khanfam

Nice itinerary. As far as Yosemite goes check online with US Parks and Recreation website, or any local Yosemite site. Closest large town is Fresno. Due to snowy conditions, snow chains may be required to go up, depending on weather. It snowed in May last year. Might look into that.

KiwiAH

And Carmel Valley, any thoughts on this area please.

MmePerdu

No vineyards in my report but a very nice visit in Sonoma, to encourage you to think about a stay there. I've been back twice since, including the Sonoma Creek Inn, a modest but comfy place to stay.

https://www.travelgumbo.com/blog/roa...ay-in-sonoma-1

MichelleY

You might want to plan your itinerary around when you can get lodging in Yosemite Valley. Or stay in El Portal as mentioned by Janisj.

Agree that you should stay further away from SF. Sonoma or Healdsburg, which is also in Sonoma County and a great wine growing area.

khanfam

Beautiful area, but you being from NZ have probably seen better.

MichelleY

Carmel Valley is nice to visit wineries but I would stay in Carmel town or Pacific Grove.

mjs

I too would stay in Sonoma for your purposes as there is no point of just moving outside the city. You can visit the coast as well as Napa valley from someplace central in Sonoma. I tend to buy wines these days more from Sonoma than Napa but tend to dine more in Napa. Stay in Carmel or Pacific Grove instead of Carmel valley. The 7 Gables Inn is quite nice in Pacific Grove.

KiwiAH

Hi, I am looking at where to stay in San Francisco. Has anyone stayed at The Laurel Inn, Pacific Heights?? What are your thoughts with the accommdation and area. Many thanks.

KiwiAH

We are now thinking of renting a car and travelling to Las Vegas from San Francisco. Is it possible to drive to Yosemite and then onto Las Vegas. How many days would we require?? Spending approx 5 days at Las Vegas for sightseeing. Grand canyon, Hoover Dam, Death Valley and then flying back to San Francisco. Can anyone advise.

janisj

The drive is 'possible' but unless Tioga Pass is open and right now the snow pack is deeper than average at this time of year - anything can happen between now and May but I sure wouldn't count it be open in May) So the drive from YNP to Vegas is 500 miles and through the central Valley to Bakersfield and across the Mohave Desert. it is a 10-ish hour drive at the best of times and no decent place to break the drive.

A better option (and likely cheaper considering car rental rates/drop off charges and an one-night hotel en route) would be to fly from FAT (by far the closest) or SMF/SFO/sJC to Las Vegas

tomfuller

It is possible to get to Yosemite from San Francisco in May by using an Amtrak bus from a location in San Francisco to San Jose and getting on a San Joaquin train to Merced with a YARTS bus connection to Yosemite. The YARTS bus also stops each way at El Portal if you can't get a room at Awahnee.
Leaving Merced take the San Joaquin train south to Fresno and a taxi to the Fresno airport (FAT). Fly to Las Vegas and rent a car there for Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam etc.
Why do you have to return to San Francisco? If it is for a return flight to New Zealand, why not fly home from Los Angeles or even Honolulu?