magixxx

Dear Fodors members,

This is good Forum ! I will be in USA for the first time with my partner from 13th Sept and depart 24th Sept, approx 12 days.

Could you kindly review my itinerary 1 and 2 and advise. We thinking either to drive or to take the plane. I am the only driver and have a 12yr right hand driving license but have not done long road trips ever, my longest drive was 3hrs point-point. Will there be drop off fees charges between different cities.

option 1
Day1 arrive SF - rest & city tour
Day 2- Napa Valley
Day 3 - SF to YNP
Day 4- YNP
Day 5- YNP to LV (should i drive back to SF and drop the car or take a flight to LV ?)
Day 6 - LV rest and casino
Day 7 - LV Grand Canyon + Hoover dam (should i drive or take a tour?)
Day 8- LA - Anahehim stay 1 night (drop of Car at LV and take flight to LA or drive to LV ?)
Day 9 - LA disneyland - return to downtown LA
Day 10- LA: USS
Day 11- LA - pacific coast road SF drive to SF - stay one night hotel near airport
Day 12- SF 2:05pm depature

option 2
Day1 arrive SF - rest & city tour
Day 2- SF Napa Valley
Day 3 - SF fly to LA (rent a car at LA and city tour hollywood)
Day 4- LA - disneyland
Day 5- LA - USS
Day 6 - LA - LV : return car to LA airport, LV casino and city tour
Day 7 - LV -grand canyon and hoover dam
Day 8- LV - YNP - drive to YNP
Day 9 - YNP one night
Day 10- YNP second night
Day 11- YNP - SF (arrive SF at night stay near airport.)
Day 12- SF departure 2:05pm

thanks !

magixxx

Hi Guys, option 3 as follows by skipping YNP and focus on pacific coast drive.

Btw, i am trying to make the flight depart from LA instead of LV, but still pending as the return flight from LA is 20hrs 15mins and from SF is 19hrs 45mins only.

option 3
Day1 arrive SF - rest & city tour
Day 2- SF Napa Valley
Day 3 – SF city tour
Day 4- SF by plane to LV city tour
Day 5- LV – grand canyon, hoover dam
Day 6 – LV – LA by plane
Day 7 – LA – city tour, hollywood - Beverly hills
Day 8- LA - disneyland
Day 9 – LA USS
Day 10- LA – Monterry or Cambria big spur 1 night
Day 11- LA –Santa Barbara 2nd night
Day 12- Santa barbara – SF airport

nytraveler

Sorry - but you don;t have nearly enough time to do any of these. You need to relook at the distances between these places and how long these drives will take (keeping in mind the traffic in some of these places).

I know you said this is a road trip - but you won;t have time to get out of your car at all - except for bathroom breaks and to grab a quick snack. It will be just sleeping and driving.

For instance:

you have Las vegas to Yellowstone as single day drive - but this is almost 800 miles - do you really think you can cover that in one day?

You have driving from LV to Grand canyon and hoover dam and back as a single day. This drive will be in the range of 10 hours - leaving you no time to actually do or see anything.

You have really only 10 days on the ground and the itineraries you are laying out are for a 3 week trip if you want to stop and see the sights.

You really need to determine the driving distances and times between these places, lay them out and then see where you can really go in the limited time you have.

emalloy

I think the OP was referring to Yosemite, not Yellowstone. If so, that is a bit more doable but will involve a lot of seat time even if you decide to fly between destinations.

When you go to Vegas, get a flight that gets you into Vegas before noon, pick up a car and drive to Grand Canyon, hike/walk/take the shuttle a bit, see sunset, spend the night. The next day, see sunrise, and any sites you missed on the day before, then head back to Vegas with the stop at Hoover Dam.

In any case if you to take a tour and not rent a car to go to GC, make sure you go to the National Park, not the "West rim/sky walk" if you want to see the iconic GC.

In any case, no matter which plan you will need to have lodging for the nights you plan for either Grand Canyon or Yosemite before you can decide on which plan to use.

Gardyloo

Not sure where you're coming from, but I'm going to hazard a guess that you drive on the left.

