MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
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Good morning folks,
Myself and the family are going away to America for a fortnight in late August. We are landing in Los Angeles and then planning on doing the popular round trip of LA -> Vegas -> Grand Canyon -> Yosemite -> San Fran -> LA!
We have a rough working plan of spending a couple of nights at each place, with various travel time between each. I was wondering if anyone could provide some help, tips or experiences on the following;
- RV/Camper hire. Where would be the place to get a comparison on deals, prices?
- Accommodation around Grand Canyon and Yosemite. I appreciate its bang in the middle of holiday season, so prices will be high. How feasible is it to stay outside of the National Parks and get a better deal, travelling in to visit on the days?
- Same question as above, but related to San Fran and LA. Staying central is pricey in most big cities. Has anyone suggestions on districts or area's to stay in, then get public transport into the various attractions etc?
- Any suggestions for lesser known attractions, sights or places very much welcome!
Thanks very much in advance,
Paul
Visited Yosemite a couple of months ago. Staying in the park would have been great but we ended up staying outside in the south side in Mariposa which was a great wee town. Has a couple of micro brewery bars on the main street which we really enjoyed.
It's a lot of driving though for a couple of weeks, unless you want to spend hours on the interstate. If I was going back I'd be planning a shorter journey & more time in the parks.
We used http://www.holidayautos.co.uk/ a couple of years ago - was pretty faultless with a pick-up/drop-off at LAX. We hired a Chrysler Voyager 7 seater auto - a pretty hateful auto box and underpowered (even for a V6) so I would consider getting a more powerful car than that (if you like that sort of thing). What *was* fun though is that you don't actually *choose* the car up front, just a category so when you go to the depot at the airport (locally it was actually an Alamo) they just direct you to the relevant lot and you wander around choosing what you want.
If you need child seats consider buying them on Amazon and have them delivered to your first accommodation as they will probably work out cheaper than renting them.
Most of the highways have 2+ lanes which are great - you are only allowed in them with 2 or more people in the car and you aren't allowed to move in or out of the lane between junctions so you can just sit back and enjoy a stress-free drive (ie, no-one suddenly pulling into spaces etc).
BTW - Holiday Autos had a pretty hefty Quidco cashback too.
Up to you but no way would I spend that amount of time travelling between all those sites, so much to do in each, I'd select 2 or 3 max.
Thats alot of driving in long stints how long you there for ?
Im doing similar but over 3 weeks doing san fran - yosemite - mammoth lakes , lake tahoe , lassen national park , fort bragg , point reyes , san fran.
We are using air bnb for alot of accomodation. San fran as you say is a rediculous ammount of £
We have a self contained basement appartment in mission for 90 quid a night and a log cabin looking out over lake tahoe just outside incline village for the same.
And I agree with above - it does seem an inordinate amount of driving to do in two weeks 😯
Take your own water.
I had a family trip doing SF - LAS (one way) over 2 weeks and that felt like we spent the whole time driving. 1000 miles in 10-14 days is enough for most people. You are looking at twice that. Your idea to stay 2 nights at each place is good, but I suspect you will have to spend a full day travelling (like 6-8 hours driving) in between.
Similar to the SLC-LAS thread, I would personally camp if you can book it (cheap option and get to stay right in the National Parks / Forests). It is much better to book campsites or accommodation ahead; there are a few first-come-first-served campsites but in places like Yosemite in August they could fill by 9 or 10am. Labour Day weekend will be the busiest.
Also consider the issues with camper/RV versus experiencing the cities (SF, Las Vegas and LA) - depending on the age of your family. Options for SF could be to stay north (Sausalito / San Quentin) and get the ferry into the city each day, with good options for a day's riding. But then you can't spend an evening in the city without paying for a cab. But you won't be able to park a camper in any of the hotels in the city (tight basement parking). So if you aren't in a car and want to see the city at night, stay near a BART station. It's nice to get a balance between the great outdoors and making the most of great craft beers and good food!
The US and particularly its National Parks are absolutely amazing and I am sure you will love it.
Edited to say +1 trailrat, airbnb or similar rentals (vrbo) can be a bargain.
Any suggestions for lesser known attractions, sights or places very much welcome!
If you end up doing SF to LAX along the coast, the Big Sur coast road is known for its remoteness. It is easy to see sea otters in the harbour (Jetty Road) in Moss Landing or if you kayak out to the kelp in Monterey Bay (only ~100m offshore). There is great whale watching off Santa Barbara.
If you consider just staying south and inland, there are loads of National Parks and outdoorsy attractions around the Grand Canyon area - canyonlands, geological and volcanic landscapes, hiking, biking and boating recreation, prehistoric cliff dwellings - see the SLC to Vegas thread.
The elephant seal beach at San Simeon, Highway 1 is worth a stop.
If you really want to drive, then stick to the coast. Plenty to see and do without the huge drives between stops.