Report: San Francisco -> Yosemite National Park -> Death Valley -> Las Vegas

Eoin

I meant to write this after I got back last month, but I didn't get around to it.

Anyhow, here goes. Don't have access to my photos, so any ones below are from google.

The Flights:

We got flights with Delta connecting through Atlanta, Georgia. The service was pretty good, and we all had out own seat-back screens which is a first for me, and really made a difference. Lots of recent movies to choose from, and only the HBO stuff was charged.

For the connecting flight we were on a Boeing with two sets of 3 seats either side of the aisle, which wasn't as comfortable. Still a nice change from Ryanair though. It also had the personal screens with loads of live TV channels, but they charged for movies, games and so on.

Atlanta isn't too bad to be stuck for a few hours, but overall it's a long day. There are probably quicker routes, but it worked out as pretty good value.

Here is a rough version of our route on google maps.

San Francisco - 5 nights

We stayed at the Hotel Frank, just off Union Square. We got a newly renovated room, and it was really good. Nice touches like LCD TV, iPod dock etc. The decor was definitely not your typical hotel chain stuff, and it was a nice place to be. Overall the hotel doesn't have too many amenities, but it was really just a base for us. I booked it on eBookers.com and got a pretty good rate (can't remember exactly how much it was). The concierge were helpful for recommendations as well.

Location is excellent - beside Union Square on Geary Street, so right by the trams, lots of restaurants, bars and so on.

We did all the usual tourist stuff - Alcatraz evening tour, cycling over the Golden Gate bridge and then down to Sausalito, Fishermans wharf, Lombard Street, cable car ride etc (we're shameless tourists). The city is nice to walk around, and it feels safe. The people are generally pretty friendly and it's a nice atmosphere.

Some really nice restaurants as well, we ate in the Carnelian Room on our last night, which was pricey, but worth it for the view (you're about 50 stories high). Lots of ethnic restaurants too - you're spoilt for choice. Colibri (Mexican bistro) was just a block away and pretty good.

We tended to stick to the bars near the hotel - 2AM seems to be the closing time for the late licenses there. We got asked for ID pretty regularly, despite us both being in our early 30's. Truth be told, the tipping thing pisses me off a bit, I know they get paid very little - but in the other places I've been to in the States, the bar staff will give you a drink on the house every few rounds, which didn't happen once in SF. Anchor Steam is one of the local brews, and is worth a go (forget about Bud etc).



On the last day we picked up a rental car and went to:

Yosemite National Park - 1 night

This place is absolutely stunning. It's about 4 hours or so away by car, if you take it handy. We stayed in the Yosemite View Lodge, which is only a couple of miles from the park entrance. It's a little dated, but you're only there for the view, not the facilities. There's a bar, pizza place, restaurant, shop and so on. We got a river view room which overlooks the Merced river, wich was nice.

The park is amazing - loads of waterfalls, and just fantastic scenery everywhere you go. If I was to do it again, I'd spend two nights there and have a proper look around. You can also stay in the park itself, but you probably want to book a little in advance. If you go during the summer months there will be more roads open, which will give you more options.



Death Valley - 1 night

First thing the next morning we got into the car and headed to Death Valley National Park. Unfortunately the Tioga Pass road across the national park was closed at this time of year, so we had to go south down to Fresno and Bakersfield, and then drive across - so only got to drive for about an hour through the park before we were back on the highways. Some of the drive is pretty boring, but some of it was nice enough. When you start approaching Death Valley, it's kinda cool. As you can imagine, lots of open space with mountains in the background.



After a while it gets pretty boring though, apart from a few sites along the way, like the salt water flats:



We stayed in the Furnace Creek Resort which was pretty similar to the hotel from the night before. Dated hotel rooms, but spacious enough. Bar, shop and restaurant and so on. They also have lots of activities, but we wanted to just get to Vegas.

It's only about 3 hours to Vegas.

Las Vegas - 3 nights

We probably should have left later, so we could arrive into Vegas at night time to get the full effect of all the lights. We got in late afternoon though, so it was a bit underwhelming.

I was a bit disappointed with Vegas. I know people have had the holiday of their lives there, and are going to disagree. The wow factor wore off pretty quickly, and I thought it was a dirty, run-down looking city. It's supposed to be good for shopping, but that bores me senseless.

Some of the casinos themselves are cool to walk around. New York, New York is set up so it looks like streets inside the casino, while the Bellagio and Caesar's Palace are upmarket with lots of marble. The Bellagio do a watershow in the evenings, which is pretty cool. The Mirage does a "volcano" show, which is very good.

We stayed in the Planet Hollywood Resort Hotel, which I didn't think much of. They've made it as complicated as possible for you to get out of the hotel for obvious reasons, and the upgraded room we got was pretty average. In any other city we'd be delighted with the room, but I was expecting more for a suite in Vegas. They do have a cool shopping centre, which is like a street inside, with the roof painted like the sky and so on.

Neither of us are really into gambling, so we just spent a while on the machines. The machines don't actually take or give out coins over there, so you won't offload all your change! The drinks are free from the cocktail waitresses (well, you tip a dollar or two per drink), but you can be sure you'll have spent a lot more than if you had just gone to the bar.