In which case IMO starting a road trip with big-city traffic in places like LA or San Francisco, driving on the wrong side of the road - especially while jetlagged (8 hours time difference if from the UK, 7 if from Oz) is, in my view, ill-advised.

Try this out. If you can still arrange a direct flight, fine (lots of options from London, a plane change needed if from Oz/NZ) but even if your tickets are already booked to San Francisco, just continue flying to Las Vegas (around $140 return if bought separately).

The reason being, Las Vegas is a 24 hour city, so if your body clocks are saying noon but the hotel clock says 4 AM, it's no big deal, just head downstairs where things will be going on all night anyway. Watch the sun come up over the desert, whatever.

You don't need a car in Vegas, but when it's time to head out to the Grand Canyon or back to California, the driving is MUCH easier and you'll have time to get used to where the mirrors are located etc. Besides which, the cost of a car picked up and dropped in LV will probably be cheaper than one from SF.

So this would change the start and end points on any loop, but needn't change the time or route required, just changes the dates (a bit inside-out.)

You could also spend the first day or two in SF before flying down to LV; no car is fine for the city, but you might consider dropping the Napa Valley from your itinerary and substitute the Santa Ynez/"Sideways" wine country (near Santa Barbara) instead - lower key and less crowded, and right on your route.

janisj

Gardyloo makes very good points - you really don't want or need a car in San Francisco and Las Vegas. In fact having a car in either is more of a problem than a benefit.

Re-think your plans factoring in a flight between SF/LV and even possibly flying from Las Vegas to LA.

You could do SF first, then fly to Vegas. Do a day trip from LV to the Grand Canyon if you want. Then fly to Los Angeles. Collect your car there (you will be well over your jet lag by then) and work you way up the coast (including Yosemite or not, it is about a 4 hour drive from the mid-coast). Drop the car at SFO and fly home.

rjw_lgb_ca

The OP's plans are far too ambitious and ignore the large distances between the points of interest. The 800-pound gorilla in the room is the driving itself; frankly, a southbound drive on CA-1 is about the worst way to start learning how to drive on the "wrong" side of the road.

The short shrift to San Francisco borders on tragic. It's a great town, and deserves more than a couple of days. I am still of the opinion that the greater LA area is just too vast and varied to "do" in less than a week. Vegas? Well, I'm usually over it in three nights, so two nights is about right.

Forget about road-tripping this. Fly between destinations.

And by "USS", do you mean Universal Studios Hollywood? I really had to think to decipher that...!

clarkgriswold

Sorry but you'll need to forget about Disneyland or Universal for this trip. Drive from SF to Los Angeles enjoying Yosemite and the California coast which will be very pleasant in mid September. Next Las Vegas/Grand Canyon and then fly back to San Francisco if that is where your departing flight is from (flying home from L.A. or LV would have been better).

jamie99

1. Do you have reservations for Yosemite? If not you will need to call everyday to try and get a cancellation (happens all the time and they do not always make it to the website).
2. A huge convention called Dreamforce starts in SF Sep. 15 so some people may arrive a day or two earlier, hotel rates could be extremely high. September is a popular time for conventions in SF.
Consider dropping Napa, tasting fees are very high and there are other winery areas in California including Paso Robles near Cambria and Santa Ynez Valley inland and north of Santa Barbara that are just as nice.

magixxx

deeply appreciate all the replies here.

It is very good advice and i and dropping disneyland and Yosemite national park.

Will still try to make it for universal studios hollywood.
i would really be keen to try the pacific coast driving routes.

is the improved itinerary ok ?

