California road trip HELP
 

We are a Scottish family of 2 A & 2 C ( 15 and 12) arriving San Francisco mid july, 2 nights santa Cruz, 7 nights L.A. 3 nights Long Beach, we have another 6 nights to fill and on the last night we need to be staying within 3 hour drive of San Fran. Is it possible to drive Long Beach to Las Vegas (taking in grand canyon (1 day)) then to within 3 hrs of SF on night 6? Hope someone can help

If you like driving long distances without seeing much... it's possbile to do the itinerary you describe. You'll need one full day to GET to Grand Canyon. Then at least 1 day to explore it a bit (be sure to get up to see the sunrise over the canyon... an absolute must). Have a grand dinner in the El Tovar Hotel.
It's not a long drive to Las Vegas, and you can get a good taste of the town in 1 or two nights (max). From there, why not drive to Yosemite National Park. One day will give you a good tour. Then you can finish up by driving to the Bay Area... if you want to be within 3 hours of San Francisco airport, you can stay in Sacramento, Berkeley, Napa, or near the airport in Palo Alto (home of Stanford University).

We'd love to help, but will need more details from you.

E.g., why 2 nights in Santa Cruz and 7 in LA, etc. - are you visiting friends/family? Or were those just dates that you had planned and your schedule is more flexible?

It's possible to drive LB to LV, but you probably want to start further east of Long Beach if you want to have a more leisurely trip to Las Vegas.

Why do you want to be within 3 hours of SF on your last night? Would you not prefer to stay right near the airport, which I'm presuming is SFO?

And so on...lots of questions. Please provide us with a few more details - are you interested in museums? the beach? fine dining? children's entertainment (which would be better in San Diego than Las Vegas, IMHO)? Your trip is 18 days long, is that correct?

Since you want to see the Grand Canyon, I would stay in LA less than 7 days. Personally I would not spend more than 7 hours in LA but that's just my opinion.
It is a bit cheaper to rent your car in downtown SF instead of at SFO. Are you headed directly to Santa Cruz or are you planning on spending a night in SF? You might also want to check airfare to San Jose and Oakland compared to SFO.
My wife and I both love the HI Hostel at 10th & H streets in Sacramento. It is about 8 blocks from the state Capitol grounds which are beautiful. They do have private rooms and the kids can stay in the dorms. The hostel is the second oldest Victorian mansion in the city.
To get from LV to Sacramento head north on US 95 all the way to Fallon and Alt. 50 to get on I-80 West getting off on Bus. I-80 when you approach Sacramento.

If I understand the question, you have 6 days to spend between Long Beach-Las Vegas-Grand Canyon then to within 3 hours of SFO? If so, that would work but is a lot of driving (welcome to the US Southwest).

Long Beach to Las Vegas is about 5.5 hours, longer at rush hours.

A road trip from Las Vegas to Grand Canyon (Williams, AZ) is 4-5 hours one-way but traffic is usually not an issue, then either drive or train to the canyon which is another 30-60 min. Makes for a long day round trip.

You could shorten your GC trip by taking a day trip via coach, helicopter, or fixed wing flight all of which depart out of Las Vegas. These range from about $180 to $500 per person and may not be an option depending on your budget.

An even shorter visit would be to the Sky Walk which is an interesting experience that is a relatively short drive (or motor coach ride) from LV but tickets onto the walkway are pricey for what you get. At last check access onto the skywalk is about $80pp.

http://www.bestgrandcanyondestinations.com/index.html

You could visit Lake Tahoe on your way back traveling through Nevada or go up the central valley of CA which is a bit shorter trip. Plenty to see on both routes.

For me, If I had extra time. I would use it in Yosemite National Park, Sequoia National Park, or the Redwoods.

The Grand Canyon does have a huge wow factor, but unless you are doing some serious hiking or some rafting, then it doesn't offer nearly as much to do as the parks in CA. I don't think hiking in July in the GC would be a good idea anyway. I think the CA parks have almost as much wow factor anyway. I will admit, there is nothing like that GC, but there is nothing like the waterfalls in Yosemite or the Sequoia and Redwood trees either. I don't know how good the falls would be flowing in Yosemite by July.

Sorry,but your post is a bit confusing.

You land at SFO and spend the first two nights in Santa Cruz, the next 7 nights in LA, followed by 3nightsin Long Beach . . . is that right?

This is REALLY difficult. Santa Cruz to LA via the quickest/least scenic route (in fact a downright nasty route) takes 6.5 to 7 hours at the best of times plus stops. Depending on exactly where in LA -- it is 350-375+ miles.

Via the scenic route on the coast -- it is a 2 day drive minimum.

And is there a reason you are starting w/ 10 days in LA/LB but landing in San Francisco? That is like landing at LHR and needing to be in Perth that evening. Why are you not flying into LAX?

