Woh, that was easier than we thought it may be, using Qantas F/F points. We leave Oct 1 2009 and return Nov 9.

Thinking West Coast only at this stage. We've been before but only flown between major city's. This time we'd like to drive a fair bit, and also do some small flights &/or train travel.

Must do's..... Drive the coast road LA to SanFrancisco (maybe even go further up into Canada??), stay a couple of nights 'in' Yosemite (I know we really need to book this soon but need to work out timeing with Vegas) and be in Vegas for Nov 3, for 25th Anniversary to hopefully see Bette Midler. We've done LA (don't really care to spend time here) and we've been to SanFrancisco & love it, so maybe a couple of nights here? We attempted to drive from Vegas to Yosemite about 8 years ago in March ....oops. Not very well planned, ended up going round via Reno. So would love to drive from Yosemite to Vegas.

If anyone suggests maybe flying to Memphis area and spending some time there, (as it is on our list of 'must do' one day) we are open to that. We are fairly well traveled and don't mind being on the go a fair bit, as long as we have a couple of days in the same place every now and then to re-group.

So would love your thoughts. I have a map of the West Coast on my wall, I've bought the Michelin guide and I'm ready to start 'planning'. We don't really want to spend so much time in 'big' city's this time, just great scenery, lovely inns/b&b's, and great dining places. We are also a 'little' partial to fine wine .

Thanks as always.
AD

aussedreamer,

You should really consider going NEW places! Or, maybe a combo of former favorites plus new.

Your trip is prime time for the southwest National Parks. You really should consider Zion, Bryce, Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef and Escalante. You would still have time for the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley.

Do a search here under Utah for lots of great trip reports!

Jet blue is practically giving away flights between SoCal and JFK.
If you have never been to NYC you are missing out on an amazing experience.
Its a lovely time of year during that period--the leaves are changing, mild weather, fantastic.

oops..that is this year who knows what the air fare will be next year.

Thanks. I tried to be informative without boring you. I may have implied we'd made it to Yosemite last time. We didn't!! So we would really like to see it. As for NYC we have been twice, and still rave about it. If there were reasonable priced flights we would absolutely consider it, maybe even a drive out of NY???

We flew from Vegas to the G/canyon once, but only on a day trip. So maybe driving there this time would be a thought.

I read a report recently re a drive for LA on the coast road to SanFrancisco, then down to Yosemite via Lake Tahoe, which sounded lovely. then maybe drive to Vegas?

What a fun trip to plan. My head is spinning with possibilities.

You've got a good start with the LA-SF-Yosemite-Lake Tahoe part. It's likely to be early enough in October that Tioga Pass will be open, so you could go that way.

Yosemite will be very nice in October, and you should still be able to get up into the high country. You actually could go ahead and book your accommodations there first, starting, say, about 5-7 days after your arrival (depending on how much time you want for the coast drive and SF), and then work around that. These will be the most difficult reservations to get, as you may already know.

If you go to Vegas then, you're still a long time from Nov. 3. What about a loop through the Utah parks as Dayle suggests? Or head up north from Lake Tahoe before turning south toward Vegas. Or . . .

One thing to keep in mind if you want to leave off the car and fly to NY or somewhere else, is that drop charges in California are horrendous. You'll need to check the rates before you build a plan that involves taking the car from LA and dropping it in Vegas.

Thanks Enzian, your suggestions are great and are along the lines I've been thinking. Maybe we do our Coast drive, Yosemite and make our way back to LA (drop off car, will that save the issues of one way drop offs) and fly 'somewhere' and then fly to Vegas for the end of the trip?

Just tossing 'thoughts' around.

Hey, just had a quick thought.

Maybe we can celebrate our anniversary in New York? It is one of our favourite places in the world.

Do what we want on the West Coast and then finish back at LAX with the car (as I imagine thats where we will be collecting it from) and then grab a cheap return flight to NYC before heading home?

MMMM lots to think about.

Wow. What a great trip for 5 weeks. There is so much to see in California, between the big cities. Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, vineyards, gorgeous coastline, Big Sur, Monterey, Santa Cruz. You name it and you can find it there.

We recently drove from S.F. to L.A. and were impressed with how much open country is still to be found. (In San Luis Obispo, next to the historic Spanish mission, we found a great restaurant called "Native". Highly recommend for lunch or dinner on their patio.)

Adding San Francisco, Lake Tahoe and Yosemite will round it out. Vegas isn't my favorite, but it's a kick, that's for sure.

I would not add Memphis to this mix, though. Probably not NYC, either. Because there's much to do for 5 weeks in California.

Good idea. With five weeks, you have plenty of time to fit in New York.

You could visit the Utah parks and Grand Canyon in a week or so at the end of your trip starting from Las Vegas. Car rentals are very inexpensive there. Zion National Park is only 2.5 hours away, and is lovely in October. The North Rim of the Grand Canyon will be closed after October 15, but after visiting the other Utah parks you could loop around to the South Rim and back to Vegas. Even the few days between your Bette Midler concert on the 3rd and your flight home on the 9th would be enough to visit Zion and one other park---maybe Bryce?

Think about how much time you have for the West coast and what else you might like to see here---wine country, of course. What about the northern California coast (my favorite)? Oregon coast? All the way up to Seattle? There are good wine-growing regions in both Oregon and Washington . . .

aussiedreamer - this sounds like a fabulous trip! I'm not sure where to begin so what I'll do is tell you my favorite places.

If it were me, I'd put little post-it notes on the map on the wall of all the great places, then see how to make a trip work.

You're right to think about a north to south trip given the time of year. October is often the best month of all in the Pacific NW.

