Family trip Las Vegas and San Fran April 2011

[KatyJane]

Hi,
I've learnt a lot from the threads on this forum, but would value some of your expert advice to sort out the middle of our trip. We're flying from Manchester UK to Las Vegas at the beginning of April and will spend the weekend in LV before driving to the Grand Canyon for a couple of nights. We then have 2-3 days/nights undecided. Our second week we intend to spend a couple of nights in Yosemite and then 4 nights in San Francisco before flying home from SF. We're travelling with 3 teenage boys, so don't want to spend whole days in the car (I know this is a road trip forum!) We would like to see Death Valley, but are wondering whether it would be better to do this as a day trip from LV and then fly from LV to SF, or whether to drive from Grand Canyon, to Death Valley to Yosemite. I realise the Tioga pass is closed then, but am struggling to know what is achieveable in a couple of days and where it would be best to break the journey. Any help/comment would be appreciated.

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

It is, as alway's, a personal choice, but personally speaking I would drive from GC to Yosemite and then onto SF. It's possible to get from Death valley to Yosemite around the Southern end of the Sierra mountains via Bakersfield in a day, and it is a comfortable drive from GC to Death valley, but a third day would allow you to enjoy the trip more, relax a little and explore some of Death valley, and perhaps even drive through Sequoia NP. If you add the time of airport check in/out, flights, car drop off's/pick ups, plus the drive from SF to Yosemite, there really isn't much in it time wise, but by driving you see a little more of the country and have less expense.

Well, it is a road trip forum ! ;-)

[KatyJane]

Hi Dave,

Thanks for your reply. My preference was to drive, but I wasn't sure that it was feasible in the time we have available. Do you have any recommendations for the best places to break the journey on the GC to Death Valley leg and again on the DV to Yosemite leg?

[Southwest Dave]

You could choose from places like Kingman, Laughlin or simply head back to Vegas for a night, or drive direct to Death valley, Furnace creek is a popular resort. It's a case of how you want to split your time and whether you have 3 or 4 day's for this part of the trip. If you stopped in Vegas you could drive through Death valley and possibly stop in the Lake Isabella area before continuing to Yosemite. If you drove from GC to DV direct you could then spend a night in or around Sequoia NP and continue to Yosemite. With 4 day's you could stop on the way to DV, in DV and around Sequoia NP on the way to Yosemite.