Vegas-South Rim-LA

[MrsTT]

Hello!

Our trip starts in less than a month now, and I have been reading this site and refining the trip for about a year, and this is the first time I have felt the need to ask a question!

Our trip is taking us from London - San Francisco - Monterey - Yosemite - Death Valley - Vegas - LA - London.

We had pencilled in a day out from Vegas to do a very expensive commercial helicopter excursion to the Grand Canyon but am now having doubts as I am reading that most excursions seem to be to the lesser West Rim. I'm now thinking I don't want to spend $600+ to see a "not so great" rim!

So, my idea is to cut Vegas down to 3 days, and from Vegas to drive up to the South Rim, stay over for a night and hence witness sunset/sunrise, then do the drive down to LA (Anaheim) the next day. There are two of us who can share the driving. (as long as hubby lets me!!)

I would very much appreciate any comments.

Tracey

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to the R.T.A forums.

I would recommend travelling to the south rim and taking it all in, the sunset/ rises are amazing and it will give you time to go to some of the many viewpoints. I would allow 41/2 to 5 hours for the trip from Vegas, plus a little extra if you want to stop at the hoover dam for a while or take a side trip onto an old part of route '66, but you may want to get an early start and go direct to the canyon as you won't have much time to spare the following day.
The drive to L/A is a long one and you will probably want to get going fairly early again.
I would allow 10 hours for this journey, so it will a full day.Have you another day you could squeeze from your trip for this part?

If we can help you with anything else ask away :-)

[MrsTT]

Hello and welcome to the R.T.A forums.
Have you another day you could squeeze from your trip for this part?

If we can help you with anything else ask away :-)

Thanks for the quick reply Dave :-)

I have stared at the map until my eyes have crossed, and can't see any other way. It would be much more convenient if the canyon was in-between Yosemite and Vegas!

I had pretty much written off one day for the drive from Vegas to LA, so perhaps a few more hours won't make that much difference!

[Southwest Dave]

I had pretty much written off one day for the drive from Vegas to LA, so perhaps a few more hours won't make that much difference!

Thats my kind of thinking. ;-)

There is nothing quite like getting there under your own steam and doing as you want. If you decide to go with it and wish to stay in the canyon then it maybe worth booking in advance. Tusayan, the nearest town to the south entrance also has accomodations. This is also the location of the Grand canyon airport and papillon helicopters do flights over the canyon if this is something you still want to do.
We took this 45 min flight and thoroughly enjoyed it, amazing views and a brilliant experience, however it may eat into your short time here.

[swiftnic]

Mrs TT - this may be cheating a little, but is it possible you can share your itinerary you have planned; I have begun the same route planning, but am trying to think about booking flights now (from UK) for next July..??

[MrsTT]

Happy to share, and would welcome anyone's comments too!

15-Sep Hotel at London Heathrow
16-Sep Flights LHR - SFO
16-Sep Orchard Hotel San Francisco - 3nights
17-Sep San Francisco
18-Sep San Francisco - Alcatraz night tour
19-Sep Pick up car - convertible Dollar Car Hire - Downtown SF
19-Sep Drive South to Monterey
19-Sep Overnight Carmel/Monterey
20-Sep Drive to Yosemite - 4 hours
21-Sep Yosemite
22-Sep Yosemite
23-Sep Drive to Death Valley - 6 hours
23-Sep Furnace creek Ranch
24-Sep Drive to Vegas - 3 hours
24-Sep Signature at MGM Hotel Vegas
25-Sep Vegas
26-Sep Vegas
27-Sep Drive to South Rim Grand Canyon - 6 hours
27-Sep Overnight Grand Canyon South Rim
28-Sep Drive to LA - 10 hours
28-Sep Embassy Suites - Anaheim South
29-Sep Disneyland California
30-Sep Disneyland California
1-Oct LA then evening flight LAX - LHR
2-Oct Arrive LHR

[Southwest Dave]

Mrs TT - this may be cheating a little, but is it possible you can share your itinerary you have planned; I have begun the same route planning, but am trying to think about booking flights now (from UK) for next July..??

Hello swiftnic and welcome to the R.T.A forums.

I love the whole planning stage, it's an enjoyable part of the trip as a whole.
You can find so much useful info by searching the forum, but if you need any specific info for your trip then don't hesitate in asking. :-)

originally posted by Mrs TT Happy to share, and would welcome anyone's comments too!

A well thought out itinerary with a nice relaxed pace. Good job.

[Mark Sedenquist]

19-Sep Overnight Carmel/Monterey
20-Sep Drive to Yosemite - 4 hours

Carmel to Yosemite in four hours would be road rallye speeds. You could do it, if there was an interstate highway and no exits between those points (which there isn't), and I know that Google claims you can drive this 203 mile stretch in 4.0 hours but realistically in this world -- you need to allow 5-6 hours.

22-Sep Yosemite
23-Sep Drive to Death Valley - 6 hours

I guess this depends upon where in Yosemite you are starting from, but only a Google-bot could drive this stretch in six hours. It's only 310 miles, but you will be driving through some of the most gorgeous high desert country in the USA and you need to allow a full 8-10 hours to drive it. Yes, you could probably do a "speed run" between these two points in ~ seven hours, but what a shame that would be. So many great places to stop and enjoy the views -- get freshly baked bread in Bishop, galleries, etc.

24-Sep Signature at MGM Hotel Vegas

Oooh-la-la -- that is a very nice place!

27-Sep Drive to South Rim Grand Canyon - 6 hours

That's about right --

That leg from Grand Canyon Village to Anaheim is going to be fatiguing, but doable.

Mark

[MrsTT]

Mark Sedenquist
There are a couple of "near-impossible" legs

Thanks for the great feedback Mark. I admit my timings are a mix of Google, Sat Nav planning, and advice received. I will take your advice and adjust accordingly!!!

Tracey

[MrsTT]

Schedule has changed (again!) thanks to some of our hotel reservations being "cancellable". We have been to Disney in Florida and Europe, so it really was an easy thing to cut back in favour of seeing more of the canyon.

27-Sep Drive to South Rim Grand Canyon - 6 hours
27-Sep Grand Canyon - sunset
28-Sep Grand Canyon - extra day
29-Sep Drive to Anaheim
30-Sep Disneyland California
1-Oct Disneyland then evening flight LAX - LHR