Roadtrip to Yosemite etc
Apr 30th, 2017, 06:14 PM
#1
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Roadtrip to Yosemite etc
Hi,
me and 3 friends (we're all students from Europe, kinda on a budget) would appreciate some advice regarding a trip in mid-June that we have just decided to go on to.
We are on a roadtrip together for a week and then one of us has to leave and the rest will probably just stay around San Francisco and LA. The first thoughts are:
Day 1: flight to LA, rent a car? I heard that renting a car in Las Vegas is much cheaper though, is that true?
Day 2: drive to Vegas in the morning, stay there for a night
Day 3: day trip to Grand Canyon, go back to Vegas and spend the night
Day 4: drive to Yosemite, stop somewhere to spend the night since it's a 9-11 hour drive apparently
Day 5: arrive at Yosemite... now I think the reservations for June are long gone, but it's still possible to just enter the park for a day, right? I would like us to try and get those "early arrival" spots early in the morning, but we would already need camping stuff ourselves, right, or can you rent it there somewhere?
If we can stay overnight, we would stay for two nights, if not we might just go to Death Valley for one day, too. Or drive back to Yosemite in the morning from a nearby hotel if there's anything within reasonable prices
Day 7: return to LA and return the car
After that, one would split and the remaining 3 are thinking about staying a week in LA + SF. I would like to go to the Universal Studios in LA (a 2-day-pass), then 1 day to check out LA and the rest in SF. Then fly back from LA because roundtrip is cheaper (I guess taking the bus between LA+SF). One of us is going further north after that to visit Seattle and fly back from there, but I'm not sure I'm gonna join because I don't want to stay much longer than 2 weeks (money-wise).
What do you guys think? Does this make sense or would something else be better? What about starting in LA? Any other recommendations near our destinations that we definitely should check out, especially after the end of the roadtrip near LA etc?
me and 3 friends (we're all students from Europe, kinda on a budget) would appreciate some advice regarding a trip in mid-June that we have just decided to go on to.
We are on a roadtrip together for a week and then one of us has to leave and the rest will probably just stay around San Francisco and LA. The first thoughts are:Day 1: flight to LA, rent a car? I heard that renting a car in Las Vegas is much cheaper though, is that true?
Day 2: drive to Vegas in the morning, stay there for a night
Day 3: day trip to Grand Canyon, go back to Vegas and spend the night
Day 4: drive to Yosemite, stop somewhere to spend the night since it's a 9-11 hour drive apparently
Day 5: arrive at Yosemite... now I think the reservations for June are long gone, but it's still possible to just enter the park for a day, right? I would like us to try and get those "early arrival" spots early in the morning, but we would already need camping stuff ourselves, right, or can you rent it there somewhere?
If we can stay overnight, we would stay for two nights, if not we might just go to Death Valley for one day, too. Or drive back to Yosemite in the morning from a nearby hotel if there's anything within reasonable prices
Day 7: return to LA and return the car
After that, one would split and the remaining 3 are thinking about staying a week in LA + SF. I would like to go to the Universal Studios in LA (a 2-day-pass), then 1 day to check out LA and the rest in SF. Then fly back from LA because roundtrip is cheaper (I guess taking the bus between LA+SF). One of us is going further north after that to visit Seattle and fly back from there, but I'm not sure I'm gonna join because I don't want to stay much longer than 2 weeks (money-wise).
What do you guys think? Does this make sense or would something else be better? What about starting in LA? Any other recommendations near our destinations that we definitely should check out, especially after the end of the roadtrip near LA etc?
Apr 30th, 2017, 08:26 PM
#2
What is your budget per night? There are a couple of motels very close to Yosemite (Yosemite View Lodge and Cedar Lodge -- both in El Portal which is the only area close to Yosemite Valley.
LA > Vegas > Yosemite > Death Valley > LA makes no sense at all. Look at a map that would have you covering the same (and very ugly) route through Bakersfield twice).
