yypeh

Hi,

It's our first time to the United Sates. We are intending to head over around mid December to early January.
A rough itinerary that i did goes like this:

First stop would be SF
1) Alcatraz Island
2) Making full use of the cable car - Fisherman Whraf, Pier 39. Chinatown etc
3) Napa Valley - following the tours

May i know where else is worth going and any recommendations for accommodation ?

Then we will fly to LV
1) Explore the LV hotels
2) Shop at the premium outlets
3) Fremont Street Experience
4) Visit - Badwater Basin, Zabriskie Point, Artist's Plaette - all in one day

Then
Drive to Hoover Dam - Spend the night at Tusayan

Next day -
1) Grand Canyon Village

Following Day -
1) Antelope Canyon
2) Horseshoe Bend

Drive back to Vegas

Then head to Utah ?

Isit feasible and do you all have any recommendations on which ski resort to go and will heading to Alaska to see the northern lights be a good idea too?

Many Thanks,
Kav

MoBro

Have you looked at a map?

Patty

How many days do you want to ski? Brian Head is small ski resort that's near the southern UT parks. If you're planning to devote more than a couple of days to skiing, then maybe look farther north in UT like Park City, etc. Or look at ski resorts around Lake Tahoe. Christmas and New Year is a busy time to travel.

MmePerdu

Follow-up to Patty's "Christmas and New Year is a busy time to travel", at this point availability of accommodations may dictate where you go in some cases.

StuDudley

Here are some things to do & see in the San Francisco area. Fisherman's Wharf is not on the "things" list.

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...mendations.cfm

Stu Dudley

bailey123

How long do you plan to be in the States?

Alaska is probably unrealistic. Have you looked at the distance from your northern most location, SF?

Difficult to advise when we have no idea how long you would like to stay in each location.

Doesn't make sense that you would travel back from Page Az to LV only to turn around and head to Utah.

I agree with Mobro, you need to look at a map.

Your trip highlights so far for SF and LV would not be on my must see list but everyone has their own priorities of interest. IMHO, LV is worth no more than one day.

Best skiing is UT around Salt Lake City or CO in either SW CO or front range. None of these areas are close to your northeastern most point of travel, Page AZ. Reno/Lake Tahoe is your closest decent option which is east of SF but least likely of the areas I have mentioned to have good quality snow and is crowded due to a large population of skiers based out of CA. Depending on your experience driving snow covered mountainous roads and the type of vehicle you intend to rent will also affect your ski options.

yypeh

MoBro - yeah i did ...

Patty - was thinking of spending 3days 2nights at the resort! Great, will take a look! Do you have any other recommendations?

StuDudley - hey, thanks! will take a look!

Patty

Depending on your experience driving snow covered mountainous roads and the type of vehicle you intend to rent will also affect your ski options.

This is a very important point. Do you have winter driving experience? Are you planning to rent a 4WD? Rental car companies don't allow tire chains on their cars. Salt Lake City has a lot of direct flights and you can shuttle to the nearby resorts. It's probably the easiest option without a car. Reno/Tahoe may be the next best no car option or if you're OK with driving, it's 4 hours from SF. And yes, if you're planning to drive to UT, no reason to go back to Las Vegas after Page.

yypeh

Hi bailey 123,

We intend to be there for around 3 weeks!

Yeah, understand on that point about Alaska. Roughly ideally 4 days per location, depending?

Hmm what would you recommend then for SF and LV?

The reason why we intend to head back to vegas than fly to utah is cause of the distance.. what would you recommend ?

Was thinking of skiing at utah, cause of the snow! We have totally no experience in driving on snow covered mountainous roads...

Thanks for being patient!

yypeh

Hi Patty,

No ... we do not have any winter driving experience.. Hmm understand, how would you recommend our route to be like?

Patty

Then I think it's best to fly to wherever you ski. It can snow at the Grand Canyon at that time of year as well.

bailey123

On your return to LV, from Page do you intend to visit Zion NP or will you be returning via the same route you used on your outbound? If for some reason you choose to return by your same outbound route, it's about the same time and distance to Phoenix allowing you to see Sedona en route and see Phoenix during a nice time of the year. Of course there might be a drop off fee on your rental car in Phx but you might make it up on your flight to SLC from Phx.

There are several good ski options out of SLC such as Alta, Snowbird, DeerValley and Park City. You would probably enjoy Park City if you want to be in a quaint small former mining town with ski, restaurants, lodging and the town itself all in walking distance. The other options are all good skiing but more of a ski resort feel. Alta and Snowbird have the best skiing IMO. Park city has a good number of snowboarders and Deer Valley doesn't allow snowboards and tends to "pamper" guests a bit.

