The Reds road trip.

[cdw1111]

http://www.americansouthwest.net/california/yosemite/national_park.html

This site looks good,loads of info.

I think I did 3000 miles on my trip,loved every minute of it.

[Sheriff Fatman]

Would a big 4x4 SUV be something you could sleep in Tom?  You can hire vans but they're more 8-seater type things designed for bigger groups, but you could get something like a Jeep Grand Cherokee easily enough if this was suitable.

If you're planning a drive around Yosemite, etc, then a 4x4 would be the most practical thing anyway for the mountain roads around there.  We did the drive from Vegas to Yosemite via Death Valley a few years ago (about 12 hours driving across the day) and I'm not sure I'd have wanted to do it without the 4x4.

[RED-DOG]

OK OK I posted before I saw Outrages's post. Posts deleted, sorry. x

Nooo Don't delete anything. It's all good.

[bhoywonder]

American road trip....one of my lifes ambitions....I'm incredibly jealous.....takes lots of pics...plz

[RED-DOG]

Very good flight price, indirect? Who's it with if you don't mind me asking?

http://www.jurnii.com/rv/ne_land.php?gclid=COPi3fGyl6kCFUtC4QodZgKCsw

Direct flights.

Just had a look on ebookers and there seem to be lots of flights in July / August for a similar price to the one the travel agent quoted us for.

Some of the dates might even suit us better. Am I missing something?

Is there any advantage to booking through the travel agent?

[gatso]

you can def fly cheaper on virgin but are they striking?

[RED-DOG]

you can def fly cheaper on virgin but are they striking?

Cheaper than I've quoted here or cheaper than the others Gatters?

[AndrewT]

£473 for a direct flight is a snap call IMO.

[gatso]

you can def fly cheaper on virgin but are they striking?

Cheaper than I've quoted here or cheaper than the others Gatters?

less than 450 direct from lgw

[StuartHopkin]

you can def fly cheaper on virgin but are they striking?

Cheaper than I've quoted here or cheaper than the others Gatters?

less than 450 direct from lgw

return? u sure?

[Longy]

Ok Mr Red, you got it given stars are playing silly buggers at the moment.

My trip involved having the car for a calendar month, I didn't have it in Vegas. The bit I would cut out of my trip is going far south as San Diego which I did via Phoenix. The problem with this is you end up double backing on yourself a couple of times.

The Grand Canyon south rim is a days drive from Vegas, I stayed in a place called Williams which was a one horse town about 50 miles from GC itself. You will drive right past (used to be over) the Hoover dam this way, which deffo worth an hour or two admiring. I reckon you will want a whole day at the canyon, watching the sunset is of the things to do there as the rocks change colour in the different lights. You can do Sedona the next day and head back west after.

Problem is the natural way to go back to SF is back thru Vegas now. After this it is probably a long days drive to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. In theory you can do this through Death Valley but in the height of Summer the weather is going to be ludicrously warm. I would head up the Owens Valley on the East side of the Sierras, which is pretty unique place as it suffers from a massive Rain shadow from the mountains. There are few things to do before entering Yosemite this way, I went to Bodie which is a ghost town from the gold rush days which was very erie.

Tahoe looking at the maps maybe a bit out of the way and not within your time constraints, it is probably a days drive each way North from Yosemite. It is probably straight choice between this and heading across the Californian central valley to the Pacific coast just north of LA. I would go with the latter but they are both great choices. With the latter you could also do the very underrated Kings Canyon and Sequioa national park which has the worlds largest trees as well as more amazing vistas etc.

If you do the coastal route depends where you join, I personally am not a fan of LA. It lived up to its reputation as the Worlds biggest car park and is a very fractured City imo. Santa Barbara however is really nice which is 100 or so miles further up the coast, it has a lot early 20th Century Spanish architecture. From there you just head north following route 1, for a few hundred miles till reaching SF. Numerous things to do en route, but the best thing is just pulling out into layby's and admiring the views. You have to stop at the Waterfall that falls into a private beach and straight into the pacific.

