Hi, I will be flying into Los Angeles on July 24 and leaving in San Fran on Auguest 3th. I was wondering if my plans are sound. I want to goto grand canyon, Yosemite, San Fransico, and the Napa Valley Vinery. Would it be too tight to head off to Vegas as well?
Also, how long is the drive from LA to San Fran???

Forget Las Vegas! unless you want to use it as a place to go to the Grand Canyon. You can fly to Flagstaff before LA. and then on to LA. It's 450+ miles LA to SF and takes about 5 hours if you drive like a Californian straight up I-5. However, it's generally agreed that you need 2-3 days to do it justice. Reservations for Yosemite must be made one day and one year ahead of time and are sold out in 2 days. Call (209) 372-0265 for all accomodations within the park and you definitely want to stay within the park. There are lots of posts on this today.

Ten days and you want to see all that? NO WAY!! You could spend ten days just in EITHER Los Angeles or San Francisco; trying to see both will cause you to miss stuff; trying to see both and Yosemite in ten days will leave you rushed. Trying to see all three AND the Grand Canyon is foolhardy, IMHO.

If you could be specific about what types of things you are interested in seeing, I think you could get better advice on where to go and what to skip. You COULD have a great ten days, no doubt; but not if you try to pack too much in too short a time.

I know I'll probably open Pandora's Box with this comment, but SKIP Las Vegas. In my opinion, it's horrible. There is nothing there you can't do somewhere else. Why go to see a bunch of hotels made to look different on the outside and their insides (casinos) are all the same except for the decor? There are hookers on the streets handing out flyers for God's sake! It's tacky, tacky, tacky, and the people who go there just seem depressing. Don't they have anything better to do? Obviously, I just don't get it. All the other areas you mentioned are wonderful, but you can't see all of them and make the Grand Canyon too. Have to choose, have a wonderful time!

Thanks for all your replies. I think my schedule has just been expanded to fly into LA on July 23th and leave San Fran on Aug 3th. I was in LA during past christmas for business so I don't really need to see LA that much. this time I am going to California with a girl friend, so our main interest is in shopping, sightseeing, seafood, wine tours.etc..
Here is my potential schedule.
Day 1 - Settle in around LA, hotel probably in Santa Ana area, don't want to stay in LA. Maybe drive to Newport Beach for dinner.
Day 2 - entire day at Universal Studios
Day 3 - visiting LA and vicinity for Shopping, etc..
Day 4-5 Drive to Palm Springs & Grand Canyon
Day 6 Drive to Yosemite
Days 7-8 Drive to San Fran/tour city
Days 9-10 Vinyard tour of Robert Mondavi, Opus One, Beringer, and RavensHood
What do you think of my proposed plan? too tight? Is it realistic. And is it possible to tour all 4 of those vinyards?

Thanks

Your plan is MUCH too tight, almost violating some laws of physics (not to mention the speeding laws of California!). You will NOT be able to leave LA, see the Grand Canyon, see Yosemite, and then be in San Francisco by the fifth day. You could BARELY do it even if you skipped Yosemite, but you'd be crazy to do so!! I hate horribly but say this, but you're going to HAVE to skip the Grand Canyon. Since you'll be traveling during the hottest part of the year, perhaps it's best to hold off the GC till another time. Palm Springs will be desolate at this time of year (something about 40 C temps tends to drive people away), so I strongly suggest you skip that as well. Let me suggest an alternative.

Day 4 -- Drive north on Hiway 5 till you get to Hiway 198 near Visalia. Go east on Hiway 198 into Sequoia Nat Park. Visit it and, if you have time, Kings Canyon as well. Spend the night near Fresno.

Day 5 -- Drive north out of Fresno on Hiway 41. Enter Yosemite NP through Wawona and the tunnel into the Valley (the BEST way to enter the Valley, IMO) Spend the day in Yosemite, making reservations for the bus to Glacier Point the next day. Since you'll be in Yosemite on a weekday, you should be able to get reservations (but make them NOW) for a place to stay just outside the Park.

Day 6 --Take the bus up to Glacier Point in Yosemite and then hike down to the Valley either by the Four Mile Trail or the Panorama Trail.BOTH are DIFFICULT hikes and should not be attempted unless you are used to hiking for hours. If you are not, then spend the day driving to Tuolomne Meadows and back, staying at the same place you stayed last night.

Day 7 -- drive to San Francisco.

If you do not want to spend an extra day in Yosemite then spend an extra visiting San Francisco, or do this (but be sure Tioga Pass is open!!):

Day 6-- Leave Yosemite by its east entrance at Tioga Pass. Visit Mono Lake Tufa formations. Go north on US Hiway 385. Spend night in the Lake Tahoe area.

Enjoy California -- but don't try to see too much!!

Your proposed schedule is a way out of whack. Far too much to enjoy anything. Skip the Grand Canyon and desert areas like Palm Springs. Too hot for the desert and the Grand Canyon area deserves a trip of its own. You are leaving out one of the nicest areas of California. You have ignored San Diego. Seeing as you have seen Los Angeles already, why not spend that time in San Diego. It is a great area.

That's a more agressive schedule than when we traveled from Santa Rosa to San Diego in 10 days. We thought we packed a lot in! I agree with everyone else, forget the Grand Canyon for the summer, all the tourists and all their kids will be there, the traffic is horrendous in the summer. Wait and go afte October, you can get a great cabin and you'll have the tours to yourself. A lot more fun. If the drive is not important defintely take the highway, you'll miss the most beautiful part of Calif, the coast, but you'll cover a lot more territory.

Have a great trip, and before you go get some of the guide books with short term visit iteneraries.

You really are packing too much into 10 DAYS. There is alot to say about the California coast between San Diego & San Francisco. I could see just spending 10 days with stops in places like La Jolla, Dana Point, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Pismo Beach, Monterey & Carmel, etc. I agree with other replies, forget Palm Springs & Grand Canyon in late July. There is so much to do right in Los Angeles & Orange Counties. Have you thought of staying just south of LAX in one of the beach areas like Manhattan Beach or Redondo Beach? Why stay in Santa Ana?? Have fun with your trip!!

Agree with the other posters above. Your plan is WAY too ambitious! Skip Grand Canyon and Palm Springs and enjoy California. The driving from Santa Ana (where I live) to Palm Springs, Grand Canyon and back to Yosemite is a lot of very hot and not very pretty desert driving. Read: boring.

It seems everyone is suggesting to skip Grand Canyon. I am not doing the San Diego route,because I have already done that this past December. Drove from LA to San Diego, with stops in between. Also, have drove along the coast of California already, like Santa Monica....So I am not really interested in sight-seeing per say of the coastal lines.
Someone mentioned staying in those beach areas. Any suggestions, I am not really set on staying in Santa Ana, just that last time, I felt that was a safe area to stay in. Not too comfortable about staying in downtown LA with my girl friend.

Also, I was thinking of renting a convertible, last time during December I rented a mustang convertible and had a blast. But during the summer months, will it be better to get a sedan with air conditioning? Will a convertible be fun when it gets so hot??

thanks

Talk about dangerous. Santa Ana is one of the most dangerous areas in Metro Los Angeles. I personally would stay along the coast, Newport Beach, Laguna, etc. You can NOT compare the coastal areas of San Diego-Los Angeles with Big Sur, Carmel, Monterrey.