Really Really Need Help For Us Road Trip

[Orion33]

Hi all,

My friend and I are going to the US for three weeks next June. So far all we have done is booked flights from London to San Francisco on the 5th June and return flights from New York to London on the 26th. The plan will be to fly to New York from Vegas/Phoenix around the 22nd/23rd June so that's not a problem.

For the start if the hols we have considered San Francisco - 3 days
drive to LA and go round there for 5 days then onto barstow for a day or 2 then Vegas for 4 days then Flagstaff for a day or 2 then back to catch our flight to NY.

Could anyone suggest an itinerary based on these things, suggest things we may want to take in.

Not sure where to start on LA, want to see the obvious things like Hollywood etc but also where to stay?? any good hostels, cheap hotels-what is parking like? I mean three days in San Francisco we have plenty of ideas for, but when we go to LA what route would you suggest-can you think of one that takes in anything of major interest en route-what would you do for 5 days between leaving San Francisco and heading to Vegas basically

PLEASE HELP!!! It all seems a bit daunting at the minute never ever been before.

thank you so much in advance

Kx

 

[CPT Tripss]

Take in a baseball game in San Francisco or Los Angeles
Are you interested in any of the National Parks you will be near?
Why Barstow? We stayed there overnight after a late flight as we were too tired to drive further. That was enough time for me. The drive from LA to LV is very doable in one day.
San Francisco . . . Alcatraz tour; rent a bicycle, ride across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito (sp?) and take the ferry back.
Four days in Las Vegas might be a bit much unless you are into gambling and the shows. It's getting pricier all the time and some of the hotels are starting to rent poolside chairs . . .
Flagstaff gets you over to the Grand Canyon and several other natural wonders. Also between Flagstaff and Phoenix is Sedona . . . I recommend you stay there a night or two cutting back on Barstow and possibly Las Vegas.
We use tripadvisor.com to get hotel reviews . . . you might want to check it out.

 

[Orion33]

unsure on national parks as just won't have the time to fully appreciate them but also hadn't given them much thought. The more i read up on stuff the more i hear about forgetting barstow so that's a day or 2 gained and no believe it or not we aren't totally into gambling so maybe cut back a touch on vegas then too!

Keep them coming!

 

[StageTek]

I'm really curious.

Why was Barstow on your itinerary? What have you
heard that would cause you to consider that city for a day?

 

[Claire L]

Barstow is in a nice location as a stop off point but there is not a great deal to do there, other than the Calico ghost town and a very small outlet mall. If you do want to stop over there stay at the Holiday Inn Express at 2700 Lenwood Road, it is just about 3 years old and is next to the outlets right next to the I15. From Barstow I would go straight to the GC and then to LV via the Hoover Dam.

Here is a link to my trip reports from 2006 when we started our journey in SF.

Also here is a link to my brief reports from 2003 when we went down the Pacific coast from SF to LA.

Claire

 

[Orion33]

I'm really curious.

Why was Barstow on your itinerary? What have you
heard that would cause you to consider that city for a day?

It's a halfway point between Vegas and LA so just incase we were knackered after the drivinf grom SF to LA it made sense to split the journey in half a little and Barstow (asides having an old 50's diner for us to stop at for food) was near part of Route 66 and the ghost town so it seemed like a novel resting place for the night but if it's not worth it then we won't bother. More interested in the SF to LA details and what to do in LA please.

Kx

 

[Esteri]

Well...

There are three basic routes to drive from SF to LA. It's around an 8 hour drive - so very doable in a long day. (Welcome to the US West - where no one thinks a thing of a 6-8 hour drive!!! Distance here has a different meaning.)

How you get there sort of depends on what sort of vacation you want...

Rt 1 - takes you down along the coast. Very scenic with loads of touristy places to stop and interesting things to see. Generally a two lane road, and the slowest of all the routes. Take this one if you're not in a hurry and/or want to spend more than one day on the road.

Interstate 5 (I-5) - Fastest of the routes. Nothing to look at, and few places to stop, but you'll get there quick. Takes you along the western edge of California's central valley, so you'll have the coastal "mountains" on your right, and the agricultural areas on your left for the drive. (Mountains is in quotes, cause I'm a Pacific Northwest girl, and if it doesn't have snow on it all year, it's not a mountain.)

US 99 - Takes you down the middle of the California's central valley. Many more towns to stop at than I-5. Not touristy. Probably the best route to take if you want to get to know the "real" California. Takes you through the middle of the agricultural areas, and you can tell how far north/south you are by the crops being grown.

As for Barstow, I'm with everyone else. Why on earth are you stopping there? LA to Vegas is easy in a day.

And I'd give up time in Las Vegas to spend more time at the Grand Canyon. You can gamble and see loads of female flesh lots of places in the world. You can only see the Grand Canyon in one place. Even if you can only spend a day - it's worth it.

That's my two cents....

 

[StageTek]

It's a halfway point between Vegas and LA so just incase we were knackered after the drivinf grom SF to LA it made sense to split the journey in half a little and Barstow (asides having an old 50's diner for us to stop at for food) was near part of Route 66 and the ghost town so it seemed like a novel resting place for the night but if it's not worth it then we won't bother. More interested in the SF to LA details and what to do in LA please.

Kx

Cool.

Those of us who make the LA/Vegas drive often see Barstow
as barely worth a stop. Just wndering what you heard abut
that town.

But Peggy Sues 50s Diner is quite nice. When I don't make
the drive at night - which I almost always do - I stop there.

 

[Orion33]

Hi thankyou all so much! Well the plans constantly change at the minute it stands to be planned as follows:

San Francisco (couple of days)
Take 2 days following Route 1 (overnight stop in San Simeon) to get to LA
Few days in LA
on to San Diego
Day or two in San Diego (simply HAVE to go to seaworld)
Drive to Phoenix, stay overnight in phoenix
From Phoenix head to Williams to stop there for a couple of nights and spend a couple of days at the canyon (plan to do north or south rim and skywalk on the west...hope 2 days is enough!)
From Williams head to Vegas via the Hoover Dam
Las Vegas 2-3days
internal flight from LV to NY (any info on cheap flights appreciated!!!)
Few days in NY then home.... (boooooo!)

how does that sound-is that do-able??

 

[Claire L]

From Williams realistically you can only do the Soiuth Rim, the Skywalk is another several hours west and the north rim more than a day there and back.

It all sounds doable but alot of travelling and not much time at each major stop.

Claire

 

[CPT Tripss]

here is one airline option - http://www.jetblue.com/wherewejet/

 

[RMH]

When in Southern California be sure and have either lunch or dinner at IN-N-OUT BURGER. Not a big menu selection, but it is a So Cal staple and not to be missed.

I agree that North and South rim in the same trip is tough to do. They are only about 15 miles apart, but there is a big gap separating them I would suggest you pick one or the other, but not both. If you go with the North Rim, which will be less crowded and, some say, more spectacular, you could head back to Vegas via Southern Utah and a stop at Zion National Park. Very different from the Grand Canyon, but beautiful none-the-less.

As for cheap airfare SouthWest Airlines is consistently less expensive, but there are always great deals - especially to/from Vegas - if you look long and hard enough.