6days: LA-S.Barbara-Vegas-NorthRim-Sedona-S.Diego(viaPhoenix). Opinions?

[Ponny & Hunny]

Hello All,

My wife and I are planning a two weeks trip to the US (from September 6th to September 12th).
We plan to spend 6 days along the following (ambitious) trail:

Day one: landing in LAX, rent a car, drive to Santa Barbara. Night in SB.
Day two (afternoon): drive to Vegas. Night in Vegas.
Day three (afternoon): drive to Jacob Lake (Grand Canyon North Rim). Night in Jacob Lake.
Day four (afternoon): drive to Sedona. Night in Sedona.
Day five (all day): drive to S. Diego. Night in S. Diego.
Day six (afternoon): drive to OC. Night in the OC.
Day seven (morning): drive to LAX then Hawaii.

As you can imagine, we like roadtripping (!) but would like to have your opinion on our plan and whether is worthwhile giving up on some stop to have more time to enjoy the trip...the alternative would be giving up on the North Rim and drive from Vegas directly to Sedona. The North Rim was attractive to us because it is less crowded and also temperature are more favorable in this period.

Also: any recommendation for the car? I was thinking to a convertible (S. Diego-LA-S.Barbara) but I understand that will be not appropriate for the desert.

Thank you!!

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

You've got an overstuffed trip, where I think I would make a few cuts.

First, trying to drive to SB after a flight from Europe doesn't sound like a good idea to me. That's just too much driving, after you'll have a very long day of traveling and be dealing with a significant amount of jet lag. I'd strongly recommend that you stay closer to LA that first day, so you can recover and relax a bit while your body gets used to the major time difference.

While I can understand wanting to visit the North Rim, considering the other aspects of your trip, and your limited time, I would recommend going to the south rim. In September the crowds will be dying down and temperatures shouldn't be as much of an issue, and doing so will save you several hours of driving, giving you much more time to see this amazing wonder. Skipping it altogether and driving from LV to Sedona seems like throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

I'd also rethink your plans for San Diego/Orange County and do one or the other. Right now, you'd spend all day driving to San Diego, but really wouldn't have any time to spend there, and you might as well just drive straight to OC, or skip OC and actually spend a day in San Diego (which would probably be my choice).

[Ponny & Hunny]

Thanks for the advice!

Revised Plan:

Day one: land in LAX, rent a convertible, relax, night in Venice Beach
Day two: relaxed drive to San Diego, night in San Diego.
Day three: enjoy the S. Diego area. Night in San Diego.
Day four: Drive to LAX, drop-off the convertible, late evening flight to Vegas, rent appropriate SUV in Vegas, night in Vegas.
Day five (all day): drive to Grand Canyon, night in Flagstaff/Sedona.
Day six (afternoon): Enjoy the area. Night in Flagstaff/Sedona.
Day seven (morning): drive back to Vegas, drop-off SUV, then fly from Vegas straight to Hawaii.

The word "enjoy" now start to appear more often...comments?

[Midwest Michael]

I think that's better, but I would still make a few changes:

By the time you drive back to LAX, and fly to Vegas (factoring security, etc), you really won't be saving much, if any time, compared to just driving straight to Vegas from San Diego.

There also is no reason at all to rent an SUV, as there is no place where you'll need off-road capability, and even if there was, it would be forbidden by the rental contract. You may see a one way drop fee if you rent at LAX and drop in Vegas, but that should be pretty small, and it is such a popular trip that often times that fee will even be waived.

One other thing you might consider to save you a little time, spend a day driving directly from San Diego to Sedona. That would be a pretty long day on the road (but you could break it up with a stop in Phoenix), but it would actually be less driving, and it would avoid backtracking. You could hit Sedona, visit the Canyon, and then just spend your time in Vegas at the end of your trip.