tenthumbs

>If you don't go to Tahoe, there is absolutely no reason to go anywhere near Sacramento <

Agreed. Tahoe always has something to offer~it is beautiful, has great skiing and hiking, but weather is fickle in the mountains in April.

California is a large, diverse state, and it's impossible to see all it has to offer in two weeks. What you decide to see/do will depend on how much time you want to spend in the car. Your current itinerary is very ambitious and includes a lot of driving. If you and your family like seeing things from the car, you'll tick lots of places off your list. If you'd more enjoy getting out and seeing things, you'll be better off eliminating a few stops.

petemadz

@mlgb I am driving from LV to YNP not from GC. Based on the feedback received so far, here is my revised itinerary.

Spend 3 days (4 nights) in LA, with interests in Universal studios, beaches and science center. Plans to stay somewhere closer to Hollywood area.

Drive to Las Vegas on day 4 and spend 1 night there. Next morning, drive to Grand Canyon and spend two nights. Booked in Yavapai lodge. Drive back to LV for another night. I don't see spending much time here as we have no interest in gambling or clubs.

Drive to Yosemite and spend 2 nights there. Booked in Curry village. - Have concerns about this drive given the time of the year. May need route suggestions. Would also like to visit some other interesting areas depending upon weather conditions, such as Mammoth lakes, Dante's view, etc.

Drive to SFO and stay for a night. Plan to visit the Golden Gate bridge area and Alcatraz.

Next day, drive to Santa Cruz and then to Monterey, stay there for 2 nights. Plan to visit Monterey aquarium and some of the beaches/board walks/wharfs in that area.

Drive thru Big Sur and stay at Pismo area for another night.

Drive back to LA.

Here is the link to Google Maps. Please suggest improvements.
http://goo.gl/maps/Y652A

Jean

Mammoth Lakes, Devil's Postpile, Mono Lake, etc., are on the eastern side of the Sierra. Yosemite is on the western side of the Sierra. Driving from Las Vegas in April, and having only a couple of days, you can't explore both sides because the connecting roads in that area (Hwys. 120 and 108) will not be open yet. (Actually, Hwy. 108 opened last year on April 19th, but that was perhaps the earliest opening on record.)

Driving Las Vegas to Yosemite in April, there is only one (reliable) way to go: Las Vegas-Barstow-Bakersfield-Fresno-Yosemite. A detour through Death Valley would add at least 2 hours to the already 7.5-8 hour drive.

janisj

You don't really need 'route suggestions' since there is only one (barely) practical option. Around through Bakersfield and north.

If you can reorganize your itinerary . . . Yosemite is MUCH more convenient/easier to reach from San Francisco than for Las Vegas.

Also if you are only staying one night in SF you won't have time to see/do much at all. Leaving YNP early in the AM will get you to the greater Bay Area in the middle of terrible commuter traffic so you will be lucky to make the drive in 5 hours. (Outside commute hours the drive takes about 4 hours)

So by the time you get to your hotel and check in it will likely be nearly noon.

IME you are trying to cover too much territory and doing way too much driving in too little time.

Tabernash2

"IME you are trying to cover too much territory and doing way too much driving in too little time."

Yes.

mlgb

You can't get there from here. Go to Barstow or Bakersfield on the way back from GC, not Las Vegas.

sandragoodlife

Since Alcatraz has remained on your list. Be aware you need to purchase tickets in advance - can be done on line. The tour is interesting, we just went recently. Our tour was at 1:00 and we spent about 3.5 hours there.

BarbAnn

Did you check the prices for Southwest Airlines? All of their fares are one way. They tend to be less expensive on many routes. They also allow two checked bags for free. It would be so much easier to fly into one airport and out of another.

petemadz

I have changed my dates from April to second half of May due to personal reasons. The itinerary remains more or less the same, except for some small changes in the days spent.

1-4: Land in LAX, spend 4 nights, plans include Universal, Disney and City tour.
5: Drive to LV - spend one night.
6-8: Drive to GC, spend 2 nights at the Yavapai lodge.
8: Drive back to LV and spend another night at the Panoramic Suite in Vdara.
9: Drive to YNP, hopefully through 395 and 120, else through Bakersfield.
9-11: Spend 2 nights in YNP at Curry village.
12-13: Drive to SFO and spend 2 nights there, near Presidio area.
See Golden Gate, Alcatraz, FW etc.
14: Drive to Monterey, spend one night there. See Aquarium
15: Drive to Pismo Beach through Big Sur, spend another night, booked at The Inn at the Cove. See Hearst Castle on the way.
16: Drive to LA and then fly out next morning.

