First Time in US!!! The trip of my life

Hi everyone,

I'm Alessia and I'm from Italy! In April I'll visit the West Coast for the first time with my husband and a couple of friends. I just want to know if my trip is possible to do or if I have to change something.

18 april land from Venezia to Los Angeles. We go to take the car and go to the hotel in Hollywood
19 april from LA to San Simeon. We stop to Santa Barbara 4 lunch and then we want to visit Hearst Castle
20 april to San Simeon from SF
20-21-22 SF
23 april from SF to Yosemite (visit the Yosemite Valley and Glacier Point- if the road is open) and sleep in Visalia
24 april visit sequoia NP and go to Death Valley
25 april visit Death Valley and the Las vegas for 2 nights
26 april LV
27 april LV - Bryce -Kanab
28 april Kanab - Page (Antelope canyon and Horseshoe Bend) - Monument Valley
29 april Monument - Grand canyon
30 april Grand Canyon - Palm Springs
01 may Palm Springs- LA
02/03 may LA

What do you think about?

Thanks

Alessia
Avatar utente
alessiav84
Squirrell

Messaggi: 4
Iscritto il: venerdì 28 febbraio 2014, 23:12

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

A popular choice would be to reverse your whole trip so that when travelling south between SF and LA the scenic Ocean viewpoints will be on your side of the road. Your trip is manageable although the distances you will be travelling might be be deceiving. For example travelling from SF to Visalia while visiting Yosemite is going to leave you hardly anytime to enjoy this magnificent National park. I would consider leaving SF after lunch on the 22nd and stay in Yosemite or at least nearby, somewhere like Groveland.

To go from Visalia to Death valley [Stovepipe Wells] is going to be another full day where you won't have a lot of time to spare in Sequoia NP. There is no direct route from Sequoia to Death valley, you have to drive south around the mountains via Bakersfield. It would actually be more beneficial to stay near Fresno and enter the park via 180 and drive south through the park and out through Three rivers, although you should check the nps website for road conditions and closures before travelling.

It's a similar story with trying to visit Bryce and get to Kanab the same day, it really doesn't leave you any time to enjoy the park and you will be driving by another great park, Zion. Perhaps with the time you have Zion might be the better choice, to cut down on the mileage and time in the car.

I think you are in for a wonderful trip with lots of amazing and diverse scenery, but your itinerary will keep you on the move.

I'd agree with Dave, you are in for a spectacular trip. However, I don't think you quite understand just how spectacular and how big the National Parks of the Southwest are. I would look at taking a day or two away from the cities so that you will not need to rush through some of the most spectaulcar scenery on the planet. Or cut back on the number of parks, so you have time to fully enjoy the rest.

Lifey

You will be seeing some of the most beautiful areas of our country! I am sure you realize this, but remember we are a very large country and you'll be dealing with several mountain ranges which, this time of year, can slow down travel. So you'll want to give yourself plenty of time to get between places so you can enjoy our national parks.

Has anyone in your group been to the US before?