US Roadtrip Itinerary Advice

[Bluebird23]

Hi,

Hoping for some advice suggestion on West Coast US Roadtrip. This will be a special family trip to celebrate our daughter finishing her GCSE's. Travelling will be 2 adults and 2 teens (age 16 & 14).

Current Itinerary is:
San Francisco 3 Nights
Yosemite 3 Nights
Sequoia 1 Night
Las Vegas 3 Nights
Grand Canyon 2 Nights
California Coast 9 Nights

I wondered if anyone could offer any advice on the above itinery and also recommend things to do. We're quite an active family and enjoy hiking, body boarding etc. We're also hoping to book white water rafting.

Most of our holidays have been European road trips from the North of England so the we're used to covering many miles in the car but also want to ensure we don't lose too many days in the car.

Many thanks in advance.

I mean there's a steakhouse where they cut people's ties off.

The Wigwam Motel is on the old Route 66 iirc.

I would look at flying into Las Vegas or Phoenix and out of either LA or San Francisco or vice versa (depending on itinerary). A lot of car hire places don’t have one way fees for that route. I started in Phoenix, Grand Canyon, Zion, Death Valley, Yosemite then across to Monterey (or up to San Francisco if you wanted) then drove down the coast stopping along the way and flew out of LA.

We stayed in a great hotel just outside of Yosemite, it was a ski resort (cheap in the summer) that had washing facilities.

I think vegas is worth doing for the experience and seeing a show. We did a helicopter tour from vegas which was amazing to the grand canon.

Going to Alcatraz was also great but make sure you prebook tickets.

We did 25 nights on the west coast last summer with 3 teens, similar ages to yours. We wanted to go to the Grand Canyon but decided to save that for another trip and just focused going down the coast. Also didn’t want to have to do any one night stays and rush around too much.

I booked all hotels apart from one VRBO in Santa Barbara halfway through our trip where I washed and repacked everything.

Buy packing cubes from Amazon and each have a different colour. They make the packing/repacking SO much easier between hotels-just thrown the bags in and out the cases. I also two large travel laundry bags to collect washing in as we went (family of 5, there was a lot!).

San Francisco is a bit iffy. Lots of homelessness/drug users. Obviously stick to the safer parts. Still worth a visit. We loved hiring bikes and cycling the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito. We started here and hired a car at the end of our 3 nights as you don’t need it in the city.

Then drove to Yosemite. Absolutely stunning and favourite part of the trip for me. Saw a bear! Jaw dropping scenery.

Then headed back to the coast to Monterey but did a few hours on the Santa Cruz boardwalk on the way. Kids LOVED this (and it’s where they filmed some of The Lost Boys).

Monterey we went whale watching which is another must do.

Driving the pacific coast highway is another must do. Stunning scenery at every turn. Really famous drive.

Stayed in Cambria and Santa Barbara on the way to LA. LA fun (do a cheesy celeb home tour) and huge but lots of iffy areas again. Walk of fame is fun for a visit but like a much dodgier Oxford street. Tacky and touristy.

Kids loved Universal studios, warners brothers studios and we went over to the Disney for a few nights too.

Spent last 4 nights in San Diego which is a great city and nice end point! Kids also loved a baseball game here.

In every city the drug problems/homelessness are very apparent and it’s really sad. San Francisco and LA the worst for this. I wouldn’t go back to them but I am glad that I have visited them once (and would recommend still!). It was a dream holiday all in all!!

We flew into SF and out of LA, best advice I got was not to hire a care in SF but pick it up back at the airport at the end of your nights in SF. It’s a nightmare and super expensive for parking. Pick a hotel in SF city centre based and used the public transport or walked.

Griffin observatory in LA is another good one to visit and you can see the Hollywood sign well!

I'd not bother with Las Vegas. The place is not great for families

There are actually lots of family resort style hotels in Vegas and lots of family shows. Plenty of families holiday there. So there are options. It still wouldn’t be for me with the kids but it’s definitely doable and enjoyed by many families.

I loved Death Valley. Like nothing I’ve seen before. Just stunning.

Sequoia - agree that’s worth more time, and Kings Canyon. Loved both. Also could think about a trip to Lake
Tahoe.

