>>I found out that the foxrentacar.com offers relatively cheap cars . . . <<

I personally wouldn't choose Fox if I had any other options.

Car rental advice is different based on your driver's license, is it a U.S. driver's license?

I've seen some pretty bad reviews about Fox. I personally only used them once a long time ago in LA, as they had a specific car I was thinking about buying (Honda Civic Hybrid) so just rented for one day.

Well, the other option which was offered is Sixt. They offered me $580 for 16 days SF to LV. How about them then? Do you think they are better than Fox?

>> Do you think they are better than Fox?<<

yes . . .

Greetings again all.
So far, thanks to your advises, I managed to plan the trip in a total of 17 days from San Francisco to Las Vegas.

Air lift - Southwest (bonus is a free checked baggage, a stroller & a car seat).

Car rent - Sixt (still a lot of complaints in the net, but might be better than Fox).These are the only two which give a reasonable prices for a different drop-off location.

The Plan:
1. San Francisco - 3 nights
Drive - 132 miles with a stop at Big Basin State Park

2. Monterrey - 2 nights.
Drive - 148 miles

3. Pismo Beach - a sleep over for 1 night. We can manage to stop at one of the other State Parks on our way South.
Drive - 171 miles

4. LA - 3 nights
Drive - 123 miles

5. San Diego - 3 nights
Drive - 466 miles. The longest drive, but will try to do it semi-day/semi-night one, trying not to sacrifice the time during the day for a traveling.

6. Sedona - 2 nights, which will ease the Grand Canyon exploration.
Drive - 281 miles.

7. Las Vegas - 2 nights. Depart early in the morning to DC instead to Norfolk, VA. It is just one 4:30h flight and I found twice cheaper tickets. Therefore, we will rent a car to Norfolk and still will be paying less.

Having it stretched to 17 days will give us opportunity to see almost everything planned so far.
I will share some details with some questions when I start dig into the specific details for each location.
Thank you,
Koko

The only thing I would change would be Sedona. Stay at the GC, in the park. Wake up and be there.

Sounds good, just FYI there is only one "R" in Monterey.
Monterrey with two "Rs" is a town in northern Mexico.

MichelleY, the GC is already booked for our dates, and the prices are 3 times more in comparison with what I found in Sedona. Presumably, we will arrive around midnight the first night, so will spend the next day driving to GC, taking the South rim towards Cameron and will drive back to sleep in Sedona. I was thinking to head directly to Las Vegas, but it would turn in another long trip, therefore we decided to take it slow. I have Flagstaff as a backup option though.

Hi,hi,hi, jamie99, I was thinking that something is not quite right, but the web site auto-suggestion option told me that there is an error in Monterey (and keeps telling me this, when I typing it again right now) :-)

MichelleY, the GC is already booked for our dates, and the prices are 3 times more in comparison with what I found in Sedona. Presumably, we will arrive around midnight the first night, so will spend the next day driving to GC, taking the South rim towards Cameron and will drive back to sleep in Sedona. I was thinking to head directly to Las Vegas, but it would turn in another long trip, therefore we decided to take it slow. I have Flagstaff as a backup option though.

Hi,hi,hi, jamie99, I was thinking that something is not quite right, but the web site auto-suggestion option told me that there is an error in Monterey (and keeps telling me this, when I typing it again right now) :-)

Sorry - but staying in Sedona to visit the GC really isn't a great idea.

Yes - accommodations are probably booked up, but because people book so far in advance there are frequent cancellations.

>>and the prices are 3 times more in comparison with what I found in Sedona<<

False economy really. If you can't get into any of the Park properties try anyplace in Tusayan. Less than a 15minute drive from the South Rim.

With respect to the Grand Canyon, did you check Yavapai Lodge? While most properties in the park are booked through Xanterra's website, Yavapai is booked through Delaware North, and shows openings for much of May.

Janis is right. Book something in Tusayan that you could cancel, should something open up at the GC. Keep checking online or call for openings.

Hello again.
After a long break I'm back to the trip planning. Following your advises I reconsidered Sedona hotel and moved closer to the GC - a hotel in Williams.It is just 60 miles from GC and will be a suitable second night sleep choice for the following LV transit.

Since the longest drive would be from San Diego to GC, I'm investigating what route we should take. Here are some of the suggested in internet:

option 1
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/San+...35.2494566!3e0

option2
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/San+...35.2494566!3e0

option 3
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/San+...35.2494566!3e0

Opt 2 and 3 are the most suggested, while opt 1 is more picturesque.

I'd pick #1 for sure -- NOT because it is more scenic (it is slightly) but because the other two routes have you driving through either Phoenix (really bad traffic) or Riverside/San Bernardino (semi-bad traffic).

Hello again. It was a long time before I start planning again.

What do you think would be a good option for a 3-4 hours of redwood stop after we depart San Francisco? It would be a day dedicated to the nature. After the visit we will head down to Monterrey- no rush or whatsoever.

Big Basin or Henry Cowell state parks? I read about Butano SP, but decided to skip it. The intention is to take some 1-2 miles long easy trail and explore around.

The times given on google maps are almost the same (2-2:30 hours drive), so instead of driving on 280 I was thinking to take the scenic No1 along the coast.

Next to Henry Cowell is the Roaring Camp railroad steam train, which is a nice option, although I doubt that we could manage to reach the place before 11:00, when is the only train available for that day (unless I take 280 early in the morning and skip the scenic driving on No1).

If you are traveling from SF down to Monterey then Henry Cowell makes the most sense and is easiest.

Agree with janisj, Henry Cowell is much easier to get to.