Also, Las Vegas will be VERY hot. 40 to 45C is normal in July.

The two main sites between Vegas and SF are Sequoia/Kings Canyon and Yosemite. But one needs to book very far in advance for Yosemite.

Jet Blue Airlines operates between Long Beach and Las Vegas and Las Vegas and San Francisco.

OMG: Had a couple pops at the Padre game and some vino with friends afterward. Will come back and try to further decipher this - but you can visit the Grand Canyon from Las Vegas in a day (a van trip - or an airplane flight - or 5 hour drive) - and then fly from Vegas back to SG.

Driving from Vegas to SF is a long haul.

What does it matter how long she'll stay in SF at the beginning of her trip, or why she's going to Santa Cruz? That's not what she's asking.

Yes you can drive from Las Vegas to within 3 hours of San Francisco Airport in a night, but it will be about 6.5 hours of driving.Longer if it's a Sunday evening as traffic leaving Vegas is slow.

Ok - re-read what I posted. I didn't ask 'why' the are staying in Santa Cruz.

I asked for clarification because SFO to Santa Cruz (fine) and immediately Santa Cruz on to LA may not be what she meant. Hopefully there are some days in between SC and LA. If not, it might make more sense to fly from SF to LA . . . just sayin' . . .

Hi thanks for all the replies. I seemed to have caused some confusion though!
We are flying in and out of San Fran. We arrive very late at night, will sleep in airport hotel and pick up rental car next moring and set off for Santa Cruz - why - because we want to see it and my sons have a surfing lesson booked. We leave Santa Cruz early Sat for what I know will be a marathon drive to LA. We have booked a rental house in LA for a week because we want to see LA, Universal etc. We will leave LA one week later for the fairly short drive (I think 2 hours?) to Long Beach area. Havent booked anything there yet but want to allow 3 nights to chill after Los Angeles. We then have 6 nights to spare. We need to arrive back in San Fran on Monday lunchtime as we have booked an apartment for Mon and Tues nights and we fly back to Scotland on Wed night. So, there's what we have planned so far.
The six nights as yet unplanned, need to take us from Long Beach area to within a couple of hours of SF. I was really looking for advice to see if we could comfortably do this trip taking in Las Vegas (just to see it at night really and to do a Grand Canyon trip , probably by air). Any advise on this part of our trip would be good. Thank you

Long Beach is in Los Angeles County, not 2 hours away. Were you thinking of Laguna Beach? Or San Diego? (I'm not sure where your LA Rental house is, but LB wouldn't be more than an hour from most points in LA)

Regardless, I don't think it is unreasonable to spend 6 days going from Long Beach (Or Orange County beaches) to Las Vegas, then San Francisco. Our European houseguest do similar loops all the time.

Allegiant airline flies from Las Vegas to Monterey four days a week. http://www.allegiantair.com/
The fares are cheap compared with some of the others.
They also have hotel deals and rental car deals in many places that you can add to your airfare in a single transaction.
You can make it from Monterey to SFO in slightly less than 3 hours.

Thanks. That clears things up a lot.

OK--now I am going to ask a "Why" and hopefully won't get jumped on for it.

"<i>We will leave LA one week later for the fairly short drive (I think 2 hours?) to Long Beach area</i>"

Why 3 days in Long Beach after a full week in LA. Long Beach is basically just a city in the LA area. It is only a 20 or 30 minute drive from some parts of "LA". Like moving from a week in Edinburgh to 3 days in Queesferry. Most anything you could visit from Long Beach you can visit from your base in LA.

What part of town is your rental home? That could make a big difference if Long Beach makes any sense.

If you want chill time after LA, (unless you have a compelling reason for staying in LB) condider heading farther south -- Laguna Beach or even San Diego.

In your free days could easily do Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon and and have time to spare - maybe visit Zion too. All three will be HOT.

I'd drive because you could do a loop drive LV to the Grand Canyon/Zion/LV.

Then I'd drop the car and fly to SFO since one doesn't need/want a car in the city

was posting the same time as lvk . . .

One thing I did want to add. Las Vegas really isn't a family sort of place. Not that aren't fun things for the kids-- there are a few.

But they can't go inside the casinos or some of the shows. At other times of the year they could lounge by the pool all day -but it may be too hot for that. Not that you shouldn't go there,but 1 or 2 nights would be more than enough.That is why I'd do a driving tour to the GC and Zion to use up your 6 days.

OR -- if you can consider not visiting Las Vegas- then I'd spend the 6 days all on the CA coast. (it is likely too late to get reservations at Yosemite or I'd suggest that)

"You can drive from Monterey to downtown SF in 3 hours". Not always, not on a Monday morning.
Is your car rental already pre-paid? If not, check the rates for renting at SFO and dropping at Las Vegas. Then check one-way fares for flying from Las Vegas to SFO and don't forget to check www.southwest.com which doesn't come up on Expedia or other travel sites. At SFO you can ride Bart train back and forth into the city, you won't need a car for 2 days in the city.

