ROAD TRIP - San Francisco to Las Vegas in 1 week

Hello,

My husband and I along with my parents (above 60) are planning a week long road trip from San Francisco to Las Vegas in late sept/early oct. The plan is below, pretty please give us your feedback because this is the first time ever we are doing a road trip and are SO excited!

Sept 25th 2010 - NYC to SFO flight, we reach 10am, therefore we have almost all day for sightseeing in SF.

Sept 26th 2010 - SF all day, we figured 2 days is needed in SF since my parents have not been there.

Sept 27th 2010 - SF drive to Napa/Sonoma, 1 night - How long is this drive, which place is better to visit and on-route to the rest of our journey? Any recommendation of a nice but reasonably-priced place in a beautiful location to spend the night in? We could 2 rooms of one large cabin with 2 rooms where all of us can stay. Please make this consideration while recommending places to stay in other locations as well.

Sept 28th 2010 - Napa/Sonoma to Lake Tahoe, 1 night - How long is this drive, only suggest stops extremely worth it on the way? We'd like to reach there at a reasonable time so we can enjoy the place since we only have one night there. Please recommend a reasonably-priced yet lovely place to stay at night.

Sept 29th 2010 - Lake Tahoe to Yosemite, 1 night. How long is this drive, only suggest stops that are worth it on-route? Is 1 night is Yosemite enough - what time do you anticipate we will reach there? if so what should we do there? My parents are elderly so we can't have something too active but would like to experience the best parts of Yosemite. Please suggest a reasonably-priced yet lovely place to stay at night. Will we see Sierra Nevada mountain during these 2 days?

Sept 30th 2010 - Yosemite to Death Valley, 1 night. How long is this drive, we want to make stops at Sequoia, is Kings Canyon worth the visit? Here are other place we have in mind - Gold Rush Country, Bodie Ghost House, Mono Lake, Mammoth Lakes, Mt. Whitney and Devil's postpile - which of these would you recommend, again pls only suggest amazing stops since our trip is so tight. We want to reach Death Valley at night, so we have all day to visit many places on route and have a relax yet fun drive. Please suggest a area and place to spend the night in DV. We will be with our parents so the place should be nice and beautiful.

Oct 1st 2010 - Death Valley all day - Las Vegas - Flight to Phoenix to see Sedona and South Rim Grand Canyon on Oct 2nd 2010 (both in one day), fly back to NYC on Oct 3rd 2010. How do you recommend we see Death Valley in one day, what is your suggested itinerary? I'm open to suggestions re: this last route LAS-PHX but we have our flights booked back to NYC from PHX on Oct 3rd, so need to go there. Also, we have family friends we are visiting who want to drive us to GC and Sedona.

I know this is a quick trip, but we want to make the most of it. Please feel also suggest

1. Place to rent a car at a reasonable-price in SF before we head to Napa and drop off in vegas, we can book in advance.
2. The car type, most comfortable car for a road trip.
3. Possible routes for us to do this entire trip.
4. What should we be carrying in terms of clothing, etc?
5. Is there anything you would change in the above itinerary, I thought an itinerary like this would show my parents everything from wine country to bay area to mountains, forests, deserts, etc.
6. Do you think we should just spend one night in SF and add a day in another location? if something in our itinerary feels too tight?
7. Is it possible to fly from another location, maybe Death Valley to Pheonix. We don't really need to go to Vegas but are only going there to take a flight to Phoenix.
8. Are Zion and Bryce really worth it? If we are seeing grand canyon? How far are they from Vegas?
9. Things to keep in mind while traveling with parents?

Thanks SOOOO MUCH and I am looking forward to all your expert input!

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

I'm sorry, but several of your plans and questions have me quite confused.

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Will we see Sierra Nevada mountain during these 2 days?

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we want to make stops at Sequoia, is Kings Canyon worth the visit? Here are other place we have in mind - Gold Rush Country, Bodie Ghost House, Mono Lake, Mammoth Lakes, Mt. Whitney and Devil's postpile

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I think you really need to take another look at a map because your plans here don't make a whole lot of sense. First of all, yes, you will see the Sierra Nevada mountains, but your current plans have you crossing the mountains at least 3 times. Once between Napa and Lake Tahoe, Once between Lake Tahoe and Yosemite, and then again going from Yosemite to Death Valley - since the Yosemite Valley is on the west side of the mountains, while Tahoe and DV are east.

