San Francisco to Las Vegas road trip
Replies: 41 - Last Post: May 18, 2012 6:43 AM Last Post By: patvegas1
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via route 395 to see Sequoia NP
There is no vehicular access to Sequoia from the east.I think it'd be better to go to Death Valley and Las Vegas before LA. You'll save on backtracking.
Death Valley is on the way between Yosemite and Vegas via 395.
also we will be leaving 2-3 days free with no hotel bookings in between the main cities
Once again, make sure your Yosemite and Grand Canyon lodging is booked.
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via route 395 to see Sequoia NP
There is no vehicular access to Sequoia from the east.
I'll elaborate. Take a look at this map. See the lower green blob? That is Sequoia/Kings Canyon. Now, look south of that to see the city of Bakersfield. To get to Sequoia from highway 395, you would have to drive south, then drive west through Bakersfield.
Anything you see on a map that looks like a "road" from highway 395 into Sequoia is going to be only suitable for hiking or maybe on horseback.
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I certainly would not stay in Oakhurst to visit Yosemite Valley. If you can't get a room in Yosemite Valley (by far the best choice and keep trying if they are booked now. This is Yosemite Lodge, Camp Curry or Housekeeping Camp) then El Portal is closest, Wawona in next, Evergreen Lodge is next. Also there are private homes and cabins available in Foresta, Yosemite West and other places that are much closer than Oakhurst.33
Ok all. We are getting ever closer to a full itinerary. Here's our newest one.1. Fly from London > San Francisco. Stay for 5 days
2. Hire a car and drive to Monterey. Stay for 2 days
3. Drive from Monterey > Yosemite NP. Depending on money available will either stay in
Yosemite NP or just on outskirts for 2 nights.
4. Drive from Yosemite to Bishop. Stay for 1 night.
5. Drive from Bishop to Las Vegas via Death Valley. We will have a couple of days free at
this point to detour or stay around Death Valley before we get to Vegas.
Stay in Vegas for 2 days.
6. Drive from Las Vegas > Los Angeles. Stay overnight
7. Fly from LA > London
I think this route is better, plus its cheaper flying from LA to London rather than Las Vegas to London.
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Overall, a good shape, but (a) I think five days (is that six nights?) in SF is about two too many, in such a short trip, and (b) I would consider a one-night stay at the Grand Canyon, in addition to your two days (three nights?) in Las Vegas.And a small itinerary note - they are usually clearer if you identify where you will spend the nights, since "two days" can be ambiguous.
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It will be 5 nights in San Francisco and 2 nights in Las Vegas. Also, we thought it might be better to fly from Vegas to LA instead of drive but please correct me if I'm wrong. Any advice is very welcome. Also the flights are very cheap.The reason for so long in San Francisco as there are a lot of things we want to see there. We wanna do stuff like Alcatraz, Muir Woods, cycle Golden Gate bridge, see a ball game, Napa Valley but don't wanna pack it all into a hectic couple of days especially with a road trip ahead of us.
Again this is subject to change. We have already moved things about based on the advice of kind people on this forum. Many thanks to all of you!
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Five nights in San Francisco is not too much, especially considering probable jet lag on the first day.If the San Francisco Giants are not playjng at home while you're there, check the schedule of the Oakland A's.
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Thanks everyone for your help, advice and comments. They have been really appreciated and helpful.Below is an adjusted itinerary. This seems to change every week so apologies if I'm boring the hell out of you.
1. Fly into San Francisco. Stay for 5 nights.
2. Drive from San Francisco (hire car) to Monterey for two nights (not sure if this should only be one night)
3. Drive from Monterey to Yosemite NP. Stay for 2 nights.
4. Drive Highway 120 to Bishop or other surrounding town with 2 free nights to do with whatever we want.
5. Drive to Las Vegas via Death Valley. Spend 2 nights in Vegas. Maybe do a day trip to Grand Canyon/Hoover Dam whilst there.
6. Fly from Vegas to LA. Spend 1 night in LA.
7. Fly home
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2. Drive from San Francisco (hire car) to Monterey for two nights (not sure if this should only be one night)
3. Drive from Monterey to Yosemite NP. Stay for 2 nights.
You could use that extra day in Monterey to do a one-day drive down highway 1 through Big Sur, and back. You can see a lot of what makes that coastal drive so iconic. 3. Drive from Monterey to Yosemite NP. Stay for 2 nights.
4. Drive Highway 120 to Bishop or other surrounding town with 2 free nights to do with whatever we want.
You could take one of those nights to do a trip to the Grand Canyon from Las Vegas. Although it's a nice drive down highway 395, I'm not sure there is enough to do en route to warrant a couple of free days.
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Maybe a day trip to Grand Canyon/Hoover Dam while we are there.
Hoover Dam is half an hour away. But the Grand Canyon is too far for a day trip for most people. Add one of those unspecified days for an overnight trip to the Grand Canyon. As I now see that nutrax just said. She's also right about Big Sur. You really wont regret either of those. You'll be kicking yourself thinking that you almost didn't do it.
With the other unspecified day you could see Mono Lake, Bodie (ghost town), and maybe the Devil's Postpile.
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I think the Big Sur drive is a v good idea. WIth the Grand Canyon trip we're gonna do that from Vegas41
Quick update for those who aren't bored to death with my posts. We are gonna give the Grand Canyon trip a miss. We worked out its a big chunk out of our time. We are also toying with the idea of missing out Vegas altogether as its one of those places that I wouldn't mind going to say we've seen it, but I don't think that's reason enough to take a couple of days that could be used somewhere else.So far we have booked our San Francisco, Monterey and Yosemite NP (Housekeeping camp) accomodation. We will also book the final couple of nights in LA just to make sure we have a guaranteed bed before we fly back. Between Yosemite and LA (which gives us about 3-4 days free) we will be 'winging it', as hopefully it'll give us a bit of freedom.
