West Coast USA advice

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cara mc k

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Dear AAM,

i am hoping to travel to the west coast of the USA in September, i want to include California coast (San Fransisco to San Diego) but also Las Vegas and Yosemite national park.

Where should I start and finish, San Fran to San Diego is straightforward but not sure when to include the other areas.

any advice appreciated

Cara Mc K
 
Hey Cara,

how long are you going for? Are you planning to drive? Are you planning to do San Francisco city or Napa Valley aswell??
Who are you planning to fly to the US with? You could do west coast and then fly to Las vegas with Southwest airlines and fly home from there. If so I would see what airlines fly to san fran or san diego and las vegas as cheaper to use the one airline.
 
I am going for 20 days, yes will be hiring a car. Not sure whether to start in San Fransico or Las Vegas. Not sure where to fit in Yosemite, should I start in SF and then drive to there or go from Las Vegas, don't want to be driving for more than 5 hours per day.

many thanks
Cara
 
Sorry forgot to say not going to Napa Valley, just the cost SF to San Diego and then want to fit in Las Vegas and Yosemite but not sure where to start, finish and in what order is best.

Cara
 
LAX - San Diego (visit Tijuana by train - hire cars not covered to cross border)
SD - Palm Springs (be ther on Thurs nite)
PS - Scottsdale (stay Holiday Inn Express, visit Fashion Mall)
S - Sedona - Flagstaff (stay HIE at edge of town, visit Meteor Crater, Grand Canyon)
F - Las Vegas via Lake Havasu, Hoover Dam
LV ------ Yosemite (u outa time! leave for another trip
LV - LAX via Bartsow

Do LAX - San Fran, Yosmite another trip

Check mileages and times, don't rush thro' it
 
monagt said:
LAX - San Diego (visit Tijuana by train - hire cars not covered to cross border)
SD - Palm Springs (be ther on Thurs nite)
PS - Scottsdale (stay Holiday Inn Express, visit Fashion Mall)
S - Sedona - Flagstaff (stay HIE at edge of town, visit Meteor Crater, Grand Canyon)
F - Las Vegas via Lake Havasu, Hoover Dam
LV ------ Yosemite (u outa time! leave for another trip
LV - LAX via Bartsow

Do LAX - San Fran, Yosmite another trip

Check mileages and times, don't rush thro' it
Click to expand...

We did a trip with same locations in 2 weeks and didn't feel rushed.
3 days LAX, drive to LV 3 nights, drive to Grand Canyon and stay 1/2 nights there, drive to Sedona stay there- make sure you do the driving there during day, fabulous views. Palm springs , not quite sure why you would want to stay there longer than one night, we stayed 3 but only because we met some friends, drive to San Diego stay 3 days, you can drive to border at Tijuana and park car ,then do a short bus ride- but really it will definitely not be a highlight of your vacation, I stayed 3 hours and was very happy to leave again.

Interesting trip would be round trip from SF:

SF arrive and stay day 1-2
Drive to LAX with 1 or 2 stops along the way ( day 3-4)
Stay in LAX 2 days (day 5-6)
Drive to and stay 2 nights in San Diego (day 7-8)
Drive to Sedona with one stop on the way (day 9-10)
Drive to Grand Canyon and stay one night (day 11-12)
Drive to and stay 2/3 nights in Las Vegas (day 13/15)
Drive to and stay 3 nights in Yosemite (16/18)
Drive to San Francisco , stay on more night before you fly back

This would probably have been my itinerary if I would have had 3 weeks instead of 2. You need to love driving, because that is what you'll be doing a lot of, get a nice car, convertible. Don't think you'll manage if you'd stick rigorously to only 5 hrs a day in the car.. some stretches will require 7/8 hrs.

And yes, you may not have time to see all that the various places have to offer, but you will see a lot and can always come back to where you'd want to spend more time. Touring in US will always be a case of compromising.

If you want to break up longer journeys and need more days, maybe forget about driving to Grand Canyon/Sedona and do a day (or overnight) trip from Las Vegas to Grand canyon instead- by helicopter/plane.
 
thanks for all your advice, startin in San Franciso and ending in Las Vegas, and have taken into account all your tips to help me plan.

much appreciated

Cara
 
and get a GPS (Hertz one is excellent) and Maps, its easy to forget about maps when using the GPS but get 1 for each area.
 
monagt said:
and get a GPS (Hertz one is excellent) and Maps, its easy to forget about maps when using the GPS but get 1 for each area.
Click to expand...


Cheaper to buy a Sat Nav in Wal Mart than hire one.
Else, buy the USA sat nav maps if you or a friend have a European one.
 
Last edited:
Cheaper to buy a Sat Nav in Wal Mart than hire one.
Click to expand...

Perhaps, but peace of mind if it does not work or gets stolen. The Hertz Magellan is good and is built onto the car so no need to hide it.

Horses for courses, I guess.
 
Depends on the length of the hire. Anything over 2 weeks and it would pay you to get your own sat nav or buy USA maps. It is $10 a day for the Hertz sat nav.
 
Or if you have a smartphone download a sat nav app? Check that it can be used offline as data roaming costs are huge. I had Ovi maps on my last phone (only thing I miss about having a Nokia phone) which was great. New one has Google maps which can only be used offline if you cache the directions (download them on wifi before you leave). We saved a fortune on our last trip by using the Sat nav on my phone.
 
Swiss cities pick?

Which Swiss city would you pick for a long weekend break (Fri to Tue) between Zurich, Geneva, Lucerne
 
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