LV to LA

[Adrienne Hendriks]

I'm new to this site and we're planning a trip for April2013. We will be starting in Las Vegas hopefully head to Sedona, Grand Canyon, Yosemite, San Francisco and finish in Los Angeles. Is this doable in two weeks? also we would like to take the more scenic routes and would very much welcome suggestions for accomodation. My husband and I are coming from Ontario, Canada and meeting my sister and brother-in-law from Ireland in Las Vegas for the trip - we could extend the time by a few days if need be.

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

Your trip is certainly doable in 2 weeks but will be more comfortable if you can add your travel days to Vegas and home from LA to those 14 days. Also you will need to decide how long you would like to stay in each place along the way, a "few extra days" or always handy ! If your budget can mange it, there is nothing quite like staying in the National parks, but you do have cheaper alternatives in surrounding towns.

As you are travelling in April you will have to travel to Yosemite on the west side of the Sierra Nevada as the popular mountain crossing, the Tioga Pass, [CA120] will still be closed due to winter snow accumulation on the high ground. This means that you will have to go via Bakersfield to Fresno, although you could visit Sequoia NP on route.

From the GC to Yosemite would make Death valley a little out of the way , but still a worthwhile detour to consider. With a couple of days in LV and LA at either end of your trip you have 10 days remaining with your current plans. LV to GC to Sedona could be done in 2 days, giving you 2 half days at GC on the day of arrival and departure. A little time Sedona and then make your way to around Barstow on day 3 before continuing to Yosemite on day 4. Day 5 in Yosemite and day 6, Yosemite and onto San Fran where you could easily spend a couple of days. You could then spend 2 or 3 days heading down the scenic coast road to LA with Monterey, Big Sur, Herast Castle and Cambria being a few of the places you could stop.

That's just one way of many you could plan your trip, and you could speed things up to include Sequoia and/or Death valley and alter things to suit your personal tastes, but at least it should help make a start. Any more questions just ask.

[Adrienne Hendriks]

Hi Dave, Thanks so much for your input - it does give us a great start - wondering now about adding in SanDiego and skipping LA - what's your opinion?

[Southwest Dave]

I haven't been to either LA or SD as I so much more prefer spending time at the natural wonders than the uraban sprawl. Both would be viable options and it's difficult to avoid LA on the way to San Diego when travelling down the coast, although I must say personally I find SD a nicer proposition. Having said that, and as you are probably aware by now, I'm not a 'City person' [although I loved San Fran] and I would be looking more at time spent in places like Monument valley and even Zion and Bryce canyon in Souther Utah, Zion being just 3 hours from Vegas.

Much will come down to how much time you want to spend 'where'. You might find that completing the loop and end in the same City in which you started from, might be favourable when it comes to costs of flights and car rentals. You could see which City in the 'Loop' offers the best combined rates and start and finish there.

[Lifemagician]

Like Dave, I am not much of a city person, when it comes to travelling. But I have been to LA multiple times, and to San Diego.

In the end it all comes down to what you want to do. All cities have many tourist traps, and your dollars can dwindle very quickly. When I am in a city, I like to walk around, get a feel of the atmosphere, see where people live, what types of things are available in the average store and speak with the locals. When I purchase food, it is in the local supermarket, where one nearly always gets a chance to speak to the person in front or behind in the queue. I never choose a checkout which is empty.

Although I have been to both cities, I have not been to any of the so-called tourist attractions... zoos, hollywood, disney, or anything else.

So as I said, which city you choose, comes down very much as to what you want to do. Of the two you mentioned, I'd probably choose San Diego. Just that my flight always comes into, and leaves from LA.

Lifey