Spaniards visits CA
 

I have friends from Barcalona who are spending their holiday traveling on their own, by car, in CA and Vegas. I pricelined them into the SF Hilton Dec. 26 and 27. Would appreciate your advice for these 1st time USA visitors, who speak English well, on the balance of their itinerary.
28 and 29 Napa and Sonoma
30 Yosemite
31 Vegas
1 Grand Canyon
2 and 3 LA, they want to do the Hollywood movie stuff
4 Santa Barbera
5 Carmel, driving up coast
6 fly home
Thanks for the help, I'm a Chicagoan and don't really know my way around the west.

I'm not sure what information you would like. One point I could make is that driving up the coast from Santa Barbara to Carmel will be a long and tiring drive. If they take Highway 1 through Big Sur, the road is a two lane winding road that is slow going. If they are driving from Santa Barbara to Carmel on the 5th and flying home on the 6th, they will not have a chance to see anything in Carmel or the Monterey Peninsula, as the drive will take them pretty much all day.

That's quite an itinerary, if I may mildly second-guess it I would say your friends are going to be sore and exhausted after that trip. New Year's Eve in Las Vegas is very busy, if they don't have a hotel reserved yet they should do so soon or their choices are likely to be limited (and expensive). The drive to Yosemite and the Grand Canyon in late December is also very dependent on weather; frankly the Grand Canyon is covered by fog during many of the winter months and so while it can be a relaxing trip and a stay at El Tovar in the winter can be fun (if you can get in over the holidays), blowing in for part of a day to see the tops of clouds can be . . . less than rewarding.

The problem I see in the Yosemite-Vegas-Grand Canyon part of the trip is they're going to have to make some expensive hotel reservations that they might or might not be able to get to. So plan accordingly.

Also there is very little going on in Hollywood January 2 or 3, most television productions (even without the WGA strike which won't be settled by then) will not be up and running due to the holiday hiatus/strike. The Universal Studios tour should be operating but there will be relatively little to see for the same reasons.

Sorry for offering depressing thoughts on what sounds like a fun trip for them. I might suggest saving the Grand Canyon for a spring/summer trip and eliminating one or the other of Yosemite or Vegas, just for the sheer sake of having some time to enjoy what they do see. You can easily spend 2-3 days in Yosemite alone. If on the other hand they're young, energetic and can make alternative arrangements if the weather doesn't cooperate, they can certainly say they saw a lot in their 10 days here.

Weather and Road
 

Weather may affect their travel plans. They should periodically check the weather (for example, the NWS now has interactive forecast equipped with Celsius and Spanish options: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/Map...3639&degrees=C) and, if there's weather, more frequently road conditions (CA: 1-800-427-7623 toll free in state, 1-916-445-7623). Because of slippery slopes and that few cars have snow tires, Interstate mountain passes are often closed due to snow with little advanced notice, for example, I-5 between L.A. and Bakersfield, I-15 north of San Bernardino and just south of L.V., all of these over 4000 feet.

Thanks. They are a young couple and are bent on seeing everything. I advised skipping Grand Canyon but they see it as a once in a lifetime opp. They have vegas res. at a place I've never heard of-Aruba. As to La-they want to see sunset blvd., movie star handprints and homes, Venice beach-I have no clue. In what area of LA should they book a hotel. Perhaps they can skip Santa Barbera and have 2 nights in Carmel. Where might they stay in Carmel. They are on a typical middle class budget.

Isn't Grand Canyon (South Rim) to L.A. at least 10 hours driving, even without possible weather problems?

Yosemite to Vegas is probably also 10 hours driving, how much of these places do they actually expect to have time to see?

Frankly, I'd suggest dropping at least one of these places, even on a "trip of a lifetime." Maybe drop Yosemite or Napa/Sonoma?

Also, I'd consider staying in Morro Bay or San Luis Obispo instead of Santa Barbara.