We drove a campervan from chicago to san fran over 4 weeks . Things I remember ( not in order)

Watched a baseball game in san diego then hung out in the gas lamp district - great fun

san fran was my fav. Cycled across golden gate bridge then down a huge hill into saucalito - got the ferry back . One of the best things I have done! Book alcatraz in advance

we drove into vegas at night and saw the whole city lit up.. also took a break from the camper and stayed in hotels as they are so fanceh and v cheap!

new orleans over independence day and a swamp excursion !

lots of other stuff will post when it comes to mind

You’ve got loads of great tips already.

Agree not to hire a car in SF; you don’t need one. Just pick it up when you leave.

Skip Carmel.

Definitely stay at the Madonna Inn - super kitsch and fun.

Visit Hearst Castle; it’s beautiful.

Visit Universal Studios. Stay at the Safari Inn in Burbank; just down the road (free shuttle) and it’s been used as the film set for The Incredibles.

Do consider Palm Springs as an alternative to LV. Desert, cable car, mountains, horse riding, art and more. I love it there.

San Diego great, but we loved La Jolla just outside. Eat dinner at The Marine Room for the waves over the roof experience.

Vegas is worth a short visit just to absorb just to see how crazy it is. Not just the extravagance and the casinos, but the sheets, I don't know - balls - of building such a high impact resort, with such massive resource demand , in the middle of a dessert.

I loved SF

Definitely add a night in - or a day long drive through -Death Valley.

What time does your flight arrive in SF? 3 nights isn't a lot if you arrive late and then leave early on day 4 (which you'll need to to get to Yosemite). 2 days there isn't enough - you'll need 1 for Alcatraz for starters. And you'll have jet lag, so you will be wanting to take things easy.

If you're not staying in Yosemite itself, factor in plenty of driving time to get to the centre of the park. Even accommodation right on the very edge of the park can be an hour to the centre. If you can plan a route that gets you in over the Toioga Pass, do it - it's absolutely stunning.

1 night in Sequoia isn't enough. It will be late in the day when you get there, and you'll need to leave early to get to your next stop.

Driving distances are huge - you need to allow a lot more time than you think.

We enjoyed Carmel - the town itself was just quite different from all the other stops on our trip, but it was a good base to visit some other interesting places. It was good to be somewhere that was neither big city nor national park, so it was a good contrast.

I'll go against the grain, Las Vegas is brilliant fun for the sheer spectacle of the place, my teens absolutely loved it. I honestly feel it's a great shame to miss it out if you're close by. Do go on the rollercoasters around New York New York and at the top of Stratosphere.

Also we did a coach trip to the Hoover dam from there.

A lot of the canyons and inland places suggested are going to be absolutely roasting in the summer, just be mindful when planning. The coast is far more pleasant!

Hi Op, we did this trip last year.
There were 2 adults, 2 kids. We shared a room mostly as that was cheaper than airbnbs. Washing machines available at most hotels/motels though.
We went San Fran, the kids loved it, loads to do great city and food. The time zone meant we were first on the trams and up and about early. I agree about Carmel, quite weird and I feel we could have cut that bit out, but we stayed there to go whale watching in monterey.

Kids loved LA as we did all the typical sights and went to universal studios. We stayed in a place called 3 rivers nr sequoia and kings canyon and loved it there, Yosemite i could happily spend a week! You must book yosemite accommodation early though as it sells out. Have a look on the national parks website you book it via that platform.

Its an amazing iconic place to visit. Our trip including everything cost 10k. We ate at whole foods market most days though to try and save some money and ate a lot of pb&j sandwiches!!

I agree about Vegas, I have been there without kids and its fun but would be a bit boring/weird with them tbh.

Thanks so much everyone, all really helpful information and suggestions.

@naichick thank you for sharing the cost of your trip, that's giving me hope! Could I ask how many nights accommodation you needed and if your trip was in the summer holidays?

Hiya, ours was over Easter hols, must have been 14 to 15 nights, I will double check though!

I'd definitely try and fit in Zion and Bryce Canyon, stunning for hiking. We drove all the way out to Monument Valley too, it was a long drive for the very small amount of time we spent there but it's so iconic it was worth it.

