anjailar5901

Hi!

I would like your help with creating an itinerary for out trip (we will be 2 travelling).

We land in Las Vegas on 16.4. in the evening and fly out of LA on the 2. MAy in the afternoon.
so we have 15 full days and half a day on our way back
Because of road closures, we will fly from LV to SF.
We plan to rent a car in SF and drive to LA.

My question is, how to best allocate the days to see as much as possible?

Ideally, we would like to see/visit
LV: 1 day in the city
Grand Canyon & Hoover Dam
Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe bent
Valley of Fire
Monument Valley
Death Valley

How many days would you suggest? 5? 7?

then Fly to SF

SF - planning to see Alcatraz
muir woods to see the redwoods
lombard street
pier 39
langdon court/golden gate overlook
1 day trip to Yosemite and back

How many days in SF? 3?

then down the coast? sleep once in Santa monica or santa barbara? and where else? 2

and 2 days LA?
Not planning to go at Universal or anything, only to see the walk of fame and maybe Hollywood sign.
There was even an idea to visit Joshua tree as a day trip from LA but I guess this is not doable.

Thank you so much for any input! I know the itinerary will be packed but that is ok...
we would prefer that is packed in Vegas and then more relaxed in LA.

janisj

Welcome to Fodors. Just very quick right now . . . and only random comments re the San Francisco leg:

• No - 3 days would not be enough time for all that.

• I would not try to squeeze in Muir Woods - especially on a such a short visit. Besides having to pre-book a slot, there is a better/less crowded park you could visit on your drive down the coast at Henry Cowell state park in the Santa Cruz mountains

• A day trip to Yosemite is really difficult - it is a minimum 4.5 hour drive from San Francisco and often longer due to heavy traffic in the Bay Area. It would be MUCH better if you added a day/night in northern California and spent one night in El Portal (there is a nice motel less then 15 minutes from the park entry gate.

jamie99

I'd do Las Vegas, SF, Yosemite, Monterey (or Carmel), Pismo Beach or Morro Bay, Santa Barbara, LA. Drop all the other stuff and save it for another trip. You are grossly underestimating how long it takes to drive and how far apart many of these places are.
Hint: You may pay less of a oneway dropoff fee for the rental car if you drive south to north, LA to SF, instead of vice versa.
You can see the Hollywood sign from many places including Griffith Observatory and the shopping center roof at Hollywood and Highland and can be combined with the Walk of Fame (which takes 10 minutes to an hour, max, prepare to be underwhelmed).
I've never been to Alcatraz in many trips to SF, and do not feel I have missed anything but it is popular with tourists.

anjailar5901

Thank you so much!

We wanted to do a road trip from LV to SF, stop at Yosemite, but we heard that the roads are closed so now we are looking for other options (if there are any).
Can we fly there from LV?

Do we also have to prebook Henry Cowell state park in the Santa Cruz mountains

anjailar5901

Thank you

It is true the distances on a map are different than in real life :/
We are more interested to see the nature around LV than Vegas itself and we do know that Grand Canyon is the furthest one out.
Here is also question if it would be better to;
A: do a day trips from Vegas and rent a car
B: do a day trips but with a tour agency (so there is not much driving)
C: rent a car and do a circle to see the parks and spend 1-2 days in Vegas.

How many days would you suggest for each city?

We can not drive south to north, because we fly out of Los Angeles (our flights are already booked).

Thank you

Jean

I assume you'll rent a car in Las Vegas and hit the road.

You need to check the drive times between the points you mention as I get the sense you don't know how large an area you're wanting to see. Hoover Dam and Valley of Fire are both easy excursions from L.V., and Death Valley from L.V. is probably 5 hours round-trip (that's just the drive). Everything else you mention is hours away, and there is a lot to see beyond those particular sights... Zion National Park, Marble Canyon, Vermilion Cliffs. You could easily spend 10-14 days in this part of the U.S.

If you have 15 days, I'd skip Yosemite, L.A. and most of the drive down the coast... I'd only go as far south as Big Sur. Otherwise, I think you really need 3 weeks.

anjailar5901

Thank you!
That is another question that we have in mind.

Yeah, there are so many parks to see and we know we can not fit all of them in but those are on the top of the list.
I was reading this forum and other blogs and graduated from google maps, but being there and looking at the distance on map is different.

