Trip around california and....

Hi

We%26#39;re planning an 18 day trip around in California/Nevada. We%26#39;re flying in San Francisco. Things we would like to include on our trip are:

San Fran

Yosemite

Las Vegas

Monument Valley

Grand Canyon

Bryce Canyon

Does this sound a bit too ambitious (or way to much driving!). Any suggestions for route/flights/stops would be very much appreciated.

Trip around california and....

It%26#39;s alot ...There are several trips there ..Big mistake is to think it%26#39;s europe miles it isn%26#39;t ..BIG country .. Fly and drive ..

Fly to SF see city rent car at airport ../ make Yosemite loopadd avila beach inn at avila beach/big sur /monterey back to airport fly to Vegas..do it, fly to grand canyon/rent car do bryce az..drop off car phoenix or back in vegas which ever works best ...

Once you factor in rental car .gas ,food ,lodging ,drinks ,stuff

flying and renting car usually costless than flying and renting .. ANd you save so much time ..and see alot more in less ..We took two weeks just to do AZ trip and wwere rushed ..Japanese have figured above out they do Vegas/SF /LA in week ..

Trip around california and....

When are you coming? The season will make a difference in what we can share with you in terms of ideas, routes etc.

That%26#39;s way too much driving and not enough time to stop and see anything. You%26#39;re really talking about three states -- Nevada, Utah and California. Figure out which things you really want to see. Bryce Canyon and Monument Valley are incredible, but this seems to take you much farther out from the rest... so you could do San Francisco, Yosemite and Las Vegas. Or, you could cut out Yosemite and San Francisco and make it a southwest trip. It%26#39;s still a lot.

A few months ago I drove from San Fran to LA and stopped in Santa Cruz for over an hour, Big Sur for about half an hour, and San Luis Obispo for over an hour, and got to my hotel in Marina Del Rey before sunset. The drive was UNBELIEVABLE. We did the drive in one day and it was well worth it. Some suggest driving it in 2-3 days to enjoy all the nature that the trip has to offer, but otherwise one day worked for us.

You can probably make the trip in six hours or so going inland, but if you take the scenic coastal way, it will take 8-10 hours, but it is so worth it.

We did sightseeing in San Fran for a day, then the next day did the coast trip, then had a couple days in LA and the last three days we spent in San Diego. You can follow something like that then drive to the Grand Canyon and continue eastward on your trip from there. Consider going to Sequioa if you have the time. I wish I had eighteen days to see the American West.

One thing I would love to see is Arches National Park in Utah. It might be on your way, it might be a bit too far eastward, but it%26#39;s supposed to be amazing. Check out Joshua Tree (In southern California) as well.

This forum is so wonderful. Just about everyone on here is so helpful and so friendly in their advice. i used this almost religiously before planning my california trip and it worked wonders. I Hope your trip goes well.

We did an 18 day trip in a hire car with two kids. The itinerary included;

LA, Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Las Vegas, Yosemite, San Francisco plus various other attractions along the way. It wasn%26#39;t as rushed as it may sound.

But having said that we have now found ourselves going back time after time to see more in between and further afield. Such as Arches, Canyonlands etc.

You can try to see everthing a bit, or some a lot.

The trip you have planned (obviuosly early stages) will certainly have some variety and a lot of fun.