Luubert

Hello all,
Planning to come to do a San Francisco, Yosemite,L.A., Disney Land in Anaheim, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, in 2 weeks. 1 day is to visit family. Flying in from San Francisco, Oakland, or San Jose. Dec 25th - Jan 8th. Please lemme know if you have a possible Itinary. And any places to take out or add -Thank you

Surfergirl

That's a whole lot of ground to cover in 2 weeks, especially at Christmas and probably snowing in Yosemite. If you have 2 weeks (less two days, one for flying in and one for visiting family), that means you have 6 places you want to see in 12 days. And about 1,000 miles on the road, all told.

I guess what I'm saying is, it's too much. Are you driving from place to place? If so, will you have chains for the car? Where is family? If family is in San Francisco, I'd cut out L.A. and Anaheim.

maryann

I think alot of people think they will never be in that part of the world again - that's why they try to cram in so much in one trip.

You could probably go to that area several times -esp. as you have family out there.

Relax-do what gives you the most - if you need tire chains ! plan that trip for another time of the year.

We have always lived in S.Florida and the west seemed like taking a trip to the moon. But we have 'driven' out there 4 x and will go again. If I was a non-nervous flier, we would go every year or so -esp. to Jackson & Grand Teton, Wy.

There are so many beautiful places out west-take your time.

Luubert

Sorry i forgot to say but for the grand canyon we are flying out of Las Vegas's McCarren - LAS so the grand canyon will only take about a day, as we are booking a one day tour of the gc.

Luubert

Would like to know if that would be factor in the time consumption? And say if we left everyday at around 6-7 am? Thanks for your time

LaraM

Hi- Are you flying out of Los Angeles or San Francisco? Also, are you going to Disneyland because of children?
If those two reasons don't exist then I would advise you to spend more time in the other areas and forget Southern California. I live in LA and I don't want to discourage you from coming here but it's a big spread out city. If you are looking to see the Hollywood sign and Rodeo Drive and the many other tourist stops I'd like to offer that none of them will take more than a half hour or so to see. You will however be spending significant amounts of time dealing with traffic from spot to spot. There is always traffic jamb traffic here, even at 6am. Unless you have a super reason to be in LA, I'd spend the time elsewhere. Come back and see LA and San Diego on a seperate trip.

mpf

Another thought when planning your itinerary,is the length of daylight. This is the time of year with the shortest amount of daylight, about 9-10 hours.

swimmer

I also would say this itinerary is too full to see much more than the surface. I would drop out Yosemite in the winter--sometimes roads and trails are closed . Visit in the spring when the falls are roaring.

If you would really like to be in the mountains with snow, maybe a two day trip to Lake Tahoe or the Sierras?

I wouldn't spend more than two days in Vegas--that's enough time in a tight schedule to see the sights.

And I would go with at least two days at Disney--but I am a fan.

easytraveler

Luubert: Fodorites can probably help you better if you provided a bit more information.

Are there children involved? How many and what are their ages?

Most particularly, what are your and your family's interests: museums? shopping? scenery? surfing? skiing? gambling? food?

This is a huge area you are proposing to cover and you will not be able to do everything. Fodorites can give you invaluable suggestions tailored to your interests.

So, help us to help you!

Luubert

Fodorites thanks for all the replys and I apologize for my knowledge of travel.
4 people: 1 male 40 year old
1 female 40 year old
1 male 14 year old
1 female 12 years old
Not much of a gambler, skiier, surfer.
Museums, Shopping, Food, SCENEARY by far interest us.
Thinking of dropping Disney Land as we have been to Disney World is this a wise decision? Flying into San Fran, Oak, or San Jose. Want to see most the big sights in California, Nevada, and the GC.

easytraveler

With two weeks in the winter, you will have enough time to see quite a lot. I'd suggest flying into/out of Phoemix to make it a one-way trip.

The "no frills" airlines, like Southwest allow you to book one way flights. If you book early enough, you'll also get their great rates. Visit several airline websites just to look and see what is available. You still have plenty of time.

In addition, the weather will be unpredictable. It could be terrible or you could have glorious days.

Cutting out Yosemite is a good idea. It's impossible to go along Highway 395 (best way from Las Vegas) in the wintertime in hopes of cutting across Yosemite to San Francisco. Tioga Pass in Yosemite is closed until the summertime. If you were to drive all the way up north to Lake Tahoe and then cut back to the Bay Area on Interstate 80, you will most probably need chains. I can't remember when the kids went skiing on their Christmas break and didn't need chains.

The following is a possible one-way itinerary: flying, say, into Phoenix, see the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, maybe Death Valley, then cut across the width of California to Los Angeles.

Actually, if you are not going to Disneyland (good idea, again!), maybe you should think of spending some time in San Diego. There's plenty to do in San Diego - all kinds of museums (train, etc) in Balboa Park, there's the world famous zoo, and there's also Seaworld. Believe all those things would interest teenagers.

In LA you might want to stop by Universal Studios and maybe even do a tour of the Hollywood homes.

If weather permits, drive along Highway 101 and 1 along the coast, but only if the weather permits. Otherwise, just go straight up either 101 or, even faster, Interstate 5 to San Francisco.

Fly home out of San Francisco, Oakland, or San Jose - whichever one will give you cheaper tickets.

BTW, when renting a car, try and get one that will give you either no or little drop-off fee. You have to be both patient and persistent on this; visit the rental car websites over several weeks and once you see the rate and the size of car you want, snag it. Some of the sites like Travelocity will have advertised specials, check these as well.

I'm certain other Fodorites will have their suggestions to help you tweek your travel plans.

Welcome to California!

Luubert

That was just what I was looking for thanks for all the help easytraveler . Anymore suggestion from anyone would be appreciative once again thank you all

KathrynT

Not to be difficult, but I think Yosemite is just beautiful in the winter but you do have to plan the trip around which roads are open. Also, when chains are needed, the driving is very slow.

If you have been to Disney World, I would skip Disneyland. Your kids might enjoy Universal Studios and it also has backlot tour where you can learn a bit about movie making. They would probably also like to visit Hollywood.

If you are interested in coming to the Bay Area, I wouldn't fly into Phoenix but would try to fly into Northern CA so you don't have to backtrack.

I would suggest getting a good guidebook and reading it through, picking out what everyone thinks their highlights would be. From there you'll be able to see which areas you'll want to focus on and about how much time to spend at each. (For example, I would skip or limit my time in Las Vegas, but that is just me.) Finally, you'll want to figure out the travel time needed between destinations to see if your trip sounds reasonable.

Good luck and happy planning!