If you have not yet booked your flights, consider flying in to San Francisco and stay one night. Drive to Yosemite. Stay 2 nights in Yosemite (since it will take half a day to get there). Then drive (in one VERY long day) all the way to Death Valley. Accommodations in the park are difficult but here are a couple of towns nearby like Lone Pine or Ridgecrest with inexpensive lodging. Then to Las Vegas for 1 or 2 nights, then to LA and drop the car. Those continuing to Seattle can fly up from LAX.
OR you can do it in reverse LA > Las Vegas > Death Valley > looooooong drive to El Portal/Yosemite > San Francisco. Fly up to SeaTac.
LA > Vegas > Yosemite > Death Valley > LA makes no sense at all. Look at a map that would have you covering the same (and very ugly) route through Bakersfield twice).
If you have not yet booked your flights, consider flying in to San Francisco and stay one night. Drive to Yosemite. Stay 2 nights in Yosemite (since it will take half a day to get there). Then drive (in one VERY long day) all the way to Death Valley. Accommodations in the park are difficult but here are a couple of towns nearby like Lone Pine or Ridgecrest with inexpensive lodging. Then to Las Vegas for 1 or 2 nights, then to LA and drop the car. Those continuing to Seattle can fly up from LAX.
OR you can do it in reverse LA > Las Vegas > Death Valley > looooooong drive to El Portal/Yosemite > San Francisco. Fly up to SeaTac.
Apr 30th, 2017, 09:25 PM
#3
Could you fly to Las Vegas or Reno instead of LAX?
If you went to Reno and rented, you can drive through some nicer scenery on the way to Yosemite.
If you rented in Las Vegas go through Death Valley to get on US 395 north to Lone Pine or Bishop.
Probably the Tioga Pass over to Yosemite will still be closed in mid June. If it is, you should drive north to Carson City and take US 50 west to Placerville and 49 south through the gold country of California to get to Yosemite.
There was a huge amount of snow in the Sierras this winter.
Another option would be to fly to Fresno and rent a car there for less days to see Yosemite and maybe San Francisco.
Fresno is also on the Amtrak San Joaquin line which could get any or all of you to Sacramento or San Francisco.
The Amtrak Coast Starlight between Los Angeles and San Francisco/Emeryville is a much better experience than a bus.
If you went to Reno and rented, you can drive through some nicer scenery on the way to Yosemite.
If you rented in Las Vegas go through Death Valley to get on US 395 north to Lone Pine or Bishop.
Probably the Tioga Pass over to Yosemite will still be closed in mid June. If it is, you should drive north to Carson City and take US 50 west to Placerville and 49 south through the gold country of California to get to Yosemite.
There was a huge amount of snow in the Sierras this winter.
Another option would be to fly to Fresno and rent a car there for less days to see Yosemite and maybe San Francisco.
Fresno is also on the Amtrak San Joaquin line which could get any or all of you to Sacramento or San Francisco.
The Amtrak Coast Starlight between Los Angeles and San Francisco/Emeryville is a much better experience than a bus.
Apr 30th, 2017, 11:14 PM
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Thank you for the replies!
@janisj: I think we would love it if the stay per person and night could be 20 or around 30 dollars max (never really stayed in a motel in the US before, so not sure if that's realistic?).
We were thinking about only going to Death Valley if things with Yosemite don't work out well since we don't have that much time on the roadtrip unfortunately and we would prioritize Yosemite (and yeah unfortunately the trip seems to be long between these two). But I take it that you mean driving from Vegas to Yosemite and then from Yosemite to LA still doesn't make much sense, right? At least googlemaps tells me that the road still goes twice through Bakerfield.
I concur that it looks as if SF -> Yosemite would make much more sense on the map and a friend told me that most people start in SF if they go on a roadtrip around there. The only problem is that one of us is gonna be on the west coast prior and would be in LA at the starting time and asked us if we can meet there, that's the main reason why we'd start there... gonna ask again if we can change that somehow.
Another thing is that there are often fees when you drop the car somewhere else so we were hoping to return it at the same place, although the fee might not apply intrastate if both SF and LA are in California, right?
