San Diego to Napa Valley (10 day itinerary opinions)
Hi all... my first post, but have been reading posts to get an idea of how to plan my west coast road trip and wanted to get your opinions! We have already been to san diego, but my wife has a conference there, so the plan is for me to fly in and rent a convertible and pick her up and head to LA after the conference....
The part i am confused about is the 2nd day where we head to Death Valley. The hotel room is $500 a night, and if i am spending that kind of money, I would rather drive to vegas and blow it at the tables :-). I know the first part of the trip will be hectic, but after that i think 2 or 3 hour drives per day up the coast should be fun and relaxing...
We also wanted to see some giant red-woods, but i just dont think we have time for that... Feeback is appreciated!!
3/21/12
- Land in San Diego and drive up to LA. See the basic touristy stuff Hollywood sign, rodeo, etc
- Staying in Hollywood
3/22/12
- Wake up super early (4/5am) and head to Death Valley, spend the day there, see the sunset, and head to vegas
- Stay in vegas
3/23/12
- Wake up early morning and head to santa monica
- Stay in Santa Monica
3/24/12
- Drive up the coast to ???? not sure where to stay here, somewhere between Santa Monica and Monterey (need opinions)
3/25/12
- Drive up the coast to ???? not sure where to stay here, somewhere between Santa Monica and Monterey (need opinions)
3/26/12
- Drive up the coast to Monterey and spend the day at big sur, etc
- stay in Monterey
3/27/12
- Drive up to Napa Valley
- stay in Napa Valley
3/28/12
-stay in Napa Valley
3/29/12
-Drive down to San Francisco
- stay in San Francisco
3/30/12
-- stay in San Francisco
3/31/12
- Fly back to DC
Not significantly different.
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I was trying to avoid having any outrageously long drives, and it seems like both of the options you recommend would have be really long (Vegas to Death Valley to LA
I thought this is what you had planned to do in reverse, here ?
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3/22/12
- Wake up super early (4/5am) and head to Death Valley, spend the day there, see the sunset, and head to vegas
- Stay in vegas
And...
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3/23/12
- Wake up early morning and head to santa monica
- Stay in Santa Monica
San Diego direct to LV takes only about 40 mins longer than going from Las Vegas to Santa Monica. [traffic could close that gap]
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It just seems like a lot of dessert to me... Also, is the traffic in LA that bad?
Not sure what you mean here, the routes are similar other than the option of going through the Mojave. I think with LA traffic, it's a case of it is what it is and you have to be patient and try and avoid rush, but someone else will have to draw comparisons as I prefer a lot of desert. LOL.
I personally think you would spend less time in the car by heading to Vegas and then to LA and for me certainly, it would be less frustrating, but as I mentioned it's only an option you could consider. Yes LA is huge but with Santa Monica being so close it seemed to make more sense to do them together over 2 or 3 days.
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Death Valley to Morro Bay) in one day.
Vegas to the coast via Death valley would be worthy of an overnight stop. It could afford you more time in Death valley and still leave you with a relaxing run up the coast. Bakersfield/Lake Isabella would be reasonable options.
