17 days Road trip advises (LA - Las Vegas - San Francisco)

[kilametis]

Thank you everyone. Now i have amended my itinerary, and got started with the booking. I have heard of a National Park pass, is it something i should consider?

This is now my latest itinerary :
Day 1 Half day in Las Vegas - Sleeping in Las Vegas
Day 2 go to death valley - Sleeping in Bishop
Day 3 Continue to to Yosemite via tiago pass - Sleeping in Yosemite NP
Day 4 Yosemite NP, full day & Glacier Point - Sleeping in Yosemite NP
Day 5 Full day at Yosemite NP,Continue to San Francisco ( 4h drive ) - Sleeping in San Francisco
Day 6 Full day in San Francisco - Sleeping in San Francisco
Day 7 Half day in San Francisco, Drive south stop in cambria ( or monterrey )
Day 8 Leave early, Continue to Los Angeles, half a day there - Sleeping in Los Angeles
Day 9 Full day sightseeing in LA, continue to 29 Palms in the evening - Sleeping in 29 Palms
Day 10 Full day at Joshua Tree National Park - Sleeping in 29 Palms
Day 11 Scenic drive along Route66 to Grand Canyon - Sleeping in Williams
Day 12 Full day at Grand Canyon - Sleeping in Grand Canyon
Day 13 Drive to Page in the morning, visit Horseshoe Bend in the evening - Sleeping in Page
Day 14 Antelope Canyon/Glen Canyon, continue to Bryce Canyon in the evening - Sleeping in Bryce Canyon
Day 15 Visit Bryce Canyon, continue to Zion in the evening - Sleeping in Springdale
Day 16 Full day at Zion National Park - Sleeping in Springdale
Day 17 Drive to Las Vegas via Lake Mead Scenic Drive and Valley of Fire - Sleeping in Las Vegas

[John259]

> I have heard of a National Park pass, is it something i should consider?
Yes! http://www.nps.gov/findapark/passes.htm

The route looks great, except that unless I'm missing something you haven't allowed enough time to get from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Via the coast road that needs at least two complete days, probably two and a half. I reckon you'll need to make some adjustments there but see what other posters say. Meanwhile, you might like to check the driving distances for those days on a map.

[Southwest Dave]

Yes it's come together nicely and you are in for a great time ! As mentioned previously and above, you will need the 2 days to enjoy the coast and to make it to Cambria while having time to enjoy the sights along Big Sur you will have to leave earlier. Monterey would leave you to much to do to make it to LA that night.

[kilametis]

Tks John & Dave, I understand that i need more time for SF -> LA..Because, i have time constraints, I'm willing to sacrifice time spent on the west cost in favor of the canyons and national parks. However the route as to be realistic so i made the below adjustments, does it look better?

Day 7 Half day in San Francisco, Drive south stop in cambria
Day 8 Leave early, do some sightseeing then reach LA at night
Day 9 Full day sightseeing in LA, sleeping in LA
Day 10 Reach & visit Joshua Tree National Park - Sleeping in 29 Palms

[John259]

Day 7 Half day in San Francisco, Drive south stop in cambria

San Francisco to Cambria via US101 is 230 miles so that's possible - but US101 is nowhere near as scenic as the coast road (Ca1). Via Ca1 it's slightly less mileage but a much slower road. For Ca1, which I'd very highly recommend, you need more time and because of the lack of accommodation between Monterey and Cambria it's tricky to think of a way to gain it.

If it was me, I'd gain the time by completely leaving out Los Angeles, heading inland north of the mountains which surround that city - but it isn't me, it's you, and you probably have different priorities to me.

[Midwest Michael]

Tks John & Dave, I understand that i need more time for SF -> LA..Because, i have time constraints, I'm willing to sacrifice time spent on the west cost in favor of the canyons and national parks.

I still don't think you've got a very good plan here.

A day and a half for the coast is very tough, and getting from SF to Cambria via the Coast is pretty close to impossible in just half a day. Really the only way you could do it is by taking US-101, and in the process skipping Big Sur and the most famous section of the Pacific Coast Highway.

If you insist on doing this leg in a day and a half, then I'd only aim to get to Monterey the night after SF, spend what time you can the next morning heading down the coast to about Cambria, before cutting back inland and sprint into LA on US-101.

Having said that, I'd give strong consideration to John's idea of skipping LA all together, or at the very least, skipping Joshua Tree and heading towards the Grand Canyon directly from LA, so you have more time to actually enjoy the coast.

[Lifemagician]

It will give you the time to need to drive to LA, so long as you understand that it will not give you a great deal of time to stop and enjoy the many overlooks and viewpoints.

Lifey

[kilametis]

That forum is just awesome!!! Thanks a lot guys for the advises. So now an other question ( hopefully the last one ). I have amended again my itinerary ( see below ).
BUT !!!
Because it's my first trip to California, i do want to see LA ( i would even be OK with just one full day there ) . I am now thinking of skiping Joshua Park, especially knowing that i will have several park to visit later on. So where should i spend that additional time, on the coast route or LA ?

Day 7 Half day in San Francisco, Drive south ( via CA1 ) stop in Monterey
Day 8 Leave early, do some sightseeing ( via CA1 ) then reach LA at night
Day 9 Full day sightseeing in LA
Day 10 Reach & visit Joshua Tree National Park ( to be removed ? )

[John259]

Just a very quick reply because I'm running out of time:

Keep asking questions!

Skip Joshua Tree (sad, but you'll see desert and perhaps Joshua Trees anyway)

Los Angeles > Barstow (but the LA freeways might be slow until you get clear of the main urban area, somewhere around West Covina or Pomona)

Barstow > Williams is good. I don't think you'll have time for the slow mountain road via Oatman, but Az66 via Peach Springs between Kingman and Seligman should be ok - it's the longest surviving continuous stretch of old Route 66 and a decent road.

EDIT (now that I've got more time):

You could, if you wish, still stop overnight in Twentynine Palms, and you might have time to explore a little bit of Joshua Tree. With an annual pass that wouldn't cost you anything, but without an annual pass then you might not consider the entrance fee worthwhile. Twentynine Palms would probably be a more pleasant and interesting place to stop overnight than Barstow. There's an entrance to the park at the town of Joshua Tree (on Ca62) and a road through part of the park to Twentynine Palms. There's a detailed map of the park on the National Park Service web site (go to the park's section of the site, then look for a link in the left margin).

[kilametis]

Thank you everyone, i finished my planning and booked my hotels and car :-) :-)!!. Now i have more last question, regarding the annual PAss. I live in the UK, it seems on the website that i need to provide a USA address to get it shipped. Is there a way i can buy it before I'm in the US ?