We are more interested to see the nature around LV than Vegas itself and we do know that Grand Canyon is the furthest one out.
Here is also question if it would be better to;
A: do a day trips from Vegas and rent a car
B: do a day trips but with a tour agency (so there is not much driving)
C: rent a car and do a circle to see the parks and spend 1-2 days in Vegas.

We are only able to get 15 days of our annual leave :/ and I know there is a lot to see down the pacific highway, but we have to get to LA (flight out is from there).

Jean

The Grand Canyon is not the farthest one from Las Vegas. That would be Monument Valley which is 7+ hours from Las Vegas.

Even if you could find a tour that would take you to everything on your list, you'd still be spending many, many hours sitting in a bus or van. I would rather drive myself and go where I want to go,

If you can't change your flight out of L.A., consider dropping San Francisco. Fly into Las Vegas and out of L.A. You can fly or drive from Las Vegas to L.A.

janisj

"We wanted to do a road trip from LV to SF, stop at Yosemite, but we heard that the roads are closed so now we are looking for other options (if there are any).
Can we fly there from LV?"

Only one road to Yosemite is closed -- the part of Hwy 120 that crosses Tioga Pass. All roads into Yosemite from the west side are open. You actually can fly from Las Vegas to Fresno which is by far the nearest airport to Yosemite (otherwise it is a loooong mostly boring drive from Vegas through Bakersfield and north to Yosemite.

April/May is absolutely the best time of year in Yosemite Valley so you could easily fit it

"Do we also have to prebook Henry Cowell state park in the Santa Cruz mountains"

No.

One option with 15 days would be to spend 5 or 6-ish days in and around Las Vegas. This would Include a day coach tour to the Grand Canyon and visiting Zion (you could stay in Springdale one night) plus places like Red Rock Canyon. Then fly to FAT (Fresno) and drive up to to the park by the route highway 41 > 49 > 140. This is about a 1 hour longer drive but is a lower elevation road with less chance of snow/ice. Stay in El Portal 2 nights as a base for Yosemite Valley.

Then drive across the state towards Santa Cruz, visit Henry Cowell and then proceed around Monterey Bay to the Carmel/Pacific Grove area -- this would be a total approx 4.5 hour drive. Stay 2 nights in Carmel area. Then drive south through Big Sur and stay in Cambria/Morro Bay/Pismo Beach area.

That brings you to 10 nights and so you can decide if you want to spend a night or two in Santa Barbara or all the rest in the LA area.

This misses out on San Francisco but does cover a couple of the magical Ariz/Utah parks, Yosemite, redwoods (which you will also see in the Big Sur area), the truly gobsmacking Big Sur Coast, a laid back coastal town like Morro Bay, Santa Barbara and its Mission and several days in LA.

Bugsy971

I would skip Yosemite and San Francisco. Concentrate on Vegas and LA. Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon are a must but don't skip out on the many amazing things in Vegas. The Fountains at Bellagio, Eiffel Tower at Paris, The Venetian( they nailed the recreation of it) and the food!!

LA has great restaurants too. Of course there's Venice Beach and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum.

oldemalloy

If you get into Vegas early enough, rent a car and plan on driving towards Grand Canyon and spend the night on the way. We have spent the night at Hoover Dam Lodge Casino which is on rt. 89 just before the dam. You could go farther and stop along I 40 also. You then could tour the dam either before you visit Grand Canyon or on the way back. Spend a night in Grand Canyon , if they say they are full, keep the phone number and call back every day for a cancellation.

on your way back to Vegas take the road from 89 a short way past the dam casino that goes along Lake Meade to the east entrance for Valley of Fire. Exit from VoF at the west end of the park and continue west to I15 and back south to Vegas or north to Zion.

tomfuller

I agree. Stay at Hoover Dam Lodge casino and see Hoover Dam before checking in. Visit the south rim of Grand Canyon and stay overnight if you can. On the way back to Las Vegas, take the shortcut oldemalloy suggests to get to Valley of Fire. Monument Valley is a little too far afield from LV IMO.
You can visit Joshua Tree (or Mojave National Preserve) on the way from Las Vegas to the Los Angeles area. You other option would be to take the short flight from Las Vegas over to Fresno and rent a car to go into Yosemite through the south entrance. If the objective is to see large trees, check out the Mariposa grove in the south end of Yosemite (skipping Muir Woods).
Save San Francisco for another trip. Another way to get from San Francisco to LA other than driving or flying is to take the Amtrak Coast Starlight (bus from San Francisco to Emeryville). The Coast Starlight arrives in Los Angeles Union Station about 9PM every night. You could get off in Santa Barbara about 6 PM and spend a night there and take a Pacific Surfliner train the next day.

anjailar8724

Thank you all so much!

