13 nights to drive from San francisco to vegas

Jasper27_2

I love California, my 8th trip is coming up soon! I love the Pacific Coast so would take in Monterey/Carmel down to San Luis Obispo at least (my favourite bit). I also really like Palm Springs which is always pretty hot, last May when I was there it was 45C! At the beginning of October it will still be very warm and it's a nice place to do nothing inparticular. It's got nice shops, restaurants, bars to mooch about of an evening when it's cooler and I'd recommend a trip on the ariel tramway to the top of Mount San Jacinto. Everywhere you're planning on taking in is great San Francisco, San Diego and Yosemite are all wonderful destinations.

If you are going to be out most of the time and just need somewhere to sleep and shower you can keep your hotels costs down. You can get some good deals in Las Vegas Sunday to Thursday but most places have big price hikes at the weekend so think about when you stay there. My first visit I stayed on the Strip but last time and this coming time I am staying just off the Strip in a smaller hotel. As I'm there at the weekend it's cheaper and you make can make use of all the facilities of the big themed hotels without having to stay in them. Just an idea if you're trying to make your money go further. I'm flying into San Francisco and out of Las Vegas and it is a little bit more expensive than leaving through Los Angeles but there is a small one-way drop charge on the car. Into San Francisco and out of Los Angeles is usually a cheaper flight and most car hire companies will not charge a one way drop fee. Worth considering if cost is very important to you. The drive from Las Vegas to Los Angeles is not the most scenic it has to be said unless you're big on scrubby desert landscapes.

I've been to Florida, Boston, New England, Washington DC, New York, Seattle, Montana but nothing beats California. Without sounding like I work for the tourist board it really does have something for everyone no matter what your interests or tastes. You'll love it, enjoy!

Jasper27_2

bergeroo just posted whilst I was typing and it's great to see another San Luis Obispo fan, I love the place. Lots to see and do in the area and it's just the right size, big enough to be lively, small enough to walk around and it's got it's own personality, not some identikit bland chainstore kind of a place. You've got a busy schedule but stop in if you have time.

Ems!

Thanks so much for the ideas so far! I think I have been swayed to knock the first bit of my trip on the head and spend more time in california! We were planning on doing 4 nights in NYC before flying into san fran, but I think I've changed my mind! Will do New York another trip and really concentrate on california, so, not including the 4 nights we were already planning to spend in vegas, thats 17 nights we'll have for the drive between sf and LV. Am loving researching this!

Jasper27_2

Ems reading this thread I'm sure you've got plenty of food for thought. I love researching my holidays, you can tailor it to just what you want and save loads of money. It's something to do on the long winter nights and anticipation is half the pleasure!

Pssst

I freelanced west coast last May. Flew to SFO,stayed 4 days,picked up hire car,drove south on pacific coast highway via places like monterey,carmel (nice) overnighted in pismo beach (old style californian seaside town),moved on to santa monica,stayed 3 nights visiting LA etc,then headed inland to Williams AZ via Mojave. Visited Grand Canyon,then on to Utah then south to Las Vegas (Bellagio of course !) then west to Bakersfield and north to yosemite. Stayed over then pressed on north to Redding CA to visit relatives then south to Naoa (wine country) ,over the golden gate and back to SFO. Total time about 3.5 weeks and about 3200 miles. Nice and easy and a great experience. Complete with my tomtom sat nav to make it easier and help to see everything along the way.

Ems!

this is too hard! everyone's trips sound ace! lol

tingtong

My simple recommendation would be to do this trip as a 'loop', taking in Yosemite, Death Valley, Las Vegas, San Diego, then work your way back to San Francisco. As others have suggested, you could also visit Lake Tahoe and / or Grand Canyon.

Assuming you have 20 nights in total (after SF), what about:

Drive from SF to Yosemite - stay 4 nights
Drive Yosemite to Death Valley - stay 2 nights (you can get away with 1)
Drive Death Valley to Vegas - stay 5 nights
Drive Vegas - San Diego - stay 3/4 nights

This then gives you a further 5-6 nights to get from San Diego back to SF. I can't really comment on this but for more information, have a read through the forum here:

http://www.roadtripamerica.com/forum/

dorsetjohn_3

tingtong wrote: »

My simple recommendation would be to do this trip as a 'loop', taking in Yosemite, Death Valley, Las Vegas, San Diego, then work your way back to San Francisco. As others have suggested, you could also visit Lake Tahoe and / or Grand Canyon.

Assuming you have 20 nights in total (after SF), what about:

Drive from SF to Yosemite - stay 4 nights
Drive Yosemite to Death Valley - stay 2 nights (you can get away with 1)
Drive Death Valley to Vegas - stay 5 nights
Drive Vegas - San Diego - stay 3/4 nights

This then gives you a further 5-6 nights to get from San Diego back to SF. I can't really comment on this but for more information, have a read through the forum here:

http://www.roadtripamerica.com/forum/

Perfect except I would do it in the opposite direction . The reason why driving the other way the coast is on your side of the road when driving pacific highway /big sur !

Pssst

Just to add further,unless you are going hiking or white water rafting or similar,you can do the grand canyon in a day. At many times of the year the place is packed with tour buses,traffic and people so dont get any ideas of wilderness or anything! Also Yosemite you might like to consider staying in fishcamp just outside the park. the narrow guage inn is nice. Book early. There are also others. Make sure you have plenty of petrol before driving up to the yosemite area. There is a petrol station just inside the southern entrance but its a ripoff. Again,unless your into lots of hiking and outdoor activities,you may only need 2 or 3 days in yosemite park itself.

wdyw

tingtong wrote: »

My simple recommendation would be to do this trip as a 'loop', taking in Yosemite, Death Valley, Las Vegas, San Diego, then work your way back to San Francisco. As others have suggested, you could also visit Lake Tahoe and / or Grand Canyon.

Assuming you have 20 nights in total (after SF), what about:

Drive from SF to Yosemite - stay 4 nights
Drive Yosemite to Death Valley - stay 2 nights (you can get away with 1)
Drive Death Valley to Vegas - stay 5 nights
Drive Vegas - San Diego - stay 3/4 nights

This then gives you a further 5-6 nights to get from San Diego back to SF. I can't really comment on this but for more information, have a read through the forum here:

http://www.roadtripamerica.com/forum/

Two things wrong with this route.
1/ OP doesn't want to go back to SF , wants to fly out of Vegas
2/ As someone else has already said, you don't want to do Hw 1 south to north if you can do it north to south.