California / Las Vegas road trip
Discussion
evening all,
I've just started planning a road trip for this time next year and would love some advice from those who've done a similar trip.
We want to take two and a half or three weeks to explore California and hop over to Vegas too, specifically:
- LA
- San Fran and surrounding area (Monterey, Santa Cruz, Big Sur etc)
- Las Vegas
- possibly Grand Canyon
We like:
- outdoorsy stuff: mountain biking, bit of horseriding (though both novices in this respect!) wide open landscapes
- nightlife of all sorts: bars, live music, restaurants (not that keen on standard "nightclubs" though)
- exploring the real essence of anywhere we visit, we hate taking the usual tourist trail, so any recommendations of odd little places you know would be great too!
What's the best route/roads? What sort of vehicle? Recommendations for off-the-beaten-track guesthouses, B&B's, hotels etc would be brillant too!
Thanks!
K
I've just started planning a road trip for this time next year and would love some advice from those who've done a similar trip.
We want to take two and a half or three weeks to explore California and hop over to Vegas too, specifically:
- LA
- San Fran and surrounding area (Monterey, Santa Cruz, Big Sur etc)
- Las Vegas
- possibly Grand Canyon
We like:
- outdoorsy stuff: mountain biking, bit of horseriding (though both novices in this respect!) wide open landscapes
- nightlife of all sorts: bars, live music, restaurants (not that keen on standard "nightclubs" though)
- exploring the real essence of anywhere we visit, we hate taking the usual tourist trail, so any recommendations of odd little places you know would be great too!
What's the best route/roads? What sort of vehicle? Recommendations for off-the-beaten-track guesthouses, B&B's, hotels etc would be brillant too!
Thanks!
K
You best bet is flying into San Fran and doing SF-LA-Vegas (or the reverse), as there no 'direct' route Vegas-SF.
North of SF into the Napa Valley is pretty good. I've stayed for a night in Safari West, which is a nature reserve where you can stay in tree houses next to the animal enclosures, although be warned, the food they provide sucks!
Calistoga is only a 15 min drive though, good restaurants and spas there.
North of SF into the Napa Valley is pretty good. I've stayed for a night in Safari West, which is a nature reserve where you can stay in tree houses next to the animal enclosures, although be warned, the food they provide sucks!
Calistoga is only a 15 min drive though, good restaurants and spas there.
smartie said:
Lake Tahoe is worth the detour - google "Emerald Bay"......
Tahoe is stunning, definitely worth a visit, as are Yosemite, and Sequoia/Redwood National Park which are kind of on route if you plan to do a circuit of LA/San Fran/Vegas/Back to LA or the other way around. Do the coast one way and the inland national parks the other. Santa Barbara is really lovely but not off the beaten track, still definitely worth a stop there. When you are doing the coast between LA and San Fran, take the '1' rather than the '101' - amazing.
Did a similar trip in summer 2008, one of my favourite holidays yet! Flew with Virgin into Vegas and out of San Francisco and drove between. From Vegas we went to the Grand Canyon and back then onwards through Death Valley and Yosemite NP to the west coast (Big Sur/Monterey and then up to San Fran). I absolutely loved this route and the massive changes of scenery across the way - from below sea level and 50 degree heat of Death Valley up into the cooler Sierra Nevada at close to 10,000 feet with snow on the tops of the mountain!
Big Sur was great too, but we didn't get down as far as LA as we didn't really fancy it. If you like the outdoors stuff then the Grand Canyon and Yosemite route is well worth it!
Big Sur was great too, but we didn't get down as far as LA as we didn't really fancy it. If you like the outdoors stuff then the Grand Canyon and Yosemite route is well worth it!
Edited by Hub on Wednesday 21st October 13:24
Hub said:
Did a similar trip in summer 2008, one of my favourite holidays yet! Flew with Virgin into Vegas and out of San Francisco and drove between. From Vegas we went to the Grand Canyon and back then onwards through Death Valley and Yosemite NP to the west coast (Big Sur/Monterey and then up to San Fran). I absolutely loved this route and the massive changes of scenery across the way - from below sea level and 50 degree heat of Death Valley up into the cooler Sierra Nevada at close to 10,000 feet with snow on the tops of the mountain!
Big Sur was great too, but we didn't get down as far as LA as we didn't really fancy it. If you like the outdoors stuff then the Grand Canyon and Yosemite route is well worth it!
Yep, another vote for this. We added San Diego too. Funny being in the heat of Death Valley, then the snow in Yosemite, in the same day.Big Sur was great too, but we didn't get down as far as LA as we didn't really fancy it. If you like the outdoors stuff then the Grand Canyon and Yosemite route is well worth it!
Edited by Hub on Wednesday 21st October 13:24
You'll love it.
There have been a few threads on this topic, so it would be worth doing a search. This website may also be useful: http://www.roadtripamerica.com/index.htm
We did: San Fran - South Lake Tahoe - Yosemite Valley - Bishop - Furnace Creek - Vegas - Grand Canyon Village - Vegas. 2 weeks and just under 2000 miles. Ran out of superlatives describing it to people. PM me if you need any detailed info about any of the places mentioned above, or hotels we used.
