Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, LA - need help with itinerary
 

We are a family of 4 (2 adults, 2 children - 11 and 7). Our plan is as follows:

Day 1: Arrive Las Vegas by flight around 10:30AM. The flight is about 51/2 hrs long. Rent a car and drive directly to Grand Canyon. We've booked a room for 1 night at the El Tovar. [Is driving directly to GC a good idea, or should we spend a night in Vegas? ]

Day 2: Check out of GC, and drive back to Vegas. Do the Hoover dam tour on the way. Arrive at Vegas.

Day 3: Vegas

Day 4: Vegas

Day 5: Leave Vegas in the morning and drive to LA (Would you recommend driving? Is the route scenic? Flights between Vegas and LA are quite reasonable)

Day 6: LA

Day 7: LA

Day 8 Leave LA and head back home.

Overall, does this sound like a good plan?

In LA, which area should we look at for hotels? The kids want to see Hollywood, Walk of Fame, Rodeo drive, spend some time at the beach (They've been to the MET, AMNH, Broadway shows in NY, so that isn't a draw)

As always, thanks for all your help.

Just a couple of quick comments:

Do you <i>really</i> want to get off a 6 hour flight and immediately jump in a car for 5 hours? And then turn around and drive 5 hours back the next day (over the same route) . . . If you want to do that, stay 2 nights at the GC.

The drive from Vegas to LA is not scenic. To somewhere fun to stay -- like Santa Monica, is a 5 hour drive (or longer if traveling during commute hours on weekdays or Sunday afternoon)

Suggest that you consider flying from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, otherwise, your car rental costs will be quite high, since you are not only picking up and dropping off in two different cities but also doing this across state lines.

Secondly, the drive is mostly across dry, hot desert - not very scenic - and with two kids that age, it's not the best course.

If you want to see Hollywood, etc, then Santa Monica or Culver City might be best for hotels. You haven't mentioned a budget, so it's a bit difficult to suggest a hotel. There's the beach at Santa Monica, and then there's also the Getty Museum, which is very worthwhile visiting.

Have a great trip! And welcome to California!

janisj and easytraveler, you guys are right. I think we should spend a night in Vegas before driving to GC. At this time, the lodging is hard to find for 2 consecutive days at GC, so I took what was available for the time period I am looking at (early August), and decided to fit in the other places accordingly.

My other option would be to fly into San Francisco and drive to LA, and take the flight back home from LA. The kids want to see the Golden Gate Bridge....but hubby is not too keen to spend any time in SF.

Are there any scenic drives out of Las Vegas towards CA?

Our budget for hotel would be somewhere around a Marriott ($250-$400 a night). We booked the El Tovar at $475 for a view suite (the other lodges were either set back in the woods, or did not have air conditioning). We would like to stay in a nice area, not somewhere far away. Would like easy access to dining areas, and the ability to walk around at night.

Hi, Winnie,

Before we go any further with suggestions - because what you're asking about are two quite different trips - perhaps you could give us a few more details of what you/your family would like to do.

I'm assuming you're from the East Coast. Have you ever been here to the West Coast before? If so, which areas? Is this trip to see the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas with a bit of LA thrown in? Or do you want to do the coast drive from SF to LA?

With kids that age, San Diego would be ideal. There are so many things that are designed for young people there.

I'd suggest the following as one possibility: fly into Arizona, see the Grand Canyon; then fly to LA, rent a car, spend a couple of days in LA,; then drive to San Diego, spend a few days there; drive back to LA, return car, and fly home.

easytraveler, ok, so we have about 7-8 nights to spend. Kids want to see landmarks (or places that are popular!). Hubby wants a quiet time (does not mind driving, but does not want do the touristy stuff or running around too much....he loves Vegas though...not for gambling, but the general feel).

Grand Canyon and Las Vegas seems to fit everybody's criteria. Hubby and I have been to Vegas twice...last was 7 years ago (Hubby has done the GC helicopter trip, but I haven't seen the GC). I think the kids would enjoy seeing the hotels in Vegas, and walking on the strip. We chose Vegas primarily as a fly in airport for GC with something to offer also..

After this we are a little open ended. That's why I threw in LA (so kids would be happy, we haven't been here either). Hubby and I have been to San Diego but about 15 years ago. In fact, he mentioned doing the LA to SD and then fly back home suggestion that you also made.

I made the SF to LA suggestion, because we have always wanted to do the coast road trip but never have that much time to spare. Daughter wants to see the Golden Gate bridge, but honestly I don't know what else we would do in SF. (we have not been to SF) So my thought was to fly into SF, show them the GG bridge, and move out of there. If this is not a good idea with this trip, it is not a problem. I am sure we will find some time later.

Ok -- the mind does sort of boggle that there might not be anything of interest in San Francisco. But different strokes I guess.

"<i>Hubby wants a quiet time (does not mind driving, but does not want do the touristy stuff or running around too much....he loves Vegas though...not for gambling, but the general feel). </i>"

This is a bit conflicted. Nothing could be more touristy than Vegas. And the GC rim in summer is definitely not quiet/away from it all (note how hard it was to get rooms).

Not saying you still don't want to visit LV and the GC - just it may not be the trip you envision. Plus they will be VERY hot.

