It will not save you any money turning in a car and re-renting - because you will be paying one more one-way drop fee. In fact, a "loop" may wind up being the cheapest way even if you keep the car while in the cities. I'd look at a LA-LA loop.
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It will not save you any money turning in a car and re-renting - because you will be paying one more one-way drop fee. In fact, a "loop" may wind up being the cheapest way even if you keep the car while in the cities. I'd look at a LA-LA loop.
I have now decided to do a kind of loop, want to start in Las Vegas and end in LA have looked at costins an it works for us. We are visiting Yosemite and San Fran can you please let me know if there is any roads I should take/places we should go? Thank you Ben
It's only a 5 hour drive to completely close that loop - compare total costs!
Hi glc, have compared total costs (for whole trip) and it actually works out the same cost if not cheaper and a lot easier for us to collect in Vegas and drop off in LA and then we fly out of LAX a few days later. From Vegas-Death Valley-Yosemite-SF-Big Sur-LA is there any route and/or places that shouldn't be missed? Ben
You say time is not so much an issue, but how long do you think you will have for the trip ? Is Grand canyon still on the agenda ?
The pouplar and scenic trip would be 190 across Death valley and 395 to Mono Lake and then the spectacular Tioga Pass [CA120] into Yosemite. After SF spend a few days on CA1, the coast highway on route to LA. A trip to Alcatraz is a highlight of any SF trip. With enough time you could open up many options.
If you were still to head to the GC you could do the 'Grand loop' from Vegas and head into Souther Utah and enjoy Zion NP, possibly Bryce canyon, Monument Valley and Hoover dam to name a few. From Yosemite you could head towards Napa valley, Muir Woods, Point Reyes National seashore and so on, before heading across the Golden Gate Bridge into San Fran.
Once you have figured the basics out we can help fill in the blanks and do a little 'fine tuning'.
Hi Southwest Dave, we are going to be in that area for approx 2-3 weeks. Yes we want to also see the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam. The Grand loop sounds like a good option and I very much like to drive over the golden gate bridge. I will need to come up with a map or list like you say and then fine tune the trip. Thank you for this info it is very very helpful. Regards Ben
Hi guys
I have experimented with a route that I have found from Harry Kline on the website and the advice from Southwest Dave please see attached route and see if this look any good!
Cheers
Ben
Hi Ben, your map is a little small to make out the real detail but it looks like the general idea is good. From Vegas head up I15 to UT9 into Zion NP where you will find the Watchman Camground near the entrance, and within a short walk from the free shuttle buses that take you into the canyon. It's a great park for walking ! It looks as though you have opted for visiting both rims of the GCNP, but before heeading to the North rim you could head to Bryce canyon, the park and the drive are both quite spectacular ! You could then make your way south to the south rim and enter via the east entry kiosk on Desert view drive and leave via the south kiosk through Tusayan. Before arriving at the south rim you could detour to Monument valley and/or stop at Cameron Trading Post. Mather campground at the south rim is pretty cool and only a short walk to the village rim area.
As you take I40 back towards Vegas you could detour onto route 66 through Seligman [quirkey memorabilia stores] to Kingman and stop at the Hoover dam. The Locals route from Vegas into Death valley would be to follow 160 out of Vegas to Pahrump and just north of town take Bell Vista/Ash Meadows road to Death valley junction. Turn right and immediate left onto 190 across DV. Furnace creek is a nice place to stop and a small detour south from here will take you to Badwater Basin, the lowest point in the USA. Just before FC is Zabriske point which is a nice viewpoint just a short walk from the car.
In Yosemite I would stay in one of the 'Pines' campgrounds and as with all the major NP's I would recommend booking asap after the booking window opens.
Hi guys
Me and the girlfriend have finally made the leap and booked our flights to the USA please see below an itinerary of the proposed route and attractions.
We don’t want to be rushing through this trip and are willing to change a few things as we want to get the most of out the trip that we can and see as much as we can but we are on a budget.
Please any information or help would be greatly appreciated and the only thing we have booked at the moment is our hostels in Denver, San Francisco and Las Vegas.
Day 1 – arrive in Denver late afternoon collect hire car (or maybe collect on day 3)
Day 2 – Boulder
Day 3 – Denver
Day 4 – Cave of the winds, Helen Hunt Falls and Royal Gorge Bridge. End in Colorado Springs
Day 5 – Colorado Springs + possibly Cheyenne Zoo
Day 6 – Start trip to Rapid City, Stay in Casper to break up journey
Day 7 – Casper to Hot Springs and Wind Cave National Park and stay in Rapid City
Day 8 – Rapid City, Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse
Day 9 – Rapid City to Yellowstone
Day 10 – Yellowstone
Day 11 – Yellowstone
Day 12 – Yellowstone
Day 13 – Yellowstone
Day 14 – Yellowstone + Grand Teton
Day 15 – Grand Teton
Day 16 – Grand Teton to Cheyenne
Day 17 – Cheyenne to Rocky Mountain National Park
Day 18 – Rocky Mountain National Park
Day 19 – Rocky Mountain back to Denver drop off hire car
Day 20 – Travel to Las Vegas on Bus
Day 21 – Las Vegas
Day 22 – Las Vegas
Day 23 – Las Vegas
Day 24 – Las Vegas collect hire car
Day 25 – Las Vegas to Hoover Dam to Flagstaff
Day 26 – Flagstaff + Sunset Crater
Day 27 – Flagstaff to Wupatki Monument,Desertview watchtower + Grand Canyon Village to Kanab
Day 28 – Kanab to Bryce Canyon then Zion National Park
Day 29 – Zion National Park then to Beatty
Day 30 – Beatty to Death Valley National Park to Yosemite
Day 31 – Yosemite
Day 32 – Yosemite
Day 33 – Yosemite
Day 34 – Yosemite
Day 35 – Yosemite to Napa Valley to Point Reyes
Day 36 – Point Reyes to Muir Woods then San Francisco drop off hire car
Day 37 – San Francisco
Day 38 – San Francisco
Day 39 – San Francisco
Day 40 – San Francisco collect hire car
Day 41 – San Francisco to Big Sur
Day 42 – Big Sur to Los Angeles drop off hire car
Day 43 – Los Angeles
Day 44 – Los Angeles
Day 45 – Los Angeles
Day 46 – Los Angeles
Day 47 – Depart LA in the morning
Thank you very much in advance
Ben
Moderator Note: We really prefer to have one thread per trip, so readers can see exactly what advise you've previously been given, and they can see how your trip has evolved over the course of your planning.
What really stands out to me about your most recent plan is the amount of stopping and starting you are doing.
Renting one car for your trip will likely be much cheaper than renting 3 different cars, even with a 1 way fee, especially when you factor in the extra miles, time, and money for bus fare you are going to add in your trip.
Specifically, you're doing quite a lot of backtracking by going from Yellowstone all the way back to Denver. Your plan would have you completely skipping much of the 4 corners region (Arches, Canyonlands, Mesa Verde, Monument Valley), and backtracking again from Vegas to the Grand Canyon and Zion before Death Valley. You could see a lot more, in less time, by skipping the return trip to Denver.
It should also be noted that LA is very much a city where you'll want to have a car, as it is quite difficult to get around by public transit.