Roxanne369

We ,from UK. are planning to travel by car from SFO to the grand canyon via Sacramento,and Reno then on to Las Vegas ,Los Angeles and back to SFO via Monterey. We have 10 days to do the trip in July and August. Can someone recommend places to see and stay that we might not know about ?
Where is the best place to stay to see the grand canyon ? will we have time to see the Yosemete national park ? We have never been to this part of the states before apart from SFO so need lots of advice !

adrienne

I've asked the editors to move this thread to the US forum and tag it for California, Nevada, and Arizona.

qwovadis

Have done this joureny in 10 days a bit rushed make more time

classic.mapquest.com directions distances

carrentals.com out of SFO Fox usually cheapest

yosemite.com Ahwanee or Wawona Lodges best do reserve

Tioga Pass to lonepinechamber.org (Dow Villa Hotel)

through death valley in the very early AM to Vegas

Try to arrive in Vegas on a weekday cheapest tripres.com

grandcanyontours.com for vegas GC options chopper in

if budget is good long slog to drive to the south rim

but best there www.grandcanyonlodges.com/el-tovar-409.html

on to lasightseeing.net then up the coast to

Hearst Castle

bigsurcalifornia.com Ventana Inn my fav there

carmelcalifornia.com and SFO...

Lots of ground to cover in a short time make more...

Happy Travels!

qwovadis

nepenthebigsur.com

ventanainn.com

missed the Big Sur link above somehow...

Have fun pare back if you cannot make more time

for better experience...

janisj

SF > Sacramento > Tahoe > Reno > Las Vegas > the Grand Canyon > LA > SF is not a 10 day trip. -- Now, -- SF, then flying to Vegas, driving to the Grand Canyon, on to LA, and up the coast back to SF is a rushed but doable 10 day trip.

Only you know if Sacramento and Reno are musts (relatives/friends living there maybe?)

But even just 2 days in SF, passing through Sacramento w/o stopping really, 1 night at Tahoe, passing through Reno, driving to Las Vegas - 2 nights, 1 night at the Grand Canyon, 1 night in LA, 2 nights along the cast and back to SF is 10 days -- and 90% of your time will be in the car.

tomfuller

I agree at least 90% with janisj. Consider flying to Sacramento and renting your car there. See Sacramento, SF, Monterey and Tahoe if you still want to. If you are going to Las Vegas, Reno is not on my list unless visiting friend/family. Fly from Sacramento to Las Vegas and rent a car to go to Grand Canyon and Las Vegas area. Your choice if you want to fly from Las Vegas to Long Beach or LAX for your southern California experience. With only 10 days, driving over 1000 miles through boring desert in July/August is not worth it.

utahtea

Example of what your days will look like:

Day 1 SF, Sacarmento to Reno 230 miles
Day 2 Reno to Las Vegas 450 miles via Hyw 95
Day 3 Las Vegas
Day 4 Las Vegas to Grand Canyon 275 miles
Day 5 Grand Canyon
Day 6 Grand Canyon to Los Angeles 500 miles
Day 7 Los Angeles
Day 8 Los Angeles to Monterey along the coast 320 - 340 miles
Day 9 Monterey
Day 10 Monterey back to SF 120 miles

This is do-able but will involve a lot of driving. You are looking at about 2000 miles but you will be able so see some of our west!

I would skip Sacramento and Reno and instead drive though Yosemite National Park, then take Hwy 395 down to Las Vegas instead of driving Hwy 95. You won't have much more time than to just drive though or give up a night somewhere else.

Utahtea

BillJ

395 doesn't go to Vegas. You'd have to make a left somewhere. Like maybe into Death Valley, spend the night there, then continue to Vegas via Pahrump.

10 days to do this is waaaaay too short a time.

utahtea

No, Hwy 395 doesn't go directly to Las Vegas. I was giving a general way to go, nothing exact. There is the choice of Death Valley or going down to Hwy 58 to I-15.

Utahtea

tomfuller

The other way from Tioga Pass to Las Vegas is east on US 6 from Bishop to Tonopah and south on US 95 to Las Vegas avoiding Death Valley.