I am a little bit confused. We are flying into LA, renting a car there on x-mas.
Plan: 3n LA, 2n San Diego, 1n Palm Springs, 2n Las Vegas. Upto here, does it make sense?
But then, we are planning to drive to SF. We have 5 days left. Should I take the west rim to Yosemite via Fresno and then proceed to SF?
Or rather go to LA area again and take the Highway No. 1?
Possibly want to cover the wine region as well.
Snow to be avoided if possible.
Any suggestions highly appreciated.Thanx.

The time of year is the main problem, to be honest. It's winter, and it will be cool everywhere (downright cold in a lot of places), and it might be rainy. That will make the drive on CA-1 less fun than in summer. I think there might be restrictions on road travel around Yosemite in winter as well, but I might be wrong.

I'm also not a fan of the drive from southern CA to Vegas. Way too long, way too boring.

The weather could surprise us all and be glorious (it's happened), but last winter was unusually rainy and made for some unpleasant driving.

I guess what I'm saying is: This itinerary makes more sense in late spring or early fall (or even in summer, despite the heat), and some of the long driving would be struck off my list immediately (I hate drives longer than a couple of hours). Just my two cents, though....

Like the other poster said, it just really depends on the year. They are all different. Sometimes there's no real snow to speak of or the storms are quite far apart, in which case all the roads that stay open will be plowed and dry. What about the possibility of flying from Las Vegas to Oakland or San Francisco if the weather look "iffy" and then rent a car in either of those two cities and going to the wine country and where ever else you want to go.

Driving from LV to San Francisco in the winter is a horrible jaunt. Of course the back road into Yosemite is closed, you' have to go the long way around. Through Barstow, Bakersfield and then either up I-5 or, If you wanted to visit Yosemite, hwy 99. Besides being hundreds of mile of nothingness, these routes are also often totally fogged in, The entire central valley gets tule fog which makes for very dangerous driving conditions.

And driving from LV to LA and all the way up hwy 1 in January isn't would eat up most of your 5 days - and it could very possibly be stormy.

I would just drop the car in Vegas and fly to SFO or Oakland. You don't need a car in SF and if you did go to the wine country you could rent a car for the day.

just to clear up any confusion -- between my typos and crefloors info about plowed roads you could get the wrong idea. Tioga Pass WILL be closed - no matter how nice the weather might be while you are there. It closes every year from the first snow fall until usually May, sometimes June or even July.

To get to Yosemite or to SF w/o going up the coast, you will have to travel up the valley.

Only other option would be up 395 to Carson City or Reno and hwy 50 or 80 to SF. And that would also be a VERY long trek.

But if there is a bad storm, getting across mountain from Carson City or Reno into San Francisco is sometimes impossible. You have to cross the mountains somewhere. I think you should just fly up from Las Vegas.

crefloors - I totally agree. I was just trying to show that none of the driving options are good.

Snow in the Sierra, fog in the valley, storms on the coast. Anyway you slice it -- flying is the way to go

Hi all,
thanx a lot for you r valuable inputs. Had I read them before booking my flights (I am living in India as an expat) I might have dropped the California idea altogether.
So, most probably I will now just go LA-San Diego-LV by car and then grab a flight to SF.
Hope the the wheather will not ruin the fun in these places.
To get my focus right: in southern CA the winter would be somewhat milder, is that right?
Greets from Delhi

eckbert -- don't worry too much. The weather could be just about anything but will not be snowy or really cold in LA. SD, Palm Springs, LV or SF. In fact a lot of people go to Las Vegas and Palm Springs for the winter because it is usually nice. And San Diego is famous for having pleasant weather year round. But rainy/winter weather could happen anywhere.

Your two tricky areas were the Sierra mountains and the cantral valley that are between Las Vegas and the california coast/SF. The mountains are very high and get a LOT of snow, and the valley gets a LOT of fog.

so the only problem you really had was the drive from Vegas to central/northern California. Flying LV/SF will take care of that -- and save you more than a day of your limited holiday time.

Southern California and the desert should be quite nice. As others have said, the main issue is the proposed drive from LV to SF. Other than that, it looks like a good itinerary. So fly into SF and you will be good. SF has the most chance of being rainy, but I wouldn't let that deter me from going. Just plan some indoor and outdoor activities you would like to do and then choose what to do on which days based on whatever the weather is doing. The nice thing about the coast in the winter time is that we don't get the summer fog and the storms generally come in waves with some nice, clear days in between.

Feel quite relieved now and will proceed with detail planning.
1)Should I plan someplace else in south CA apart from LA, SD and Palm Springs? Closer to mex border?
2)SF to Yosemite advisable in winter? Amtrak or car? Daytrip or overnight?
3)cover Napa valley from SF? Daytrip or o/N?
Appreciate suggestions.

Still need some advice, especially on that South California, Napa and Yosemite part.Thanx to all.

I don't know a heck of a lot about southern California other than San Diego, so I can't help with that.

For SF to Yosemite - this would most definitely need to be an overnight trip in winter. It CAN be done as a day trip in summer because the weather is nice and the days are longer, but it still makes for a really long day with lots of driving. In optimal conditions, SF to Yosemite Valley is about a 4 hour drive. The drive will take longer if you hit weather. I have not been to Yosemite in the winter, but it looks absolutely beautiful. If you want to go, make reservations now. Things fill up very quickly. I would try to stay in the valley at Yosemite Lodge. Oh, and the Amtrak or drive to Yosemite - I would drive. Amtrak will take a long time.

The wine country is an easy day trip from SF or you can make it an overnight - just depends on how much time you want to devote to it.

Are you going to Palm Springs for any particular reason? It's a great place to relax for a few days, but I don't think it offers much for one night. If you're thinking it's on the way to Vegas, it's not really. You have to backtrack west to catch the highway to vegas (about an hour's drive I think). If you aren't doing something specific such as golf or visiting friends, I'd spend that time in one of your other locations.

Stopping in Palm Springs is a nice way to breakup your trip from LA to Vegas. And there is a scenic back road you can take through the National Preserve to cut the drive from 5 hours to just over 2. Check out this website: http://www.americansouthwest.net/cal...-preserve.html
It's a paved two lane road, with a few dips here and there, but a great scenic drive and a time saver. Also, few people use the road, so it makes it that much faster. You can also check out scenic drives in that area, which offer a so-so map of this drive at www.dot.ca.gov/ Take the link to scenic highways. I live in Vegas and make this trip twice a year. September is my favorite time to go - as it is before all the "Snowbirds" are in Palm Springs. It's a ghost town with great restaurants and golfing and resort spas to pamper you. There's also an IMAX theater, a fantastic aeronautical museum (you get to walk through an old bomber) and shopping! The primetime to visit is winter, so the town will be busy, but they handle it well. Going to Palm Springs really breaks up the drive to Vegas and would give you a chance to relax. Also, there are wine vineyards in Southern CA - inland from San Diego. It's not Napa, but if you are looking for winetasting, it will do the trick if you don't want to make the trip North on this visit. Hope this helps and have a great one!

Small correction: my husband says the shortcut to Vegas is more like a 3 hour drive. Guess it seems shorter in the passenger seat. Still, a great drive!