Planning a trip san fran to vegas

[Trustmeimadoctor]

what should we do?
we have been to both san fran and vegas before but didnt get the chance to do everything there so we want to go back and are taking the inlaws too.
plan was start in san fran and drive to vegas via yosemite and death valley.

but can anyone else give us any pointers on what to do and see ? we plan on going for 14 nights or so

also anyone recommend and decent outdoor ranges in or near vegas that hire out large calibre weaponry have a hankering to play with a .50 bmg based toy

also can you recommend any hotels ? not fussed about been on strip really budget is about 7k+ excluding spending gambling etc

[mondayo]

There are lots of other people asking a similar question, so you'll find lots of other topics on here if you do a search.

I went from San Fran via the West Coast and San Diego last year. So as an alternative, you can drive down the Pacific Coast Highway and there is lots of stuff to see and do down there, before driving/flying over to Vegas from LA. Did it for substantially less than 7K (that was for 2 of us though).
A mate of mine did the "Parks" option though, and he also had an amazing time, so it's what floats your boat I guess.

[Trustmeimadoctor]

dont really want to do the parks as we have only just got back from 3 weeks in florida doing all that

i suppose thats the issue we need to cater for two very different tastes in holidays


shall have a look at the other threads as a start

[mondayo]

There are loads of great sights and places to visit going the coastal route....which may suit everyone?

[S 8 GRN]

If you get the chance try and book into one of the lodges at the Grand Canyon.

Awesome experience. So peaceful and relaxing - no street lights allowed - use a torch to get around at night.

The sky was incredibly clear and for the first time I saw a shooting star.

[S7Paul]

We did the following trip in August 2008:-

San Francisco - 2 nights at the Wharf Inn - Pier 39 Sea Lions, Fisherman's Wharf, Alcatraz, cable car ride, Golden Gate bridge, Lombard Street

South Lake Tahoe - 1 night at Best Western Station House Inn - Heavenly Gondola ride

Yosemite Village - 2 nights at Yosemite Lodge at the Falls - Yosemite Valley, Half Dome, El Capitan, Yosemite Falls, Bridalveil Falls, Mariposa Grove, Glacier Point, Tunnel View, Yosemite Museum

Bishop - 1 night at Best Western Creekside Inn - nothing (just a stopover en route)

Furnace Creek - 1 night at Furnace Creek Ranch - Dante's View, Scotty's Castle, Zabriskie Point, Ubehebe Crater, Badwater, Devil's Gold Course, Twenty Mule Team Canyon, Artist's Palette Drive

Las Vegas - 2 nights at New York New York - 10 min helo ride over Vegas at night, Gun Store, NY NY rollercoaster, Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay, Lions at MGM Grand

Grand Canyon South Rim - 2 nights at the El Tovar - 45 min helo ride over the canyon (from Tusayan airport), Imax cinema in Tusayan, visited all the viewpoints along the South Rim, saw sunrise & sunset over the canyon

Las Vegas - 3 nights at Treasure Island - Dolphins & white tigers at the Mirage, wildlife habitat at the Flamingo, fountains & conservatory at the Bellagio, Fremont Street at night, Stratosphere Tower, TI Pirate Show, Mystere (Cirque du Soleil)

On reflection, we could easily have spent another night in San Francisco, South Lake Tahoe & Yosemite.