San Francisco to Vegas

[holidaysarenice]

Can I have some travel advice?

we as a couple are doing a 10 -12 day break, flying into san francisco and out of las vegas.

can anyone recommend a route/things to see?
Im not overly bothered about LA but have heard good things about yosemite park and san diego?

anyone more experienced for a few tips?

Both Yosemite and San Diego are worth a visit. San Diego has a great zoo and Sea World. The Bazaar Del Mundo is lovely as well.

Yosemite is just beautiful.

I also recommend a visit to Calico ghost town en route to Las Vegas.

I would say that you have set yourself up for a lot of driving over such a short period.

Thank you! I've just realised that I'm going to drive south to have to xcome north to get to vegas?! Eek

When are you thinking of going there?.

CA is a huge state and driving distances can be long. The driving distance from SF to San Diego is further than London to Edinburgh!. I think you're going to have to scratch SD off the list as you do not want to spend all of your holiday driving from place to place.

Yosemite is lovely but you may well have to stay in accommodation outside the park boundaries. Its about 3-4 hours drive time south of SF.

We did this a few years ago. Stayed in SF for 3 nights, then 3 nights in the napa valley, 2 in Yosemite (in a motel just outside), 1 night in Death Valley, 1 night at north canyon, then back to Vegas for 3 nights (1 would have done though).

Driving wasn't too bad actually if you break it up. We used google maps to plan the route (and I still have the PDF!). It was 19 hours in total with 6 hours being the longest leg

We booked our flights, car and some hotels through virgin Atlantic and would highly recommend them. Others I booked on Expedia or directly with the hotel

We did a private wine tasting tour in napa, was excellent and can recommend a company if you want.

Yosemite is stunning. What time of year are you going? We went in late September - the road out of Yosemite was closed due to snow the following week!

Death Valley was ok, not much to see, just somewhere to stop. It is incredibly hot, 100f at night

Vegas was the worst part for me, I really did not like it. But depends on your tastes. I loved SF and all the countryside so was a bit of a shock to arrive there!

Vegas is a funny town. Every time we've been there, I've always been struck by how dusty and just blah it looks during the day. It's completely different after dark. I think I always expect to drive up to it and be dazzled by the lights, even though logically during the day that's just not going to happen.

We always loved driving a coastal route so we could enjoy the ocean view along the way when possible, even if it was just for a short time. But obviously they can be a bit longer as well. San Diego was lovely when we were there and went to Sea World, although we haven't been in years.

I'd make a list of what you're interested in seeing, mark it on a map, noting the distance/time to travel there from places you definitely want to go, and then coordinate your route from that.

Have a good time!

I would confine myself to roughly a triangle of SF, Monterey, Vegas. You need a few days in SF to do it justice. If you head down the coast just past Monterey you can take in Carmel (quaint artisan, Clint Eastwood former mayor), & Big Sur is lovely undeveloped coast with either rustic or luxurious accom. Napa/Sonoma wineries are worth an overnight stop so you can both enjoy the tastings and there is fine dining too if that's your thing. Yosemite is jaw dropping. You can do major hikes or short meanders to waterfalls. In Vegas I would book a flight over the Grand Canyon.

We did Vegas-san Fran-la for our honeymoon, 2 week holiday so perfectly doable. Recommend lake Tahoe (mountains, skiing, casino, location of godfather 2 wedding) and death valley (take loads of water for safety, not joking!) for stop offs on the way

Hey everyone, thank you so much for the advice.

We are going late July to August. I have exactly two weeks between the flights.

No one has mentioned Los Angeles or recommended it? Is it worth the trip?

I am thinking San Diego is beautiful but would rather do less and do it well than do some stuff half assed. Any other tips are gratefully received.

I think la/san Diego would make it too much to fit in. I would suggest you just look for things which are on the way san Fran to Vegas. So 3-4 days san Fran/Monterey/Carmel/15 mile drive, hit the road and stop off along the way (Yosemite, lake Tahoe, mono lake, death valley, monument valley) then last 3-4 days Vegas/grand canyon. Such a great holiday I am jealous!

Also not sure if you have driven in the US before but speed limits are 55mph at best so journeys often take longer than you would expect.

We did Annaheim LA for 2 days, out to Vegas for 3 days, back to LA for a night then up the coast to San Francisco stopping at Santa Barbara and Monterey then had a good few days in San Fran. Actually, we must've stopped somewhere else up the coast as were away for2 weeks!

There's a website/app called Roatrippers that is good for planning routes and gives suggestions for attractions along the way. I wouldn't bother with LA personally.

Remember to take some warm clothes. San Francisco is quite chilly in July/August. Also the top of Yosemite is chilly.

We didn't warm to LA but we had a child so weren't clothes shopping/ bar-hopping. We saw the Hollywood sign, muscle beach and some of the main areas but it is a driving city whereas SF you can walk loads of it comfortably. The fair on the pier was the best bit - you'll recognise it from films if you do go.

Ooh I'm planning the exact same trip in July as well! So I'll watch this thread with interest.

We're going SF - Monterey - Big Sur - Yosemite - Death Valley - Las Vegas (inc side trip to Grand Canyon)

LA is nothing special - massive sprawl. Hollywood is a dump, but interesting to see, and Beverley Hills is interesting for a trip to see where all the famous people live. That's about it. Not really worth travelling down to, but worth a quick look if you're passing through.

please think hard about going to Death Valley in July and August.

www.nps.gov/deva

For Yosemite:

www.nps.gov/yose

book well ahead for accommodation. In most American parks, walk two minutes from the car and you will be on your own; but you may not want to do that in Death Valley in July. And Yosemite concentrates everyone in the valley.

stunning place though!

Can I ask how much you are budgeting for your trip? I would love to do this but it just seems so expensive.