California trip, long enough to include LV?

John259

In summer I'd highly recommend cutting down on San Francisco and Las Vegas, ignoring Los Angeles, and concentrating on the scenic wonders of Yosemite and the Pacific Coast Highway. But winter is different. The coast road might be open, or it might be closed by landslides caused by winter storms. As Nick_C said, the Tioga Pass (from Yosemite Valley to US395) will be totally closed and access to Yosemite Valley from the west might require chains.

There is very little accommodation on the coast road between Monterey and Cambria. Nor are there any public roads over the coastal mountains on that stretch. Once you start on this road, you're committed.

So, given the time of year, it might be best to concentrate on San Francisco and Las Vegas, flying between them. If you have specific places in the Los Angeles area that you know you want to visit, ok - otherwise that city and its vast collection of suburbs are best avoided (IMHO, of course).

You can drive between Los Angeles and Las Vegas easily in half a day and the weather even in winter is unlikely to be a problem. Some people find the drive across the Mojave Desert boring, while others find the vast emptiness immensely beautiful.

Hope this helps a bit.

DCFC79

nirajn123 wrote: »

Thank you all, I'll probably just drop the LV idea. Explore parts of California which we may otherwise not get to see - like a day in yellowstone perhaps.

If you wanted to do LV you could do it separately.

mgdavid

DCFC79 wrote: »

If you wanted to do LV you could do it separately.

...but the OP said up front:
- I would like to include LV in the trip as we may not get a chance to do this again - certainly not in next few years,

cubegame

Don't get hung up on the PCH. It's over romanticised.

SuperHan

cubegame wrote: »

Don't get hung up on the PCH. It's over romanticised.

That's a matter of perspective. I loved it. Loved, loved, loved it.

And for that reason, I'd say give CA the full 9 days - it absolutely deserves it.

I would do 4 nights in SF, down to Monterey for one night, one night in Cambria (to give you a full day along Big Sur) and 3 nights LA (and then I would recommend somewhere like Santa Monica - not downtown LA).

You could skip the Cambria nights and have a bigger driving day from Monterey to LA, and add in one night in Yosemite after SF. But make sure you maximise your time driving in and out of Yosemite as that's probably where you'll see most of it given you'll only be there one night.

John259

Pacific Coast Highway
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypfy7XHjRl4

Yosemite in summer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXiB4wre6xk

Yosemite in winter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w91hs-RE32o

Hope this helps.