Results 1 to 5 of 5
  1. Default San Fran to Las Vegas

    Hello All

    I am in the midst of finalising the details of my up and coming honeymoon and need some help from the proffesionals !

    To date, the plan is:

    4 nights in Barbados
    Fly to San Fran
    3 nights in San Fran
    Travel to Yosemite
    2 nights in the Yosemite lodge
    Travel to Vegas - THIS IS THE BIT I AM STRUGGLING WITH !
    3 nights in Vegas
    Fly to New York
    2 nights in New York
    Fly to London

    Therefore I need some help in the "road trip" part of the holiday - we will be leaving Yoesemite on the Weds 17th May (probably around lunch) and then have until Mon 22nd when we are booked in at the Hotel in Vegas.

    Therefore we have

    Weds - half day
    Thurs
    Fri
    Sat
    Sun
    Mon - half day arriving in Vegas by say 3pm

    The things I was hoping to fit into these 5 days and 5 nights is as follows:

    Death Valley
    Bryce Canyon
    Antelope Canyon
    Hoover Dam

    My questions are:

    1. Is the above possible and how much driving is involved ?
    2. Is there a better route / things we should see ?
    3. Any alternative suggestions for 5 days between San Fran and Vegas.

    Many thanks in advance

    rossirep

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Québec, Montreal, Arizona, California, France
    Posts
    986

    Default Time frame and ideas

    Greetings Rossirep and welcome to the RTA Forum!

    To date, the plan is:

    4 nights in Barbados
    Fly to San Fran
    3 nights in San Fran
    Travel to Yosemite
    2 nights in the Yosemite lodge
    Travel to Vegas - THIS IS THE BIT I AM STRUGGLING WITH !
    3 nights in Vegas
    Fly to New York
    2 nights in New York
    Fly to London
    Wow, looks like you have an awesome trip ahead of you...I am SO jealous!:-)

    The things I was hoping to fit into these 5 days and 5 nights is as follows:

    Death Valley
    Bryce Canyon
    Antelope Canyon
    Hoover Dam

    My questions are:

    1. Is the above possible and how much driving is involved ?
    2. Is there a better route / things we should see ?
    3. Any alternative suggestions for 5 days between San Fran and Vegas.
    1) The answer is yes, it is doable, but it depends on how much time you want to spend on the road vs visiting :

    -Yosemite Village, CA to Beatty Jct, CA (Death Valley) = 290 miles ~6,5h
    -Beatty Jct, CA to Bryce Canyon, UT = 400 miles ~7h
    -Bryce Canyon, UT to Page, AZ (Antelope Canyon) = 153 miles ~3h
    -Page, AZ to Boulder City, NV (Hoover Dam) = 302 miles ~5h

    2) and 3) You should read these three posts : 1 2 3 to help you with things too see in that area

    Have a wonderful honeymoon trip!
    Gen

  3. Default

    Gen

    Many thanks for your post - very helpful.

    We have had a look at a map and we have now planned the following 2 options for our trip from Yosemite to Las Vegas - a 5 night trip as detailed above:

    Option 1: Heading South

    Leave Yosemite and take Route 41 to Fresno
    Take Route 180 to Sequoia National Park - to see tehe park the "Big Trees"
    Take route 198/65 out of the park to Bakersfield
    Take the 178 into Death Valley (or Route 395 and the 19o into Death Valley)
    Through Death Valley and onto the Grand Canyon

    OPtion 2: Heading East

    Leave Yosemite on the 120 then onto the 395 and 190 into Death Valley and onto the Grand Canyon

    The question is:

    We want to make this trip and take in the Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon before returning to Vegas after the 5 nights (after leaving Yosemite)

    Is this possible ?

    If not what is the best way to spend 5 nights between Yosemite Lodge and Vegas ??

    Any help much appreciated as we only have 5 days to go !!!!!

    Thanks

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Tucson, AZ
    Posts
    10,358

    Default Option 1: Head South

    With only 5 days to departure, your biggest problem may be finding places to stay. Although it's still early in the season, some of the more popular locations may already be booked solid.

    My personal recommendation would be for you to spend your time between Yosemite and Las Vegas on your 'Heading South' option with a few modifications. Let me go over this in terms of driving days. As I read your schedule, you have 6 days to play with between leaving Yosemite on the morning of the 17th and arriving in Las Vegas on the evening of the 22nd. Now you want to see a ton (tonne) of stuff along the way. As Gen pointed out, you can do it all, but at the expense of spending a great deal of time at any one place. So what I lay out below is one possibility that let's you do it all and 'only' spend 6 hours or so a day driving. Keep in mind that this still let's you spend 6-8 hours a day sight-seeing

    Day 1: Yosemite to Bakersfield as you describe for about 290 miles and about 6 hours of driving.