We will skip and the Yosemite but will stay in LV for 8 days.

Like I said, our priority is to see the Nature around LV.

The brief of our itinerary looks something like this;

16.4. Landing in LV at 8PM (Should we stay close to the airport and rent a car the next day?)
17.4. LV - Valley of Fire (1h, 45miles) - Zion (2,5h, 130 miles) - Bryce (2h, 85 milj) we would sleep somewhere close to Bryce. Suggestions?
18.4. Bryce kanjon - Page (2,5h, 151 milj); Antelope Canyon, horseshoe bend, Page Sleep in Page We plan to see the horseshoe bend at sunset. What would be the best option to stay the night? Page, drive to Monument Valley?
19.4. Page - Monument Valley (2h, 120 milj) - Cameron (3h, 172 milj) Ideally we would like to be at Monument Valley around 8-9am. Early start is not a problem. Q here is, would it make sense to also visit Mexican hat and Goosenecks? We would like to sleep as close as possible to the Grand Canyon. Would Cameron be good idea?
20.4. Cameron - Grand Canyon (1,5h, 75 milj) - Williams (1h, 65milj) night at Williams
21.4. Williams - route 66 - Hoover Dam (3h, 190 milj) - LV (1h, 50 milj) night somewhere around Vegas or in LV
22.4. LV - Death Valley - LV (5h, 280milj) night in LV
23.4. Las vegas & NIGHT OUT LV
24.4. Las Vegas

25.4. LV - SF morning flight SF; SF, Fisherman’s Wharf, Alcatraz & Chinatown
26.4. SF Golden Gate Bridge & Golden Gate Park; Lombard Street, Painted Ladies
Is it better to travel in SF by public transport and rent a car when we plan to go down to LA? or before?

27.4. SF - Henry Cowel (1.5h) - Monterey (1h) - Carmel-by-the-Sea (15min)
28.4. CBS - Big Sur (2h+) - Hearst Castle - Morro Bay
29.4. Morro Bay - Pismo beach - Santa Barbara
30.4. Santa Barbara - Venice Beach (2h, 85 milj)
1.5. ??? LA or longer stop before
2.5. morning in LA; walk of fame, holywood sign, FLY out at 5:30pm

It is packed but but I am going to be tourist there so I want to see as much as possible.
Would be american National Pass worth it for this trip?

tomfuller

Cameron, Tuba City and Monument Valley have very limited lodging places. Maybe Flagstaff and then leave early to go to Monument Valley. If you want to be a tourist you can also visit Winslow AZ and take a picture standin' on the Corner with a statue of Glenn Frey. You can decide if you want to get the annual National Parks pass when you get to the entrance of Yosemite or Bryce or just pay the daily admission. Death Valley does not charge admission.
The other thing that you might want to see in the LV area is Red Rocks west of the city.

tom_mn

(is the) American National Pass worth it?

Yes if you visit 3 or more parks. Grand Canyon is $35.

I am all for packing in a lot of sites, but your updated itinerary is not realistic. I was going to suggest cutting out the Arizona part, but as that is your main focus (and now you have added parks in Utah!) then I suggest you cut out most of California except the LA area. Also: you are treating American national parks like the ones in Croatia or Turkey, they can be huge and more than just a parking lot with a view, a 2 hour stop including all the hikes. Sixt Rental cars does not add a one way fee between Las Vegas and California, a Sentra is $700/week plus insurance.

Jean

The California days are not realistic. You point out drive times but not how much time you expect to spend at particular sights, so I don't think you have a good picture of what those days would be like. How much time at Henry Cowell? The Aquarium? Carmel? Big Sur? Will you stop at the Elephant Seal Rookery near San Simeon? After all the beautiful coastline you will have seen, is there a particular reason to stop at Pismo?

