San Diego - San Fran - Black Rock Nevada - Vegas - Phoenix??

[PNW Judy]

That can be a rather long day although it is very do-able. But if you have time to go less miles and play more along the way, that's always a good thing.

You might enjoy going east on I-40 and then dipping down to Lake Havasu City to see London Bridge. That's about 230 miles so would make a good halfway point. You could leave by going south on 95 until Quartzite. Quartzite is an amazing place where people by the hundreds (maybe thousands?) boondock their RVs. You might find it interesting but, unfortunately, the RVs are there in the winter so you will be missing that sight. Then go west on I-10 to Box Canyon Road, then south on Hwy 86 which will take you by the Salton Sea and you can take one of several routes through Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, then drive through Cuyamacho Rancho State Park, and catch I-8 into San Diego.

Now, I've never driven these roads myself so I can't give specific recommendations based on experience. But, on a map, it looks like a terrific drive. Hopefully someone will pop in here with experience to weigh in on this idea.

This whole drive is about 580 miles from Grand Canyon to San Diego.

[eticat]

Hello again everyone (please see my post below regarding the planned route of our 15 day south west USA roadtrip in late August).

We’re trying to decide what type of vehicle will best suit our trip… I’m hoping you might have some advice to help us make up our minds.

There’s just the two of us travelling (me and my boyfriend, Simeon) and we’re both qquite creative and adventure loving. We want to be relatively economical in our transport/accommodation choices but, really, we’re more into having the best fun experience on this trip rather than complete practicality.

We’re wondering whether we’d be better off hiring a motor home for the trip or hiring a regular car and using hotels.
The trip will take in cities as well as open landscapes.. and also part of the Burning Man Festival. If we had a motorhome, would we have to book into parking sites each night… or could we actually stop anywhere (that’s safe and legal to park)? Would having a motorhome just become a hassle in cities? (I’m assuming the roads are wider than London so it’s going to be a Lot easier than driving a truck around here!!).

Or would you recommend we just stop at random American roadside hotels along our journey instead?

Any tip offs on good places to hire motorhomes/cars in LA would be much appreciated too.

Thanks in advance,

Anne

We'd fly into and out of LA, and spend a total of 15 days in the US.

From LA (on 22nd August) we'd drive up the west coast to San Francisco - taking 3-4 days then spend a couple of days in San Fran.
From there we'd take 2 days to drive through the desert to Black Rock for a couple of days at the burning man festival.

From Burning man, we want to drive to Vegas and then from there do the Grand Canyon and surrounding attractions. (is 3-4 days enought for this?)
We'd then drive back to the coast to San diego and drive up the coast to LA where we would drop off the car and fly out. (allow 2 days for this leg?)
Anne

[Mark Sedenquist]

There’s just the two of us travelling (me and my boyfriend, Simeon) and we’re both qquite creative and adventure loving. We want to be relatively economical in our transport/accommodation choices but, really, we’re more into having the best fun experience on this trip rather than complete practicality.

With the current cost of fuel in the USA, your transport costs (fuel, lodging, supplies, etc.) will be about 71% more with a motorhome over the cost of a rental car and motels. A motorhome gives you some flexibility of places to stop for the night, perhaps better menus -- if you are a good cook and a "clean" bathroom. But it would never be the economical choice for such a short holiday.

The trip will take in cities as well as open landscapes.. and also part of the Burning Man Festival. If we had a motorhome, would we have to book into parking sites each night… or could we actually stop anywhere (that’s safe and legal to park)?

Here is an article about boondocking.

Mark

[eticat]

right, thanks. That's good advice.
I'll start looking into car bookings now.
a

[eticat]

Hello everyone,

I've just spent most of today on various car rental sites, trying to work out which vehicle is best for my upcoming trip up the california coast and through Nevada.

We're looking for a small-medium suv that's not too heavy on fuel consumption. There's just 2 of us but we'll be carrying quite a lot of equipment as we'll be camping at times (prhaps even a bicycle) but will also be spending time in cities so don't want to be too cumbersome. We'll be spending a lot of time in the car so want it to be comfortable.

