6 Week Road Trip - Start and End in LA

Hi guys,

I've been reading some of the fantastic advice and ideas over the last few weeks on this forum, so I think it's time to post our itinerary so we can get feedback from the experts and really get down to the nitty gritty of budgets and things to see.

My girlfriend and I (26 & 24) will be arriving in LA mid July and leaving 6 weeks later, again from LA. Our route is currently variable and we're not sure whether to go clockwise or anti so your opinions on that would be great, or if it doesn't matter thats cool too. The clockwise version in LA - San Fran - Yosemite - Seattle - Vancouver then head inland and down through Montana - Idaho - Utah - Las Vegas - Grand Canyon - Death Valley - LA. Do you think this is too big or possible?

At the moment our budget is looking at US$6500. About $2000 will be going towards the rental and fuel leaving around $700 a week for accomodation, food and things to do/see. We are members of Couchsurfing.org so when in the bigger cities (maybe 50% of the time) we'll be looking at staying with hosts. What do you think of this too?

Now the most important bit, what to see along the way. We are definitely seeing people as opposed to doing people (prefer gorgeous views than adventure activities but won't say no to a small hike of several hours). We obviously have plenty to think about in Vegas, LA, Seattle, San Fran but what can people recommend for Montana, Oregon, Idaho etc. Also what is the best route to do Yosemite and other national parks. LA, Yosemite then San Fran or LA, San Fran then Yosemite? We also like perculiar things too. Sophie found a website of a museum in Oregon that has a real shrunken head and says we have to go :)

Sorry this is so long but I wanted to get as much info as possible for you guys.

Thanks for reading :)

Jon & Sophie

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

Your trip is certainly possible and with 6 weeks available, not to big. Your outlined route could be driven in Approx 8 days so plenty of time for sight seeing.

You should keep looking around the forums and other RTA pages to start filling in the blanks between your list of places. Even with what you have, there are thousands of options/attractions along the way, too many to start listing at this point. The National parks Website is a great place to start with regards to the Parks. Questions like "LA to SF to Yosemite or LA to SF to Yosemite" are decisions you can work out when you know what else you fancy seeing. For instance you could head up the Coast on CA1 to SF or head inland to Sequoia NP and then Yosemite. If you stuck to the coast you could possibly head to Yosemite from Death valley over Tioga pass and down through Sequoia at the other end of your trip. These type of options will crop up all the way through your trip and there is no right or wrong answer. Once you fill in some of the blanks we can certainly help to 'fine tune' it and offer alternatives but for now keep at it !

Also I notice you have Utah, Las Vegas, Grand canyon, Death valley in that order. I would consider going into Utah [Zion NP, Bryce canyon, Capitol Reef, Arches and Canyonlands NP's are just some of the options] and then to the Grand canyon [North or South rim, or both] and then to Vegas and Death valley to save back tracking.

Depending on how much time you spend on a couch, your budget is possible, but a little tight. You can get cheap Motel rooms but when you are in or close to NP's the prices can go up considerably. If you are visiting more than 4 National parks you can save money and buy the annual pass for $80 that allows access to every park for a year. You can purchase it at the first park you visit. If you are into camping, you could consider buying some basic camping gear to use along the way. People sometimes take this option, save money and donate it to a charity at the end of the trip. Can be a grerat way to enjoy the NP's on a budget.

Enjoy the planning !

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Originally Posted by JonAndSophieTravel

Our route is currently variable and we're not sure whether to go clockwise or anti so your opinions on that would be great.......

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For me, it is a no-brainer. Do this trip anti-clockwise. When travelling the maginificen Pacific Coast Highway, CA1 from SF to LA, you will be on the ocean side. If you are to drive it from LA to SF, everytime you want to enter and leave one of the many view points and overlooks, you need to cross a lane of traffic. This can add significantly to the time it takes to travel this magnificent road - which is every bit as great as the Great Ocean Road in Vic.

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Originally Posted by JonAndSophieTravel

At the moment our budget is looking at US$6500. About $2000 will be going towards the rental and fuel leaving around $700 a week for accomodation, food and things to do/see.

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Make sure you check with your bank about the extra costs involved when using your credit card. For a 6 week trip it can add up. Also check what it will cost to withdraw from your savings account, and make sure you add ATM fees in the US - though one can find free ATMs. Of course there is a charge for travellers cheques as well, so you will need to compare which suits best.

For me, I would go with strictly cash, but that all depends on how comfortable you are carrying it around. And change it now!! before leaving home. You have probably already missed the top of the market, as the AU$ has just dropped below parity with the greenback. (I changed a considerable amount when it was above parity, and my trip is not till 2012.)

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Originally Posted by JonAndSophieTravel

We are members of Couchsurfing.org so when in the bigger cities (maybe 50% of the time) we'll be looking at staying with hosts. What do you think of this too?

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I have used Couchsurfing for some of my accommodation in the US (and at home). I always make contact a month or two beforehand to find a suitable host, and to make sure they are available. It always works best if you get to know your host or hostess ahead of time. Make sure you do something in return, be it bringing a meal, cleaning around the house or simply a gift from home. I make a point of taking my host out to dinner on the last night. You will find that they appreciate that as much as you appreciate the accommodation and local knowledge.

