Driving San Francisco to Las Vegas

[Jantomo]

Thanks Dave and Charlie
I cant believe that replies come along so quickly. When we have done this trip I hope to post it all on this website. Things are now beginning to take shape. I've got most of the mileages (approx, but might have to tax your brains about driving times) Got a good idea of hotels/motels/cabins. Cant believe how quickly they get booked up.I'd forgotten about the Yosemite Bug ,Dave and it will be ideal. Looks like we can take the YARTS bus into the valley. Just got a couple of places that are not taking bookings yet so hope it all comes together eventually. REALLY looking forward to the trip now, but its not for another 11 months so dont want to wish my life away too fast. Also looks like by cutting out Monument Valley we should be able to get a trip booked on Lake Powell, and visit Antelope Canyon and there will be a load of days not driving but walking, sightseeing and soaking up the atmosphere. I'm sure I shall call on you again, but a massive Thank You for all your help so far.
Janet

[Southwest Dave]

Hi Janet,

When we have done this trip I hope to post it all on this website.

Brilliant, we always like to see how it turns out and trip reports can offer so much info for other trippers.

I've got most of the mileages (approx, but might have to tax your brains about driving times)

No problem, when you have things in place we will take a look with you.

but its not for another 11 months so dont want to wish my life away too fast

It'll come around soon enough !

I'm sure I shall call on you again, but a massive Thank You for all your help so far.

It's our pleasure and we will look forward to hearing from you.

Dave,

[Jantomo]

Hi . Hope you all had a good Christmas. Happy New Year to you all. Thanks again to all those who helped me last Autumn. The trip is gradually coming together but I have a couple more queries.We have so far managed to book in at Yosemite Bug, Stovepipe Wells, Bryce Canyon and are waiting confirmation for Zion Canyon. The one difficulty was Maswik Lodge as rooms in our price range had gone but by altering the itinerary by a day we managed to book there. At the rate I am going it will be easy to go over our accommodation budget so could anyone offer advice on a clean , good budget range hotel in San Francisco for 3 nights in early September, 1 room for 2 people in or around the Union Square area.
We also need a room in Las Vegas for 3 nights at the end of the Grand Circle trip, but due to the change made this will now include a Saturday( plus Sun/Mon ) Has anyone got any ideas of which hotels do not charge too much for a Saturday night preferably on or near The Strip?
My last question is would Kingman be a good overnight stop for travelling between Grand Canyon and Las Vegas, or is there anywhere else anyone would recommend on Route 66?
Thanks
Jantomo

[glc]

GC to LV is only 5 hours, you may not need to do an overnight stop. However, if the choice is between staying around the GC and leaving early in the morning, or leaving the GC late in the day and staying along the route, I'd do the latter - because hotels in Tusayan are frightfully expensive. There are reasonably priced hotels in both Williams and Kingman.

[PNW Judy]

Hotels in San Francisco tend to be pricey. Here's a neat page of reviews of hotels in the Union Square area. I found this place with rooms in the $100-150 range. Gosh, even the cheapest isn't at a budget price...at least not MY budget, anyway.

The best rates I found was doing a search at the Hotels website. The best prices tend to be at the airport instead of Union Square but there were some hotels near Union Square and Fisherman's Wharf that had good prices. Hope this points you in the right direction.

[UKCraig]

You tend to find that there are no one-way fees when renting and returning to another depot within California, Arizona and Nevada. Is that your experience here? I know that I did a one-way between LV and LA last year without surcharge. That was through Hertz.

When in Page mak sure you take the short walk out to the impressive Horseshoe Bend as well as the Navajo Bridge. Nearby you can descend to the Colorado which is worth doing - just don't be down there when they open the Glen Canyon Dam Spillway!

Kingman was fine as an overnight stop. I think we stayed at the Hilltop Motel or similar but there are rows of motels available there. You can also stop for the traditional cheesy tourist photo!

Agree with Judy about the best prices being out at the airport. But you get what you pay for and I wish that we'd splashed out a little more rather than being stuck all the way out there...

[Midwest Michael]

Hotels in San Francisco tend to be pricey. Here's a neat page of reviews of hotels in the Union Square area. I found this place with rooms in the $100-150 range. Gosh, even the cheapest isn't at a budget price...at least not MY budget, anyway.

This is very true, SF is not a cheap place to find a room. Despite the "budget" hotels being in the $100+ price range, most of them don't include parking. If you're not picking your rental up til later, its not a big deal, but if you're going to have a car in the city, plan for another $20+ a night to park.

When I've stayed in SF, I've stayed out near the airport. Its quite a ways from downtown, but the rooms were half the price. I actually found SF a pretty easy city to drive around in, but they also have a pretty good transit system.

[Southwest Dave]

It would appear to be hard work to find good priced budget accommodation in the Union Square area. When we was in S/F we stayed on Lombard Street where there are quite a few Motels that were better value compared to the central locations. Although we walked everywhere, transport seemed plentiful and you always have the cable cars to hop on.

Another option is what Michael suggested. Most airport hotels are good value [we used Best Western Grovesnsor] and you get a free shuttle bus service with most. You can hop on that to the airport and get on the Bart train that is quick, cheap and runs frequently to Downtown.

[CharlieB]

could anyone offer advice on a clean , good budget range hotel in San Francisco for 3 nights in early September, 1 room for 2 people in or around the Union Square area.
We also need a room in Las Vegas for 3 nights at the end of the Grand Circle trip, but due to the change made this will now include a Saturday( plus Sun/Mon ) Has anyone got any ideas of which hotels do not charge too much for a Saturday night preferably on or near The Strip?

Jantomo

Hi Jantomo,

Cheap Hotels in San Fran? There aint no such animal! The Powell was suggested to me but in the end I kept looking on Hotels.com until there was a 'special' on and we got The Radisson at Fishermans Wharf. Still came out around £100 but was about 30% cheaper than usual. Don't forget to prebook the Alcatraz night tour!

As to Vegas, if you check websites like Hotels.com you'll find that booking months in advance can cost you money. Do a search on any of the top hotels for 9 months down the line and the price is way up. Do one for tomorrow though and it could be a lot cheaper. We turned up at the Mandalay Bay about midday & got a room for $149 that night and $199 for the next, (plus tax of course). The 'proper' price was almost twice that. I'm told it all depends on availability. If they're near to full they charge top dollar, if they're empty you can get a bargain. They could only offer us 2 nights as after that they were full, (a convention I believe) so it is pot luck but as there's a TON of hotels around it's fairly easy to go along to the next one & ask, or take the phone numbers of the Hotels you fancy & give them a call.

If Vegas gets all too much for you & you need a peaceful haven, try the Boulder Dam Hotel in nearby Boulder. It's about 30 to 40 minutes drive from Vegas and about 30 to 40 times more peaceful and relaxing !!

Charlie

[Jantomo]

Hi everyone who has posted the amazing amounts of help. I'm trying to take all the advice and tips on board. Having spent hours looking for reasonably priced hotels in San Francisco I think we've decided to stay near the airport and take the BART train in for the 2 days we will be there. Hoping to stay at the Days Inn West.Then we are picking up the car from the airport when we set off on THE TRIP I couldnt have managed all the planning without the Roadtrip America site. I've told everyone I know about it. I see what you mean about booking early for specific days in places like Death Valley and the Yosemite Bug etc.
Having done all the booking my next priority at some stage will be best routes. Might need a bit of help there later. Have some of them but still havent got my head round getting from the SF airport to the Yosemite Bug. Looks like there could be 2 routes. Which is recommended?
I'm sure I'll have a few more questions sometime, but for now- thanks
Jantomo