L.A To Grand Canyon via Vegas/Yosemite... Help

Hi,
Im Stef and im from Manchester, England.
Me and my best friend have booked our flights to L.A for this summer (July 2nd) and are wanting to travel from L.A to the Grand Canyon via Yosemite and Vegas. Were going to be renting a car the day we leave L.A. Im having difficulty deciding on how long to stay in each place, places to visit and the travelling distance between some areas. Ive been to the west coast before but it was a guided coach trip a few years back.
We have approx 20 days to do it in - Our aim is to take in the route with the best scenery

Here is a list of the places that wed like to either visit for the day or stay in. The nights

L.A (HOTEL: stay approx 3 Nights - beaches, theme parks etc)

in Santa Monica / Barbara area (not sure weather to stay or visit)

in the Monterey bay area (Aquarium) (not sure weaher to stay or visit)

in the San Fransisco area (HOSTEL/HOTEL: stay in this area - maybe not the same place though for approx 3 Nights - maybe Sacramento for 1 night?)

Yosimite (camping: 2 nights - Maybe 1 night in Hostel)

Las Vegas area (Hotel: 3 nights) maybe see the area 51 / death valley?

in the Williams area (Motel: 1 Night - visit the Grand Canyon)

Flagstaff (HOSTEL: 1 Night)

in the Scottsdale/Phoenix area (Hotel/Hostell: 2 Nights - water park, 4x4 biking)

Tucson/Mesa (not sure weather to stay or just visit)

Im really worried as ive only passed my driving test 2 Months ago in the UK and the roads seem really different. Ovbiously the main concern is driving on the opposite side of the road. With me having little driving experience the original plan was to travel via Greyhound Coaches but i dont fancy that idea too much now.

Can anyone suggest things to do and places to visit whilst on a rough route to these places? Are the places listed with worth just passing through? Id really like to see Antelope or Bryce Canyon but it seems slightley off route/far. Also really like to see a old ghost town, maybe stay near by or in one. I like the small little interesting villages/towns like Williams & Cowboy country. Quite rural areas too.

As we are staying in the big cities (SF/LA/Vegas) for at least 2/3 days each would it be worth just hiring a car inbetween these areas?

Sorry for so many questions but ive been pretty stressed out trying to plan everything over the past few days.
If anyone has any ideas for this itinerary please let me know, im certainly open to many ideas.
thank you!!

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

Stef, I'm sorry to be the one to have to tell you this, but if you've really already booked your flights on the assumption that you'd be able to rent a car here, you are in for a possibly very expensive life lesson. The simple fact is that if you are under 25, you would most likely have to pay a steep surcharge of $25-50 per day for each underage driver. If you are under 21, as it seems, you will probably not be able to rent a car at all, or only for an exorbitant fee. Also, if there are any restrictions on your UK license, for example limiting the hours during which you can drive or how many passengers you can carry, you will not be able to rent a car. You need to get this taken care of now, before you do any more planning, Get a car reserved, making sure to let the rental agency know your age and any restrictions on your license. You might have a bit better luck trying to do this thorough a UK or European agency than a North American one, but this is something you need to take care of first, before all the other bells and whistles.

AZBuck

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

How old will you be for this trip. Not having much experience won't necessarily mean much, but if you are under 21, it will be virtually impossible to rent a car.

Having said that, Greyhound simply doesn't go do many of the places you want to visit, so a car really is far and away your best option. You'll just want to rent one car for the whole trip, or you'll end up getting killed by one way drop off fees.

Bryce/Antelope Canyon wouldn't really be too far off your route. It could be worked in pretty easily. In the sceme of things, it would probably be easier to add than say, Tucson - which is 2 hours from Phoenix, heading the wrong way to get back LA. You just have to figure out what your priorities are.

Otherwise, I really would recommend just looking around a bit. This is far and away the most popular topic on this forum, with several thousand posts on the subject (you're at least the 3rd with almost this exact same itinerary in the past day alone). Spending some time reading should give you tons of ideas to fill things out.

hi, thanks a lot for your reply! Im 26 years old and will turn 27 a few days after starting the trip. I live near Manchester city center hence the reason ive only decided to do and pass my driving test until my age. ;-)
Ive found a decent one way car hire at approx $32 a day which is really good via Netflights.com, im going to be really nervous driving on the road though.

I am almost certain that i will change the trip to visit Antelope canyon, it looks absolutley stunning. I have also been researching old Ghost towns and villages that we could pass through like Bodie, Calico and a few others. I love the old gold rush/mining towns.... anything historic thats slightly erie i find cool.