And I suspect you've used google maps for the drive time estimates. These are calculations made by a computer mostly based on posted speed limits, but the drives IRL will take longer. Add 20-25% to the estimates, especially as you're leaving SF and as you get closer to LA. Don't forget to account for time needed to rent and return the car.

As of today, Hearst Castle is still not open. If it opens before your trip, you'll need to decide which tour or tours you want to take and organize your day around the timed departures. It may not be possible to drive from Carmel, see a little of Big Sur, have lunch somewhere, stop to view the Elephant Seals, tour Hearst Castle and comfortably reach Morro Bay all in one day.

I'll go further than tom_mn and suggest you skip California entirely. Fly in and out of Las Vegas. Plan another trip to see California.

janisj

Just this since I don't want to pile on (much ). . . once you fly out of Las Vegas the itinerary does fall apart a bit. None of your drive times are realistic. (GoogleMap is a crime against humanity -- it leads visitors to think this sort of plan is doable)

Just look at this part:

27.4. SF - Henry Cowel (1.5h) - Monterey (1h) - Carmel-by-the-Sea (15min)
28.4. CBS - Big Sur (2h+) - Hearst Castle - Morro Bay

On a weekday morning you might make it to HCRSP in 2 hours hours but much longer is possible due to commute traffic. Then you'll want to spend at least 3 hours in the park and close to twice that if you take the Roaring Camp train. Then because of afternoon traffic maybe 1.5-2 hours to Camel, so arriving in the late afternoon. Then you plan on leaving first thing the next morning - no time to see or do anything at all in Monterey or Carmel . . . no Mission, no Monterey Bay Aquarium, no Point Lobos (a must IMO). Then Carmel, through Big Sur, to Hearst Castle and to Morro Bay is a 3.5 hour drive plus stops -- so is an all day trip (assuming Hearst Castle is open but even if its still closed, you'll want several hours for the Big Sur coast/parks)

Barbara

Hearst Castle is reopening on May 11. Reservations can be made beginning March 31. It will not be open in April.

tom_mn

This isn't right, it's $30 (for a week, all national parks are priced per week).

anjailar5901

17.4. LV - hoover dam - route 66 - Grand Canyon

I know it is a lot of driving but this day I know it is doable + we have a whole day


18.4. Grand Canyon - sleep here or someplace close

19. 4. GC (morning) to Kayenta

20.4. Kayenta to Monument Valley (Mexican Hat) - PAge

21.4. Horseshoe Bend (sunrise) and ntelope canyon noon - lake Powel to zion

22.4. Zion - Valley of fire - LV/Death Valley

23.4. Death Valley - LV

24.4. LV

25.4. LV

We want to see the parks but not do every single one of the hikes


26.4. Fly out LV - SF morning flight SF; SF, Fisherman’s Wharf, Alcatraz & Chinatown
27.4. SF Golden Gate Bridge & Golden Gate Park; Lombard Street, Painted Ladies
Is it better to travel in SF by public transport and rent a car when we plan to go down to LA? or before?

or the other way around? do we need a car for SF or is public transport sufficient?

OK, we know it is not ideal.
And we also don't know how it is there, but did a lot of reading and saw itineraries from bloggers etc.

Next time... no idea when will that be ... so only 2 days in SF will have to be enough ...
We also don't want to see everything there is - museum or winery or ... but something.
There were some saying you need 2 days and some saying you need 14. And they are both right. We would like to know, what we can do in the time that we have. No hard feelings to anyone and all suggestions are considered.


28.4. SF - Henry Cowel (1.5h) - Monterey (1h) - Carmel-by-the-Sea (15min)
Henry cowel - short walk to see the redwoods.

29.4. CBS - Big Sur (2h+) - Morro Bay
This day will be for driving and scenery stops. We can sleep in other town if you think it would be better.

30.4. Morro Bay - Pismo beach - Santa Barbara
Pismo beach? no idea to be honest, it was on every itinerary so we decided to add it to the list

1.5. Santa Barbara - Venice Beach (2h, 85 milj) or LA??

2.5. morning in LA; walk of fame, holywood sign, FLY out at 5:30pm