California Trip ideas please

Dan_S_3

Fly to LA, overnight in Hollywood. Then hit the coast and drive up to San Fran, stopping overnight at Monterey or Carmel. A few nights at San Fran, then head through Yosemite (breathtaking) for a night or 2, then Death Valley for a night, then drive to Grand Canyon to overnight and return from vegas.

misa.blue

Dan_S wrote: »

Fly to LA, overnight in Hollywood. Then hit the coast and drive up to San Fran, stopping overnight at Monterey or Carmel. A few nights at San Fran, then head through Yosemite (breathtaking) for a night or 2, then Death Valley for a night, then drive to Grand Canyon to overnight and return from vegas.

Wow this sounds like great plan! In how many days is reasonable to manage this trip?

I'm so impressed with this trip plan!!!!
Thank you Dan for great suggestion!

misa.blue

Hi guys,
I have made my so far very rough plan for California road trip based on Dan's suggestion.LA-San Fr - Yosemite-Death Valey-Vegas

Have look, I checked times and distances, hope it helps:
Fri 11 March fly to Los Angeles
Heathrow – LAX – 12:05 – 15:05

Sat 12 March – Los Angeles – Holywood

Sun 13 March LA to Santa Barbara – Carmel 6 hr drive (320miles) with stop for night in Carmel
or LA to San Luis Obispo – 4hr drive (190miles)night there

Mon 14March – Carmel to San Francisco – 2hr drive (120miles)
San Luis Obispo to San Fran – 4hr drive (230miles)

Tue 15 March – San Francisco
Wed 16th March – San Francisco

Thur 17th – SF to Yosemite – 3.5hr drive (190 miles)

Fri 18th Yosemite

Sat 19th Yosemite to Death Valley – 6.5 hr (320miles)


Sun 20th Death Valey – Las Vegas – 3hr drive (160 miles)

Mon 21st Las Vegas
Tue 22 Las Vegas
Wed 23rd Vegas to Grand Canyon – 5hr drive (270miles)
Thur 24th GC back to Vegas
Fri 25 or Sat 26th fly back to UK from Las Vegas to Heathrow.

jackieblack

misa.blue wrote: »

Hi guys,
I have made my so far very rough plan for California road trip based on Dan's suggestion.LA-San Fr - Yosemite-Death Valey-Vegas

Have look, I checked times and distances, hope it helps:
Fri 11 March fly to Los Angeles
Heathrow – LAX – 12:05 – 15:05

Sat 12 March – Los Angeles – Holywood

Sun 13 March LA to Santa Barbara – Carmel 6 hr drive (320miles) with stop for night in Carmel
or LA to San Luis Obispo – 4hr drive (190miles)night there

Mon 14March – Carmel to San Francisco – 2hr drive (120miles)
San Luis Obispo to San Fran – 4hr drive (230miles)

Tue 15 March – San Francisco
Wed 16th March – San Francisco

Thur 17th – SF to Yosemite – 3.5hr drive (190 miles)

Fri 18th Yosemite

Sat 19th Yosemite to Death Valley – 6.5 hr (320miles)


Sun 20th Death Valey – Las Vegas – 3hr drive (160 miles)

Mon 21st Las Vegas
Tue 22 Las Vegas
Wed 23rd Vegas to Grand Canyon – 5hr drive (270miles)
Thur 24th GC back to Vegas
Fri 25 or Sat 26th fly back to UK from Las Vegas to Heathrow.

It will be a fabulous trip (I was going to suggest something very similar) you'll have a wonderful time.

Just a couple of points though.

We were in Yosemite this year in April, they had had alot of snow the previous week. Check with your hire car company about snow chains - some will not allow them to be used and you can't enter the park without them when the signs are out. http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/chains.htm

Unless the weather is clear and dry I wouldn't drive into Yosemite on 120 (very steep mountainous roads with hairpin bends and sheer drops). We were terrified!

Yosemite waterfalls will be in full flow in March - they are truly spectacular!
http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/spring.htm

All the 'high' roads will be closed during the winter months - if your planned route to Death Valley is via Tioga Road and Tioga Pass (which is only open about 4 or 5 months of the year, from May/June onwards) you will need an alternative route (which will be longer). http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/tiogaopen.htm

Lastly, when we went to the Grand Canyon in April last year there was snow the days before & after we were there (we had a fantastic clear sunny day - we were so lucky). I have friends who were 'snowed in' at the GC for several days one Easter and had to rearrange their flights home.

It's a fabulous trip but at high altitude destinations in March the chances of snow are not insignificant!

misa.blue

Jackieblack "We were in Yosemite this year in April, they had had alot of snow the previous week. Check with your hire car company about snow chains - some will not allow them to be used and you can't enter the park without them when the signs are out."

Jackieblack : Thank you very much for you advise, silly me!! I honestly didn't realize that there might me snow in March:eek:
Will probably think about the end April then..

Enterprise_1701C

That looks very much like a trip we did a few years ago, and it was faulous. We did get caught out by one thing though, the time zone change on the way to Grand Canyon - we arrived at what we thought to be 3 o'clock to check into our room and had to wait an hour because the clock had gone back by an hour somewhere on our journey!!

wdyw

Jane_Blackford wrote: »

That looks very much like a trip we did a few years ago, and it was faulous. We did get caught out by one thing though, the time zone change on the way to Grand Canyon - we arrived at what we thought to be 3 o'clock to check into our room and had to wait an hour because the clock had gone back by an hour somewhere on our journey!!

Arizona and the Navajo Nation.... you would not believe the problems people have encountered there with daylight saving.
Wiki Arizona daylight saving and see all the various permutations!

misa.blue

hi wdyw, sorry, don't understand, what do you mean problem with daylight saving?Could you please explain what problem is there?

jackieblack

The Arizona time zone is the Mountain Standard Time zone.
and most of Arizona do not observe Daylight Saving Time, they always stay on Mountain Standard Time, which is one hour ahead of states on Pacific Standard Time like California and Nevada.

During Daylight Saving Time elsewhere (the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November), when other states have moved their clocks forward one hour, this means most of Arizona is at the same time as California and Nevada (Pacific Daylight Time or PST+1hr).

When DST ends and almost everyone else in the country "falls back" or sets their clock back one hour, Arizona doesn't need to (because they didn't put their clocks forward in March).
So, from the first Sunday in November to the second Sunday in March they are one hour ahead of those states on Pacific Standard Time.

The only exception in Arizona is the Navajo Nation, in northeastern Arizona, which does observe Daylight Saving Time.

At least, I think that's how it works..... I have to go lie down now.... I feel a headache coming on.....

Doshwaster

Personally, I would avoid everything to do with LA. There is nothing I like about the city.

From next June, BA are starting to fly direct to San Diego, which will mean that's it's even easier to avoid LAX.