@tomfuller:
I was actually considering flying to Vegas directly, not sure how we'd do that, maybe the other person (it will be 1 or 2 of the others who are already on the westcoast before the trip) would just get the car in LA since they start there and drive to Vegas to meet us. However, since roundtrip flights are usually much cheaper I think it would be a pain for me to try to go back to Vegas or Reno in the end after we already return the car, that's also one of the reasons why the 1 friend and I who were thinking about starting in Vegas agreed that we could all start in LA... I have to check out the flight prices again. googlemaps is indicating that Tioga Pass is open mid-June (and even in May? But not now) since they show a path that is still closed now, but not sure how accurate that is. The suggested route is the one west through Bakerfield though, even from Vegas (which looks strange geographically, it looks as if east past Death Valley and then through Tioga Pass would make much more sense if that road is possible?)
I think the Amtrak costs at least 60 one-way which was double the price of a bustrip (and we would need to get back from SF if we're flying back from LA). We were thinking about just traveling cheaply and maybe taking the bus overnight or would you say that the Amtrak is much better (scenery etc?)
@janisj: I think we would love it if the stay per person and night could be 20 or around 30 dollars max (never really stayed in a motel in the US before, so not sure if that's realistic?).
We were thinking about only going to Death Valley if things with Yosemite don't work out well since we don't have that much time on the roadtrip unfortunately and we would prioritize Yosemite (and yeah unfortunately the trip seems to be long between these two). But I take it that you mean driving from Vegas to Yosemite and then from Yosemite to LA still doesn't make much sense, right? At least googlemaps tells me that the road still goes twice through Bakerfield.
I concur that it looks as if SF -> Yosemite would make much more sense on the map and a friend told me that most people start in SF if they go on a roadtrip around there. The only problem is that one of us is gonna be on the west coast prior and would be in LA at the starting time and asked us if we can meet there, that's the main reason why we'd start there... gonna ask again if we can change that somehow.
Another thing is that there are often fees when you drop the car somewhere else so we were hoping to return it at the same place, although the fee might not apply intrastate if both SF and LA are in California, right?
@tomfuller:
I was actually considering flying to Vegas directly, not sure how we'd do that, maybe the other person (it will be 1 or 2 of the others who are already on the westcoast before the trip) would just get the car in LA since they start there and drive to Vegas to meet us. However, since roundtrip flights are usually much cheaper I think it would be a pain for me to try to go back to Vegas or Reno in the end after we already return the car, that's also one of the reasons why the 1 friend and I who were thinking about starting in Vegas agreed that we could all start in LA... I have to check out the flight prices again. googlemaps is indicating that Tioga Pass is open mid-June (and even in May? But not now) since they show a path that is still closed now, but not sure how accurate that is. The suggested route is the one west through Bakerfield though, even from Vegas (which looks strange geographically, it looks as if east past Death Valley and then through Tioga Pass would make much more sense if that road is possible?)
I think the Amtrak costs at least 60 one-way which was double the price of a bustrip (and we would need to get back from SF if we're flying back from LA). We were thinking about just traveling cheaply and maybe taking the bus overnight or would you say that the Amtrak is much better (scenery etc?)
Apr 30th, 2017, 11:32 PM
#5
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I think the first step I will take is check the flights again tomorrow, but when we looked at them today LA was actually the cheapest option roundway (+ two of us might wanna start there because they're already there, but the 4th person and I could meet them somewhere else I guess). If you say it makes much more sense to start in SF or Vegas I will ask again if we could organize it differently. I think Reno wasn't really in our plans though.
Just to recap, if we have to start in LA or Vegas after all, would LA -> Vegas -> Grand Canyon -> Vegas -> Yosemite make sense? And then I guess Yosemite -> SF would be much better than to return to LA by car? (Gotta check out how that would work out with renting)
Just to recap, if we have to start in LA or Vegas after all, would LA -> Vegas -> Grand Canyon -> Vegas -> Yosemite make sense? And then I guess Yosemite -> SF would be much better than to return to LA by car? (Gotta check out how that would work out with renting)
Apr 30th, 2017, 11:40 PM
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Ah I forgot to say (no edit option? 