We are both on a pretty tight budget as were going to Hong Kong and Auckland New Zealand just before this road trip but trying to pack in and include as much as possible realisticly. Hostels seem to be more expensive that a hotel in most places as Hotels are paid per room & Hostels per person so we have gone for the cheaper option in most places.

Thats so much for your replies

Yeah, Hostels are usually a good deal for solo travelers, basically the same price as a motel for duos, and actually most expensive for larger groups.

The one advantage to hostels is that at time you can use them to stay in a better location, right in the middle of a city, for the same prices as you'd pay for a motel out in the suburbs. The downside is that those places often have very little parking available.

yer definitely. Another good thing about Hostels is meeting people travelling in the same area, which im really looking forward to.
Thats the major downside to booking hotels and accomodation in advance.
Im going to be confined to that particular route. If i meet a group of people who i may want to travel with, its hardly going to be possible. Ill have to take them with me ;-)
It should be great though, im really looking forward to it.
Thanks for your reply guys. Looks like im going to be using this forum quite a bit :-)

Hi, has anyone used Greyhound before for travel? Im slightley confused to how things work.
If i buy a ticket going from L.A To Las vegas which takes over 20 odd hours of travel im ovbiously going to be too tired to do the entire trip in one go. Can i get off at any stop and stay in that place for the night... or for a few nights and carry on the journey with the same ticket?
Thanks

When I bought a ticket from Bradboro VT to Boston MA, I happened to mention to the lady that later I would get a ticket to NYC and then on to DC. She told me if I purchase the ticket to DC, with stopovers in Boston and NYC, I would save a considerable amount.

So the answer is yes... just tell the clerk what you want to do, and they will accommodate it in your purchase.

Another option is to take a hostel shuttle from LA to LV. I don't think it is restricted to hostel guests, though they may take preference. Check with USA Hostels if they still run the shuttle between their hostels. (It is five years since I used it.) It is considerably cheaper and quicker.

Lifey

Where on earth did you see that it would take 20 hours to go from LA to Vegas? Greyhound is a much slower method of travel because it does make very frequent stops - however, even on the longest trip, its not going to take anywhere near 20 hours. It looks like most trips for this leg are in the 5-8 hour range.

Most tickets are sold from point to point, however, they do have an unlimited pass where you can get off as often as you like over a set number of days.

it was just an example. Say i booked a ticket from Orlando to Portland Oregon would i be able to take a few days break from travelling if i purchased a ticket or would i have to do the lot in one go

When you book your ticket, just tell them what you want to do. Now if you want to make these bookings and arrangements before leaving the UK, check out the Greyhound website, their FAQ and if still not satisfied, contact them direct. I am sure you will find that you can do what you want to. I did, though it is some years ago.

I doubt that you could make up your mind on the spur of the moment to just get off the bus. Even with an unlimited pass, you need to get a ticket which states where you are planning to get off. Your ticket must have a destination, and you are expected to travel to that destination.

Only Greyhound can give you more specific details on exactly how you wish to travel.

Hi,
i booked car hire for the U.S for this summer from the 1st to the 21st of July with a third party company called Carhire3000. Its going from L.A and dropping off in New Orleans so i will have to pay a local one-way fee of $250 dollars which was fine.
I asked on the phone if the company if you have to have held your licence for longer than a year to be able to drive and he stated some do and some dont as long as your over 25 years old its usually O.K.
I just called back to check everything today and have found out the Company i have booked the actual carhire with is 'National' and they DO require me to have had my licence for over a year for me to be able to drive.
I will have only had my licence for 10 months by the time i pick up the car.
I have to now cancel this booking but dont know what to do now. I dont know which companies allow it and which dont. Theres nobody with me that can drive and the itinary will be seriously ruined if i use a bus or train.
Can anyone please help?
Thank you

Hi,

The only thing to do is to start again searching through the various companies for a deal that suits you and then check out the terms and conditions or send them an e-mail asking for a response to the above query before booking and get the confirmation in writing.

To be honest the response from the company you used was totally irresponsible but should have set off alarm bells with you straight away. You need to know these things for sure and direct from the "horses mouth" rather than relying on "but someone said". Good luck with sorting it out but you need to make sure you sort it out properly and have it confirmed to insure you are not breaking any rental contract agreement.

Yep, exactly right. Im checking out all of the terms and conditions now. but the problem is some companies dont mention anything about having to have a licence for over a year. I have just been told by Dollar that they dont require you to be driving for over 12 Months but need to be over 25.

You've provided a very good example of why I am always a little hesitant to book through 3rd parties when you are dealing with special circumstances, like young/inexperienced drivers. That's not to say that some companies can't do a good job, but it always makes sense to ask lots of questions, and get their responses in writing. If they can't provide the answers you need, you should be concerned.