Additionally, Sequoia and Kings Canyon are on the east side but the other places you've listed, like Mono, Mammoth, etc are on the west. Also, unlike Yosemite where you've got Tioga Pass to take you across the mountains, there is no road across the Sierras through Sequoia National Park.

You really have to rework your plans taking into account those factors.

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Oct 1st 2010 - Death Valley all day - Las Vegas - Flight to Phoenix to see Sedona and South Rim Grand Canyon on Oct 2nd 2010 (both in one day), fly back to NYC on Oct 3rd 2010.

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This one also has me completely puzzled. If you look at a map, you'll see that Phoenix is only 50 miles closer to the Grand Canyon than Las Vegas, so it really makes no sense at all to add the additional time and expense of dropping off a rental car (paying for a one way drop fee), getting on a plane, and then renting a new car. The time it takes to do all of those things will be nearly as long as the drive from Vegas to the South Rim all by itself, so you're making your trip take several additional hours and you'll have added several hundred dollars to your travel costs as well.


The trip you are planning is the most discussed trip on this forum, so browsing around for a little while (these threads are a good starting point) can help you find answers to most of the other questions you have. Your current plans are an ok starting point, but a few reworks are in order, and I think sitting down with a good map will really help you get a much better feel for the area you are about to start exploring.

Thanks so much Michael. Seriously, we have NEVER done a road trip before and have NO idea what is where - so what you said makes completed sense. How would you cover the locations we want - route, etc and also which place do we omit? What's your personal advise?

Planning a roadtrip is all about making a trip that fits your own personal goals. That means you really need to figure out what things are most important for you. You've come up with a nice list of lots of both major and more minor stops, but you'll have to do some picking and choosing based on what is most important to you.

I would take a less is more approach, as at times I think you are probably trying to do too much especially when traveling with your parents. One key example is assuming you'll have a full day to Explore San Francisco on Day 1 because you get in at 10am, ignores that you'll likely be quite tired by that point - as you'll have easily spent 6-7 hours traveling (flight time + security + travel time to airport) and you'll be dealing with a little bit of jetlag.

But again, my personal advice is to get out a good map and start plotting things out for yourself, and revise your plan taking into account both the roads and terrain that you'll be exploring. Once you've come up with some revisions, we'll certainly let you know what we think, what will work, what might not, and what could be some good additions or needs to be subtracted.

Can you recommend a good map?

I've always found the Rand McNally atlas to be a good starting point, and its cheap - available for about $5 at most big box stores. In your case, you might also consider getting a state specific map of California which will show things in more detail.

If you are a member of AAA, you can also get maps from them that are included with your membership.

As an additional note - Editing your original post, rather than responding to questions that have been raised by later posts, is extremely rude behavior that is not appreciated on this forum. Please do not do that again.

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Additionally, Sequoia and Kings Canyon are on the east side but the other places you've listed, like Mono, Mammoth, etc are on the west.

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Other way around, sir!

Note that you would be violating your rental car agreement if you go to Bodie - the last 3 miles of the road is unpaved.

This is the route we want to do, SF to Yosemite to Death Valley to Vegas and we want to see as many places as possible on the way. Which places mentioned above are totally out of the way, short detours are okay.

None of the ideas you've suggested are totally out of the way, although as previously mentioned some of them would be difficult to do together because they are on opposite sides of the mountains.

Michael, thanks so much for being so helpful. What is the best route to see SF, wine country, lake tahoe and yosemite?

You are limited for time and trying to cram in far too much in your first post in my opinion but as Michael has explained, it's all about meeting your own goals. With the distances involved and having a little time to enjoy yourselves, I would think along the lines of; 25th and 26th] Explore SF. 27th] Drive to Yosemite and explore a little. 28th] Explore a little more of Yosemite and drive over Tioga pass [CA120]. Expect to take your time, you will be driving across the Sierra Nevada mountains and the stops/viewpoints are breath taking. Spend the night around Bishop on 395. 29th] Continue to Death Valley [Mount Whitney?] and into Death valley for the night. 30th] Vegas. 1st and 2nd Oct] Drive to South rim and meet friends or Sedona and then Grand canyon. 3rd] Phoenix and flight back.

