need help for my 3-week roadtrip

Hi, I am planning on going on a roadtrip to california for 3 weeks. What are the highlight in california? What is a must see and what is not so good. Are there any tourist trapsthere which i should avoid. And I am also turning 21 on this roadtrip and I would like to celebrate my birthday in las vegas. What's the best thing do to in las vegas for my birthday? I also would like to see some national parks but not more than tree or four. Wich national parks are best ones? And I am also interested to see an indian resort or a ghost town. Do you have any ideas where to go? Maybe we want to go to uta, arizona and new mexico too. Are there some charming places to see like some indian or cowboy cities.

thanks for your help
nicole

Hi Nicole and welcome to the RoadTrip America Forum!

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highlight in california? What is a must see and what is not so good.

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Whew, that is pretty broad. California is a huge State, which part are you planning to vist and what are your interests?

Generally speaking, California must sees include:

-Pacific Coast Highway;
-San Francisco;
-Joshua Tree NP;
-San Diego;
-L.A.;
-Napa and Sonoma Wine Country;
-Death Valley;
-Redwoods;
-Yosemite NP;
-Hot Springs in CA and other places in the SW;
-Anza Borrego State Park;
-Lake Tahoe;
-Driving Tours;
-Kings Canyon and Sequoia NP;

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And I am also turning 21 on this roadtrip and I would like to celebrate my birthday in las vegas. What's the best thing do to in las vegas for my birthday?

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Check out this website and search the "Road to Vegas" section of this forum. Our Editor currently lives in Las Vegas, I'm sure he's going to hop in pretty soon with some great suggestions.

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I also would like to see some national parks but not more than tree or four. Wich national parks are best ones?

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Hum, that's a hard question to answer, every park has its charms. However, I'm sure most people on this forum will agree that Zion (also visit Valley of Fire SP while you're there) and Bryce are indisputably on the top of the list. Another of my favourite is Arches NP in Utah. Note : I haven't visited many California NPs so it's hard to be totally objective in this case.

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a ghost town. Do you have any ideas where to go? Maybe we want to go to uta, arizona and new mexico too. Are there some charming places to see like some indian or cowboy cities.

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Here's a directory of all ghost towns throughout North America. In California and Nevada, check out Skidoo, Chloride, Leadfield and Carrara.

Tombstone in south eastern Arizona probably qualifies as a "cowboy city". Indian American Reservations are everywhere in the Southwest, but you often have to get off the main highways. If you go to AZ, drive through the magnificient Monument Valley, make your way to Canyon De Chelly NP and arrange a guided tour at the Thunderbird Lodge in Chinle. On your way, don't forget to take a tour of Antelope Canyon.

Happy planning!
Gen

hi, thanks for your info. I am planning to see the southern part of california, but i also whant to go san francisco for at least two days. I am interested on going to the beach, maybe learning how to surf. Any ideas where i could learn how to surf? I'm going on the trip with my sister and we want to have a fun fun fun trip with going to clubs, a lot of sports, just an big advanture. And I turn 21 on this trip and we are going to be in las vegas. Does anybody know if there is a good and cheep hotel in las vegas near the strip? And we want to invest as less money as possible. So we decided to camp. How much is camping generally? A friend told me that there are a lot of free campgrounds in ca.???

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I am interested on going to the beach, maybe learning how to surf. Any ideas where i could learn how to surf?

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Ocean Beach in San Diego seems like a fun place, kind of artsy. Mission Beach is apparently where the "handsome people" go and where you can find surf schools like Surfari Surf or Pacific Surf. If you enjoy people watching, head to Muscle and Venice Beaches in L.A. Manhattan and Hermosa are both favourite spots for surfers and you can take lessons in Santa Monica.

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I'm going on the trip with my sister and we want to have a fun fun fun trip with going to clubs, a lot of sports, just an big advanture.

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For a taste of San Diego nightlife, head to Pacific Beach (Club Tremors), the Gaslamp Quarter or Hillcrest. If you are or were a Pearl Jam fan and live music, head to the Casbah Club owned by Eddie Vedder. In L.A., try out North on Sunset Blvd, the Beauty Bar in Hollywood, Abbey Cafe in West Hollywood or the Viper Room owned by Johnny Depp. In SF, I heard Pink in the Mission is not a bad place. Other than that, the Castro is the place to be if you don't mind gay hangouts.

As for sports, you can go hiking in almost any State or National Park in California. You can also rollerskate or jog in Venice Beach and rent bicycles almost everywhere.

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Does anybody know if there is a good and cheep hotel in las vegas near the strip?

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Check out this recent post on this very topic

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And we want to invest as less money as possible.

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Here's an article you might find interesting.

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So we decided to camp. How much is camping generally? A friend told me that there are a lot of free campgrounds in ca.???

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Here are some tips on how to find "free camping" opportunities or alternatives to hotels/motels.

Have a great time!
Gen