SF, Big Sur, Vegas, LA in two wks

I'm sure this has been posted many times but I'd really appreciate your advice and tips.

A friend and I flyIng to SF a week today and out of LA two weeks later. We'd really like to see Vegas and spend some time along the Big Sur or perhaps a couple of other nice beaches by LA. In an ideal world we'd squeeze in the GC and San Diego but I don't think we have time.

We're planning to hire a car but have not booked anything yet- Ahh!!

I'd really appreciate your thoughts on the best route, time to spend in each area and any key hot-spots that we should take in.

With less than a week to plan- a huge thank you in advance.

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

You are correct that this has been posted many times - in fact it is far and away the most popular topic of discussion on this forum.

All of the things you've talked about you can certainly do, but honestly, you would most likely be better off doing a complete loop. Even finishing in Vegas would make more sense than ending in LA, although doing a complete loop would make it easier to include Death Valley and Yosemite.

In any case, your best bet will be to start by looking around a bit first. Here's a good place to start, but once you've got a better idea of the basics we can help you with any more specific questions you might have.

Thx for the speedy response. Our flights are already booked into San Fran and out of LA - advice on the best route to take in the most would be great. We've done Yosemite before, so we're looking for more for fun and beaches.

2 weeks should be plenty of time to go down the coast to around Cambria, then head inland to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon, then back to San Diego for some beach time, then up to LA.

With 2 weeks and your flights booked, I would consider heading South around Big Sur to the Cambria/Morro Bay area. From there head inland to Yosemite [possibly Sequoia first] and then east over the Sierra Nevada via Tioga pass [CA120] to Mono lake and South on 395. You could then cross Death valley on 190 and head to Vegas via Pahrump on 160. From Vegas head to the Grand canyon South rim and then to San Diego or straight to LA depending on how much time you want to spend in each place.

Edit] Just noticed you have 'done' Yosemite. If you don't fancy going through that way you could still head to Sequoia, around Lake Isabella and through Death valley.

Excellent, thank you!