I know that there is too much driving, close to 2000 miles. Drive from LV to YNP seems to be longest of them all, especially since it follows a long drive from GC to LV on previous day. rest of the part seems ok for me, given that we are used to having long drives exceeding 10+ hours in a day. Let me know your thoughts.

margotheangel

No comments on the rest of the itinerary, but I love the Monterey Aquarium and Hearst Castle, and I think your daughter will really enjoy them.

mlgb

You might consider continuing to drive past Las Vegas on the 8th, across or to Barstow or possibly Ridgecrest (could go via Death Valley). It would be better to have a long day through the desert rather than the mountain driving.

The earliest Tioga Pass has opened in the last umpteen years is May 2. So I think you are dreaming about Tioga Pass.

StuDudley

>>12-13: Drive to SFO and spend 2 nights there, near Presidio area.
See Golden Gate, Alcatraz, FW etc>14: Drive to Monterey, spend one night there. See Aquarium>15: Drive to Pismo Beach through Big Sur, spend another night, booked at The Inn at the Cove. See Hearst Castle on the way.

StuDudley

>>The earliest Tioga Pass has opened in the last umpteen years is May 2. So I think you are dreaming about Tioga Pass.

Jean

I agree with Stu's comments about "racing" down the coast and days #14 and #15.

This itinerary is just so much driving...

mlgb

I missed that bit, so yah late May sounds much more likely.

petemadz

Thanks a lot to Stu and mlgb. I know there is lot of driving here, but then I dont have much options at this point given the short vacation period. However my visit to Hearst Castle is not obligatory. If we could spend meaningful time on the drive from Monterey to Pismo, I could very well skip Hearst. May be I could include some of the POIs you mentioned instead and avoid the "race condition". Overall it is about 36-40 hours of intercity driving in 180 hours of day light.

StuDudley

Look - I've lived in Calif all my life. I'll be 68 this June. I was raised in LA, got married at 24, lived in Laguna Beach till 28, and then moved to San Francisco. No kids, we love to travel, and we retired in '99 so we could travel more.

Your LA time is OK, but spend more time in Yosemite, San Francisco, Carmel/Monterey, and Big Sur coast. Skip LV & GC.

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...mendations.cfm

Stu Dudley

evmarie

It sounds like you are set on Grand Canyon. I would check with either Southwest Airlines or Alaska Air for flight from Arizona back up north. Personally I dislike Las Vegas...I'd skip that if you can since it doest sound like your thing anyhow, BUT do not miss Yosemite - Curry Village is fun. The drive to and from Yosemite, considering that you might take both the northern and souther routes, is beautiful as well, but plan for snow, including chains. Been there in May and needed chains. Two days is really not enough, but take their little shuttle ride up to the summit to get a grand view. I'd also consider skipping Alcatraz as there are other sites in SF worth seeing that don't require a booked trip. In SF and all down the coast it can be horribly foggy and cold in May, or it can be amazingly warm, so layer your clothes.

Glad to see Tahoe and Sacramento are off your list. Interesting things there but not with what you are trying to do.

When you leave SF, try to get over to the coast on Highway 1 as soon as possible. This is where the driving is actually the vacation! You can get by with a few hours at Monterey Bay Aq. before you head down through Big Sur. Just take your time and enjoy! Stop along the way to soak it all in. Traffic for Santa Cruz/Monterey area: coming south on 1, any time after about 2:30 in the afternoon you will be promised traffic, where a 10 minute drive can turn into a 60 minute drive, so try to get to Santa Cruz no later than noon, and wave at me as you go down Highway 1. There are 3 tours at Hearst Castle you can pick from. That tour take several hours. Depending on your daughter's interests, you might consider leaving either the aquarium or castle out so you can savor the drive down the coast and stop more along the way.

Enjoy your trip - us native Californians still love to brag about what a great state we have and how much we have to offer.

petemadz

Thanks once again.

Out of all the places listed, GC is the only place I have never visited. Rest are all familiar to me as I lived in Bay area for about 3 years between 1998 and 2001 though I did not do much touristy trips around, except for Yosemite, Santa Cruz/Monterey area and Big Sur. I have also traveled officially to SFO and LAX multiple times in the last few years. But for my family this is the first trip west of Chicago. Also I am not very keen on including LV except for a break between the long drives to GC.

Having said this, I did consider skipping LV and GC, and may be patch them in for another trip later. However I find it too late now to get good hotel bookings or even extend my stay at my current hotels.

lynni

Skip Hearst Castle and the night in Pismo.. Add the time to Carmel and see Point Lobos and enjoy the drive south on highway 1. There is no comparison between Pismo Beach and Point Lobos.