Hertz and Alamo probably have the best rental car rates for Scots, make certain insurance and taxes are included in the quote.

After LA - it all depends on how you want to chill out/cruise.

San Diego is easy to get around - fairly laid back compared to LA - and we enjoy living here - but if you want something in addition to the time at the beach you have already enjoyed in Santa Cruz and presumably during part of your stay LA - you might consider driving over from LA to say Zion, and see that great park, and from there you can get to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.


Or drive from LA to the Grand Canyon (or fly to Las Vegas or Phoenix) - and spend time there, maybe driving the two and a half hours over to Monument Valley, etc. http://tinyurl.com/83phj6g

Or you could also drive to Sedona from the GC ( http://tinyurl.com/7238fde and it's also about two and a half hours) and from there - it's an easy shot to Phoenix if you wanted to fly back to Vegas - or up to Reno to see Lake Tahoe - or to Sacramento to get down to Yosemite, etc.

You could also fly/drive from Vegas to Lake Tahoe for a couple scenic days and then from
Tahoe back to SF - it's a 4 hour trip - if you don't hit traffic.

And definitely check out Southwest airlines, as they usually have the lowest fees for the most routes. Here is the page for their routes: http://travel.southwest.com/travel/e...AV-TG-ROUTEMAP

OK, I'm going to jump in here -

without knowing what all you want to do in LA, then 7 nights there is 5 or 6 nights too many.

Grand Canyon is fine as a destination, but that entire interior area: Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Las Vegas, Monument Valley, Death Valley should really be a separate trip itself dedicated to that region in order to do it justice.

In lieu of driving several days through torrid desert in July, I would ask you to seriously consider the suggestion to confine your visit to the coast of California and especially to substitute San Diego for Las Vegas and to add in Yosemite and Lake Tahoe. Both San Diego and Lake Tahoe have plenty of family-oriented activities.

the other portion of your trip I am having difficulty with is spending two nights in Santa Cruz and then dashing down to LA, thereby missing some of the most beautiful and interesting parts of this state along the coast.

If I were planning this trip, I'd plan a loop drive: do San Francisco first without a car, then rent a car in downtown San Francisco (usually cheaper than renting one at the airport), drive south along the coast at a much more leisurely pace, spend less time in LA and drive all the way down to San Diego. Then start looping your way inland and back north, going to Yosemite and Lake Tahoe. end the loop back in San Francisco, return the car. Take BART to the airport for your flight home.

Just my two cents.

Well, here's my two cents, they got a condo in L.A. for a week because they want to visit Los Angeles. What a concept!

With kids that age, consider Universal Studios Tour....The WB Tour..... The L.A.Zoo and the Autry Western Heritage Museum (next door)..... Griffith Park and Griffith Observatory (a must, watch the movie Rebel without a Cause before visiting, always fun).... The Science Center with the current Egypt Exhibit and the National History Museum next door (always a hit with kids that age)....The Grammy Museum and the Hollywood Walk of Fame....The Grove/Farmers Market, LACMA....The Getty Center...The Petersen Auto Museum...The Museum of Jurassic Technology (funky fun)...Santa Monica Beach/ Venice Boardwalk/ Biking along the beach....A Dodgers Game....a day trip to the Lake....a day trip to Santa Barbara...a day trip to Disneyland....more surf lessons....a day trip to Catalina Island...hiking in the Santa Monica Mountains/Runyon Canyon.....

(Oops, I forgot, this thread was supposed to be about Vegas to San Francisco, not "I don't know why you've rented in Los Angeles, one day there is enough")

There's PLENTY to do in LA for a week (in addition to what tracy listed, spend a few hours downtown, go to Pasadena (Huntington Library and Gardens, Norton Simon Museum), wander around Westwood and the UCLA campus, everly Hills/Rodeo Drive/Bel-Air), but I do agree that moving from a house in LA to someplace in Long Beach doesn't make much sense. With that extra 3 days, I'd head to San Diego.

I'm also in the why Long Beach camp. It's not really a place I think of when I want to chill either. Agree there's plenty to do in LA for one week. That part's fine.

Also agree that it'll be incredibly hot in the desert. We had relatives visiting from Germany who went to Vegas and Zion in August. We tried to warn them it was hot. Their response before they left "we like hot". Their response after they returned "we didn't know what hot meant".

I second (or third) taking the coastal route back.

Another vote for spending a couple of days driving the California coast, it is incredibly beautiful, one of the most beautiful parts of the USA.

For car rental, look into carhire3000, it gets good reviews from overseas visitors on another travel forum. They book with the majors and will include the needed insurance plus often they are able to get one way drop fees waived.