Of course it is for you to do your own planning but you will be surprised how busy that will keep you, but at least give you some time to enjoy where you are going.

Southwest Dave,

Is it possible to drive from SF to wine country (napa, etc) and stay one night, then head to Lake Tahoe for one night and Yosemite for one night? How many hours does it take from SF to wine country/napa. etc then to lake tahoe and Yosemite.

How do you advise I do this trip?

Yes it is possible, as long as you understand that you are not going to have much time at the places you visit. Perhaps you could leave SF a little late on day 2 and take the short drive to Napa. The only thing that is important is how you want to do your trip, but I already offered my opinion above.

I have outlined a route in the map below use the zoom/left @right tools in the top left corner of map. You can create your own map on Google maps and check travel times, but add at least 20% to there estimates and then sight seeing on top of that. From Napa to South lake Tahoe I would allow 3.5 to 4 hours and 5 hours to get into Yosemite valley.

Remember it is not the route I am suggesting, just a guide for you to follow.



Do a little research and play with the map a little and then decide on your final itinerary. We will be happy to look over it and make suggestions if there is a way to improve or fine tune it, but now it's time for you to consider the advice already given and decide how and where you would like to spend your time.

Enjoy the planning, it is a great part of the adventure !

Thanks so much South West Dave!

So far, I agree with you. We will do SF (2 nt) - Napa (1nt) - South Lake Tahoe (1 nt) - Yosemite (1nt) - Death Valley

My dilemma really starts after this because I want to see places on the west and east of the sierra mountains on our travel from Yosemite to Death Valley. Especially Lake Mono, Bodie, Seqoia/Mt Whitney, Devils Postpile, Mammoth Lakes, King Canyon and finally Death Valley. Which on these locations can we manage seeing in one day if we left Yosemite in the am and reached DV in the late evening after sun set. This is the main confusion and we want to make the BEST. Please let me know what you think

The next whole day we spend in DV and late afternoon/early evening our plan was to head to Vegas and the fly to PHX (because ours friends were going to take us to GC and Sedona), but Michael said that it makes no sense to do that because we could easily just drive to South Rim of Grand Canyon in the same amount of time (waiting at airport, etc). In this case our friends from PHX would come meet us in GC and we could all spend the night there, next morning see GC and Sedona and drive back to PHX. The other reason also to fly to PHX from Vegas is so we don't get too tired if the drive to GC is too far.

Let me know what you think! Thanks for the map!

You just haven't got the time.

Bodie would be in breach of your rental agreement as the drive is partly unpaved, and it could easily take half a day for the drive and a quick look around. Sequoia and Kings canyon alone could not be visited in one day including a trip that starts in Yosemite and ends in Death Valley. That really leaves Mono Lake and Mammoth lakes and a view of Mt Whitney from Lone Pine on route to Death valley via Tioga pass, and even that is not going to leave you much time in Yosemite and to explore Tioga. That is plenty to do in a day, and in my opinion the "best" option with the time you have. Trying to do more will take away the pleasure of enjoying the trip, it would be too rushed.

I totally agree [as in my earlier post] that you should drive to the Grand canyon.

How long is the drive from Death Valley to South Rim GC?

Ok, I will consider Mono Lake, Mammoth Lakes, Mt. Whitney onroute to Death Value via Tioga Pass. What time shall we start off from Yosemite? My only concern, we will be driving from South Lake Tahoe to Yosemite and I wonder if this route will be very similar in scenary to the one we do from Yosemite to Death Valley - am I correct here?

Also, since we have the previous day in Yosemite as well - how do you think we should plan to see the main highlights with my parents?

I'm sorry, but this has been said repeatedly now, you are really underestimating the size of the area you are talking about covering. Your current plans having you spending most of the day driving from Tahoe to Yosemite and then all of the next day from Yosemite back across the Sierras again to Death Valley.

We can't tell you what time to leave and how exactly to schedule your day - as we've said repeatedly now you need to figure out for yourself how you want to divide up your time. However, we have now also told you on several occasions that you are really pushing the envelope in terms of having days where you are on the brink of doing too much - and when you consider that you are traveling with senior citizens, are you really going to want to be spending 8-10 hours on the road nearly every day? That's pretty much what you've told us you're planning to do so far.