The two highlights were a Cirque de Soleil show at the Bellagio, and the Grand Canyon. We had booked a helicopter tour from the West rim of the canyon, which is on an Indian reserve. We would have gone to the South rim, which I think is the main touristy one, but we wanted to check out the skywalk.

It should be about a 4 hour drive from Vegas. You drive over the Hoover Damn (a bit underwhelming in real life when looking from the view) and head on for a few hours.

However, my sat nav decided to take us the most "direct" route. All was fine for the first couple of hours, until it directed us to take a right onto a dirt road. This was still a decent road, just not paved - nice and wide though. But then things got worse when it told us to take a left through a field with a small track. Anyone with some sense would turn around and check for a detour, but of course I kept going. It didn't take long before there was no room to turn, and the road was getting steeper and rougher. Of course, I still kept going out of stubborn pride, and 14 miles later (really) it looked like we nearly there. And then we hit a locked gate. So, a u-turn and back down the same hilly road and we eventually get directions that make a lot more sense. I tried to find the "road" on Google maps, but they don't even have it listed.

We got there late for our flight and with a extra few grey hairs (some pretty scary moments up on the hills), but the nice people (papillon tours) got us on to a different flight, which brought us over the west rim, and landed on the canyon floor where we got a boat up and down for 30 mins or so before we flew back up.

The Indian reserve owns a few hundred miles along the canyon, and they have the Grand Canyon Skywalk overlooking it. It's a glass bridge that extends over the rim in a semi-circle of about 40 feet or so. The floor is glass so you can look right down. They run coaches from the airport (which is also the main tourist starting point), which bring you to the skywalk and then on to another part of their reserve.

I'll be honest - these people came across as rude, money grabbing bastards. It was about $150 for the two of us to use the skywalk, and pretty much everything about their setup was a lot more expensive than any other tourist attractions. To "preserve the canyon" you're not allowed bring your own camera on to it, so you have to pay them $30 for one photo. They also have a restaurant and so on, but we just wanted to get out of there before we were broke.

Apparently the views from the South rim are much better, so I don't think it is worth going to the West rim just for the sake of the skywalk.



Driving

I rented an SUV as I wanted to see what the fuss was about, and also wasn't too sure about what the roads would be like. As it happens, had I stuck to the roads I should have, any car would do you fine. We got a Ford Commander. It was comfortable, and the steering was very light. Not an involving drive, but great for soaking up the miles. However, it only got about 18MPG, and that was mostly highway driving. It sounded great, but you really needed to floor the loud pedal for it to shift.

Lane discipline isn't always great over there, and indicating isn't the done thing. It's not unusual to be tailgated if you're slowing someone behind you, but it didn't seem to be particularly aggressive behaviour. It's very easy to adapt to driving on the other side, but you just have to remember to look the right way when pulling out, and to pay attention on left hand turns. You can turn right on red (and left in a one way system) when the coast is clear.

Even though a lot of our drive isn't part of the scenic route, it was still pleasant enough. From San Fran to Yosemite got nice out of the city, and the only dull part was some of the 7 hour drive the next day.

There are a good few petrol stations, but I made sure to fill up regularly on the long drives just in case. I had visions of being stuck in the desert with an empty tank.



Cost:

We booked our flights, car rental and hotels (apart from Hotel Frank in San Fran) through Trailfinders. I booked the San Fran hotel on eBookers.ie and we booked the tours (Alcatraz, helicopter etc) online ourselves.

Flights, hotels and car rental came to about €1900 between us for the 10 nights.

Hope this helps anyone planning a trip.

mikedragon32

Eoin, what guided your choice of hotel in Vegas? I'm curious as it's somewhere we both want to go, but it strikes me that they all seem to have some sort of gimmick and I'm very sceptical!

Did any of the other hotels give a better impression than PH?

Eoin

I went with the recommendation from Trailfinders. The Bellagio and Caesar's palace came across as much nicer, and I would have preferred to pay a little extra for a nicer hotel. The room itself was fine, but shìt view and the hotel wasn't a particularly nice place to be.

Mitch Buchannon

That sounds like a good trip Eoin.
Im hoping to do somthing similar in September. Fly Dublin - San Fran(a few days there), Fly to Vegas(a few days there),Drive to Lake Tahoe(a few days there) and then drive back to San Fran for maybe 1 or 2 nights and fly back to Dublin. Im looking at doing between 12-16 nights in total.