The current options are:
- Jeep Liberty
- Dodge Journey
- Chevrolet Equinox
- Dodge Durango
- Cevrolet Trailblazer

Does anyone have any advice on which of these (or other SUVs) are best? I'd really appreciate some advice.

Thank you,
Anne

[Midwest Michael]

First of all, Generally with rental cars when you make a reservation, you are given a choice that's followed by "or similar." Its fairly rare that you get one specific model, or if you do, you generally have to pay a premium for it. So if you reserve anyone one of these cars, you could end up with any of the other models.

What I will say is that 2 stand out from the rest. The Dodge Journey and the Chevy Equinox are both "cross-overs" which means they are basically Station Wagons/Minivans dressed up to look like an SUV. They are built like cars would both probably suit you well, providing plenty of storage, a softer ride, and better gas mileage.

The other 3 are built like Trucks. That means they will be better able to handle driving off-road or pulling a trailer, but since both of those things will not be allowed by any standard rental contract, those features really wouldn't be any use to you. Otherwise, they will more than handle the cargo needed for your trip, and would certainly work for that purpose. They just may be more car than you really need.

[eticat]

fantastic advice once again! That all makes a lot of sense and will really help with our trip planning. Thank you.

Anne

[eticat]

Hello once again, A long time seems to have passed since I posted my first question on this brilliant forum about our South West road trip that will incorporate a few days at Burning Man.
We’re now just 2 weeks away from our departure date so are trying to put the finishing touches on our trip plan.

I’ve taken into account all of the other feedback I’ve had on the forum but would really appreciate some help on the following trip plan and questions.

The itinerary so far stands as:
- Arrive in LA
- Drive from LA – San Francisco (We’ll take 2 days to do this, stopping at San Simeon and other beach towns)
- Explore San Fran (1-2 days)

…here’s where plans get a bit hazy.. we need to get from San Fran to the Burning Man site. The nearest town to the Burning Man site is Gelach (apparently Reno is close too)
- Can you tell me the best way to get there and how long it might take? Is there anything good to see on the way?

From Burning Man (which we’ll stay at for 2 days) we want to explore the sights of the desert for a few days…. So perhaps either Bryce Canyon – monument valley etc …or vegas and the grand canyon.
- I’ve heard that while the Grand Canyon is the star attraction, Bryce is nicer. What would you recommend for this part of the trip?

We then want to make our way back to the coast at San Diego – which I am guessing means heading down through Phoenix and across the Sonoran desert.
- Any tips on good places to see/stop off on this leg of the journey?

The last bit of the trip is easy: a couple of days in San Diego then a leisurely drive up to LA for a day before flying out.

Thanks in advance – this forum is proving the most amazing resource in planning our great big US adventure!

Anne

[AZBuck]

Burning Man is held outside Gerlich, NV which is an hour or so north of Reno. The easiest way there from San Francisco is to just take I-80 east past Reno to near Fernley, NV and then just follow NV-447 north. The drive itself should take around 6 hours. If you have the time and the inclination, a drive around Lake Tahoe and through Carson City and Virginia City would be in order. Where to go and what to do after Burning Man is limited a bit by the time you have. As I read your posts, you're going to pretty much use up 9 days of your 2 weeks in seeing the California Coast and attending the festival, In the remaining 4-5 days you can do a driving tour of some of the southwest, but you will have to keep moving. It will be a full day driving down to Las Vegas, another day to get to and enjoy the Grand Canyon, a day to do one or two of the side trips available in the Grand Canyon area, and a day to make the drive to San Diego.

AZBuck

[eticat]

Thanks!

We've actually changed our itinerary a bit from earlier posts so we now spend approx 5 of our 16 days on the coast between LA & SF and on getting to Black Rock. Then 2-3 days at Burning Man. So we actually have 7 days to explore the desert and get back to LA (via SD). This still means that we're going to have to keep moving but will hopefully give us enough time to see some of the amazing landscape.

We're debating whether or not to go to Vegas, or if this is a city we will leave to another trip. Is there a way to drive accross from the Burning Man to Bryce canyon or the Grand Canyon? ...or would we have to pass through Vegas anyway?

Really appreciate any tips on this part of the trip - I'm feeling well out of my depth.

a