Without hotel bookings already, Yosemite and Vegas may be challenging those days; the other places, probably possible, but get these two places and Grand Canyon ASAP!

Strongly recommend they buy chains for the rental car AND try putting them on at least once before leaving the SF bay area. Also recommend they not attempt this entire trip without being skilled in driving through snow, or at least be prepared to cut back in case of bad weather.

Warning, Warning, Warning!!!

You've probably WAY over-planned them for car travel!

Let's start...
While Sonoma to Yosemite is not out of the question as a day drive (even in winter)...

Yosemite to Las Vegas in winter is at least 480 miles, because the Eastern Tuolome Pass road exit to Yosemite NP is closed in winter...so they would have to drive south to Bakersfield on US 99 and cut over to Barstow on Highway 58 over Tehachipi and back up to Las Vegas. That's a LONG hard slog of a drive. And weather can affect travel as CA's Central Valley which can be subject to dense Tule Fog during this time of year....and Tehachipi can get snow forcing them to chain up.

Vegas to Grand Canyon's South Rim (North Rim is closed in winter) at 277 miles is moderate, although weather also can be an issue because of snow.

Grand Canyon's South Rim to Los Angeles is roughly 500 miles. Another long hard day of driving...and not nearly as scenic as vacationing should justify.

************************************************** ******

If I were planning the trip...I'd start by dropping the Grand Canyon from my plans entirely...and then choosing one of *either* Vegas or Yosemite. If I wanted to hit Vegas, I'd do a short hop flight from Burbank and a single overnight in Vegas. If I wanted to do Yosemite....there are long-day sightseeing bus trips that leave from San Francisco hotels(for example) that make much more sense than flogging one's tourist energy in doing that drive. Equally, if they've *got* to see the Grand Canyon, there are 1-2 hour scenic flights that depart from Las Vegas for the trip...

Frankly, I might decide to simply give all three a pass... And drive down Via Highway 1 from San Francisco hitting Santa Cruz, Carmel, Hurst Castle at San Simeon, and Moro Bay on the way down...and come back via US 101 on the way back taking time for Santa Barbara. Trust me, they won't be bored... there's a months worth of sight-seeing down the coast between SFO & LA, not to mention in the two towns themselves.

Oh, and the Aruba Motel in Vegas is a dive well off the strip closer to downtown...

Thanks again-I will try to use your collective advice to convince them to modify their plans.

I think mlshanks and the others who have responded are pretty much spot on.

I would suggest cutting either Napa or Sonoma Valley, and preferably Napa. I'd think that Europeans would be horrified (as I was) at being asked to pay to taste the wine that the vineyards are trying to sell you. :mad: I don't think this horrific practice has caught on in the (somewhat) smaller Sonoma vineyards, but I think that Sonoma's a lot nicer.

If they're bent on seeing the Grand Canyon (as I'm sure they are), I'd suggest more of a one-way itinerary. Start off in San Francisco, California, making a day trip in Sonoma. Head down the coast doing stopping in a couple of places along the way. From Los Angeles, California, they could make their way to Las Vegas, Nevada. If time remains, they could drive out to the Grand Canyon, spend the night and drive back to Las Vegas. With a one-way rental, they could leave their car in Las Vegas and catch a flight back to SFO.

I guess that would look like:

• December 26-27: San Francisco
• December 28: Sonoma (or Napa :blech: ;))
• December 29: Carmel, California
• December 30: Santa Barbara, California
• December 31 - January 2: Los Angeles
• January 3-4: Las Vegas
• January 5: Grand Canyon
• January 6: back to Las Vegas and SFO

Or, something like that. Even if they think they might, they will not want to do the drive from Las Vegas to San Francisco in one day and get on a plane at the end of that day.

My friends are locked into 12-26 and 27 in SF, 28 in Napa, 31 Vegas, fly home the 6th at 7 pm. They have read this threads feedback, send their thank yous, and affirm that the Grand Canyon is not negotiable, but wonder if replacing Yosemite with Sequoia NP might help intinerary.