What I would do is start contacting the rental companies directly and find out their specific policies. Using phone or email will likely be much easier than trying to read the fine print of a website. This should be much easier than going through a middle-man and hoping you get the right answers. Once you know who will work with you, then you can start doing price comparisons.

Cheers, I am getting very very difficult feedback from Companies. I am really stuck.
It seems the companies themselves are unsure.
I have just phoned 'National' in the U.S, and they stated there IS a minimum length of time for me to have held a Licence (1 year).

Alamo said on the live Customer Service chat "There is no requirement for how long you have held your licens. Only when renting in Europe you must have a license for 12 months to rent a vehicle. "
But i though Alamo & National were sister companies?

Dollar said there is no minimum length to have held a licence.

USCarhire states that "With Alamo and Budget, you must have held your license for 1 year or longer. "

Cant find anything on Hertz or AVIS.

Hertz have replied and i do need to have held a licence for a year and i have just spoken to Alamo customer care now and they are now saying i have to have held a full licence for over a year. Total contradiction of what they said yesterday!! Too frustrating....

This is exactly why I would make sure that when you do make your reservation, that you get the terms of your rental - including license restrictions - in writing. That's really the only way you're going to have any recourse if someone tries to give you yet another answer when you go to pick up the car.

HELLO!
I am trying to build my itinary for June this year. Me and a pal are hiring a car and driving across the States. But as far as the itinary goes i need some help.

Between leaving San Fransisco and entering Las vegas we have around 4 days 3 nights to checkout a few places but we dont know which is the best route scenery wise to take.
Ive got L.A to San Fransisco planned fine but when we leave San Fran theres a few places we'd like to visit but dont think we'd have enough time to cover them all.

Places we want to visit are:

Sacramento (Old town & Train museum)
Mariposa (Gold rush town)
Yosemite (stop over & camp, do some hiking or kayaking)
Mammoth Lakes
Bodie (State historic park)
Anywhere near by (maybe Mono Lake/Area 51) etc

Any suggestions of where to visit along this route or maybe even Not visit? Would it be possible to have time to check these all out within 4 days , 3 nights? We both really like small historic & ghost towns so was going to stay in mariposa on the way into Yosimite. We will probably be camping or staying in Motels/Hostels or cheap hotels on this route.
Thanks a lot!

Combined three separate threads started for the same trip. Please keep all questions about this trip in one place so that people can see what help you have already received.

That's quite a bit to cover with 3 nights but it depends on what pace you want to set. The main problem I see is that the road to Bodie is unpaved for the last part and will probably break the agreement of your car rental contract regarding driving "off [paved] road". A second thing that could be a problem but the odds are in your favour is the Tioga pass [CA120] from Yosemite to Mono lake that opens for the season around mid May to early June so depending on when you are travelling in June you would need to check that out.

With a night in Mariposa I would spend another around Lee vining/ Mammoth lakes and then perhaps Lone pine [if you want to spend time at Mammoth lakes] and take a drive across Death valley on 190 into Vegas.

Southwest Dave, thanks a lot for your info. Certainly helped me. We will be in this area between the 6th and 10th of July roughly.
Think we might just visit the old town Sacramento briefly for a few hours and head to Mariposa for overnight stay. Then the next day head into Yosimite for camping and then the next day head to or through Lee vining / Mammoth lakes. Lee vinning looks like an interesting place to visit , motels look decent priced too and with it being quite close to Bodie would be a good place to stay.

You're welcome !

As you leave Yosemite to Lee vining you will get some nice views of Mono lake as well. On the right at the junction with 395 there is a gas station. If you drive up the hill there you get good views of the Lake from the car park. Inside the gas station is a great little diner called "Woah Nellies Deli" that serves up some great tucker !

Have a great trip and be sure to drop by and let us know how it went !

Thanks will do, Gunna upload my photos every other day to a blog so ill pass on the link when it goes live.
Just building the final weeks of the itinary now. Its going to be quite tough but have a few extra days spare so dont have to rush too much.
Its from Leaving Las Vegas to New Orleans i have listed below a very rough plan of the places we want to Visit.
We have 16 days to cover this last part, im not to sure which places to stay over and which can be just visited as we are passing through. I have already visited Williams and the Grand Canyon the last two times i visited the States so probably wont need as much time as others to go check it out again.

Bryce Canyon
Grand Canyon
Williams
FlagStaff (Hostel there)
Sedona
Goldfield Ghost Town
Albuquerque
Amarillo
Oklahoma
Memphis
New Orleans (2 night stay) - From New Orleans we get an Internal flight to New York for our last 2 nights before heading back to the U.K

Any other places that anyone would suggest would be more than welcome.