You will not need the car in SF, in fact it will be a hinderence more than a help. I highly rate the official Alcatraz tour, there is only one company who actually dock at the island. Book in advance through http://www.alcatrazcruises.com/ online before going as they often sold out. Best way to get around is the various public transport, get a MUNI ticket for 3 days think it was $20, that gets you on everything (exc BART) including the Cable cars which you obviously have to do.

[celtic]

you can def fly cheaper on virgin but are they striking?

Cheaper than I've quoted here or cheaper than the others Gatters?

less than 450 direct from lgw

drunk again gatso?

my turn to call bs on one of your ridic facts.

[outragous76]

oh yes - the alcatraz tour is one of the best "guided" tours I have been on - it is everything I wanted it to be.......... and some

[RED-DOG]

Ok Mr Red, you got it given stars are playing silly buggers at the moment.

My trip involved having the car for a calendar month, I didn't have it in Vegas. The bit I would cut out of my trip is going far south as San Diego which I did via Phoenix. The problem with this is you end up double backing on yourself a couple of times.

The Grand Canyon south rim is a days drive from Vegas, I stayed in a place called Williams which was a one horse town about 50 miles from GC itself. You will drive right past (used to be over) the Hoover dam this way, which deffo worth an hour or two admiring. I reckon you will want a whole day at the canyon, watching the sunset is of the things to do there as the rocks change colour in the different lights. You can do Sedona the next day and head back west after.

Problem is the natural way to go back to SF is back thru Vegas now. After this it is probably a long days drive to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. In theory you can do this through Death Valley but in the height of Summer the weather is going to be ludicrously warm. I would head up the Owens Valley on the East side of the Sierras, which is pretty unique place as it suffers from a massive Rain shadow from the mountains. There are few things to do before entering Yosemite this way, I went to Bodie which is a ghost town from the gold rush days which was very erie.

Tahoe looking at the maps maybe a bit out of the way and not within your time constraints, it is probably a days drive each way North from Yosemite. It is probably straight choice between this and heading across the Californian central valley to the Pacific coast just north of LA. I would go with the latter but they are both great choices. With the latter you could also do the very underrated Kings Canyon and Sequioa national park which has the worlds largest trees as well as more amazing vistas etc.

If you do the coastal route depends where you join, I personally am not a fan of LA. It lived up to its reputation as the Worlds biggest car park and is a very fractured City imo. Santa Barbara however is really nice which is 100 or so miles further up the coast, it has a lot early 20th Century Spanish architecture. From there you just head north following route 1, for a few hundred miles till reaching SF. Numerous things to do en route, but the best thing is just pulling out into layby's and admiring the views. You have to stop at the Waterfall that falls into a private beach and straight into the pacific.

You will not need the car in SF, in fact it will be a hinderence more than a help. I highly rate the official Alcatraz tour, there is only one company who actually dock at the island. Book in advance through http://www.alcatrazcruises.com/ online before going as they often sold out. Best way to get around is the various public transport, get a MUNI ticket for 3 days think it was $20, that gets you on everything (exc BART) including the Cable cars which you obviously have to do.

Thank you so much. really useful stuff.

Have to keep the car while in SF, (Need to return to vegas and probs not worth returning /  re hiring).

Places to stay while travelling. Are motels frequent / cheap?

[Longy]

When I go the US i use a mixture of Hotwire/Priceline which in the main is the cheapest way to get 3*+ hotels. I am bit of a hotel snob and don't like roughing it though.

Every small US town especially near tourist areas have cheap Motels like Super8, HowardJohnson, Travelodge etc for these $30-60 per night is standard. I got the impression that you can rock up at these places on an evening and get a bed for the night. Just a case of knowing where the next place of any size is, which sometimes on the US west coast interior can be some way.

In the National parks (GC, yosemite) themselves there is limited accomodation and it tends to be either really plush or camping. Fwiw it is $25 per vehicle for a week pass to get it in the majority of National parks.