Going to LA, then to San francisco, to Vegas and back to LA in February!

[JohnRegine]

Hi everyone,

thanks for all the input and suggestions, we've come up with the road trip route which took into consideration jet lag and getting used to driving on the opposite side. so here it goes:

Day 1 to day 4: touch down in L.A, hotel, 4 nights in La. and next day off to L.V
Day 5 to day 7: 3 nights in L.V, with inclusive of one full day on day 6 at Grand Canyon
Day 8: Drive to San Luis Opiso, we are heading towards San Francisco. One night here.
Day 9: Cambria, also another night here
Day 10: Big Sur, 1 night here as well
Day 11 to day 12: 2 nights in Monterey
Day 13 to day 17/18: Sanfrancisco with trips to the vineyards and other attractions and Yosemite.

looks like a long drive, but i really want to drive in the US lol.

does the itinerary look ok? We will still take highway 1, from L.V we will head downwards passing L.A.

As for the car, we've decided to look out for a suv, not too big, but 4wd.

We've booked our first lodging in L.A, however it seems we will be arrving on the day of the Grammy awards, any suggestions on fun stuff that happens in LA during this time?

Thank you!

John

[Lifemagician]

Day 5 to day 7: 3 nights in L.V, with inclusive of one full day on day 6 at Grand Canyon

The GC is too far for a day trip from LV. You will not be able to do anymore than have a quick look and drive off again. Plan on spending a night in or near the GC. If there are vacancies, and your budget allows for it, there is nothing more memorable than to stay in the GC Village - watch a sunset at night and the sunrise next morning. Otherwise a place like Cameron Trading Post is a good option.

With a fairly early start this will give you three or four hours of daylight at the GC on each day. A nice bit of time to check out the many areas and view points, including Desert View Drive.

Perhaps a day less on the coast, where you have quite a bit of time.... or maybe spend one day less in LA.

Lifey

[Southwest Dave]

That's the part I would change also. You could go straight from Cambria to Monterey for 2 nights and visit Big Sur, or stay one night in Big Sur and one in Monterey and spend a night at the GC. [As Lifey suggested you could take a night from LA or LV.] To save miles head to GC direct from LA and then go to Vegas.

We will still take highway 1, from L.V we will head downwards passing L.A.

I'm not sure I follow what you mean here ? You are going from LV across to the coast to SLO and then north, yes ? Or are you going back to LA [downwards] first ? [Of which I'm not sure what the point of that would be.]

Keep in mind that if you were going to take a tour to GC from Vegas, most tours do not go to the National Park which is the most famous and wonderful part. Tours tend to head to the West rim, which is in a remote location on Indian lands and you won't see and experience the Grand canyon 'proper'.

[JohnRegine]

I'm not sure I follow what you mean here ? You are going from LV across to the coast to SLO and then north, yes ?

-< yup this is correct!

Keep in mind that if you were going to take a tour to GC from Vegas, most tours do not go to the National Park which is the most famous and wonderful part. Tours tend to head to the West rim, which is in a remote location on Indian lands and you won't see and experience the Grand canyon 'proper'.

We found a tour online http://www.grand-adventures.com/winterwalkingtour.html which seems to cover the national park?

[Midwest Michael]

That trip does visit the national park, but it is exactly the kind of trip I would never recommend.

It is a trip where you you'll be traveling for 15 hours, to see the canyon for at most 2-3 hours. Their posting makes it sound like that's a long time - but simply put, it's not. All its giving you time for it to look at the couple of viewpoints closest to the village, and frankly, it sounds like you're going to be herded like cattle, so your entire group can see those few viewpoints and give your group a chance to spend an hour browsing the shops in the village.

I've got nothing against this tour operator, they could very well be the very best when it comes to one day trips to the Grand Canyon. The problem, one day simply is not enough time to see the Canyon and do a round trip drive from Vegas. There are dozens more viewpoints, that are all different, but they take time to get to and see. You might have a good time if you decide to do this trip, but I'd have a very hard time saying that you saw the Grand Canyon on this trip (unless you consider seeing one piece of a 100 piece puzzle the same as seeing the puzzle itself).

If you actually want to see the Grand Canyon, you need to plan on spending the night, either at the Canyon, or nearby in Flagstaff/Williams. The only way to do it right in a single day is to find a trip that includes an actual flight to the Grand Canyon airport.

[Lifemagician]

We found a tour online http://www.grand-adventures.com/winterwalkingtour.html which seems to cover the national park?

Looks like they do go to the park.... but hey! you are spending more than $300 to have a three hour experience, while your rental car is sitting in LV. From where I sit, that money would be far better spent on driving and staying in the NP, having the time to really see the park, and even if it were overcast at night, there would be a chance to see the canyon at dawn, the next day.

If you went, as Dave suggested, direct from LA to the GC, you would probably not have to 'borrow' a night from anywhere else on your trip.

It looks like a reasonable tour. But you could experience so much more, for less, driving yourself.

Lifey

[JohnRegine]

Thanks Michael and Lifey for your suggestions. Will the roads be safe to drive in February from LV to Grand Canyon? You are right about the car being parked in LV... it is a waste. I guess the reason why we wanted to take the tour was because we thought the roads towards GC would be difficult to drive during Feb.

I we were to drive to GC, is there a common route/easiest route from LV?

[JohnRegine]

Hi guys, If i drove from LA to GC , its gonna take an 8 hr plus car ride.. should we be leaving really early from LA to avoid any traffic, and also, pit stops on the way to GC... i haven't driven 8 hrs before, seems like a daunting task..

[Southwest Dave]

To be honest it's gonna take you longer than 8 hours, but it's really not that bad when you compare it to being sat in a small van with complete strangers for 12 hours in one day in my opinion ! ;-) Plus as already mentioned, it will be cheaper to stay in a Grand canyon hotel than take the tour, you will be able to do things in your own time and take in the romance and wonder of the Grand canyon without concerning yourself with missing the bus.

Driving aprox 3x3 hour stints isn't that bad with a rest and walk in between to break the journey, if you left early to miss the traffic, you would need to be on the road by 6am latest really, [but thats more of a lay in then if you had to be on the van for 6am from Vegas] then you could stop in Barstow for breakfast/coffee by 9am and wander then head to Kingman for a walk around this route 66 town, perhaps have lunch and you would be at GC in plenty of time to sit down for an evening meal. The great thing is is that you can do what you want when you want depending on how you feel, the type of freedom not afforded on a tour.

If this seemed a little too much you always have the choice to drive out of LA for an hour or two on your last day there, or even as far as Barstow, and not have to get up too early to miss the traffic and shorten the drive to GC next day.

Once your out of LA it's a comfortable drive mainly on Interstate which are a priority to keep clear and traffic moving year round. Of course there is no guarantee what the weather will be doing when you travel, but it will be the same whether you are in a van or in your own car. For me the difference is that you will have more time overall to pull off the road for a while if a storm blew through, and only have to make decisions for yourself, rather than relying on someone else who may find themselves under pressure from a bus load of tourists and the company to do the 'right thing'. This is not a slant on this, or any other company, I just like to be in control of things when on holiday, I'd probably fly the plane if I could !! Lol

It's your decision at the end of the day, these are just alternative views/thoughts for you to consider, hope it helps.

[JohnRegine]

Thanks Dave, i have a few questions about the drive up to GC.

Will i need snowchains? Also, what are the road conditions and temperatures like in GC during Mid Feb? I checked online, and we are planning to stay at the National Park Lodges, i think its south rim? The temperatures look to be about 6 degrees C to minus 6 degrees C, is that what we should be expecting? Thank you

Cheers
John