One idea is to fly from LA to Vancouver.

Vancouver is an amazing city. I live between Seattle and Vancouver so this is an area we visit often. You can rent a car in Vancouver and do a loop trip to the Canadian Rockies: Banff, Lake Louise, Yoho and drop the car back in Vancouver - train to Seattle. You'll see and experience incredible mountains and wildlife.

Another great and little known trip is to take the BC Ferry from Vancouver Island to Bella Coola. It goes along the inland passage - you see fjords, First Nations villages, then you land in Bella Coola (info on BC Ferries website.) You can drive from there to Vancouver via Tweedsmuir NP and Chilko. Remote and amazing for wildlife viewing w/ big Canadian vistas. Once in Vancouver you can take the Amtrak train from Vancouver to Seattle and pick up a rental car in Seattle.

It may be cheaper to fly LA to Seattle & pick up a car. If you did that, you may consider heading through the San Juan islands via the ferry, to Vancouver Island & Victoria, ferry across to Vancouver, do a mountain loop through the North Cascades, then Seattle, Portland, Oregon Coast, California Coast to Wine Country and south to LA.

Another area that is my family's favorite is Southern Utah. We especially like Capital Reef NP (DH is a geologist.) If you do go to Vegas, it's easy enough to head to southern Utah, New Mexico and Arizona. Wonderful scenery!

In California I'd drive the coast road south, then across to Vegas via Hwy 15 (of course the truth is I'd skip Vegas!)

I'm not a fan of Vegas so I'd choose a quick RT flight LA to NY for my anniversary.

I'm back again. My daughter and I discussed, looked at the map, and here's what we recommend:

North from LA along coastal route 1. Visit Santa Barbara, Big Sur, etc.

San Francisco, Marin County, Sonoma/Napa. Head north along the coast. There's no end of great places to stay and eat.

North along the Oregon Coast to Astoria. East to Portland - great city. Visit the Columbia Gorge, then off the Seattle.

Seattle, then the ferry to Bainbridge, Port Townsend, Port Angeles, and the ferry to Victoria. Depending on your sense of adventure, you can take the previously mentioned trip to Bella Coola, or simply head on the ferry to Vancouver. Both options are wonderful. Vancouver, then east to Revelstoke and Banff.

From Banff, head south to Waterton/Glacier parks, through Montana stopping at cool towns (Butte, Livingston.) Livingston Valley is stunning!

Yellowstone National Park, then through Wyoming to Utah and the great parks of southern Utah (Capital Reef, Canyonlands, Arches.) Head east to the Four Corners area & Mesa Verde N.P., and to Santa Fe. From Santa Fe head west and you reach Vegas at the end of your trip.

Voila - an amazing loop trip of the best of the American/Canadian west! Along the way you'll see unparalleled scenery, great small towns, stay at charming inns and eat good food.

Well you beat me to it!!

I was going to remind you that there are two incredibly beautiful states between San Francisco & Canada... Oregon & Washington!!!

I don't quite follow the Memphis reference. You mean Memphis... the one in Tennessee????????? Hardly fits with your itinerary imho.

1st week Yosemite and California Coast. See the Giant Sequoia Trees and the Valley while in Yosemite. This time of year may not be great for waterfalls.

2nd week Oregon
Crater Lake The Crater Lake Lodge closes mid-October. Portland. Columbia River Gorge Oregon has Wine Country somewhat like Napa/Sonoma.

3rd Week Washington
Mt. Rainier, Seattle, Olympic National Park, Orca/San Juan Island

4th week Utah
Bryce, Zion, Lake Powell Capital Reef, Moab, Arches

Maybe even swing over and see Mesa Verde in Colorado

5th week
Grand Canyon
Vegas
Death Valley on return to LA



I have to much here for 5 weeks, but would give you a lot to choose from. I love Utah, but don't know that I would want to see all of it in one trip. It is really different in each area, but somewhat the same and is similar to Grand Canyon in some respects.

Buy a National Park Pass if you plan on seeing more than 3 National Parks.

I am curious as to your wanting to see Memphis. It is a really good place to eat ribs and foods from the south and Elvis memories. Peabody Ducks are a must see while in Memphis. But, I don't think I would plan a trip like you have mentioned around Memphis. I would stick to the West.

Most of the National Parks are not easy to navigate in the winter and a lot of services they offer are closed in the winter. Death Valley and Grand Canyon are exceptions. You can see Yosemite in the winter, but parts will be closed. But the waterfalls don't run in the fall normally and that is a huge attraction for Yosemite.

A plus for going in the fall is that the weather is nice and the crowds are not bad at all.

I think you have a great trip ahead of you.

Would be a good time to see Channel Islands as well, which are right up the coast from LA

an update

The flights are all booked.

Arrive LAX Oct 1, fill in some time at the airport then catch a flight to NYC (yep, couldn't resist)for 5 nights. Pick up a hire car and spend 10 days touring. Love some ideas, but maybe I should start a new thread?

Depart NYC 15 Oct for LAX and pick up a car (don't need/want to spend anytime in LA)head to San Francisco, I will definately be using some of the advice already on this thread. Alas thats as far North as we will make it this time. We've decided to leave further north and Canada for another trip.

From SanFrancisco we will head to Yosemite and 'attempt' to cross the Tioga Pass (I know, I know, but I've started a thread asking for alt. routes if it can't be done) around about Oct 30, for our 7 days or so in Vegas before driving back to LAX , departing 11 Nov.

So keep the routes and places to stay coming. We will book Yosemite this week, so once we have the dates for that I can work backwards and keep planning.

thanks as always.
AD