Death Valley to the South Rim should take 7-8 hours on the road, depending upon the exact route you chose.

I really think we are at the point where you need to slow down, and reconsider all of the advice you've been given so far, and then come up with your own plan that takes into account the large amount of advice you've been given so far, a good examination of a map, as well as the massive amount of other information in the other threads that you've been pointed towards.

For that reason, I am closing this thread temporarily. It will be reopened again in a couple days, and at that time, we look forward to hearing about the revised plans that you have come up with. And of course, after you've done that, if you still have a few questions that we haven't gone over you'll be free to ask them at that time.

My husband and I are going for a road trip in the end of Sept and will be driving from SF to Vegas with a few 1 night stops on route and needed recommendation for nice places to spend the night. We'd be open to separate rooms in hotels or villa/apartment type places which include 2 rooms under one roof.

Can you please recommend good places (reasonably prices yet nice) in San Francisco, Napa Valley, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite and Death Valley?

With only a few regular contributors to the site and choices from thousands of lodgings it is often the case that you won't get much of a response on actual lodgings to stay in and sites like trip advisor might be a better port of call. However, do some searching around the Internet first to get a feel of options and prices and use your "gut feeling" it doesn't usually let me down.

In San Fran the charges for parking your car can be quite expensive, even at the Hotel you are staying in. You can pay a premium in City centre Hotels but Lombard Street has some reasonable priced lodgings and some are inclusive of parking and not to far from the Piers and public transport [cable cars] into the City. We stayed at the Buena vista motor Inn that was clean and tidy [at least it was in 2007]and although pretty basic and not much in the way of breakfast, was good value with free parking.
[Although check that this is still the case]. For "nice" and good value your other option would be an airport Hotel with a free shuttle bus system to the airport where you can use the BART rail system to downtown. It's a cheap, efficient system that gets you to the City in a relatively short time, but perhaps not ideal.

There is a good choice of lodgings in and around Yosemite and these are a few of them. Although I haven't stayed there the Hotel Charlotte B&B in Groveland looked quaint, and another option not listed above, is the Rustic lodgings at the Yosemite bug.


There are limited lodging options in Death valley at Panamint Springs, Stovepipe Wells and Furnace creek or look at surrounding areas such as Lone Pine, Shoshone etc.

Thanks Southwest Dave! You know it all :)

By the way, I am really trying to fine tune my trip as suggested by you all and we may end up not doing the Death Valley/Vegas leg at all and in stead driving back to SF from Yosemite and then taking a flight to Phoenix or Page.

The trip is turning out to look more like this

Sept 25th - SF
Sept 26th - SF
Sept 27th - SF - Napa (one night)
Sept 28th - Napa to Lake Tahoe (one night)
Sept 29th - Lake Tahoe to Yosemite (2 nights)
Oct 1st - Yosemite to Fresno (drop of car) and take flight to Pheonix or Page where we will see Antelope Canyon, The Wave, spend night in friends place in PHX
Oct 2nd - Grand Canyon and Sedona
Oct 3rd - Fly home

What is the best/scenic route to go from Napa to Lake Tahoe to Yosemite and then Yosemite to Fresno? Is it possible to go through Gold Rush? Also, with this itinerary can we see Bodie and Lake Mono/Mammoth? Where do you suggest we stay in Napa and Lake Tahoe?

Is it possible to see Antelope Canyon and The Wave in one day?

But thanks anyway ! ;-)

There are no single "best routes" as such, but given you limited time at Lake Tahoe I would take US 50 through the Eldorado National forest and stop at the Gold rush town of "Hangtown", now known as Placerville. I have not been there but it looks pretty cool !

From Tahoe you can head across to 395 South to Mono lake and into Yosemite on Tioga pass but as has been mentioned many times, you have a lot of ground to cover and to detour to Bodie and /or Mammoth will add a lot of time to your day and take it from Yosemite. The Tioga pass has many stops along the way and is a slow going mountain road. Perhaps you should just wait and see how things unfold along the way instead of deciding on each detail.

On the junction of 395 and Tioga there is a gas station where it is a good idea to top up your tank before heading into Yosemite. If you drive to the top of the hill alongside the gas station you can get some nice views looking down on Mono lake from the car park. If you are getting hungry at this stage there is a diner inside the gas station called "Woah Nellies Deli" that serve up good food !

