West Coast USA

northwest1965

I think we have finalised our plan for 2011. LHR to San Francisco 4 nights. 2 nights Yosemite. 2nites Santa Cruz, 1 night Monterey. 1 night Santa Barbara. 4 nights Vegas.

How does that look to those of you that have been??

Cowboy73

Hi,
Your plan looks very exciting but also very ambitious and exhausting. I went to Santa Monica for 6 nights (2 different hotels), Palm Springs for 2 nights and Vegas for 5 nights. My wife was pregnant at the time so we didnt want to be driving too much and we are so glad we didn't! The USA is huge and driving from one place to another can take hours and be very exhausting/stressful if you get stuck in traffic. You are going to have a lot of hotel check ins/outs too, some hotels you won't be able to check in until late afternoon. My advise would be to maybe stay longer in a hotel that is between some of your chosen stops and drive to them for the day. However if you enjoy a busy lifestyle then I say go for it.
I found the drive from SM to Palm Springs quite easy once I was used to the new driving style, turning right on red lights etc and actually really enjoyed it. We drove through the Joshua Tree Park on our way to Vegas which was cool, but very hot! Then there was Vegas! That was a different matter all together. Cars coming from everywhere, horns beeping, people stepping out in front of you.....it was a nightmare. I was never as happy than when we finally got to our hotel, I of course missed the turn off and had to go around the whole strip in rush hour.
My biggest tips would be think about staying in Santa Monica, it's beautiful and has a great vibe. You will either love or hate Vegas, we loved it and can't wait to go back. Take plenty of water/food with you when going on long road trips just in case you are stuck for a while. But most of all have a blast!!!
Clint

delwynshd

Your trip sounds fine

I only booked this same trip 2 days ago, there are many stops you could look at but I think you have managed to give yourself a nice mix here

Del

nancyo

Your trip sounds great although, 2 night and 1 night stays may be a little tiring.
Las Vegas is awesome!

travellerboy

I am considering something similar late August/ September.

Direct flight UK to Seattle, depart 7 night Cruise (roundtrip to Alaska) then flight Seattle to San Francisco, SF for 3 days then self-drive to Yosemite NP 2days, back to Carmel/Monterey 2 days, SUR drive back to SF.

Then flight from SF to Vegus for 7 days which includes a 2 day trip to Grand Canyon. Then direct flight home from Vegus.

nancyo

travellerboy wrote: »

I am considering something similar late August/ September.

Direct flight UK to Seattle, depart 7 night Cruise (roundtrip to Alaska) then flight Seattle to San Francisco, SF for 3 days then self-drive to Yosemite NP 2days, back to Carmel/Monterey 2 days, SUR drive back to SF.

Then flight from SF to Vegus for 7 days which includes a 2 day trip to Grand Canyon. Then direct flight home from Vegus.

That sounds fantastic travellerboy :T Can I come LOL

peachyprice

northwest1965 wrote: »

I think we have finalised our plan for 2011. LHR to San Francisco 4 nights. 2 nights Yosemite. 2nites Santa Cruz, 1 night Monterey. 1 night Santa Barbara. 4 nights Vegas.

How does that look to those of you that have been??

Sounds great, do come back and tell us how it went.
We're looking at something similar for 2012 but ending in LA

alanrowell

I could have stayed weeks in Yosemite, Vegas I found two nights was more than enough

nancyo

alanrowell wrote: »

I could have stayed weeks in Yosemite, Vegas I found two nights was more than enough

I have stayed in Vegas 10nights twice and both times I could have stayed longer, there is sooo much to see and do

cubegame

Very easy to do that schedule. I would class it as unambitious but then we drove from Seattle to San Diego (and included Vegas) in 15 days last year. Not sure about two nights in Santa Cruz though?

You don't seem to have a natural route either?

My_Fathers_Daughter

I agree cubegame - it doesn't seem to flow as a route....but each to their own I guess.

Montarey and Santa Barbara are both gorgeous places and provide a good contrast to the big cities. Depends on what you like to do/see but I would possibly cut out a night in San Francisco if it were me (I love it there...I just think you can do the main sights in 3 days).

Santa Barbara to Vegas is a hell of a drive in a day though. We stopped halfway (can't remember where, it was on route 66 in the middle of the desert, it had a big outlet mall which looms up like an oasis!!).

I would also consider splitting Vegas into 2 seperate hotels a) to make the most of the deals available and b) to experience 2 different areas of the strip (or non-strip, depending on where you intend staying).


It is a fantastic part of the world though