently 28 people booked on this trip, which is made up of 20 women and 8 men. Also there are 16 spaces available for this date.

Kindest Regards,

Monty

Hi Julia

Thanks for your help with this

Ann

Ann, in case you're not aware, the site for booking Alcatraz Cruises can be found at:

https://www.alcatrazcruises.com/website/tour-comparison.aspx 

At the moment it looks like there are plenty of spaces available for the tours in September, but a lot of the tours for the first half of August have already sold out, so if you're going to book one I wouldn't wait too long.

http://www.seaplane.com/  (I'm guessing it's the same company JY use, if not it's bound to be very similar).

I've had a long hard think about all this and much as I'd like to do both, I think it would take up too much of the day and leave me with very little time left to explore the rest of San Francisco, which I really want to do.

As the Seaplane is £122 for a 30-minute flight, I've reluctantly decided not to go ahead with it and plan to go on the 'early bird' Alcatraz tour to avoid the crowds. That should leave me with a full afternoon to wander around San Francisco, and I won't have to keep looking at my watch worrying if I'm going to catch my pre-booked activity on time. I know we have a guided tour of SF the day before when we arrive there, but I want to make sure I have the opportunity to see as much as I can at my own pace.

The Seaplane does get very good reviews on TripAdvisor, I'm sure it's a great experience.

Dave

Thanks Dave.

Yes, I've been unsure what to do too. Would really like to do both but as doing the landing on Alcatraz cruise will take up a lot more time, I've decided to do the seaplane and cruise as on just you's extra's. I too want to explore San Fran a bit and do things like ride a tram so these 2 choices should allow enough time to do other things sometime during the day whether I manage to go on the 11.30 cruise following the first seaplane flight of the morning or the 15.45 cruise if there is not enough time in between to get to the11.30 cruise. Just you rep advised me to speak to the T.M re my preferences when we get there.

My daughter and boyfriend did the island visit earlier this year and enjoyed it.

Not long to go now!