I have probably said it before, but go up to Glacier point in Yosemite, the views are "jaw dropping" wonderful. I would take the 41 through Oakhurst to Fesno, but if you are hoping to drive from Yosemite to Fresno, fly from Fresno to Page and visit Antelope canyon and the Wave you will need to take Superman with you ! [Lol ] Up to that point your trip is fine, but you are going to have to decide whether to go to Page and Antelope canyon or Phoenix for the Grand canyon but doing both options in 2 day's while flying from Fresno and picking up and dropping off rental car's are out of the question.

You will have a great trip if you don't overdo things and will have a great excuse to re-visit at another time. I am afraid I am nowhere near "knowing it all" and that's as much as I can help you with. Somebody may come along with lodging options for Tahoe etc but I would use various sites on the Internet to locate places that appeal to you and your budget.

Have a great trip and please drop by and share your experience with us when you have completed your trip.

SouthWest Dave, you are the best!. I really thought about everything you said and decided it's best to eliminate and do what we really set out to do, the main 2 places we wanted to see were Yosemite and Death Valley, so I have removed Lake Tahoe from the itinerary and feel way more relaxed! Here is the revised FINAL itinerary, in fact the hotels for Yosemite, SF and DV are booked so we are set in stone!!!

Sept 25th - SF (2 nights)
Sept 27th - SF - Napa (one night)
Sept 28th - Napa to Yosemite (2 nights)
Sept 30th - Yosemite to Death Valley (1 night)
Oct 1st - Death Valley all day, drive to Vegas in the evening and take a flight to Phoenix
Oct 2nd - Sedona, Antelope Canyon and The Wave.
Oct 3rd - Fly home

What do you think now? :)
What is the best route from Yosemite to Death valley - is the it Hw395?
What is the best route from Napa to Yosemite, will we still cross Gold Rush country on the way or is there another scenic route? Also, where about shall we stay in Napa?

The fastest route, but not the most scenic, from Napa to Yosemite is CA-12 from Fairfield to CA-99, 99 to CA-120 to Yosemite. The way I would go adds 50 miles and takes you through the heart of the gold country - I-80 to Sacramento, US-50 to Placerville, then CA-49 to 120. Allow about 6 hours.

Best way from Yosemite to DV is in fact 395 to CA-136.

The town of Napa is loaded with hotels, inns, and B&B's.

In my opinion the first part of your journey looks great up to and including the 1st Oct, then the problem continues I'm sorry to say. I am not sure at what time your flight leaves from Phoenix to home or where you plan on stopping the night of the 2nd, but it is 5 hours plus from Phoenix to Page and another 5 hours plus back, so more like 11 hours driving plus Sedona, Antelope canyon and the Wave and no Grand canyon [?] Not possible I would say.

Solutions ? First of all, if your friends will meet you in Page then to drive from Vegas >Page >Phoenix is the same distance as going to Page and back from Phoenix, so you can save having to fly from Vegas. The Wave is something I would love to do at some time but have not had the time to do so yet. It can only be visited on permits and there are very limited numbers and I doubt you will get one now, unless you turn up early morning and join the "walk in" lottery for a permit. If then you were fortunate enough to win a lottery ticket you have a 3 mile hike in and a 3 mile hike out and a large chunk of a full day gone ! [You can see where this is going ! ]
details here.

To me that leaves 3 options,

1] Drive from Vegas [early start] and meet your friends in Page for an Antelope canyon tour in the afternoon and head towards Phoenix. [Sedona?] A very full day but you could continue beyond Vegas from Death valley[?] on the 1st and start out the morning closer to Page.

2] Drive from Vegas early [over Hoover dam] and meet your friends at the South rim of the Grand canyon and stay near Sedona.

3] Fly to Phoenix from Vegas and travel with your friends to Sedona and Grand canyon.

Purely based on your time restraints I would go for option 2, I know this because I have made similar choices and Antelope canyon and the Wave remain on my "bucket list" but when I do get there I want the time to be relaxed and enjoy these "other worldly" places. Of course that was my choice and it's what you want that is important, or at least from what is possible.

You are getting there so take another look and tie up those loose ends and enjoy !