Another source of budget accommodation, is to look out for the hotel and motel discount coupon books at rest areas and truck stops along the way.

Lifey in Melbourne

Thanks for the input guys :)

Southwest Dave - I know we have a lot to plan, I was just really eager to post but it was a little premature. I'll spend the next couple of hours really trying to get the route right and then will repost to see how everyone thinks it is. It'll then be easier to suggest activities along the way as it'll be a much tighter itinerary.

Lifemagician - Thanks for the anticlockwise idea. It'll be nice to finish our trip with that drive too :) And don't worry, we've been hosting before our trip back in the UK and surfing around OZ on CS for almost 2 years now and know the etiquette well. We've had some amazing experiences too with hosts who have taken us to do things that no traveller would have known - I recommend it to everyone!

Will try and repost soon. Looking forward to your thoughts.....

Jon & Sophie

Ok, much tighter plan now - I hope this gives you something to go on.... We've gone with LifeMagician's plan of anti-clockwise. I've also indicated where we hope to Couchsurf so hopefully that will help when looking at the budget.

19th July to 23rd - Explore Los Angeles (CouchSurf)
23rd - Visit Sequoia NP, sleep Ridgecrest/Kernville
24th - Visit Death Valley via Furnace Creek, sleep Vegas (CS)
25th - Enjoy Vegas (CS)
26th - Daytrip to Hoover Dam, sleep Vegas (CS)
27th - Daytrip to Grand Canyon North, sleep Kanab
28th - Visit Zion NP, sleep somewhere on way to SLC
29th & 30th - Salt Lake City (CS)
1st - Drive to somewhere on way to Teton NP
2nd - Explore Teton NP
3rd & 4th Explore Yellowstone NP
5th - Drive Beartooth to Red Lodge (CS)
6th & 7th - Drive to Browning
8th - Going-To-The-Sun Road, sleep Spokane (CS)
9th & 10th - Drive to Seattle
11th & 12th - Explore Seattle (CS)
13th to 15th - Explore Washington & Oregon, sleep Newport (CS)
16th -18th - Explore Southern Oregon, sleep Mt. Shasta
19th - Drive to Sacramento
20th - Explore Sacramento (CS)
21st - Drive to Yosemite
22nd to 24th - Explore Yosemite/Sierra NF
25th - Drive to San Fransisco
26th to 28th - Explore San Fransisco (CS)
29th - Drive to Montery
30th - Drive CA1 to LA (CS)
31st - Enjoy LA (CS)
1st Sept - Depart LA - London

I've made a Google Map for you to get a better idea but it's not perfect. After reading some of this forum's ideas on some places (the Beartooth Highway for example) Google wouldn't let me change my route so you have to picture the blue line extending round the pin points.

http://maps.google.com.au/maps/ms?ie...121f344e00&z=5

As you can see, some sections are well schedules but some are much more open. This is partly because we want to make sure some things are definitely included (Death Valley, Grand Canyon etc) and some times we have more freedom to go to a random destination on the map. It is also partly because we're not really sure what to do in the Washington / Oregon areas so any input there would be great.

Ok now the bits we need some help in :) My girlfriend and I don't own any camping equipment at the moment. For our sections in Yellowstone, Yosemite etc would you recommend buying a small tent for us both or seeing the park in several day trips while staying in motels near the border? I have camped plenty of times and love it but Sophie hasn't and occasionally finds it hard to get a good nights sleep. Our budget should still be around the $6500 mark. The car rental for 5 1/2 weeks is looking at around $1200 - 1300. I've budgeted about $1000 for gas too, do you think that is enough? This leaves around $4200 for motels/food/sightseeing ($700 a week). I have taken most of the route ideas from other posts on here and also the 'routes' section too. Can you spot any places or NPs that I have missed that you recommend.

Looking forward to hearing back from you guys :)

Jon & Sophie

While doing some more research for the trip, I found that according to Kayak.com, we can stay in several Vegas Hotels for as little as $13 a night? That can't be right can it? And there were loads of others for just a little more. Obviously thats not staying in one of the huge casino hotels but I figured Vegas would have been one of the more expensive places to stay. It seems we can stay for 3 days for cheaper than one night in most other places. Has anyone else experienced this?

There are always deals to be found in LV - the bad economy is resulting in a lot of vacancies. However, you do need to be aware of where the hotels are and what condition they are in - quite a few properties are getting pretty run down and are in need of maintenance, and there are some dodgy areas in the city off the Strip.

I was able to get a room at Bally's for $29 on a Thursday night the week before Christmas 2009. The room was in great shape and it was almost 800 square feet. I have a Harrah's Total Rewards card and it was a "Hot Deal". On New Year's Eve the same room was $289. Free parking in the casino garage, but it was quite a hike to the room - they make you walk through the whole casino to get to the hotel desk and the elevators. No in-room coffee maker, that seems to be pretty standard at Harrah's hotels, they want you to go downstairs and pay $3 a cup at the kiosks. Internet access is $14.95 a day, that's pretty standard too.

