need fine tuning in west coast itineary
 

Hello Friend

My self along with her hubby and 2 kids , aged 8 and 12 are landing in LA on June1. My dad is also going to be joining us. Wehave always been self driving in our holiday in Australia and would like to do the same for US. We will be there for 15 days
.
We need a little help in planning the route in term of car picks and drops and how to go about the itineary. If you could chalk a day wise intineary that would great. Also if you could suggest hotels , and places to eat as we are vegetarians

Also tell me if they should do Yosemite and Lake tahoue both or , only one. Our primary interest is , little bit of theme park for kids , and little bit of nature . Also what would be the best way of seeing grand canyon . They were thinking of driving to grand canyon from vegas , is it advisable . Is San Diego worth including or should we skip it ?

Thks so much
Mona
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Below is my itineary :
We arrive in LA on Thursday 30 May 2013 at 1.30pm.

We will rest on 30th.

31 May and 1 June - 2 Disney parks.

3 June - Hollywood sign, Walk of Fame, Beverly Hills etc.

4 June - leave LA

We would like to do the following :-

Las Vegas - 3 days including Grand canyon

Yosemite National Park - 2/3 days

Lake Tahoe - 2/3 days.

San Fransisco - 2 days.

Drive from San Fransisco to LA with an overnite stop enroute. Drive via the coastal route.

last day in San Fransisco 0n 14 June.

Depart for Singapore on 15 June at 1pm from hotel in LA.

We would like drive all the way without any internal flights and drive no more than 5/6 hours a day.

What would be the best route with appropriate stopovers?


Thanks.

My best idea would be to leave LA by 6PM on June 3rd (Monday).
Drive north through the evening On Interstate 15 to exit 1 in Nevada. The roller coaster at Buffalo Bill's in Primm may still be operating. Stay in Primm. On June 4 go through Las Vegas and see Hoover Dam on the way to the south rim of the Grand Canyon. Come back to Las Vegas. If the Tioga Pass from US 395 is open into Yosemite, use it to get there. If not, continue north on 395 and go to Lake Tahoe first and then come south to come into Yosemite through the west entrance.
It is best to drive through the Mojave desert in the dark rather than during the heat of the day.

This is the part I don't understand:

Drive from San Fransisco to LA with an overnite stop enroute. Drive via the coastal route. last day in San Fransisco 0n 14 June.Depart for Singapore on 15 June at 1pm from hotel in LA.

[IF YOUR LAST DAY IN SAN FRANCISCO IS 14 JUNE, AND YOU'RE LEAVING FROM LA ON 15 JUNE, HOW WILL YOU HAVE 2 DAYS TO DRIVE DOWN THE COAST?]

I think you should stick to LA and San Diego areas, and Las Vegas and Grand Canyon. Perhaps throw in Zion and Bryce.

Skip Lake Tahoe. Visit Bodie State Historic Park (just above Mono Lake) on the way to Yosemite over Tioga pass. It should be open by the time you get there because we did not have much snow this year.

Problem: Accommodations at the Grand Canyon and in Yosemite are probably fully booked.

2 days should be enough of Yosemite. It is a 4+ hour drive from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon. I would not want to do it as a round trip in one day.

Visit http://www.visitcolumbiacalifornia.com/ on the way to San Francisco from Yosemite.

Stay in Anaheim for the days you are visiting Disneyland and California Adventure, it is not in or near LA (a good hour drive away in non rush hour traffic.). You want to get to the parks when they open as it is less crowded then.

Drop Tahoe.
Add a night in between Vegas and Yosemite (Lone Pine or Mammoth Lakes). It is a VERY long drive.
Add a night to San Francisco (2 days is not a lot)
Add another night to the Highway 1 drive. Stay in Monterey and either Cambria or Pismo Beach.

For Yosemite and Grand Canyon, try calling every day as people do cancel all the time. Otherwise Tusayan near GC has some motels, as does El Portal outside Yosemite.