We did: San Fran - South Lake Tahoe - Yosemite Valley - Bishop - Furnace Creek - Vegas - Grand Canyon Village - Vegas. 2 weeks and just under 2000 miles. Ran out of superlatives describing it to people. PM me if you need any detailed info about any of the places mentioned above, or hotels we used.
have a look up for Mammoth, Mono Lake, Big Pine, Lone Pine, Mount Whitney (if you fancy a hike - permit required - up a 14000ft) - that'll start you on the big outdoors along with the obvious Tulome Meadows and Yosemite. Also, don't ignore Joshua Tree near Palm Springs - a beautiful national park.
I did much the same trip earlier on this year, 6k miles 3 weeks and a 350z roadster.
As I covered pretty much all your route, rather than list everything here I'll just point you to the blog I wrote each day on the road.
http://www.roadtripamerica.com/forum/showthread.ph...
In case you can't be arsed to read it, wherever you go , make sure you head to Hurst Castle, it's just about the best thing on the West Coast!
As I covered pretty much all your route, rather than list everything here I'll just point you to the blog I wrote each day on the road.
http://www.roadtripamerica.com/forum/showthread.ph...
In case you can't be arsed to read it, wherever you go , make sure you head to Hurst Castle, it's just about the best thing on the West Coast!
mcgus said:
have a look up for Mammoth, Mono Lake, Big Pine, Lone Pine, Mount Whitney (if you fancy a hike - permit required - up a 14000ft) - that'll start you on the big outdoors along with the obvious Tulome Meadows and Yosemite. Also, don't ignore Joshua Tree near Palm Springs - a beautiful national park.
Aah yes, Mono Lake. If you're going that way, try to approach it from the Carson City direction (i.e. heading south down the 395). That first sight of it from the viewpoint by a bend in the road is just stunning.+1 to above comments. Make sure you push the hire car company for a discount and / or an upgrade. We had a Mustang for our trip and it was great. I didn't go for the Hertz special model and regretted it ever since!
One thing I missed on my trip was WR Hearst's San Simeon castle:
http://www.hearstcastle.org/visitors_center/direct...
He's the guy Citizen Kane was based on.
One thing I missed on my trip was WR Hearst's San Simeon castle:
http://www.hearstcastle.org/visitors_center/direct...
He's the guy Citizen Kane was based on.
nsa said:
One thing I missed on my trip was WR Hearst's San Simeon castle:
http://www.hearstcastle.org/visitors_center/direct...
Oops, probably the best attraction in that area, so good in fact I'm going to fly back just to go there again!!http://www.hearstcastle.org/visitors_center/direct...
San Fran is an amazing city and as others have already said there are some great things to see if you start from there.
However, the trip from Vegas to LA is pretty boring so we drove SF to Vegas, flew to Billings and then did yellowstone then flew to LA and drove up the pacific highway and back to SF
S
However, the trip from Vegas to LA is pretty boring so we drove SF to Vegas, flew to Billings and then did yellowstone then flew to LA and drove up the pacific highway and back to SF
S
Went this time last year - loved it. Spent a few days in San Francisco which is a fabulous city - and a few days driving down the coast.
Best bit was staying here in our own cabin on the edge of the cliff - were only going to stay 1 night but stayed for 3. Heaven!! It's my favourite place in the world.
http://www.postranchinn.com/index.shtml
Lying in this infinity pool with no noise or light pollution (or other people) as the sun went down, watching deer and wildlife skipping around - then coming back in the middle of the night watching shooting stars in a thick black sky and then see day break over the distant horizon at sea - was the most awesome experience.
If you only can stay one night here I'd urge you to do it - it's magnificent
Best bit was staying here in our own cabin on the edge of the cliff - were only going to stay 1 night but stayed for 3. Heaven!! It's my favourite place in the world.
http://www.postranchinn.com/index.shtml
Lying in this infinity pool with no noise or light pollution (or other people) as the sun went down, watching deer and wildlife skipping around - then coming back in the middle of the night watching shooting stars in a thick black sky and then see day break over the distant horizon at sea - was the most awesome experience.
If you only can stay one night here I'd urge you to do it - it's magnificent
and don't forget the drugs ... cant believe a road trip from california to Vegas and no Hunter S Thompson quotes?
"We were someplace around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold. I remember saying something like 'I feel a bit lightheaded; maybe you should drive . . .' And suddenly there was a terrible roar all around us and the sky was full of what looked like huge bats, all swooping and screeching and diving around the car, which was going about a hundred miles an hour with the top down to Las Vegas. And a voice was screaming: 'Holy Jesus! What are these goddamn animals?'"
"We were someplace around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold. I remember saying something like 'I feel a bit lightheaded; maybe you should drive . . .' And suddenly there was a terrible roar all around us and the sky was full of what looked like huge bats, all swooping and screeching and diving around the car, which was going about a hundred miles an hour with the top down to Las Vegas. And a voice was screaming: 'Holy Jesus! What are these goddamn animals?'"
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