Hi everyone!!! hope you can assit me, even though I am in the hotel business, I reach out to my Fodor friends...looking at Vegas probably second week in January do you think four days are enough? and then thinking of renting a car driving to calif...where would you drive to? and how long do you think it would take...and then drive back to vegas...we are a young 50 no children, like fun things and shopping and sightseeing, a bit on a budget...so any insight if you all think it would be a good idea to drive from vegas to calif and if so where? thanks a million for all your interest and help...cyn

How long in Vegas? How much money do you have to lose?

And California is a huge state that's 750 miles long. You can get on I-15 from LV, drive 40 miles, and you're in California. But what do you want to see? How much time you have? LA is 5 hours away, San Francisco even more.

Southeastern California is mostly desert - high and low. Death Valley would be the closest California "attractions" from Las Vegas, about 2 hours from LV.

Four days is more than enough of Vegas in one stretch for most people.

Five hours to LA and 6 to San Diego is about right.

If you are not from the SW, the drive is scenic.

You can catch Southwest Airline from most of the SoCal airports to Vegas. I would drop the rental and take an economy flight back to Vegas to connect with your return. If you haven't booked your airfare, sometimes it's cheaper to have a different destination and point of return. Worth checking out.

I am very fortunate I have gotten free tickets to vegas, so i was planning on spending 4 nights, think that will be plenty!!!!I have driven the coast of calif from san diego up to san fran, so was thinking about fresno or sacremento but it may be too far a drive, perhaps i should check out the airfare ...what do you think about the wine country, even though i am not into wine...or should i look at something else in vegas...just hate to waste the tickets with all the time in vegas...and while i am at it and picking everyone's brain do you suggest getting tickts for shows on line...thank you all so much waiting to hear from you...cyndee

From Vegas, one apparent place to go is of course Grand Canyon. Long day, though.

Or the beautiful national parks in SW Utah.

If you want to go to Northern California, you should fly.

Fresno or Sacramento? Nothing against those places - I'm sure they're nice to live in, but as a tourist destination, I'd choose someplace else.

You could see Zion/Bryce or Grand Canyon fairly easily. Or if you want to drive into California, Try Death Valley or Sequoia National Parks. Death Valley is great in the winter. Sequioa is very pretty. Weather can be tricky in Bryce or Seqouia. Zion weather could be on the tricky side also.

Sacramento? It could fill a couple of days - But, from Las Vegas? In January?? Nope. It is hundreds of miles from LV and most of that distance will be socked in w/ dangerous tule fog.

Fresno?? Un - no!

From LV - your best bets would be Death Valley, or the Grand Canyon, or Los Angeles/San Diego.

If you're on a budget, you shouldn't be backtracking, so fly home from California.
One way car rental rates from LV to California are usually good, with no one-way drop fee.

I usually recommend Zion National Park from LV, but in January you could have weather problems. How about a couple of nights in Palm Springs, CA? Might not fit your budget, but there are some lower-priced hotels just outside of town, plenty of shopping & restaurants, and you could probably get a cheap flight home from Ontario, Ca. Are your free tickets only valid if you fly back from Vegas???