Best way to see California

[rathdown road trip]

We (4 of us) are flying into San Francisco in August for a three week road trip, during which time we hope to take in the following:

San Francisco
Yosemite
Grand Canyon
Las Vegas
San Diego
LA
Bis Sur & Coast road....(or so we hope)

Any tips or recommendations re rounte, accommodation, what not to miss, what to avoid etc.
Also we are travelling from UK so any tips re what best car to hire in terms of value (fuel costs) comfort, ease of driving etc

[Mark Sedenquist]

We (4 of us) are flying into San Francisco in August for a three week road trip,

Welcome to the Great American RoadTrip Forum -- plenty of tips and ideas for this area. This forum has a wealth of ideas filed by fellow roadtrippers who have been in this area recently. Look at this thread as a way of getting started.

This thread will give provide you with a quick guide for estimating costs.

This book is a treasure trove of information about the coast route and this section has plenty of ideas about the ideal vehicles to roadtrip in.

Mark

[W. Larrison]

Hello rathdown road trip, and welcome fo the RoadTrip America forum!

The roadtrip you've outlined has to be the most popular roadtrip people talk about here. Check the similar threads, (at the bottom of this page) linked with your message, and you can use the search function here to find many many threads talking this trip.

From a real general advice standpoint

August is the big vacation month here in the US. You whould be aware that campgrounds and accomodations in highly desirable areas (such as inside a national park) are filling up quickly as people start planning for the summer. If you really want to stay somewhere like the hotel on the rim of the Grand Canyon, now is the time to set up a plan, and make a reservation. In other areas, such as near Disneyland, where there are dozens of hotels within a few miles, this is not as critical.

August is mid summer here -- and part of your road trip will be going through some areas which have high temperatures in the summer. This is something that millions of people do every year, but sometimes visitors from overseas are surprized by this. Death Valley for example, can be 130 F (54 C) in the summer. Other areas may be in the 90-100F range while you're traveling through the dessert. (This is not to scare you -- its something that millions of people travel through every year. Just be prepared -- hat, sunscreen, and plenty of water to drink.)