In answer to your Q on my recommendations for SF and LV. In SF, Coit tower, Golden Gate park and the conservatory, a tour of Haight Ashbury for history on the hippy summer of love, Golden Gate Rec. Area, the Presidio, Sausalito, Stinson Beach, Muir Woods, Sonoma and Heraldsburg, the wine train, embarcadero, union square, go down to Monterey and see the aquarium and Cannery Row. Take a scenic boat trip off the coast of SF to see the City from a different perspective. That should more than take up your 4 days

LV, see one of the show extravaganzas, briefly visit a casino if that interests you (or maybe not so briefly if it really interests you), walk the strip just for lights and gaudiness experience and then exit the town. If it were me, I would limit LV to 1 day and 1 night and allocate the rest of your "Nevada" time to sights north and south of SF

Patty

Some of the areas near SF can be more than a day trip. Monterey for example is 2 hours from SF via the fastest route or 3 hours via the coastal route and there's enough to do here to fill 2-3 days but we don't know what your interests are so it's hard to make specific suggestions. It can be rainy in coastal CA at that time of year and snowing in the mountains but in between the storms there can be beautiful days. Just be aware that flights and accommodations will be at a premium over the holidays, airports will be crowded and driving from point A to point B will take longer than normal.

yypeh

Hi Patty,

Yeah was thinking of doing just that. Yeah heard of it.. the weather really varies right?

We do not have any particular preferences.. Could you share, what's nice over at Monterey ?

Yeah understand on that point cause its the holidays haha!

Thanks for being patient and sharing! Appreciate it alot

yypeh

Hi bailey 123,

We kinda intend to return via the same route .. Understand your point, will take a look !!

Was looking at Snowbird initially, okay great will take a look at Park city and consider!

Nice, will have a look at those places mentioned How about accommodation, do you have any recommendations ? For both SF and LV!

Ah i see, there isn't much at LV too..

Where's the best place to spend christmas at ?

Is there any other modes of communication that i can contact you through besides this forum ?

Thanks for being patient and sharing! Appreciate it alot

yypeh

Hi Patty,

Do you have any recommendations for accommodation for both SF and LV?

Is there any other modes of communication that i can contact you through besides this forum?

Thanks in advance!

bailey123

The quintessential Christmas could be found at Park City but it will be very busy on the slopes. If you choose to do this, you may want to check to see if there is a short Shuttle over to neighboring Deer Valley to ski but stay in Park City. Of course, anyplace skiing during the holidays is going to be crowded.

Phoenix has many options to celebrate christmas. Two events every year are zoo lights and botanical garden luminaries, google each to get details. Many others change each year, again, just google Christmas events in Phoenix.

Patty may be able to give you more info. on SF at Christmas. I have never spent Christmas in SF. Again, google SF and Christmas to get ideas.

Patty

What's nice on the Monterey Peninsula is the coastal scenery and marine wildlife. I have a couple of threads with photos on Big Sur http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...os-6102017.cfm and Moss Landing http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...ss-landing.cfm There's also the aquarium and if you go whale watching at that time of year, you can catch the gray whale migration as they pass along our coast. Weather will affect what you can and can't do. There's isn't much indoor activity here, no nightlife to speak of and our holiday festivities generally fall between the end of November and early to mid-December so you'll miss them.

I've never spent Christmas in SF either. Maybe Stu has some ideas.

StuDudley

We've spent 7 Christmases in SF and 37 "visits" at Christmas from 20 mins away where we now live. Union Square and Justin Herman Plaza at the Embarcadero Center have ice rinks. The one at Union Square will be active at night too. Lots of pretty storefronts lit-up around Union Square. There is a house all decorated-up on 22nd St around Noe St. Take the J-Church Muni Metro go get there. The Fairmont Hotel on Nob Hill usually has some stuff in the lobby. Also check out the Palace Hotel on Market St & New Montgomery. The cats & dogs in the windows at Macys had been disappointing the last 10 years or so - but it's a "tradition".

Stu Dudley

emalloy

At Christmas time (or really any winter time) do have a plan B in case of bad weather. We have lucked out on some winter trips and seldom have had snow except at high elevations, but you can hit very bad conditions and need to stay in until the roads are cleared.

If you plan on driving to Death Valley from Vegas, the route we like best is to drive north on 95 to the town of Beatty then head west. You can visit Rhyolite, a ghost town, about a mile from the road and only a 10 minute detour unless you opt to stay longer. Drive south when you get down into the valley and visit the sites you mentioned in your OP, including Borax works, Furnace Creek VC, Artists Pallet Drive, Badwater, etc. then hit Zabriski point on your way back to Vegas through Parumph.

Have a great trip.