Trip in and around California..what to see?

Hi,

We are looking at doing a road trip around California. Just yesterday we were about to book a fly drive with an holiday company but decided to wait to have a look and see if we could make it more personalised.

The things we want to do there is see Yosemite, Las Vegas, probably visit Universal Studio's, Grand Canyon and San Francisco and maybe San Diego (don't know why but i've always wanted to see San Diego Zoo!)
This is what was included in the pre organised fly drive as it was around some of the things we wanted to see but what I don't want to do is miss some amazing things just through lack of prep or knowledge.

So basically what I am asking advice for is..

Any recommendations on routes and what to see/do that include the above 'wishlist' ?

We are planning to go either Feb, March or April next year. We are both self employed so can go any time in these months. Would anyone recommend a month which is best?

Also the fly drive included flights from Scotland and hotels at each stop. I don't mind organising these separately but not sure if it would work out a lot more expensive?

W are planning to do it for 9/10 days max as we are having 4 nights stay in hawaii after it to visit family. Would you say that was enough time to see things and drive to places comfortably?

Thanks so much in advance for any advice!!

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums!

This is probably the single most popular road trip and for good reason, it's wonderful ! The beauty of creating your own roadtrip is making each one unique !

I would recommend travelling as late as you can into April as the temps and weather will be more settled but still before the crowds. In the Sierra's [Yosemite] there is still a real possibility of snow and some of the Sierra high passes will still be closed, such as the spectacular Tioga Pass which is a popular route between Yosemite and Vegas.

A loop will work well which gives you the option of starting from which City offer the cheapest flights and car rental combined when you travel, SF, LA or LV.

So if you were to head out from SF, you could head down the coast which has the advantage of putting the Ocean on your side of the road. Drive from Monterey around Big Sur to Cambria and make an overnight stop is what I would recommend. From LA head inland and go direct the Grand canyon south rim, most tours from Vegas do not go the National Park, which is a must imo.

From the GC head back to Vegas and then you could drive across Death Valley NP. Later in the year this is where you could head north on 395 to Tioga Pass, but as mentioned it's likely to be closed. Therefor you will have to head south around the mountains via Lake Isabella and the north through Fresno etc to Yosemite before heading back to SF. On route you could drive through Sequoia NP and see the giant tree's. It's actually home to the largest living thing on the planet, the General Sherman tree.

You will find a lot of info searching the forums and to get you started, here are some of our favourites.

You could visit San Diego, but you would really have to keep on the move to fit it all in 9 or 10 days. It wouldn't really leave time for multiple days in anyone place.