A friend and I have three weeks next July to see the above. We think we will fly to san francisco from london and then three weeks later fly back from las vegas. Will three weeks be sufficient to do this? We would like to hire a car in san francisco and drive to LV and drop the car there. Is it possible?
Thanks in advance...
San Francisco to Las vegas and grand Canyon
1. 3 Wks is plenty of time
2. get a car with air conditioning plus you should have a cellphone that works in U.S. or buy a pre-paid phone at any Rite Aid or Walgreens store, just in case you need any roadside assistance during your drive
3. all major rental companies allow you to pick-up and drop-off in separate cities
4. Start your search for a deal with a local travel agent whom has car rental discounts for US car rental companies; you are looking at $1000 incl. coverage for the whole trip and you can request a GPS navigation add-on in most cases (Alamo and Dollar rental companies are the cheapest, not always the best models available unless you don%26#39;t mind FORD models).
San Francisco to Las vegas and grand Canyon
This is more than enough time. I would recommend to fit some time along the scenic coast too. I would actually fly in and out of SF as I would do a loop in 3 weeks. SF (4 days) -Costal cities on the way to LA (4 days) - LA (4 days) - Vegas (3 days) - Grand Canyon (2 days) - Death Valley (2 days) - Yosemite (2 days)- SF.
If you%26#39;re doing a one-way rental, make sure to find a company that won%26#39;t charge a one-way fee. Many won%26#39;t. You won%26#39;t need a car in SF itself, so don%26#39;t get one until the day you leave SF.
I%26#39;d go with Smartcookie%26#39;s suggestion. We did just that in late September but only had thirteen days in which to do it. It was hard work but we made it! The extra week that you have will give you an opportunity to spend longer at each of the locations dependent upon what your interests are. It will also mean you can do shorter drives - for example we did Las Vegas to Grand Canyon and back in a long day and it was better than not doing it at all but would have been even better had we had time for an overnight near GC.
Good luck with the trip.
Hi
We are doing something very similar for 15 nights end April/beginning May and I%26#39;d say 3 weeks will be enough to do what you want to do (that said I think even if you had 6 weeks you would still find plenty to see!). We are flying into SF and out of Vegas and our itinery is:
3 nights SF
2 nights Yosemite
1 night en route to Vegas (Tioga pass in Yosemite is closed so we have to take the longer route via Bakersfield)
2 night Las Vegas
3 nights Grand Canyon
1 night Monument Valley
1 night Bryce Canyon
1 night Zion national park
1 night Las Vegas
Yes it certainly will be a whistlestop tour but I think you just have to make the most of the time you do have, no matter how short. We had to take a rain check on Death Valley which I%26#39;m sad about but should see plenty of other things to make up for it. LA/The coast was the lowest on our priorities so not too bothered that we miss out.
We have yet to book hire car as we%26#39;re struggling to find something big enough for 5 adults plus luggage but we know its definately possible to do a one way drop off.
1pinkLady, may I suggest that you at least do a drive-through of Death Valley between Yosemite and Las Vegas.
It%26#39;s definitely worth it...just take CA SR 178 east from US 99 in Bakersfield. Turn right a CA SR 190 (past Trona) and drop in from the North, exiting at Shoshone.
You%26#39;ll have to leave fairly early from Yosemite to make it, but it is doable.
Pink lady. I%26#39;ve booked a minivan in the past through Alamo I believe for only $50-60 per day (Google for discount codes). They gave us a Nissan Quest, which was perfect for 5 with luggage.
Thank you to everyone you have been a huge help! Another thing...everyone in Uk is telling me it is ridiculous to go to grand canyon and the parks in july as it will be too hot.....I went to Israel last august...how hot are we talking?!
July is one of the worst times to go in my opinion. The desert is pretty hot - a different type of hot..haha. It%26#39;s around 105 on average, but it can feel like 120-125. So pretty bad. You will definitely want to stay somewhere where there is an air conditioner on most of the time. This doesn%26#39;t mean that you shouldn%26#39;t go, but make sure air conditioner is working great in your car and at your hotel. I have to go to a conference in Vegas every year in July and I absolutely despise it.
Hi Skyejo,
My family and I have just completed a similar trip from 1st Oct - 16th Oct. We hired a car ( 7 seater )in San Fran from Hertz and dropped it off in Vegas.
Day1. Booked San Francisco City %26amp; Alcatraz Tour
Day2. Sight Seeing, Pier39, Fishermans Wharf, China Town, Lombard Street,hop on hop off cable car etc etc
Day3. Travel South on the 101 or 1. stopping at Monterey, Carmel ,17 Mile Drive, Big Sur, San Simeon and Staying over night in Pismo Beach.
Day4. Always heading south, stopping into Solvang, Santa Barbara, Malibu and then on to Anaheim, staying on Harbour Blvd.
Day%26#39;s 5-9. Disney, Universal Horror Nights,Knotts Farm %26amp; Scary Farm, Hollywood, Beverley Hills, Rodeo Drive,Westfiel Shopping Mall, Fullerton Town.
Day10. Heading East to Vegas, stopping at Calico Ghost, Peggy Su%26#39;s 60%26#39;s dinner for lunch and then on to Vegas.
Day%26#39;s11-14. Staying in Excaliber, day trip to Hover Dam, Gran Canyon, Boulder City, chocloate factory, all the strip hotels, some shopping and a few days at the pool.
On the advice of some friends who had prieviously completed a simalar trip, we did not collect the car until we where leaving San Fran and then left it back when we arrived at Vegas. Both town%26#39;s have excellent public transport.
Hope this help%26#39;s we had a fantistic time.
Cheers Joe
Ballyclare Co Antrim N,Ireland.
your trip sounds great. just too bad the LA part involved a lot of theme parks and missed the Getty and the beach neighborhoods. I hope you come back and explore those on another visit to LA!
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