) thanks for the tip about going over Bishop (and further north if the pass is closed), gonna push for everyone to do this so we can avoid going through ugly Bakerfield (poor Bakerfield) twice, we didn't really think about that before!
) thanks for the tip about going over Bishop (and further north if the pass is closed), gonna push for everyone to do this so we can avoid going through ugly Bakerfield (poor Bakerfield) twice, we didn't really think about that before!
May 1st, 2017, 04:37 AM
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With a little research about costs at the end of the trip, your plan: LA>Vegas>Grand Canyon> Yosemite>SanFrancisco would make sense, since some of the group will already be in LA.
If you need to return the car to LA, be aware that you need to check road conditions in California all the time as landslides have eliminated some of the more logical tourist routes.
As to the costs for motels, there are motels with 2 queen beds that you might be able to get for $120/night, so if you are willing to share beds, then you would be able to meet your budget. Look for ones that advertise "free breakfast" and look for discount books or on line for coupons for walk ins. The cities tend to be much higher, except Vegas which often is cheaper in the summer. Do look off the strip and be aware of "resort fees" which can seriously increase the nightly costs there.
Some of the discount stores do sell 2 to 4 person tents for a couple hundred $ and you would need sleeping bags and pads. Occasionally Good Will, Salvation Army, resale shops, etc. will have them too, so camping might be an option. Do the math and be sure to include the fees for camping.
Another option would be to look for hostels in the more expensive areas.
I'm a fan of the south rim of the Grand Canyon, but from Vegas you could visit Zion and Bryce as well as the north rim of the GC then head out to Yosemite without going back to Vegas.
Have fun
If you need to return the car to LA, be aware that you need to check road conditions in California all the time as landslides have eliminated some of the more logical tourist routes.
As to the costs for motels, there are motels with 2 queen beds that you might be able to get for $120/night, so if you are willing to share beds, then you would be able to meet your budget. Look for ones that advertise "free breakfast" and look for discount books or on line for coupons for walk ins. The cities tend to be much higher, except Vegas which often is cheaper in the summer. Do look off the strip and be aware of "resort fees" which can seriously increase the nightly costs there.
Some of the discount stores do sell 2 to 4 person tents for a couple hundred $ and you would need sleeping bags and pads. Occasionally Good Will, Salvation Army, resale shops, etc. will have them too, so camping might be an option. Do the math and be sure to include the fees for camping.
Another option would be to look for hostels in the more expensive areas.
I'm a fan of the south rim of the Grand Canyon, but from Vegas you could visit Zion and Bryce as well as the north rim of the GC then head out to Yosemite without going back to Vegas.
Have fun
May 1st, 2017, 07:06 AM
#9
I have flown between Las Vegas and LAX (once). The flight is short and quite cheap. It is much better than driving across the Mojave Desert IMO.
If you go from LV to the south rim, do not come back any farther than Williams. Come back to Las Vegas the next morning with a stop at Hoover Dam.
The rental cars from Las Vegas are much cheaper than anything you rent in California.
If you go from LV to the south rim, do not come back any farther than Williams. Come back to Las Vegas the next morning with a stop at Hoover Dam.
The rental cars from Las Vegas are much cheaper than anything you rent in California.
May 1st, 2017, 10:30 AM
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One of us is a driver over 25, but we also have a promo code from our university that is supposed to waive that premium fee for those under 25. I'm actually not sure if it works everywhere but otherwise at least one of us can rent the car luckily.
Thanks for the advice! Last time I went camping we rented the equipment, maybe something like that would be possible again, I have to look it up. The Cedar Lodge already seems to be booked out and both seem pretty expensive for our standards with rooms for 190/night just for 2 people. Do you know if you are technically allowed to sleep in the car too (if we find nothing else, or if we go camping, one might still just sleep in the back of the car)?
I think Zion and Bryce would be interesting too but I will have to ask the others and see if there is time for that (also we would have to find an affordable motel/hostel there again then, is that hard? because I guess Vegas should be no problem to stay overnight for cheap during that time)
We weren't aware it take 5 hours each way from Vegas to the Canyon, thought it's 2 something according to googlemaps, thanks for the headsup, definitely need to change that.
