My brother's getting married ...

in July 05 in Vegas. We%26#39;re trying to plan a 3 week holiday based around 3 or 4 days in Vegas. Planning to fly into San Francisco, maybe stay a day or two, hire the car and drive a big circle passing through Vegas during the second week of the holiday. Have been trying to research/plan and it%26#39;s just a nightmare!! Does anyone have any ideas of stuff we should be doing/seeing, hotels that are worth staying in etc etc?!?!?!?!? I%26#39;d quite like to fit in LA too but am not sure if this is feasible. There will be 4 of us travelling, including 2 boys aged 16. Any help would be MOST appreciated. Thanks.

My brother's getting married ...

Have you looked into airfares flying into San Francisco and out of Las Vegas? If you could do that your trip would be easier to plan. Even flying into San Fran and out of LA would be okay.

If I were planning this trip I would try to fly into San Francisco, stay a few days at least, drive down the coast to LA and finish in Vegas. When you say driving a big circle passing through Vegas I am not sure what you mean. Are you wanting to visit Yosemite or other National Parks in the eastern part of California? That would be the only reason I could think of to deviate from the Pacific Coast.

You may want to look at USA guidebooks in bookstores or your library to help you get ideas on what you and the boys would be most interested in seeing.

My brother's getting married ...

agree with pzrk, decide on your ';must see'; places and time and budget. That is alot of area to cover, with more specifics you will get better responses. Do you like to hit tourist attractions,hiking,dining,rough it or 4 star? The more detail you give, the better response you will get. Being from Utah, I always vote for the National Parks!What in LA appeals to you?

Thanks - looks like I need to do some more research, decide what exactly we want to include and then post another message. I hadn%26#39;t thought about flying into one airport and out of another, hence the circle back to San Francisco. Thanks for your help so far.

I%26#39;ll throw in my two cents. I agree with others that it would be easier if you flew into SF and flew home out of LV. One suggested itinerary would be:

Spend a few days in San Francisco. From there, drive to Lake Tahoe for a night (about 6-7 hour drive). Take a quick drive over to Virginia City for a morning then head south to Yosemite National Park. Then just work your way south at your own pace (several national and state parks along Rt. 395). Spend a night at Furnace Creek Inn in Death Valley National Park, and from there you have about a 4-hour drive to Las Vegas.

After Vegas, I%26#39;d plan a circle route driving up Rt. 15 into southern Utah (FYI, tons of hotels/motels in St. George) where you can see Zion Canyon, Bryce Canyon, and other amazing parks, and then swing down into Arizona to spend a couple of nights at Grand Canyon before heading back into Vegas. How large of a circle is up to you; there are so many things to see (like Canyon De Chelly in northeastern Arizona) but the distances can get huge.

You really can%26#39;t go wrong. The American West is a place of staggering beauty.

I agree with przyk also. The drive down the Pacific Coast Highway, on Highway 1 from San Francisco to LA is really beautiful, especially the route from Morro Rock to Monterey and Carmel and vice versa. You can catch the Elephant Seals out on the wild lying on the beach near San Simeon. In my opinion, I would probably do it this way, and then if Southwest Airlines have some good deals, fly to Las Vegas from LAX or Burbank.

Have a look at the Virgin USA brochure for some ideas for your itinery. I definately recommend flying into los angeles and out of san francisco although this flight costs about 锟斤拷600 each although flights to the USA are fairly pricey these days unless you get a last minute deal.

the poor guy

My son %26amp; daughter in law,flew into Vegas.Rented a car. Drove to the Dam,Grand Canyon ,Valley of Fire ,Death Valley which he says was a waste of time(DV)Then drove to LA via DisneyLand,The one N of L.A.(Your boys would like that)Then returned the car at L.A. airport for a fee.Took a great 12 days doing it. PS Flew home from L.A.to Canada

Well, here I go....

If you come to San Francisco, you%26#39;ll want more than a day or two. It is a BEAUTIFUL city with so much to offer, and you do have 3 weeks. You can plan on staying in SF for 4 days at least. You can take day trips to Napa, Muir Woods, Sausalito, etc.

Then rent a car and drive to Tahoe (It%26#39;s actually only a 4 hour drive), it%26#39;s not to be missed--stay on the Northshore, check the Hyatt in Incline Village (lodgey look, there is gambeling and a spa for your wife). (you are much closer to Reno on the North shore). Lots to do in Tahoe in the summer-hike, swim, sunbathe, boat cruises, bike--your boys will love it!

Next day or so, drive to Reno (only an hour or so), and FLY to Vegas (check Southwest airlines, only about $40 each, not a long flight at all). Pick up a car there (if you%26#39;ll have one in Vegas), and spend time there. You can see the dam, the Grand Canyon too. (flying cuts out an 8 hour drive)

You can then drive to LA (not far, a few hours--but don%26#39;t do it on Sunday, too much traffic) or fly to LA (again, check Southwest), and you can spend a couple days there. SKIP Hollywood, it is a dump and you will be greatly disapointed.

From there, take a rental up the coast. The central coast of California is surely a treasure. You can stop in Santa Barbara or Morro Bay for the night. Then drive to BigSur/Monterey/Carmel.

Then fly home from San Franciso.

You will have a teriffic trip!

Hi

Would just let you know that you can%26#39;t fit it all in but some ideas would be spend a few days in San Fran........what a great place, drive to Yosemite for a couple, then Death Valley for a couple then on to Vegas. The Hotels around Fishermans wharf in San Fran are a wonderful location but if you find these are too expensive this part of the City is easy to get too to play tourist. San fran is easy to drive in and navigate - remember I am from England too!!!

Cedar Lodge in Yosemite is very good and Furnace Creek in Death Valley is great too. As for Vegas i favour the Luxor end of the strip cos there%26#39;s more to do and see this end, have stayed in this and NY NY although the Excalibur is supposed to be good value.

As for after Las Vegas, San Diego is nice but if you want to go to LA why not try Anaheim? It%26#39;s 30 miles to the airport and about the same to Universal and about 2 mins from Disney. Also as you are driving San Diego is 2 hours away plus the great Newport Beach. As for staying down town LA I can%26#39;t say I have only been for day trips. Let me know if you have any queries, will try to help.