IMHO Sequoia is the pits. It just isn't very pretty. Yosemite is gorgeous. I'd just drop the National Parks and not substitute Sequoia. I might substitute Lake Tahoe for Yosemite (have to have chains on 80 if it's snowy, get them at the rental car place). And then drive to Reno (about an hour from Tahoe), drop the car there and fly to Vegas.

Sonoma isn't that far from Napa. Just have them drive over to Sonoma from Napa. Sonoma is much prettier than Napa anyway.

Monterey/Carmel can be done in a day from SF. To get a flavor of the CA coast, though, they could just drive south from SF to Pacifica on 1 and the continue to Half Moon Bay (or down to Santa Cruz) and then back across the mountains to 101 (or 280) and back up. Could be an afternoon.

I'm an East Coast sort of person and the distances out west are amazingly, well, distant. It's about a five hour drive from Sonoma to Yosemite. That is do-able.

If I were doing it, I'd fly to Vegas, rent a car there to do the Grand Canyon and then fly to LA. It is a long drive from Vegas to the south rim of the Grand Canyon. The distances are just too long to drive.

Sequoia is beautiful; whether it's 'as beautiful' as Yosemite is debatable, but it is certainly not 'the pits' by any stretch of the imagination. My sister was a park ranger there for several years (now at North Cascades), and I've seen quite a bit of Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Parks. Most people don't get past the General Sherman Tree, so perhaps manneca is thinking just of that. My sister was always amazed that so many people would go to Sequoia & basically not get farther than Lodgepole.

Not being from NoCal & being unfamiliar w/ the various passes from Y/S to Vegas, I can't say whether dropping Yosemite for Sequoia would make more sense from a travel perspective.

I do agree w/ the others that your friends are trying to pack too much into too short a time & with driving distances won't have much time to actually enjoy what it is they want to see. I do agree w/ some of the above recommendations such as iapetus & menneca have mentioned.

BTW - if they do 'cram it all in', tell them they're not allowed to complain afterwards about the length of the drives & not really seeing all that they really wanted to see ;) But tell them to have a great time regardless.

Cheers.

I don't know about wine country in December. It's wet and miserable up here this time of year, with three different storms lined up behind each other waiting to come in just this week. There's no grapes on the vines, and it's too cold to want to do anything outdoors. Maybe they can spend late morning in the Napa Valley, and get over to Sonoma after lunch and overnight there, and save a day on this side of the itinerary. Shouldn't be much tourist traffic this time of year.

Thanks to tom911 for the link re: driving conditions & road closures. You might want to have your friends check this...

http://www.dot.ca.gov/ You can also call 1-800-427-7623 for current highway conditions.

For example, right now...

SR 120
[IN THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA AREA]
IS CLOSED FROM CRANE FLAT TO 5 MI WEST OF THE JCT OF US 395 /TIOGA PASS/
(TUOLUMNE,MONO CO) - DUE TO SNOW - MOTORISTS ARE ADVISED TO USE AN ALTERNATE ROUTE

So when it's closer to your friends time of travel they may want to check either via 800# or via website on their routes.

Hope they have a good time!

Cheers.

Well, I'm not sure how going to Sequoia National Park over Yosemite National Park will actually save much time.

I'd also like to re-iterate that they should visit the Sonoma vineyards. It's fine to stay in Napa, California, but they should visit the nearby vineyards in the next valley, IMHO.

I also think that flying from northern California to Las Vegas, Nevada, is a good idea. You can get direct flights on US or WN to LAS from either SMF or RNO. Flying from southern California (if they still choose to include this) up to northern California on the 6th probably isn't a bad idea either.

Also, jim87, remind your friends that the rim of the Grand Canyon will be pretty cold this time of year. Realizing that the Grand Canyon is in the desert, people often think that it's warm year-round. The base of the canyon will be warm in January, but the rim won't be; they should be prepared.

And, thanks for passing along their thanks! :)