California Fly Drive

[Chocolatear]

We want to do a big holiday next year, first couple of weeks in July. DS 15 is very keen to go to California, we're considering it. Would like to visit the usual places, Death Valley, Vegas, Yosemite etc.

I was last there in 1995, so a bit out of touch! Is it best to do it with a travel company or plan it independently? Should we fly in and out of one city, or in to San Francisco and out of LA?

What is everyone's advice please?

We came back 2 weeks ago from similar holiday, 3 weeks, with 17 & 19yo. We booked flights, car hire and some hotels with Trailfinders, also booked some hotels and a cabin at Yosemite direct. Will you do car/hotels or a camper?

I got quotes from a couple of other agencies, then we sat and went through a detailed itinerary with Trailfinders, putting together our ideas and those from other companies.

We flew into San Fran and out of Vegas, which means it isn't too hot to start with - bearing in mind that Death valley gets up to 50 deg (was about 48 when we there - v oppressive) and Vegas only slightly less. The main accommodation in DV is at Furnace creek - as DH said, it is aptly named!

We did 4 nights SF, then Monterey and Cambria on coast (supposed to drive Big Sur between those places but it is currently closed so we did part of it from Monterey, rest from Cambria). Drove inland to Yosemite for 5 nights, then Bishop, Death valley, Henderson (for Hoover Dam), grand canyon, back to vegas. None of us was bothered about LA, but a friend who did similar last year did SF, Yosemite, Monterey, down coast to LA, across to Vegas and grand canyon.

We found it tiring, both doing the driving, but also the heat (did a similar road trip in Canada in 2013 but was cooler so easier).

Whilst 5 nights in Yosemite sounds excessive, we stayed in a self catering lodge, which was lovely after hotels, and just chilled on first day. And there is plenty to do in Yosemite.

I would say plan your route as a starting point, then talk to different agents about hotels etc, even if you book yourself, you get a variety of ideas. Look at mileages, don't try and do too much in any one day and maybe have a chill day somewhere.

Some things to bear in mind - accommodation actually in Yosemite valley gets booked up a year in advance, so book early if that's your choice. Our lodge was 20 miles out.

We picked up hire car at SF airport after our 4 nights, would not have liked to have driven in the city.

Alcatraz booking opens 90 days in advance and must be booked. Worth going, we did an evening tour which was good, but given we were jet lagged and waking early, would have been better doing a morning trip.

Feel free to ask me more questions or PM me. I also went in the 80s with my parents, on a coach tour, Vegas is now a completely different place, and I don't remember SF being quite as hilly!!!

Thank you! That's the sort of itinerary we fancy. Do you mind me Adlington, what sort of budget are we looking at?

I would avoid both Death Valley and Las Vegas in July simply because of the daytime temperatures. Weather in July in SF can be a bit iffy (due to the fog so some days can feel very cool); the best time of year to go there is actually September.

I would certainly agree with this point made by kath:-

"I would say plan your route as a starting point, then talk to different agents about hotels etc, even if you book yourself, you get a variety of ideas. Look at mileages, don't try and do too much in any one day and maybe have a chill day somewhere".

CA as a state is itself larger than the UK. Too many people make the mistake of cramming in too many places in too short a time and underestimate distances between them. Also the roads can be quite narrow and winding particularly up in the mountain areas. You do not want to spend all of your precious time sitting behind the steering wheel.

If you fly into San Francisco I'd recommend booking Alcatraz for one of the first times of the first day you are there. You'll be up early because of time difference, and it won't be so frantically busy.

Whilst I agree with Attila on weather, given you have a 15yo, I am guessing that September wont be possible due to school hols!

I was worried about SF weather, given what I had heard, I expected fog every day, but we had v little, only a bit above the bridge on the last day. The rest of the time was sunny and hot away from the actual bay, with a refreshing breeze at the bay.

We also got the don't do DV, Vegas etc in July.

DV was extremely hot, but we survived, and neither myself or DD like v hot weather. If you only do one night there, or even drive through and stay outside, it is worth it for the scenery. I stayed there in the 80s on coach tour, I dont remember it having as many hills or features.

LV, cooler than DV, still hot but we only wandered the strip in the evening. We took the strip shuttle bus in daytime, but to be honest, most hotels are so big (think a big shopping centre, eg Trafford Ctre) that you can spend a day wandering around a couple of them in air conditioning.

I had many comments of LV is pointless with teens. We didnt feel it was. Ok they cant gamble, but then we arent gamblers. The casinos are open in the hotels, you walk through them to get anywhere, so they can see them, and there are many other things to see, eg Venetian has a mini venice, Bellagio has the fountains. DD wanted to go in the shark reef but we didnt have time, we were there from 6pm on aTues, back at airport Thurs pm. Long enough.

Hi,

The initial payment to Trailfinders was about 6k, which covered direct scheduled flights, 15 day car hire (mondeo size) and about 13 nights hotels, although we did book 2 rooms in some places.

