SF - LV (Via Yosemite & DV) - LA

[ClaretsChick1882]

Hi All

Hoping for some much needed help and info from you peeps

We are 2 couples from England who are planning our holiday of a life time ....

We are looking towards end Sept 2010 and just to start us off need to look at the first initial part of our road trip

We plan to fly to SF and stay there a few days, Alcatraz and Golden Gate Bridge are a must.

Then this is where I need help

We plan to drive from SF to LV, we want to take the scenic route hopefully via Yosemite and DV.

We will be leaving SF early and plan to do the trip in 3 lots of driving.

1st lot then a nights stop, 2nd lot then a nights stop and 3rd lot then arrive in LV late in the day.

Is this possible to do in the short amount of time we have?
How many hours driving will it be in total?
Any ideas on where best places to stay overnight? We were thinking of Lone Pine as one of them?
Will we have enough time to pull over every now and again to take in some of the beautiful scenery?

Vegas Hotels, we were looking at Stratosphere or Sahara but have been informed they are way to far out? any info on that would be great

Oh one last question from my boyfriend

What sort of car would we need to hire to drive that route, would a normal full size car be ok or are we better off with a 4x4, think he just wants to drive a 4x4 so is just telling me that this is what we will need.

Ta
Donz

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

This is a very popular trip with tons of similar threads on this forum, so you should be able to find lots of information by looking around.

The trip you've laid out is quite possible. You can spend the first day in Yosemite, spend day 2 going over Tioga Pass spending the night somewhere along US-395, with lone pine being one of the possibilities, and then spend day 3 in Death Valley and arriving in Vegas.

That would be quite feasable and you really wouldn't need to spend more than about 5 hours each day on the road (plus whatever time you need for sightseeing).

Sahara and Stratosphere are both on the far north end of the Strip, however they are also usually among the cheapest options too,.

Stratosphere in particular is separated from the other strip properties by a couple of blocks and is a bit of a challenge if you are walking. Sahara would be easier to get to the other motels, and is also connected to the monorail for easy access to the middle and south ends of the strip.

4x4 would certainly be a want not a need. You can't take a rental off-road or anywhere you can't take a regular sedan. If you want to take one because you think it would be fun to drive and make your trip more enjoyable go for it, but a normal sedan will be cheaper and work just as well from a purely practical standpoint.

[Richard_Clayton]

Hi, I too am British, and recently been planning a similar trip, but a little later than you so weather has come into it.
I have had a huge amount of help from Michael, Mark and CalOldBlue to name but a few. I started by reading a very well visited post from another Brit who worked under the name of Jantomo, and a link to her work post has been included by Mark on the first page of my thread which you can find here, or two above yours with the title of 'Las Vegas Drive-Around -- November'.

As I said my thread has worked out a bit different to that which you need because of the time of year and longer time available, but you will see thoughout some really useful bits of advice, including one right at the end from CalOldBlue on SF.

There is also a comment form Michael for the non need far an SUV, which obviously I wouldn't disagree with other than to say what I would be very carefull about is the luggage you bring over as four adults and the car you rent. We know from years of coming over here and renting cars that - especially their 'Big cars' - that whilst the boot (trunk) appears big, they tend to be shallow and tapering, and so two big cases can suddenly take up all the useful space. You will be much better with medium size cases (especially now they have brought the weight limit down to 52lbs) and even better a couple of holdalls in the mix that can be 'squashed' into the spaces left by hard cases. So my recommendation would be a big estate rather than a midsize SUV which we have at present and has supprisingly little practical space. Fyi, we have consistently used Dollar (dollar.co.uk) over the years and found their rates very good when booked from the UK on their uk website - their 'Platinum' package includes extra drivers at no cost, which otherwise can add up considerably.

Hope this helps,

Best regards,

Richard