Death Valley was stunning too, we stayed in Lone Pine and got up really early to drive though, I think we were out the other side by lunch, just too hot to hang around outside.

We flew into SF and out of LA. LA was pretty grim though, 1 night was enough time to see Hollywood, do a studio tour, drive round the mansions and go to Santa Monica beach.

We did it on a budget so drove 3000 miles in 15 days and stayed at cheap motels and ate McDonald's/supermarket food. It was still an amazing trip!

I would say that you are trying to do a bit too much because of the actual driving distances of some of those places. Sequoia to LV could take you about 7 hours! When you say the Grand Canyon do you mean the "real" one near Flagstaff? Near LV there is the Skybridge GC area but that is still about 3 hours. Flagstaff to San Diego is also about 8 hours. Newport Beach area south of LA is lovely - loads of beaches. LV is fun - it is developing into a year round and family destination too with all its new developments. You've got some thinking to do.

I would skip San Francisco (homelessness and drug problems are almost unbelievable) and I wouldn't recommend Vegas with teens. San Diego on the other hand is absolutely terrific! We were there last year and had a terrific time.

Are you going in summer? If so the big-name canyons will be unbelievably crowded at the popular parts. We did Zion in summer and the queues just for the buses to get into the park were ridiculously long, and in blazing temps. Grand Canyon was similarly crowded at the viewpoints, and parking was near impossible in many parts. Horse riding in Bryce was amazing though.

Antelope Canyon was my favourite part of the trip. They only do guided tours so book in advance.

We actually really enjoyed Vegas with teens but it was 105F and that made it exhausting. They enjoyed the zip line at Fremont St, and they were allowed in casinos but not at gambling tables. A day or two is plenty.

Flagstaff is a fun place to visit - we just stopped for lunch but I’d go back for longer. Also Sedona and the surrounding area is fun - we loved visiting Jerome (the Haunted Hamburger has great views), finding some good swimming holes, and the Chapel of the Holy Cross was really amazing.

I think much of California is pretty overrated so I don’t really have any recommendations. I much prefer New England.

Try and fit in Lake Tahoe. Visit the Squaw Valley Winter Olympics site (yeas, it's great in summer), go kayaking and do the inflatable river boat trip - all brilliant experiences

I'm not a fan of SF - it's cold and foggy most of the time, most of the year. Even in August the fog only seemed to lift for 4-5 hours during the day

Do bé careful with the sun - my freckles peeled off the end of my nose - Grand Canyon in August !!

Get an annual National Park (America the Beautiful) pass if you are visiting more than a couple of parks - $80 well spent

Make sure you book Alcatraz tickets direct rather than through agents who will add on charges. Consider the twilight one - it gets really spooky.

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Bryce Canyon - I loved this and recommend it more than any other canyon BUT the latest I have been is Easter

Wigwam motel - San Bernadino - the motel it was great but we found the area quite intimidating (....there was a drive by shooting very close the night we stayed)

Monument valley - may be too far for you this trip but its great, and if you do go, stay at The View which does indeed have amazing views out over the monuments. You can self-drive around easily - especially good at sunset and sunrise.

We also stayed at the Bright Angel Lodge on the rim of the grand canyon - fab waking right up on the edge! The old lodges are fairly basic but a great experience (they book up v quickly)

Another voice saying you won't need all that time on the coast, repurpose it elsewhere. Carmel, Monterey, Santa Barbara etc aren't all that and Big Sur can be enjoyed on your drive to LA.

I'd give LV a miss and add those days to Yosemite and its surroundings. It's the most stunning place.
San Fran is odd. 2 days at most.

I'd be tempted to start in Seattle and do Portland, San Fran, LA and San Diego with a side trip to Yosemite. But then I like cities.

https://www.hiddencanyonkayak.com/
this was a highlight for us

we flew into sf and out of vegas which worked well. Agree don’t hire a car until you’ve finished in sf.

Depends where you're flying in and out of. But I'd totally skip San Francisco. Cold, dirty, overhyped. It will disappoint. San Diego is great. And actually LA could surprise you in many good ways. It has an abundance of neighbourhoods which give you flavour of different cultures for example.
I haven't yet visited a duff National Park so take your pick - ime they're all good.