Day1 arrive SF - rest & city tour
Day 2- SF ciy tour
Day 3 – SF - LV
Day 4- LV - Grand Canyon (where to stay in Grand Canyon?)
Day 5- LV – Grand Canyon to Hoover dam
Day 6 – return car to LV and take flight to LA
Day 7 – LA – city tour, hollywood - Beverly hills
Day 8- LA - universal studios
Day 9 – LA - City tour
Day 10- LA – Monterry or Cambria big spur 1 night
Day 11- LA – Santa Ynez/"Sideways" wine country (near Santa Barbara) stay one night
Day 12- Santa barbara – SF airport (how long is driving rom santa barbara to SF ?)

magixxx

I am still keen to go to YNP and is exploring booking tours with Viator or Grandcanyon tours online

Day 1 arrive SF - rest & city tour
Day 2- SF ciy tour
Day 3 – SF- YNP - book viator or tour stay 1 night
Day 4- YNP - SF
Day 5- SF – LV day tour
Day 6 –LV grand canyon and hoover dam
Day 7 – LV – LA city tour hollywood
Day 8- LA- USS
Day 9 – LA - disneyland
Day 10- LA - Cambria, 1 night
Day 11- Cambria to Moterry to SF, stay 1 night near SF airport
Day 12- - SF fly back airport

rjw_lgb_ca

Your first "new" itinerary isn't better. You're still trying to do far too much. And you're still planning to learn how to drive on the "wrong" side of the road on VERY heavily-traveled highways, during a part of the year when there are still masses of tourists clogging up Highway 1 in their white rental cars, squinting at bad rental company maps or pounding at their GPS/smart phones, driving 10 to 20 mph below the speed limit looking for turn-offs.... This builds on the delays already experienced when one drives anywhere in this popular state for visitors and residents alike.

I will not comment on whether getting lodging at the Grand Canyon in that part of the "season" is realistic (I have a nagging suspicion you might be too late). I will comment that the drive on Day 10-- from LA to Monterey or Big Sur-- is roughly five to six hours, without stops. Or traffic. Using the non-scenic (well, less-scenic) I-5 and US-101. There is ALWAYS traffic on these freeways getting out of LA. Or into LA. Or around LA. If you plan on the Highway 1 drive, it's closer to seven to eight hours. No stops. Cambria would be an hour to an hour-and-a-half less.

Day 11 sounds almost reasonable; just realize that you'll start the day with a minimum four hour drive to get to the Santa Ynez area wineries. Which are roughly an hour out of Santa Barbara.

I'm not sure the second itinerary is much better-- still too jam-packed and blissfully not factoring in the great distances involved (like it or not, California is a BIG, BIG, BIG state). Something is going to have to give....

jamie99

If you are driving from LA to SF, you will hit Santa Barbara BEFORE Monterey/Carmel,look at a paper map and put down Google, which always under estimates the time needed to drive Highway 1. They figure you will drive 50-60mph with no stops for food, fuel or restroom breaks which is totally unrealistic. You will be lucky if you can maintain 40-45mph and not get stuck behind a slow RV for an hour or two.

magixxx

dear Jamie and rwj. how about futhter below revised itinerary ?
if really no choice, i may skip Yosemite or Universal studios for a better PCH drive experience.

Day 1 arrive SF - rest & city tour
Day 2- SF – YNP
Day 3 SF – LV CITY TOUR
Day 4- SF GRAND CANYON AND HOOVER DAM
Day 5- LV TO SF CITYTOUR
Day 6 –SF – MOTERRY ONE NIGHT
Day 7 MOTERRY – BIG SPUR
Day 8- BIG SPUR – ST YNZE WINE YARD TOUR
Day 9 ST YNZE SANTAR BARBARA ONE NIGHT
Day 10- SANTA BARBAARA TO LA – CITY TOUR HOLLYWOOD ETC
Day 11- LA - USS
Day 12- LA - FLY BACK TO AIRPORT

rjw_lgb_ca

Nope-- still pretty awful IMHO. Too much, no factoring in of actual distances/realistic travel times.

How are you planning to get to Vegas? Flying? That's a bit of an improvement, but still way too much running around like a headless chicken. And then you're backtracking to San Francisco? I'm not sure that makes any real sense.

Why are you taking two days to drive to Big Sur?! If you're going to bother with the coast drive, I'd start early in the day out of San Francisco and spin through Monterey and Big Sur on the way to Cayucos or Cambria, where I'd actually spend the night. Big Sur is lovely but a bit of a tourist trap.

