Los Angles - Las Vegas - San Francisco - New York

I would re think this a bit... AWD may not be necessary. AND, such rented from LA may not have tyres mounted to render the vehicle useful in difficult conditions ... Conditions that may well close the roads to ALL vehicles ... Rent whatever heap in LA(off airport) and use oyr Thanksgiving day to drive direct, to the Grand Canyon South rim (reservations confirmed) Then, back haul on the "Old Rt. 66" to Las Vegas ... Put a day "in" post Mammoth Mtn. as your proposal to drive through the Mtns. in winter conditions is wildly optimistic ... carracar

How's LA public transport is like? Should we hire a car in LA, or public transport will suffice?

It would never occur to me to try to take "public transit" anywhere in "Greater" Los Angeles other than take the tram from the airport to the hotel or the rental car center. Some of the residents of LA on this forum say you can get around on it but it takes time. I also expect that it takes a lot of experience. You must understand that Los Angeles is HUGE. You can travel for 100 miles (161 Km) in a straight line and never leave the incorporation boundaries of the city of Los Angeles. "Greater" Los Angeles, the conglomeration of many cities and heavily urbanized counties (you literally cannot tell where one ends and the next one begins) is several times bigger. The vast majority of Los Angelinos drive. Where do you plan to travel in "Los Angeles?"

26 Nov thanksgiving day what to do?

Americans celebrate Thanksgiving.

27 Nov Black Friday holiday, shopping for Xmas presies?

If you want to dive into that madding crowd, be my guest. I'd rather find a bar and get drunk.

28 Nov what to do?

Google is your friend.

Road Trips begins
Sunday 29 November 7am – Pick up 4WD rental in Los Angeles, drive to Las Vegas (Road trip = 4 hours)

Driving a 4x4 to Las Vegas from Los Angeles is a spectacular waste of money and an uncomfortable ride. Rent a car. It is at least 3 lanes of interstate highway all the way. In places it is 6 lanes of concrete. If snow is the reason you are renting a 4x4, think again. Snow on roads rapidly compacts to ice. 4x4's on ice are the first into the ditch especially if driven by someone unfamiliar with winter driving.

Monday 30 November 6am – Day trip to Grand Canyon

Make the Grand Canyon an overnight. Be aware that there can be snow and temperatures below 0 C. Aussies don't seem any more tolerant of sub-freezing temperatures than azaleas or orchids.

(Road trip = 4.5 hours each? Probably best do helicopter tour or bus tour to canyon from vagas instead of road trip?)

The helicopter from Las Vegas goes to the West Rim. All of the pictures of the Grand Canyon that you have probably seen were taken at the South Rim. This includes the pictures used in the advertising for the West Rim. The West Rim is only impressive if you have never seen the South Rim in the national park.

Tuesday 1 December 7am – Leave Las Vegas Drive to Death Valley
• Stay 1 night in Death Valley

Where are you going to stay in Death Valley? You should definitely know the answer before you go. Reservations are recommended.

Wednesday 2 December 6am drive to
Mammoth Lakes, park at Canyon Boulevard, shuttle bus up Mammoth ski.
• Stay 1 night Mammoth Lakes

More cold and snow are possible on this trip. Just so you know.

Thursday 3 December drive to San Fransisco. Road trip ended

How are you getting there? The high Sierra passes will be closed in all likelihood. You will either have to go around the Sierras by way of Bakersfield or north as far as US-50 or I-80.

Sunday 6 December – 6am flight to New York, don't know what to do in NY yet, if u have any idea pls let us know!

Go to Miami Beach instead?

You don't say what your interests are, what do you want to do and see?

Doesn't sound like you want to do much in LA? If not consider heading out on Black Friday, maybe even Thursday on Thanksgiving, excellent get away day, no traffic.
Dump the 4x4 and get a basic sedan.
Spend a day/night at the Grand Canyon, a day trip from Vegas is just silly.
Do you guys ski?
If you want to drive up Hwy. 395 fro DV, Mammoth and onto SF you'll need an extra day.
Consider a nice loop, LA-DV-Vegas-GC-Zion and fly from Vegas to SF.

Here is an old Lonely Planet blog post about Thanksgiving, including some ideas about what to do as a visitor. Home for the holiday. It's (ahem) an interview with a regular poster.

Almost everything will be closed on Thanksgiving. Banks, post offices, government offices, most businesses, museums & other sightseeing places. Some entertainment venues, including Disneyland and a lot of movie theaters, will be open. Many restaurants, including hotel restaurants, will have special Thanksgiving dinners, that should be booked in advance. (In the US, it's called Thanksgiving "dinner," even if you eat at 2 PM.)

