Any advice/ ideas would be grately appreciated!!

Hi,

I'm having trouble planning a road trip and this seems the best place to come to ask for help so ...

There are 4 of us intending to do the following -


24th July Gatwick to Las Vegas
25th Las Vegas Hotel on the strip Sightseeing
26th Las Vegas Hotel on the strip Grand Canyon flight
27th Yosemite National Park
28th Yosemite National Park
29th Yosemite National Park
30th San Francisco
31st San Francisco - Alcatraz
1st August San Francisco
2nd Los Angeles
3rd Los Angeles - Universal Studios
4th San Diego
5th San Diego
6th San Diego
7th Back to Las Vegas for flight home

Basically we need cheap and cheerful ideas. Nothing is set in stone regarding the route or number of days in each place. We are intending to hire a car for the whole time, there are 4 of us travelling (2 girls, 2 boys - only 2 can drive). We want this to be the experience of a lifetime. Any and I mean any advice regarding budget help/must sees/better itinery/additional places etc would be very gratfully recieved.

Thank you, Clare xx

PS - im also unsure whether we book everything from hotels to day trips before we go or when we are there????

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

What time of year are you making this trip? That will play a pretty big role in your options traveling to Yosemite from Las Vegas. In any case, I'd make sure to travel through Death Valley, and you might want to plan to spend a full day on the road between Vegas and Yosemite, especially if you are traveling in spring before Tioga Pass opens.

I would also add a day between SF and LA so you can take the coast route. If you try to do this in one day, you'd pretty much have to stick to the freeways.

As far as reservations go, I usually wing it for most things. However, there are some things where you'll want to prebook. Generally, you'll get a better deal with car rental reserving in advance. Lodging options in Yosemite fill up quickly, even months in advance during the peak season, so reservations could be a good option there. And the Alcatraz tour also fills up quickly. If you can't book that one before you leave, you'll want to do it as soon as you arrive in SF.

There is a ton of information already available on this forum both about this general trip outline and budgeting. I'd suggest starting by doing a search and getting some more background information.