From Cayucos to the Santa Ynez wineries is a much more manageable drive-- less than two hours most of the time. However, now we have to combine driving on the "wrong" side of the road with winery tours-- which usually involve healthy tastings. Someone is going to have to try and control him- or herself; the local police take driving under the influence very seriously. Note that if you decide to get on an actual wine tour (which rarely involves getting out into the vineyards themselves, although Benziger up in Sonoma does just that), you'll have to meet up with the tour group usually no later than 10 AM; you'll have to schedule your travels carefully. And look for lodging in Buellton or Solvang, I suppose, if you want to stay in that area.

Santa Barbara to LA is, at best, a two-hour drive, and you'll hit our famous LA traffic the last hour or so. Again, if you try to join up with a tour bus, you'll need to carefully schedule your travels. And do you have any idea as to where you want to stay in the greater LA area? It's larger than many COUNTRIES. You'll need to think about that as well.

janisj

Sorry - but your new plan makes no sense. Look at a map.

You are traveling from SF > Yosemite > SF > LV/GC > SF and then down the coast. See a problem? You are in San Francisco THREE times in a 11.5 day trip. Serious waste of time.

I'll throw this option out that covers all your 'must sees' - though there are other possibilities:

• Days 1 & 2 SF
• Days 3 & 4 Yosemite
• Days 5 & 6 Monterey/Carmel
• Day 6 Explore Big Sur and stay the night somewhere like Pismo Beach
• Day 7 Santa Barbara.
• Day 8 drop car and fly to LV (it will involve connecting through LAX but only takes 3 hours so saving a full days drive)
• Day 9 day trip to the Grand Canyon
• Day 10 fly LV to LA (see Universal Studios day 10 or 11)
• Day 12 fly home

janisj

was posting the same time as rjw.

Basically -- we both agree your new plan is actually worse.

Try playing around w/ what I suggested - it does tick off all your musts.

jamie99

I like janisj's itinerary, also remember it is called wine "tasting" not drinking. You don't have to taste each and every type of wine the winery is pouring. Also most wineries will let you share a glass. My late husband and I often did this, as well as skipping most of the whites since we were partial to reds. Try and visit no more than about 3 wineries per day max and eat something for breakfast and lunch.
Personally I'm not all that crazy about Universal which is nowadays more a theme park than a studio. Either take a tour of Warner Bros or visit Disneyland instead.

magixxx

Thanks for your proposed itinerary.

i decide to just touch and go 1 day in YNP for a tour and sleep in the tour bus.
if by driving, how do i get from YNP to Monterey/carmel ? is the drive still manageable ?

Days 1 & 2 SF
• Days 3 YNP
• Days 4 & 5 SF to Monterey/Carmel (stay at carmel/pismo beach)
• Day 6 santa barbara
• Day 7 LA drop car fly to LV it will involve connecting through LAX but only takes 3 hours so saving a full days drive)
• Day 8 - LV day trip to Grand canyon
• Day 9 LV - day trip fly to LA - hollywood beverely hills
• Day 10 fly LV to LA (see Universal Studios day 10 or 11)
Day 11 - warner bros/disneyland or USS tba
• Day 12 fly home

janisj

>>• Day 7 LA drop car fly to LV it will involve connecting through LAX but only takes 3 hours so saving a full days drive)Santa Barbara to Las Vegas. That is the flight that would take 3 hours and connect through LAX and save a days drive.

If you drive all the way to LAX the flight is barely one hour -- but a much longer drive.

I think you need to step away from your computer and think things through. You seem to be picking bits and pieces from various posts and just sticking them in your itinerary.

Look at this part:

>> Day 7 LA drop car fly to LV it will involve connecting through LAX but only takes 3 hours so saving a full days drive)
• Day 8 -LV day trip to Grand canyon
• Day 9 LV- day trip fly to LA - hollywood beverely hills
• Day 10 fly LV to LA (see Universal Studios day 10 or 11>i decide to just touch and go 1 day in YNP for a tour and sleep in the tour bus.