We have from the 12th to the 28th to cover this big drive. (17 Days, 16 Nights)

Once this last part is finished i will post the Entire completed Itinary from Los Angeles to New Orleans/New york complete with the excursions and ideas of things to do in each place. Thanks

If you have already been to the south rim and Williams, why not do the North Rim this time? You could leave LV, go through Zion on the way to Bryce Canyon, then back down through Kanab to the north rim to Page and down to Flagstaff.

There are two hostels in Flagstaff.... I would recommend this one. It is great, clean and friendly. All of which I found lacking in the other one.

Lifey who has stayed there many times

Ive just had a look at Kanab and will defo be coming back through there. Looks cool man. I want to see Havasu Falls as i didnt get to find it last time. Thats the only reason doing South again.
I am actually really struggling writing this Canyon part of the itinary.
Whilst visiting the Canyons we just want to see a few highlights of each and some treking but nothing too serious (just a few hours at each to see the falls etc)

Day 1: Leave Las Vegas > St georges (Rest) > to Zion Canyon (Overnight stay @ Zion)
Arrive at Zion for about 3.00pm

Day 2: Zion to > Bryce Canyon just for day visit (Utah) then stayover in Kanab? (maybe skip Bryce and just visit Antelope Canyon instead staying in Big water? Page?)
(Or somewhere along that route so i dont have to drive for such a long time the next day on the way to the Grand Canyon)

Day 3: Kanab? To > Atelope Canyon(Day visit) > Flagstaff

Day 4: Flagstaf to > Grand Canyon > Williams (evening visit) > Flagstaff

The ? Implies i am not sure weather to stay there or not.
I am finding it so difficult to write this part of the trip. I have spend so many hours trying to decide which route is best and trying to visit as many places as possible. I Really want to see Bryce Canyon but it seems a little too much off route to Flagstaff.

it might be even best to totally skip the two Canyons (Bryce and Zion) and just visit and take the southern route to Flaggstaff visiting Antelope on the way out.

Confused. If anyone could please help it would be very much appeciated.
Thanks

You are going the wrong way to Zion if you go over the dam.

sorry i have ammended that

It's only about 2.5 hours from LV to Zion - you should get there well before 3pm and be able to see quite a bit of the park.

Thanks. Im getting there finally.
Is Tempe To Albuquerque too far to to a straight drive?

A straight drive via I 17 and 1 40 I would estimate to be around an 8 hour drive with a clear run, so if your OK with that no problem.

Its going to be a very long drive for me. I have very nearly finished the itinerary, but we have to get from Albuquerque to New Orleans in 7 days whilst fitting in the following places.
Amarillo
Oklahoma
Memphis
New Orleans
We have between 1 and 2 nights to stay in each of the above areas.

Which of the above areas would you suggest to stay for the 2 nights ?

You can cut off about 40 miles if you take AZ-87 to Payson, then AZ-260 to AZ-277 to AZ-377 to AZ-77 to Holbrook to pick up I-40. I've done both ways and I prefer the shorter one, the driving time is similar and it's more scenic.

FINALLY COMLETED THIS MONSTER OF A TRIP:
here it goes!
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Los Angeles

3 nights in West Hollywood
L.A - 29th of Jun to 2nd (3 nights)
Arrival: 07:30am Arrive:

L.A -Arrive Monday Morning 8AM - LA To Santa Monica is approx 30 Minutes. (new Port beach, Long Beach, Huntington Beach etc all through the hostel!!)
Universal Studios: highlights - Venice Beach, Rodeo Drive, Beverly hills, ect
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Santa Barbara/Monica
1 NIGHT leave on 3nd July
Chilled out one, Malibu beach,
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Santa Barbara > Solvang > Carmel > Monterey
1 NIGHT – 3rd to 4th July
Travel through Solvang, Carmel onto Monterey
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monterey > San Francisco
2 NIGHTS - 4th leave on 6th morning
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
San Francisco > Old Town Sacramento > Mariposa? / Midpines
1 Nights - stay on 6th
$50 for 1 nights in bug Hostel
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Midpines > Yosemite
1 Nights - stay on 7th to 8th July
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yosemite > Lee Vining > Mono? > Mammoth Lakes? – Stop Over in a motel on the way 1 Nights -
stay on 8h to 9th July
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mammoth Lakes > Death Valley Mojave desert > Las Vegas > 9th to 12th
3 NIGHTS
Colorado River Rafting: Hoover dam,
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Las Vegas > St George? > Bryce Canyon -
1 Nights 12th to 13th July
Horse rides, kayaking, Mountain bike rentals, Hiking, Scenic Flights, Rodeo, ATV Tours. Etc adventure.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bryce Canyon day > Antelope Canyon > Page?
1 Night
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Page? > Grand Canyon Caverns (near Hualapai Hilltop Hwy) 14th to 15th July
1 Night