I'm actually not sure if it works everywhere but otherwise at least one of us can rent the car luckily.Thanks for the advice! Last time I went camping we rented the equipment, maybe something like that would be possible again, I have to look it up. The Cedar Lodge already seems to be booked out and both seem pretty expensive for our standards with rooms for 190/night just for 2 people. Do you know if you are technically allowed to sleep in the car too (if we find nothing else, or if we go camping, one might still just sleep in the back of the car)?
I think Zion and Bryce would be interesting too but I will have to ask the others and see if there is time for that (also we would have to find an affordable motel/hostel there again then, is that hard? because I guess Vegas should be no problem to stay overnight for cheap during that time)
We weren't aware it take 5 hours each way from Vegas to the Canyon, thought it's 2 something according to googlemaps, thanks for the headsup, definitely need to change that.
May 1st, 2017, 11:16 AM
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You need to up your budget, $20-30 per night is not getting you a motel, even hostel dorm beds cost more than that. I took a quick look on hostelbookers.com and the cheapest hostel I could find that did not look unsafe or sketchy was Banana Bungalow in Hollywood for almost $29 per night per person and that is not including 15% room tax. The nicest hostel in the LA area is the HI Hostel in Santa Monica 2 blocks from the beach. A single dorm bed for one night midweek in June was almost $52 plus tax.
Hostels are also not real common in the US like they are in Europe and Australia, in the Yosemite area there is only the Yosemite Bug (gets good reviews) an hour's drive away. I believe they have YARTS bus service.
No you cannot sleep in your car, you could get a ticket or told by the police to move along.
If you must take a bus, avoid Greyhound at all costs. Its stations are often in sketchy areas (in LA the station is 2 blocks from Skid Row).
Hostels are also not real common in the US like they are in Europe and Australia, in the Yosemite area there is only the Yosemite Bug (gets good reviews) an hour's drive away. I believe they have YARTS bus service.
No you cannot sleep in your car, you could get a ticket or told by the police to move along.
If you must take a bus, avoid Greyhound at all costs. Its stations are often in sketchy areas (in LA the station is 2 blocks from Skid Row).
May 1st, 2017, 12:03 PM
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That's good to know, I have only booked an airbnb at LA so far (for the multiple days we're staying after the roadtrip) and that was quite okay, but the other destinations we would have to just spontaneously book there because we don't know for sure when we will be where. We are of course willing to share a bed etc so if there would be a room with 2 doubles or something like that I thought it might be cheap, but gonna calculate having to spend more per night then.
I saw that there's a Yosemite Pines rv resort just about 22 miles from the National Park (on the west side entrance), I would consider that one right now because if the rooms are still free by the time we will book them in 2-3 days it would be only around 50-80 per person for two nights which sounds amazing so as long as I'm not missing anything (we can just drive in/out each morning/evening then?) it'd be great.
OK, thanks a lot for the tip, we've taken Greyhound before because it's usually so cheap, but that's certainly to put into consideration then!
I saw that there's a Yosemite Pines rv resort just about 22 miles from the National Park (on the west side entrance), I would consider that one right now because if the rooms are still free by the time we will book them in 2-3 days it would be only around 50-80 per person for two nights which sounds amazing so as long as I'm not missing anything (we can just drive in/out each morning/evening then?) it'd be great.
OK, thanks a lot for the tip, we've taken Greyhound before because it's usually so cheap, but that's certainly to put into consideration then!
May 1st, 2017, 12:21 PM
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OK, that's some nice advertising then :/ But I actually read some reviews on yelp and they said it's 30 minutes to the entrance and 60 min to the main valley, are you sure it's 90+? I guess 60 would still be ok, if it's much more than that we should reconsider again
May 1st, 2017, 12:27 PM
#16
It would be maybe a little less than 30 mins to the south entrance. 60 minutes to the very beginning of Yosemite Valley perhaps. And 90 to Yosemite Village. But do realize that the road is slow and if this is in the summer there will be a lot of traffic, and they seriously enforce the (quite low) speed limits.
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