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Originally Posted by glc

quite a few properties are getting pretty run down and are in need of maintenance, and there are some dodgy areas in the city off the Strip.

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Which are the dodgy areas? We really don't have high expectations of anywhere that charges that little so as long as it is safe and there aren't other hidden charges we'll be fine.

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Originally Posted by JonAndSophieTravel

While doing some more research for the trip, I found that according to Kayak.com, we can stay in several Vegas Hotels for as little as $13 a night? That can't be right can it?

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$13 a night - you're getting ripped off! I've stayed in Vegas on a weekend for as little as $6 a night!

Admittedly, my $6 hotel deal was 7-8 years ago, and that was during the deadest travel time on the calendar (early december), but it was for a decent Casino downtown right on the Fremont Street Experience.

With Kayak you do have to make sure taxes and fees are included, because sometimes they are only including the base rate, but still even when those are added on that shouldn't change it too much, so it sounds like it could be quite reasonable. With the thousands of rooms, and the down economy, I could easily see that off-strip, non-casino properties could easily be offering deep discounts, just make sure you're checking out the reviews of these places so you know what you are getting for the money.

Because of the nature of Vegas, prices there tend to swing rather wildly based on supply and demand. A room that is $13 during a down period could easily be going for $130 or more a few weeks or even days later if there is a holiday or major event in town.

Thanks for the Vegas advice glc & Michael, we're going to book one as soon as we can to take advantage, after checking it out of course.

I'm still looking for help with my previous post though... Sophie now doesn't want to camp at all so it looks like motels for us. Obviously the ones in the parks are very expensive, so how far do you have to drive out of them to become cheap enough? We don't mind driving in and out but don't want to be travelling an hour or two back and forth each day.

I found another website and found this route (http://www.roadtripusa.com/routes/pa...ificcoast.html). This takes us from Seattle to San Fran, the only thing I'm worried about would be are we missing anything inland in Oregon or Northern CA that we should see? And will the coast get boring?

Looking forward to your replies :)

Jon & Sophie

Let me deal with your last observation/question first. Jamie Jensen's routes in his book, Road Trip USA, follow specific highways from one end to the other. Certainly, they go through some interesting areas, any highway that's long enough will. But their defining 'thing' is following a number, in the case of the Pacific Coast route, US-101. To be fair, on this particular route, he follows CA-1 between San Francisco and Santa Barbara. But what he doesn;t show you is anything even 10 miles from the road. You can drive US-101/CA-1 all the way down the coast, but it will be slow going and will bypass Mt. Shasta, Sacramento, and Yosemite on the drive south. I'd strongly recommend that you stick with your original plan rather than just follow a highway number.

As to how far out from a given park you'll have to stay to get a decent rate, that depends on a trade-off between your definition of 'far' and your definition of 'decent rate'. So in the end, this is a decision only you can make. I will say that it has been my experience that if I'm willing to drive an hour to get to the park and an hour to get 'home' in the evening, the rates are very reasonable. And I don't consider a couple of hours spent getting to/from a day long experience of a lifetime a heavy penalty. As a rule you'll find your best deals in moderately sized towns where motels don't have to rely on seasonal business and where there is some competition. Unfortunately, Yosemite is far enough into the 'wilderness' that something will have to give. I don't think you'd find really good rates until you got out along CA-49 in Mariposa and/or Moccasin, and even there they won't be cheap especially in high season. To be honest, I looked at some rates and I think I'd be inclined to settle in Moccasin at the most modest motel I could stand, but book one night in the park itself. That way I could spend two nearly full days in the park, and one unforgettable night, while saving a significant chunk on the other nights.

AZBuck

Is "camping" in the tent cabins in Curry Village out of the question? That's not really camping unless she is insisting on a private bathroom.

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Originally Posted by JonAndSophieTravel

I found another website and found this route (http://www.roadtripusa.com/routes/pa...ificcoast.html). This takes us from Seattle to San Fran, the only thing I'm worried about would be are we missing anything inland in Oregon or Northern CA that we should see?

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As Buck has already said, Jensen's trips focus on the road and the environment immediately around it. The roads which he describes were the main routes before the present system of Interstate highways was built.

I have driven two of the routes completely, and much of several others. With the book by my side, it has been possible to make sure I do not miss any of the local points of interest along the road. Yes, you may miss some of the much visited attractions, but you are likely to see much of local America, and meet the locals. All of which will give you a real feeling of having been to America. (But having said that, with frequent (compulsory) trips to North America, I have the luxury of seeing the other attractions at another time.)

If you do choose to take, at least some of CA-101, and you get to the area around Fortuna, Northern CA, be sure to take a side trip on CA-211 to Cape Mendocino. This is the most western point of the 48 States, and quite spectacular with it's black beaches and black rocks. The road will then take you back to the Humboldt Redwoods SP, where you will find the Avenue of Giants - a must see in my book!

The road to Cape Mendocino has many elevated points which give spectacular views over the ocean - the highest been almost 3000'. It is not a fast road, but a very interesting side trip.

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Originally Posted by JonAndSophieTravel

And will the coast get boring?

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That of course is not a question anyone here could answer. What you find boring, may be of great interest to others, and vice versa.

Lifey