Sf - Lv - La

[essex_max]

Hi,

This is the first time I have posted so please be gentle. :o)
I am living in England and have planned a trip to your shores in December. I plan to fly into SFO and spend a couple of days there before hiring a car and travelling to Vegas, spending a couple of days there and then driving to LA where I will then fly out.
Ideally, I would like to drive down Highway 1 part of the way from SF before I need to cut across to Vegas.
I would like to know if this is possible and which roads I would need to take.
Also, how much driving (time & distance) would this require..?

Cheers,
Max.

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America forum.

..check out these recent posts on trips that are very much like the one that you're proposing. This one between San Francisco and Las Vegas and this one that includes Los Angeles. These should give you a good feel for the basics of the time and distances involved, as well as some of the highlights along the way. If there's still something missing, just pipe up.

AZBuck

[essex_max]

Hi everyone.
I will be driving from SF to LV (via the PCH) with my fiancee in December.

We will be leaving SF on the 11th and need to be in Vegas at some stage on the 13th. Where would be the best places to stop for the 2 nights that we'll be on the road..? I was thinking San Simeon/Cambria/San Luis Obispo and then maybe somewhere in the area of Bakersfield..?
Does that sound reasonable/doable..?
Also, where would be the best point to leave the PCH and hed east to Vegas..?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[Midwest Michael]

Yes, that sound reasonable. That should give you a nice amount of time to explore that section of the coast.

There are two main routes east from that area. CA-46 from Paso Robles or CA-166 from Santa Maria. Either one is fine, it just depends how far south you will be starting from. CA-58 is also an option, but it is much slower and a very curvy route.

(and I moved your post so it would be included with your original thread on this same topic)

[petebrady]

hi,

We're planning almost the exact same trip - flying into SFO on 16th December, staying for 3 nights then hiring a car & driving to Las Vegas.

I'm thinking it'll take 2 or 3 days to head down the Pacific coast, probably stay somewhere in Big Sur region, then head east with a view to seeing Death Valley before hitting Las Vegas on the 21st or 22nd, in time for Christmas. We're going to fly to LA on the 27th and stay for a couple of nights, before heading home on the 29th in time for New Year's Eve.

We know where we're staying in SF (Marriot on 4th), Vegas (THEHotel) & LA (Farmers Daughter), so any suggestions for routes / stops / unmissables would be much appreciated! Weather hints too!

thanks,
pete

[Mark Sedenquist]

We're planning almost the exact same trip - flying into SFO on 16th December, staying for 3 nights then hiring a car & driving to Las Vegas.

It is a very popular roadtrip! Welcome to the Great American RoadTrip Forum!

...before heading home on the 29th in time for New Year's Eve.

Too bad you won't be in Las Vegas for the 31st -- it is a pretty fun place to party and celebrate -- the Strip is closed to all vehicular traffic and it becomes a huge party!

OK, a couple of unmissables (I like that word): The Monterey Acquarium, stop for a coffee and view at the Nepenthe Inn, the waterfall overlook at Julia Pheiffer State Beach -- it is only about 1/4 mile walk about 1/3 of mile north of the Burns Creek Bridge -- the water in this slender waterfall falls directly into the surf -- very cool! The elephant seal viewing area at Piedras Blancas, the old station house (still a bar) in Cayucos, just about anywhere in Death Valley -- but be sure to take the Twenty Mule Team Canyon Drive! Be sure to go to the lobby of the Furnace Creek Inn -- very elegant.

Well, that is a start!

Happy Planning!

Mark

[petebrady]

It is a very popular roadtrip! Welcome to the Great American RoadTrip Forum! Too bad you won't be in Las Vegas for the 31st -- it is a pretty fun place to party and celebrate -- the Strip is closed to all vehicular traffic and it becomes a huge party!

Yeah i'd heard it's pretty cool, but work commitments dictate otherwise... oh, and families too!

OK, a couple of unmissables (I like that word): The Monterey Acquarium, stop for a coffee and view at the Nepenthe Inn, the waterfall overlook at Julia Pheiffer State Beach -- it is only about 1/4 mile walk about 1/3 of mile north of the Burns Creek Bridge -- the water in this slender waterfall falls directly into the surf -- very cool! The elephant seal viewing area at Piedras Blancas, the old station house (still a bar) in Cayucos, just about anywhere in Death Valley -- but be sure to take the Twenty Mule Team Canyon Drive! Be sure to go to the lobby of the Furnace Creek Inn -- very elegant.

Well, that is a start!

Happy Planning!

Mark

Thanks for those!

So what kind of weather can we expect? We've been to Vegas a couple of times before - September '00 & '05, when it was too painful to stand in direct sunlight, and in February sometime in the mid 90's when it was tshirt weather during the day but a bit chilly at night....

[Mark Sedenquist]

So what kind of weather can we expect? We've been to Vegas a couple of times before - September '00 & '05, when it was too painful to stand in direct sunlight, and in February sometime in the mid 90's when it was tshirt weather during the day but a bit chilly at night....

Right now we are enjoying the Artic Express -- cold, but beautiful clear weather. Current temps at the office right now -- 44 degrees in the sun... Last night it was ~28 degrees and windy. Here is a link to weather on the 21st to 22nd for the last decade or so... Here are a few more ideas about things to do in the Las Vegas area (RTA's home station).

Mark

[petebrady]

Right now we are enjoying the Artic Express -- cold, but beautiful clear weather. Current temps at the office right now -- 44 degrees in the sun... Last night it was ~28 degrees and windy. Here is a link to weather on the 21st to 22nd for the last decade or so... Here are a few more ideas about things to do in the Las Vegas area (RTA's home station).

Mark

Thanks (again) - those december temps compare pretty well to home

[Mark Sedenquist]

Thanks (again) - those december temps compare pretty well to Dublin, Ireland

I would never have guessed that -- I would have thought it would be colder in Dublin. It can be hard to predict here -- two years ago we had snow on the ground on the 23rd and another year it was 70 degrees....

Mark