19 day trip
 

Together with my wife, daughter 21 and son 18 will arrive in LA on 1st July and depart LA on 19th July.
I have a provisional plan as follows
Days 1,2 and 3 in LA - Santa Monica area
Day 4 Car hire to Las Vegas - overnight stop
Day 5 Visit Hoover Dam and travel to Flagstaff - overnight stop
Day 6 Grand Canyon - stay in park if possible
Day 7 Depart to Las Vegas - overnight stop
Day 8 Death Valley - overnight stop
Day 9/10 Yosemite
Day 11 Lake Tahoe
Day 12, 13, 14, 15 San Francisco
Day 16 Carmel
Day 17 Santa Barbara
Day 18 LA
Day 19 Depart LA

What major problems if any am I likely to encounter?
Should I spend more time in certain areas and less in others?

The only way you'll be able to enjoy Death Valley in July is to leave Las Vegas in the middle of the night and arrive there around sunrise. Then you'll have three or four (<i>very hot</i>) hours before you'll have to curtail all sightseeing for the day. Frankly, I bet you'll have had sufficient desert by then to remove the need for more of it in Death Valley.

Why not consider approaching Yosemite from the east side of the Sierras, using US 395 and Calif. SR 120 (Tioga Pass) instead. More scenic ride and you don't need to waste a day at Death Valley, which, while scenic, is not worth the heat and, frankly, the hazard of summer daytime visiting. Besides, how many 10,000 foot highway passes have you been over?

Use the extra day in one of you other stops, for example along the central coast near the Hearst Castle.

wow, I'm tired of checking in and out just reading your itinery. Not clear why you're going to vegas twice. I'd skip Hoover and Flagstaff and do Grand Canyon and Sedona or Glen canyon river river ride. I'd consider quality of time over quantity of destinations. Anyone?? Either way have a blast freddiemoh. You have quite the adventure planned. Good Luck.

Take a map and try to be a little more rational. Doind Las Vegas twice does not make any sense. Most sensible people do Death Valley in the winter or early Spring. On the other hand, my cousin from Germany drove it in the middle of the summer with the windows open. I would recommend going from Las Vegas up along the Nevada border and cross over to Lone Pine and up to 120 to get into Yosemite. It is a long drive but some parts are quite nice. BTW, do you have reservations for Yosemite? If not, good luck in finding accomodations in the park.

WAY too much territory to cover in 19 days. You're going to spend more time driving than sightseeing. Your total driving for this trip would be 2,200 miles!

If I were you I would skip Lake Tahoe, San Francisco, and Carmel since these places are farthest from most of what you have on your itineray in southern California, Nevada, and Arizona. Even skipping these places it would be still a packed itinerary. I also would skip Death Valley in the summer. It will be unbearably hot. I would however add in Morro Bay which is very relaxing and not too far out of your way north of Santa Barbara.

I would do the following:

Days 1, 2, and 3: LA/Santa Monica
Days 4 and 5: Las Vegas
Day 6: Hoover Dam/Flagstaff
Days 7, 8, and 9: Grand Canyon
Day 10: Las Vegas overnight stop
Days 11, 12, and 13: Yosemite
Days 14 and 15: Morro Bay
Days 16 and 17: Santa Barbara
Days 18 and 19: LA

Guarto, I agree he is covering too much ground, but his suggestion of 4-5 days in LA seems alot to me for a person who obviously wants to be on the move...I never find LA that fascinating myself.
I'd also add Sedona insteqd of Flag. as others have said- it's more unique than Flag.

You clearly want to see the Grand Canyon and Yosemite. What do you plan on doing there? hiking? walking? looking? some combination? Do you love the heat? can you tolerate it? In the middle of the summer I would spend more time in the mountains and along the coast (although I've been in and loved the southwest in the summer). Maybe a more traditional California coast itinerary along with Yosemite? Can you change your flight plans and fly out of somewhere else? That could also open up your itinerary?
In any case, your trip sounds amazing anyway-- and who says vacations should be relaxing!?!

Day 8 Las Vegas - leave early, drive through Death Valley - and overnight at Lone Pine, Bishop or Mammoth Lakes. Day 9 - Drive over Tioga Pass to Yosemite-overnight
Day 10 Yosemite-overnight (I, too, would skip Lake Tahoe; beautiful, but will take more time than you are allowing.)
Day 11 San Francisco and from there enjoy your trip south along the coast. You may want to stay in Cambria or Morro Bay, etc.