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Grand Canyon Caverns > Hualapai Hilltop > Havisu falls
1 Night
Campground

8.30AM Arrive at Hill top at 10AM. Trek to havisu
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hualapai Hilltop via helicopter > Williams > Flagstaff
2 Nights - (2 nights incase of problem arriving)

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Flagstaff > old Creek Canon (outofafricapark) > Sedona
1 Nights
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Sedona > Jerome > Phoenix > Tempe
1 NIGHT
old mining town of Jerome (45 Mins from Sedona)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tempe > Goldfield Ghost Town > Motel Holbrook? (or somewhere on the way to Albuquerque)
1 Nights
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Motel Holbrook? > Albuquerque
2 Nights
Nearby Attractions: Old Town & Museums, Hot Air Balloon Museum, Sandia Peak
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Albuquerque > Amarillo
23rd (to 24h July )
1 night
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amarillo > Oklahoma
2 nights
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oklahoma > Memphis
2 nights
passes Little rock and the abandoned route 66
Beale street, Grace Land, mississippi river boat
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Memphis > ????? > New Orleans
2 Nights
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Orleans to New York (Internal Flight getting into NYC @ 2PM)
2 Nights – 30th 31th of July returning home on 1st Of Aug

MASSIVE THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS HELPED ME WRITE THIS TRIP, Its been a bit of a struggle and it still has flaws so anyone with any suggestions please let me know so i can change it.
I.E Other places to visit on the way or routes to take.
Anything with a question mark next to it means i am unsure.
Thanks!!!

Quote:

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Motel Holbrook?

---

I can personally recommend the Motel 6 in Holbrook. It's a new hotel, large (over 100 rooms), well maintained, and very inexpensive. It is not your stereotypical Motel 6, this one is a franchise operation and they take pride in this place. With AARP discount, I got a single room there last March for $40 including tax and free wifi. Your room key gets you a 10% discount at the Denny's restaurant next door. Just don't buy gas at the Chevron station next door, the prices are high. You can save about 20 cents a gallon at the Circle K down the road toward town.

For something unusual, there is also a hotel near Holbrook where you stay in a concrete and steel replica of an Indian teepee.

Get that weekend of the 2nd/3rd/4th July booked in soon. It is a very busy weekend, and you will be in a prime holiday region.

With regards to Motel 6 in Holbrook, just seen the reviews for this place on tripadvisor and it rated really good so going to book that tonight.
We are on a very very tight budget and cant really spend more than $45-50 a night per room,
Now i know exactly where we are going, would it be best to just book each place in advance to get a cheaper and guarenteed rate or just go with the flow?

The decision to book is always going to depend on your own level of risk vs ability to make changes on the fly.

Since you have such a tight budget for motels and since I get the feeling you would feel better knowing you've got a place to stay at the end of each day, you might opt to pre-book. Just make sure you know the cancellation policies, so you can make changes if something comes up.

I would probably prebook weekends (Friday and Saturday nights) and the whole 4th of July period to make sure you aren't shut out. Research carefully, in high tourist areas during busy times you are going to have a difficult time with your budget, you are going to have to accept Motel 6-class (or worse) lodging in properties that are not highly rated. You are going to have a particularly hard time on your run up the California coast and around the major national parks. You may want to consider doing some camping.

Example - the Motel 6 in San Simeon CA is $70+ a night during the week and it's nothing special.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nolimit966

Cheers, I am getting very very difficult feedback from Companies. I am really stuck.
It seems the companies themselves are unsure.
I have just phoned 'National' in the U.S, and they stated there IS a minimum length of time for me to have held a Licence (1 year).

Alamo said on the live Customer Service chat "There is no requirement for how long you have held your licens. Only when renting in Europe you must have a license for 12 months to rent a vehicle. "
But i though Alamo & National were sister companies?

Dollar said there is no minimum length to have held a licence.

USCarhire states that "With Alamo and Budget, you must have held your license for 1 year or longer. "

Cant find anything on Hertz or AVIS.

---

FYI, just make sure you have documentation on the rental agreement whether it's on their website or via live chat by either saving it on a file or print it out for future when needed. It it not uncommon for sister/subsidiary companies to have different policies/products/services to market to their demographics.