March 2014 from San Fran to Vegas.

[John Schofield]

This is my first thread on your forum, hopefully someone may be able to assist us.
We will have a party of 4 adults from England driving for 10 days (from March 14th to 24th 2014 as part of a 3 week holiday) going from San Fran to Vegas via Big Sur, LA, San Diego & on to Las Vegas. we have our accommodation pre booked in San Fran & also our last week in Vegas. In between those two start & finish destinations we will be driving.
Looking for suggestions for first leg of journey (San Fran to LA via Big Sur) and last leg of journey (San Diego to Vegas) in respect of scenic routes to drive & places of interest to visit / see / eat & the odd place to stop overnight on both of those 2 legs of our journey. as opposed to motorway driving.
Thanks.

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

The area you'll be RoadTripping through is one of the best America has to offer, and you have enough time to do it justice. You also have plenty of time to plan out your trip, so rather than making explicit suggestions just yet, I think you'll be better served by being directed to a listing of several previous discussions of trips similar to what you're considering. After reading through those and discussing possibilities and goals with your traveling companions, please come on back for specific recommendations to meet your needs.

AZBuck

[Southwest Dave]

As you have the major City's earmarked for your trip, how about a bit of natures finest ? Much will depend on how much time you decide to spend in LA and SD, but from there I would be looking at heading to the south rim of Grand canyon NP and then up in to southern Utah and Bryce and Zion NP's. On the way to the GC you could head through red rock country around Sedona and from the Grand canyon, Monument valley and Lake Powell/Page highlights. As you make your way down to Vegas you could detour into the Valley of Fire State Park. If thats more than you want to do then you could still head to the GC and then back to Vegas via the Hoover dam, perhaps including a trip from SF to Yosemite Valley and then back to Carmel/ Monterey and the coast at the start of your road trip.

If you keep the car for a day or 2 in Vegas you could have a nice day trip out to Death Valley NP. Look at the links Buck suggested and chat with your mates about the possibilities. It's worth noting that most tours to the Grand canyon from Vegas go to the west rim on Indian lands, which is not part of the National park and it doesn't offer the same views made famous through film and photography. I would recommend at least one night in, or near to the park.

Enjoy the planning !

[John Schofield]

Thanks for taking the time to reply & for your advice Dave, much appreciated.