    Day 2: CA-58, I-15, CA-127, and CA-178 to the Furnace Creek area of Death Valley for 325 miles and maybe 6½ hours of driving.

    Day 3: Continue north on CA-178 to North Highway and Scotty's Castle then continue on into Nevada on NV-267 to US-95 and Las Vegas for 230 miles and maybe 4½ driving hours.

    Day 4: Head on up to Bryce, 285 miles, 6 hours

    Day 5: Bryce to Grand Canyon by way of Page and Cameron, 230 miles, 4-5 hours

    Day 6: Grand Canyon to Las Vegas, 280 miles, 6 hours

    So, I hope this let's you see what you can do and what you're up against in the time and distance department. Have a great trip!

    AZBuck

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 1998
    Location
    Las Vegas, Nevada
    Posts
    12,934

    Default A Frequent Challenge for us

    Quote Originally Posted by rossirep
    We have had a look at a map and we have now planned the following 2 options for our trip from Yosemite to Las Vegas - a 5 night trip
    I will give it a shot responding to this query. But I am always faced with the same issue. If it were me, I would use all of the four of the days to explore Yosemite and one day for travel to Las Vegas. The distances you are referring to will require that you spend nearly all of the daylight hours in the car.
    Option 1: Heading South
    Leave Yosemite and take Route 41 to Fresno
    Take Route 180 to Sequoia National Park - to see tehe park the "Big Trees"
    Take route 198/65 out of the park to Bakersfield
    Take the 178 into Death Valley (or Route 395 and the 19o into Death Valley)
    Through Death Valley and onto the Grand Canyon
    Well, first I am going to throw a wrench-into-the-works. Since this a honeymoon, I know of a place that is about as romantic as it gets and it is sort of on your way from Yosemite to Sequoia... When you reach Fresno take SR-168 back north into the foothills and drive to the end of the road. You will pass several lakes and eventually reach Mono Hot Springs Resort. Stay in one of the cabins, use the resort facilitie and then get walking directions to "Little Eden" -- a natural hot pool with an incredible view of the Sierras, dripping ferns... you get the idea.

    But I digress... Yeah, option 1 is doable. Do you really want to spend this much time driving (on your honeymoon)?
    OPtion 2: Heading EastLeave Yosemite on the 120 then onto the 395 and 190 into Death Valley and onto the Grand Canyon
    When is this trip planned for? The pass from Yosemite eastward is still closed...
    We want to make this trip and take in the Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon before returning to Vegas after the 5 nights (after leaving Yosemite)
    Hmmm, well, it is physically possible -- but you won't be doing much sleeping (you will be driving most of the time).
    If not what is the best way to spend 5 nights between Yosemite Lodge and Vegas ??
    I don't know about you, but on my honeymoon, I was far more interested in resting and being lazy. My honeymoon had roadtrips on the front and back end, but the rest of time we were somewhat horizontal (it was hectic in the weeks leading up to our marriage and we both needed extra rest...or, at least, that is one reasonable explanation). Since Tioga Pass is closed, I would do this: 1st night at Mono Hot Springs, 2nd night at Sequoia & Kings Canyon NP, 3rd night at Cedar City (see Bryce, Cedar Breaks and Zion the next day) 4th night at Grand Canyon and back to Las Vegas the next day. Here is an article I wrote that touches on these part of the trip. Congratulations on your wedding!

    Mark

Similar Threads

  1. San Fran -> Yosemite -> Death Valley -> Vegas (AGAIN!!)
    By James Brown in forum Spring RoadTrips
    Replies: 9
    Last Post: 01-23-2006, 08:25 PM
  2. Vegas, Grand Canyon, Napa, San Fran
    By trvmail in forum Fall & Winter RoadTrips
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 10-06-2005, 04:43 PM
  3. San fran - Vegas - Yellowstone - San Fran
    By fatcatz29 in forum Fall & Winter RoadTrips
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 09-04-2005, 03:00 AM
  4. From Vegas to San Fran... Grand Canyon included!!!
    By RelandCraig in forum Fall & Winter RoadTrips
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 05-08-2005, 12:16 AM
  5. Vegas to San Fran - Brits on Tour!
    By in forum Planning Summer RoadTrips
    Replies: 6
    Last Post: 08-08-2003, 11:53 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •