California & Vegas Fly Drive

dazanteney4

John259 wrote: »

Salida to Yosemite Valley is about 105 miles.
Merced to Yosemite Valley is about 80 miles.
Bishop is about 140 miles from Yosemite Valley.
So I'd suggest two nights in Merced (for a day trip to Yosemite Valley), and one night in Bishop (getting to Bishop via the Tioga Pass Road).

If you want to stay closer to the park then you could consider places such as Mariposa and Oakhurst but accommodation rates there would probably be higher.

I've used Merced as a base for Yosemite quite a few times and it works well for me, but it's too much driving back and forth for some people.

BTW when checking mileages to or from Yosemite Valley in Google Maps I find specifying Curry Village works well, otherwise the results can be misleading.

We thought about staying two nights in Bishop or Mammoth so the first day we could drive from Salida through the valley along Tioga pass thus meaning we can really take our time. On the second day we could find a trail for a walk. I believe that maybe this second day isn't needed as we could set off for Vegas in the afternoon.

John259

There's nothing wrong with two nights in Bishop or Mammoth Lakes, but driving from Salida to either of those towns in one day won't give you much time for Yosemite Valley. IMHO the Valley deserves at least eight hours if possible, there's a lot to see.

blindman

dazanteney4 wrote: »

We are going at the end of May/June so i think we will be for the snow. LA doesnt massively appeal to us so as long as we can see the hollywood sign etc that will be great.

dazanteney4 wrote: »

We thought about staying two nights in Bishop or Mammoth so the first day we could drive from Salida through the valley along Tioga pass thus meaning we can really take our time. On the second day we could find a trail for a walk. I believe that maybe this second day isn't needed as we could set off for Vegas in the afternoon.

You have to take into account

Tioga pass may still be shut May\June

Driving in\through Yosemite is very slow going due to winding roads\other tourists and plenty of pull outs\stops to have a look at the magnificent veiws.

Driving out over Tioga will also be slow going due to the above.

Staying in Bishop for a revisit the next day to Yosemite is crazy.
Mammoth lakes is far better.

IMHO your visit wil be very fraught and you will miss a lot.

dazanteney4

blindman wrote: »

IMHO your visit wil be very fraught and you will miss a lot.

What do you mean?

dseventy

We just did this trip .... kind of.

We flew into Vegas and stayed 3 nights. Then drove to California and stayed in Orange, California. Its a few more minutes away from the parks, but its more of a USA experience than staying in Anaheim.

We stayed for 2 weeks in Orange and did :

Universal (was ok, but small and crowded, long lines)
Disneyland x 2 (loved it, still lines though)
Whale watching at Dana Point (highlight of the holiday, humpbacks, dolphins x hundreds)
Days at Santa Monica beach (saw the surfing finals)
Days at Long Beach and Huntingdon (was great)
Lots of hanging by the villa pool and BBQs.
Took my son to League of Legends semi final at Santa Monica

The drive is easy between CA and Las Vegas. Little traffic until we got closer to LA. Though there is construction in the San Bernadino mountains which slows stuff down.

Agree with others LA (central) is a dump IMO.

That much driving think a lot about the car. We had a Chevoret Surburban for a week :

http://www.boldride.com/ride/2015/chevrolet-suburban

and we also had a yellow Chevrolet Camaro convertable for a few days, was great. People had their picture taken with it.

Happy to answer any questions?

D70

John259

There's nothing wrong with a trip to the theme parks but I think the OP is more interested in the national parks. Quite a difference!

dazanteney4

dseventy wrote: »

We just did this trip .... kind of.

We flew into Vegas and stayed 3 nights. Then drove to California and stayed in Orange, California. Its a few more minutes away from the parks, but its more of a USA experience than staying in Anaheim.

We stayed for 2 weeks in Orange and did :

Universal (was ok, but small and crowded, long lines)
Disneyland x 2 (loved it, still lines though)
Whale watching at Dana Point (highlight of the holiday, humpbacks, dolphins x hundreds)
Days at Santa Monica beach (saw the surfing finals)
Days at Long Beach and Huntingdon (was great)
Lots of hanging by the villa pool and BBQs.
Took my son to League of Legends semi final at Santa Monica

The drive is easy between CA and Las Vegas. Little traffic until we got closer to LA. Though there is construction in the San Bernadino mountains which slows stuff down.

Agree with others LA (central) is a dump IMO.

That much driving think a lot about the car. We had a Chevoret Surburban for a week :

http://www.boldride.com/ride/2015/chevrolet-suburban

and we also had a yellow Chevrolet Camaro convertable for a few days, was great. People had their picture taken with it.

Happy to answer any questions?

D70

Sounds great! We aren't looking at going to any of the theme parks to be honest, neither are we looking for a nature experience. We are just interested in seeing as much as we can from everything. That's why are we cramming in so much.

Crispy_Ambulance

Definitely look at staying in Yosemite for at least one night if you can. It isn't cheap but saves on driving in and out and walking up in the Valley is pretty special. You must book well in advance though.

NiftyDigits

You'll get tired from all of the driving. Perhaps a couple of thousand miles all in..perhaps more. Like driving the length of the UK three times. You're completely off your heads. Just San Fran to San Diego and back is 1000 miles. The detour to Las Vegas is going to cost you 350 to 400 miles each way. Then you are thinking about moving on to the Grand Canyon etc
Forgedaboudit! Stay longer or be more realistic. That's why I suggested in to San Fran and out of a more southern airport, to cut down on some of the driving.
Is no one going to put an end to the madness? :rotfl:

John259

IMHO the driving isn't even remotely a problem, it's very much a major part of the pleasure. Driving in the USA is very different to driving in Britain, far less stressful. And it's the only realistic way to see areas other than the cities.

But it's a matter of opinion, and some people prefer to not drive as much. Fair enough.