"Black Friday" is not a holiday per se. It's a shopping madhouse. In recent years, some stores have begun opening late on Thanksgiving Day to start the frenzy early. There has been a fair amount of backlash about this, so some have stopped the practice. As for buying Christmas presents (we don't give "pressies" here, nor will anyone have heard of "Crimbo"), the big thing on Black Friday is to get to a large chain store early and buy one of the limited supply of something big (a giant TV), the latest electronic goody (a same system) or the hot new toy. If you just want to shop for presents that are on sale, wait a few days. Crowds will be smaller and the sale will still be one. Don't expect small, specialty shops to have any amazing Black Friday discounts. (BTW, contrary to popular assumption, "Black Friday" did not get its name because businesses go into the black that day. See Black Friday from snopes.)

I agree that the 4WD is overkill. You may run into a snowstorm in the Mammoth area and vehicles must use chains or other "traction devices." 4WD vehicles are sometimes exempt, but you must still have chains in the car. Rental companies sometimes restrict or prohibit chain use, so you should check.

This map shows the drive from Mammoth to SF i winter It's an all-day drive. This route is shorter, and much more scenic, however, there is also a much greater chance that you will have to use chains on much of the route. When you do have to use chains, the speed limit is 25 or 30 MPH (less than half of usual highway speed) so drive time is significantly increased. You can check on the weather forecast the evening before you depart and choose your route accordingly.

Be sure you get your Mammoth lodging reservations in advance.

Agree with Zeldasdad, rent a regular car, use an overseas broker (another poster on here, ian6705, recommends carhire3000), they will include all the insurance you need. You don't really need 4WD.
Find a restaurant serving Thanksgiving dinner if you want to experience it. I would skip Black Friday, it is truly a madhouse and just not worth it.
If driving you need another overnight between Mammoth (do you ski?) and SF, as has been stated many of the passes will be closed due to weather. If you don't have to see Death Valley, you could fly from Vegas to SF. This would also give you more time in SF, which I feel you are shortchanging.

I might move my trip to NYC and the east coast up toward the begining of your trip. NYC's days will be getting shorter and it will be getting colder with each passing day in December, so hitting it early might be nice.

NY has some things to do on Thanksgiving day and is as good a place to shop as LA for black friday. If you are interested you can see the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade.

On the issue of LA on public transit. It is much better than it use to be, but still far from ideal. Look at what you want to do and where you want to stay and try connecting the dots with mass transit. If it isnt 100% easy then rent a car.

You're honestly going to begin your road trip on the Sunday after Thanksgiving? That is probably the single busiest highway travel day in America. Leave on Monday instead.

If you're feeling okay about potential jetlag effects on driving, you might consider starting your road trip as soon as you arrive at LAX. National parks don't close for the holiday (though some of the eating establishments in them might), so they may be more appealing than trying to figure out what to do in a foreign city on a holiday you don't celebrate, or trying to drive around LA on a day when backups from shopping center parking lots extend all the way onto the freeways.

Here is an alternative option, avoiding the Sierra Nevada mountain area, and the drive to San Francisco. These are where you spend the nights:

26 Nov - Los Angeles (get car from LAX - no need for a 4WD)
27 Nov - Los Angeles
28 Nov - Los Angeles
29 Nov - Las Vegas (drive)
30 Nov - Grand Canyon NP (South Rim overnight)
01 Dec - Bryce Canyon NP
02 Dec - Springdale (Zion NP)
03 Dec - Las Vegas
04 Dec - Death Valley NP (day trip)
05 Dec - San Francisco (fly from Las Vegas)
06 Dec - San Francisco
07 Dec - San Francisco
08 Dec - New York
09 Dec - New York
10 Dec - New York
11 Dec - New York
12 Dec - New York - LAX
14 Dec - Melbourne (you lose a day)

This option adds the wonderful rock canyons north of the Grand Canyon NP, and doable in winter (but it's very cold).

Also, on your return to Melbourne, I recommend you do it as a continuous trip - so fly from New York to LAX in time for a late evening flight back to Australia on 12 Dec or 13 Dec. Leaving LAX and spending a night in LA is an unnecessary hassle to break the journey.

We really enjoyed the HI Downtown Hostel in San Francisco - central, and close to the train to and from San Francisco Airport. We stayed at the Super8 Culver City in LA - sort of close to Santa Monica, the Hollywood/Beverly Hills area, and LAX Airport - quite good for three nights (if Disneyland is not on your agenda).

I wouldn't concern myself with Thanksgiving and Black Friday etc - there are too many other attractions available to you, so you can bypass these cultural events. New York can be cold and perhaps wet - with short days too - take your woollens.