San Diego/LA could be good. Or SF w/o a car for maybe 3 days, fly to LA, rent a car and spend the rest of the time there.

It kind of sounds like money is no object, based on your hotel choices and also that it sounds like you haven't booked flights yet??

If that's the case, I wouldn't worry about one-way rental fees.

With your first scenario, I think it makes a lot more sense to stay in Vegas for the first few nights, then drive to Grand Canyon for a night or two, then drive to LA. I don't see much point in 1) driving to GC immediately, then back to LV and then onto to LA or 2) overnight in LV, drive to GC, back to LV for a couple nights, then onto LA.

Perhaps the best option is to stay in LV for a few nights, take a helicopter/flight to the Grand Canyon for an overnight (make sure you go to South Rim, not West Rim) and then fly to LA. Eliminates the driving and any rental car drop-off fees.

Sadly with 8 days you do not have enough time to do the drive from SF to LA, you need at least 2 nights and 3 is better to do is justice, so save it for another trip, it is gorgeous scenery.

As far as I know, none of the helicopter trips out of LV go to Grand Canyon South Rim (too far), they go to tourist trap Grand Canyon West. There are helicopter tours of the South Rim but they depart from the airport there. Have a great trip.

PS - With your budget look into hotels in Santa Monica especially since you have a car.

"<i>Sadly with 8 days you do not have enough time to do the drive from SF to LA</i>" . . . You do IF you don't also try to squeeze in Las Vegas and the GC.

Just depends on 'which trip' you decide on.

On day 2 are you going to see the Grand Canyon South Rim?
Sounds like a forced march flying and then driving to the Grand Canyon to check in with little time to see what you came to see.
You could drive back as far as Williams (I-40) and spend the night before heading back to LV to turn in your rental car.
From LV fly to SFO or Oakland see what you want to see and then drive as far as Monterey to spend the night.Whether you want to spend 1 or 2 days getting to LA from Monterey is up to you with what you want to see.
There are cheaper hotels in Henderson on the way back from Hoover Dam if all you need is a place to sleep.
Please don't even try to return a car that you rent in Nevada anyplace in California.
You could drive overnight up I-5 from LA to Oakland to turn in a car where you rented it to save a drop off fee.
The flight home from OAK might even be cheaper than from LAX.

One way cars are not a problem in Vegas in August. The drive is pretty boring, but probably doesn't take much longer than flying once you factor in returning your car to the airport, arriving 90min before flight, luggage handling etc. So if the kids want to do a desert drive, go for it. Leave Vegas 9:30/10:am so that you do not hit the post-3:30pm traffic getting into Los Angeles. And stay away from Sunday afternoon/Monday morning if you can, usually slow traffic leaving Vegas.

In Hollywood, Universal Hilton is nice if you plan to visit the theme park, otherwise Hilton Garden Inn just north of the Walk of Fame is newly renovated and you can walk to the Hollywood Bowl one night (Yo Yo Ma is Aug 7 and Duke Ellington Aug 8). Loews hotel, formerly the Renaissance, is another choice, right there at the Walk of Fame, but new owners means the place probably is due for some upgrading.

For Vegas, that's a great time of year for low low prices, you can get the new Aria for $109 a night, Caesars Palace for $99 a night, or Planet Hollywood at $59 a night. Rates are higher Fri and Sat.

And if you decide to fly to L.A, go into Burbank airport instead of LAX, much quicker and less hassles. ( But check the one-way car rates first, if you plan on flying home from LAX instead of BUR. LAX probably has the best flights back to your home base, but also requires allowing about an hour extra time to get to from hollywood during morning traffic).

ok, we've made some changes based on all your wonderful feedback. We'll skip LV and Grand Canyon for now. Instead, we will just do the coast drive...so it goes

Fly into SFO, spend a night there. Next day drive to Monterey, spend 2 nights. Then drive to LA, spend 2 nights. Drive to San Diego, spend 3 nights, and take the flight back home from San Diego.

What do you think of this?

My problem is finding good hotels in Monterey. The ones I like are all adult only. How are the following:

Monterey Plaza Hotel and Spa
Spindrift Inn
Monterey Inn
Intercontinental Clement Monterey
Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa

All are similarly priced and have ocean views, except for the Hyatt which is slightly cheaper because it does not have view. Any suggestions on the hotels here would be very helpful.

As suggested by jamie99, in LA, I'll look into the Santa Monica area, and come back with my choices.

In San Diego, what area should we look into?

Thanks again for all the great suggestions.

San Diego: The zoo is world-class and interesting to all ages. It is more like a hike in a canyon full of animals, lush, green. The aircraft carrier Midway is a floating museum with many interesting planes and lots of fun areas like the bridge, engine rooms. Lots of hotels all along the bay-area.

It is a very long drive from Monterey to LA with LOTS of stuff to see along the way like Point Lobos, Big Sur, Hearst Castle, etc. so consider taking a night from Monterey or SD and stay in Cambria or Pismo Beach, much more relaxing especially with children. Have a great trip.

thanks jamie99, I will start a new thread since LV and GC are not part of the trip anymore. I was thinking of adding an extra night in LA. Let me start the new post with the new itinerary. Would love your feedback. Sounds like I am being too optimistic on the Monterey to LA drive, but I am quite flexible, so can move things around.