We then had remainder of accommodation, petrol, meals etc to pay ourselves, which took it to around 12k.

However, although we are normally careful spenders, we had a no of windfalls last year, including a modest inheritence, and most of hols with kids have been in a touring caravan, so we decided to splash out a little this time eg 2 rooms, the Yosemite cabin, flying scheduled (there are charter companies flying to California, a colleague is going Thomas Cook from Manc later this month).

So it can be done more modestly. A 2 queen bed room is standard and was plenty big enough for 4 when we had them, but given the age of ours, we booked 2 for a bit more space/privacy in some hotels.

However, we did find food reasonably expensive, but that is probably the exchange rate, and we were buying 4 adult meals in mostly tourist spots. Having said that, even buying water and snacks was more expensive than here, but again skewed by exchange rate.

We went to DV And L A in July. It was fine! Book Yosemite well in advance, like as soon as bookings open , check website, also Grand Canyon accommodation.

Take a look at Denver as your port of entry and exit. You're right in the middle of the Rockies immediately and there is so much to see and do around there before you set off on the road trip.

We headed north to S Dakota, Mt Rushmore, then to Yellowstone, Dinosaur in Utah... so many amazing places.

The trouble with SF is that you have to drive for a couple of days before you get to see anything else.

DV is worth seeing - you only drive through it and it's near the GC so worth a look.

I will add, we considered a campervan, as we are used to a caravan, but having compared prices for Canada, and not found much difference, we didn't go into the detail of comparing hotels versus campers this time.

However, a friend has been touring from Denver to vegas in a small camper and it seems big enough for 3. It would give the option of self catering and cut cost of eating out, but in some places you would need to pre-book campsites in advance eg Yosemite, G canyon. I think bookings open on a certain day/time so you have to be ready to book that day!!!

We also heard from a relative who did similar in a camper years ago, that they aren't allowed through DV in summer.

I agree with Twitter that Denver is a good place to see Nat parks, but I disagree you need to drive for 2 days from SF to see anything!!

Yosemite is 4hrs away, big sur about 3, lots to see in, around and even north of SF.

Op, I think you have to decide whether you want to see a lot of the Nat parks, eg Yellowstone and parks NW of Grand canyon, which are easier to get to from Denver (DH and I will prob do that sometime), or places like Yosemite, vegas, maybe LA, GC, all of which are easily accessible flying into SF or LA.

Also how much time you have, my friends touring from Denver will have spent 5 weeks in USA, 4.5 of those with camper travelling from Denver through Rockies to vegas and back.

Thanks for all the tips. We have to go in July, probably leaving on 1st or 2nd. Depending on cost we could stretch to 3 weeks away.
Think a trip to Trail finders is needed!

My name has changed back to an old one!

I did this without a car, and I would say SF in July was chilly and there was hardly a view of the GG on the day i went due to fogs :( Definitely visit Monterey and Carmel (not at all true that there's nothing near SF)
as well as Hearst Castle if it's your thing and Santa Barbara is worth a quick stop.

We did a trip there a few years ago...but pre kids...it was a lot of driving but we loved it - we flew into San Francisco, then went on to the wine country, Napa Valley, from there to Yosemite , then on to Bishop, Death Valley, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Sedona, Flagstaff and then on to San Diego and finally Los Angeles for one night and flew home from there.
We did in 10 days but you could if you had longer it might work better with kids...if I went again I would skip LA, we liked Malibu, spent a few hours there, but nowhere else.
Best holiday of my life though!

You clould easily do this yourself - hotels like holiday Inn do great reward points and if you did your own bookings you clould change last minute if you felt like staying longer or cutting it short.

Agree with others, dont underestimate the driving time. PCH is beautiful but very very long & twisty. San Francisco is known for its fog so GG views can be problematic. Also bear in mind that the LA area is also known for May Grey and June Gloom. Ie very little sun.

Me and my DP did 3 weeks touring California in April/May (great time of year to go, warm but not boiling, not too busy) we went LA - Santa Barbara - Monteray - SF - Napa - Yosemite - Lake Tahoe - Mammoth - Vegas - San Diego. We booked it all ourselves as the cost was so much better than a trailfinders deal and we could be more in control of our itinerary. Yosemite was incredible, i wish we had more time there. Vegas was awful and just outrageously expensive so I'd miss that if I were doing it again. Total cost with flights, petrol, car hire, hotels, food and spends was about £9k for two of us. The exchange rate was a killer so food and drink were super pricey! Cali is an amazing state and it was a trip of a life time so I would highly recommend it, just make sure you have saved up!

Also...PCH is closed at the moment due to landslides! Check before you drive it. We didn't, got 50 miles down and had to turn and go all the way back.

The good thing about going in height of summer is that the whole of yosemite is open. Bus to glacier point and hiking down is stunning.

Laws railway museum is a great little stop from death valley to break up long drives.

Trail finders sorted it all out for us apart from the national park bookings.