I agree, why Long Beach - I live near there and while it is a nice enough town, if you wanted to visit the Queen Mary or the Aquarium of the Pacific, you could do that as a daytrip from your LA rental.

tracy: you are forgetting that they plan to spend another three nights in Long Beach. 3 nights in LB and 1 or 2 nights in LA, that makes 5 or 6 days for "LA", which I believe is more than sufficient time for LA.

I really don't want to get into a big old fight on what's worthwhile and what's not in LA to confuse the OP.

Nevertheless some of your recommendations of what to see aren't what one would recommend to the average visitor to LA. Take the Museum of Jurassic Technology.

<i>Welcome to Los Angeles' very own Diagon Alley.</i> says one Yelp reviewer.

Diagon Alley refers to the Preston and Child books, one of which is labelled "Cabinet of Curiosities", which is what this museum is all about. It has nothing to do with Jurassic Park nor that much to do with technology. One should really read the yelp reviews, particularly the one by E.K. on June 18:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-museum-o...gy-culver-city

As for the zoos, I would definitely recommend the San Diego Zoo, which is one of the world's premier zoos, over the LA zoo.

I am a member of LACMA, but, if it became a choice between LACMA and the Getty Center - to a visitor - I would recommend the Getty Center. A visitor has only so much time. If they are really art lovers, then yes the Norton Simon Museum has the better art collection, as IMHO, Simon had more refined art tastes that Getty.

Overall, however, I'd still recommend the plethora of museums in Balboa Park in San Diego as being much more interesting to kids:

http://www.balboapark.org/in-the-park/museums

Anyhow, it's all in what the OP wants to do and see - and we have precious few details.

" I was really looking for advice to see if we could comfortably do this trip taking in Las Vegas (just to see it at night really and to do a Grand Canyon trip , probably by air). Any advise on this part of our trip would be good. Thank you"

Tracy: No one (except for et) said anything about not staying in LA for a week. OF COURSE there is more than enough for a week.

We were (sensibly IMO) asking if there was a reason for Long Beach -- you must agree that Long Beach is not maybe what they are looking for to 'chill' after a week somewhere in Los Angeles.

It certainly is not a resort area '2 hours' from LA so it just may be the they have the wrong impression about where/what Long Beach is. And especially since they haven't booked accommodations there yet.

Re los Angeles , Tracy your post contains all the reasons we want to visit LA.
OK Ive made a bit of a mistake with how far Long Beach is from LA though, was only having a brief look at it and saw Queen Mary (my Dad worked on that boat in Glasgow) and also whale watching trips from that area, so we could probably do that whilst staying in LA. This would give us 9 night to fill and from everything Ive read here we could probably fly from LA to LV for a couple nights, take in Grand Canyon then head back north from LA taking our time up Californian coast as we will miss out on this on the way down.

Oh, and yes -- they asked what to do after LA/LB and have received a LOT of suggestions. But if we see a bear trap in a plan (Long Beach to chill for instance) should we just ignore it and stick to the specific question?

Guess I'm just not that literal minded.

Elizabeth, please ignore the snarky replies. It sounds like a great trip for your family. Flying from LA to Las Vegas is wise and usually a reasonable price. And the airport itself is kind of an interesting culture spot. Your children will enjoy seeing Vegas, especially at night. It is VERY hot there in the summer, but daytime by the pool is nice. My teen loved visiting New York New York and The Venetian Casinos. (There are areas that are OK for children). The Grand Canyon is amazing and a must-see! There is a lot to see in this area including Sedona, Zion and Bryce, but certainly going north up the coast from LA to San Francisco would be worthwhile. Glad you see why the Long Beach stay might not make sense.
You have a lot of choices for the last part of your trip. Have fun planning, and please ask more questions. I promise there are many helpful Fodorites!

Your new plan sounds great!

Elisabeth: I didn't see your last post (we were posting at the same time) Your new idea is VERY doable. Fly over to Vegas and back for a couple of nights - from LV you can do a tour or flight to the Grand canyon. Then drive up the coast to SF.

You'll enjoy an excursion to the Queen Mary -especially w/ the family connection. I've stayed on the QM twice and it was fun. But otherwise Long Beach isn't really a "destination". There is an aquarium -- but the one in Monterey is better.

Like the revised trip schedule. In Vegas there is plenty to do and see - including taking in the Grand Canyon - and you might even consider spending more time there - and at the GC - maybe Sedona, etc.

You might also consider that rather than flying from say either Vegas or Phoenix back to LA for your drive back up the Coast - assuming after traveling south the first time from SF - you have seen what you wanted to - you might consider flying back to SF and spending more time to take in the great SF area, even possibly a couple of days in Yosemite, whatever, a 4 hour drive from San Francisco - if you don't hit traffic.

see: http://www.nps.gov/yose/index.htm

You could also fly from Vegas to Sacramento and be closer to Yo.