From San Fran to LA

[jude]

As part of our 5 week roadtrip, of which there will be more questions later :), we are driving from San Fran to LA with one night to stop somewhere on the coast. Looking at Monterey, but it seems wildly expensive as we will be there on a Saturday night. Any advice as to somewhere else that would be nice but not pricey? By the way, this website is FABULOUS !!

[Mark Sedenquist]

Any advice as to somewhere else that would be nice but not pricey?

One of the best-kept secrets is the lodging options in either Morro Bay or my personal favorite -- Cayucos -- nice beach town -- lower costs.

mark

[glc]

San Simeon and Morro Bay both have a Motel 6 - their Saturday night rates range from $57 to $72 plus 9% tax.

[jude]

Excellent feedback - thanks heaps :)

[jude]

We will be in Cortez at the end of the first week of April. Will we be able to see any of Mesa Verde or is it all closed until summer?



[Moderators note; I have merged your threads as I presume this relates to the same trip. Please keep all questions about one trip in the same place, thank you ]

[Southwest Dave]

Hi jude, welcome back.

Mesa Verde is open year round but there might be some closures within. Here are some details.

[jude]

Thanks so much for that.

[jude]

I thought I would put our itinerary up and welcome any suggestions with any aspects of it. I appreciate the wealth of experience and knowledge here on this site. We are a family with 2 sons aged 13 and 11.
Day 1: Fly to LA arr 10am. Pick up car 3pm.
Day 2: Drive to Las Vegas ( or St George if we feel fresh enough)
Day 3: Drive to Salt Lake City
Days 4 - 8: Skiing, probably Alta
Day 9: Drive to Moab
Days 10 and 11: Arches/Canyonlands, maybe whitewater raft
Day 12: Drive to Cortez
Day 13 : Mesa Verde
Day 14 : Drive to Flagstaff via Monument Valley and 4 Corners
Days 15,16: Grand Canyon and staying at Williams
Days 17 : Drive via Page to ZionCanyon
Day 18: Zion
Day 19: Morning in Zion then drive to Bryce
Days 20-21: Bryce
Days 22- 24 : Unsure - Vegas? any ideas?
Days 25 - 29: San Francisco
Day 30: Drive to Yosemite and booked in at Curry Village
Day 31:Yosemite all day then ??? at night
Day 32: Drive to LA
Day 33: Universal Studios
Day 34 : Disneyland
Day 35: Fly home to Sydney late evening.

I am really hoping I have allowed enough time in each place, and yet not too much. We are really hoping to open our boys' eyes to the beauty of the National Parks (my parents did it for me when I was 9 and it changed my world).
Most accomodation has been booked ( some motels, some KOA's where the boys can meet and play with other kids.
We will be on a fairly close budget as the dollar has dropped 20c since we booked,but fortunately most sight-seeing is free.
Any thoughts, road gurus?

[jude]

One of the best-kept secrets is the lodging options in either Morro Bay or my personal favorite -- Cayucos -- nice beach town -- lower costs.

mark

We had to change our route as we could not get accommodation in Yosemite on the way up to San Fran, only on the way back to LA. Will show the boys this lovely road on the next trip!

[Midwest Michael]

Your nights at the Grand Canyon, staying in Flagstaff and Williams are kind of far out from the park, and are in the wrong direction from where you are coming from/going to. Rather than driving an hour to an hour and a half south every night (especially when you are coming from and then heading to Utah), I think it would be worth the extra money to try and stay closer to the parks. If you're camping, this would be a decent spot to spend some nights away from motels.

Your trip kind of has a lot of loops and spots where you'd be back tracking, or driving right by one place, and then going back to it at a later date. For example, it would make a lot more sense to try and fit in Bryce and Zion before you go to SLC instead of backtracking there from the Grand Canyon.

Yosemite is another case where you'd be driving right by it and then doubling back to see it a bit later. However, since it sounds like you've got a reason for that, then perhaps your trip from Vegas/Bryce to San Franscisco is the place where you fit in a drive along the coast.