On the Vegas questions,

Ive been to Vegas 3 times. First time 8 of us went for a long weekend (Thursday and Left on Sunday) for one of the lad's 21st. We stayed in the Luxor. Like all the hotels it has a theme and it's one is Egypt. Kinda tacky but kinda cool too. That trip was brill it was all drinking, shooting and gambling(we did quite well in the gambling)

Second and Third times were with 2 other lads and we did all the touristy stuff. The chopper ride over the canyon, more shooting etc.I dont know what you paid for your chopper ride but our's was quite reasonable. The company collected us in a limo from the Hotel and brought us to an airfield near by. Had a great day, we even landed in the bottom of the canyon for a champange lunch (a bit fancy for 3 lads).
Like you said, if you like shopping and or gambling Vegas is the place to go. If you dont like either, I'd advise people to visit for 1 or 2 nights, see the sights and leave otherwise you will get very very bored.
When Im going in September Im going to to get a jazzy hotel for myself and the lady (her first time there) and when I hopefully head back in November with the lads we'll probably stay in the Hard Rock. Ive drank,partied and gambled there and I think it will be my hotel of choice when I travel with lads this time.

Sorry for hijacking the thread, I just wanted to give you my experiences of "The Vegas"

NextSteps

Nice report. I didn't think much of Vegas either - 24 hours was enough to soak up the atmosphere, I thought.

I think we went to the south rim of the canyon, where we stayed in a cabin nearby for 2 nights and hiked down to the river. That was really worth doing, I thought, and the stillness and silence were really welcome after Vegas!

Eoin

UB wrote: »

Nice report. I didn't think much of Vegas either - 24 hours was enough to soak up the atmosphere, I thought.

I think we went to the south rim of the canyon, where we stayed in a cabin nearby for 2 nights and hiked down to the river. That was really worth doing, I thought, and the stillness and silence were really welcome after Vegas!

Yeah, I've heard that's the best part of the canyon to visit - we only went to the west rim because of the skywalk, which wasn't that good. And I think it's about a 4 hour drive from there to the South rim visitor centre, so we left it at that.

ciaramc

Thanks Eoin, for that report. Its really helpful.

I am thinking of going to San Fran and Las Vegas in October.

I went to Las Vegas last year but didnt get the chance to go to Grand Canyon. Hopefully will be going this time.

How many days would you recommend to stay in San Fran?
I thinking of Five days, one of which would be spent in Six Flags theme park. Would 4 days be enough for all the touristy stuff you mentioned?

Thanks.

Eoin

Hi there - yep, you could easily fit all that stuff into 4 days, though I'd also look at doing even just a day trip to Yosemite - it really is a beautiful place. Definitely try and see the Grand Canyon; the helicopter tours are worth it.

ciaramc

Thanks Eoin. Yeah definitely think I will go on a day trip to Yosemite. It looks so scenic in the photo you posted. Also the Grand Canyon and a helicopter tour.

Eoin

There seem to be loads of organised bus trips out from San Fran, but it's about a 4 hour drive or so, which can be a bit of a pain in a coach.

And as I said before, don't bother with Grand Canyon West. The Skywalk isn't worth it, and apparently the views from the main tourist section (south rim I think) are much better. The helicopter tour flies over some trees and then before you know it you're anything from 1km to mile above the bottom of the basin.

Nalz

A few of us are going to San Fran (6 days) -- drive through park (no accom for one night) then on Las Vegas (3 days) then NYC for 8 days

Two questions really...havent booked Alcatraz, any recommendations to what exactly book? I hear night time is better

And any recommendations of a place to stay on the road from SF to LV?

thanks

Eoin

1) The evening Alcatraz tour is good - we booked online in advance from http://www.alcatrazcruises.com/

2) Depends on what direction you go. You should be able to drive right across Yosemite on the Tioga Road at this time of year, which would cut a few hours off the journey. I would recommend spending as much time as possible in or around Yosemite. It's stunning. So maybe one of the hotels in the park, and then up early to drive across.

Peadar_85

Left it a little late to book accomodation within Yosemite so staying 1 night in Mariposa and the second in Mammoth Lakes en route to Vegas.

I'll be crossing Tioga Pass the 2nd day but any idea what parking is like as we'd like to explore the park along the way - is there different areas along Tioga Pass to park up for a few hours at a time?
Also what's the drive like from the east side of the park down through Death Valley to Vegas? Have heard it's quite steep and dangerous in spots so should it only be done in day light?!

Eoin

When I went, the Tioga pass road was closed so we had to leave the park and drive south to Bakersfield to get across to Death Valley.

I'd recommend checking out this forum: http://www.roadtripamerica.com

Peadar_85

cheers Eoin

Eoin

No bothers. Be sure to check out what the requirements are for driving off the beaten track - the park might insist on snow chains, and most rental companies don't allow any off roading.

As I said in my original post, the drive down around the park isn't the most exciting - it's all just freeways with not much to see.

ncmc

Great trip report, thanks for taking the time to post it. We did a similar trip in 2008 but did LA as well and spread it over 16 days. Did you find the 10 days a bit short? We stayed on the South Rim in the Grand Canyon, in a cabin right by the rim, it was amazing, I've heard bad things about the West Rim/Skywalk, so I would advise people to take the extra time and got to the South Rim. Laughing at your 'adventure' getting to the GC, sounds like something that would happen to us, my husband is a great believer in blindly following the sat nav even when common sense and sanity dictates we should take another way!

We spent 2 nights in Yosemite, (we stayed in Yosemite View Lodge too) we had originally booked 3 nights, but my husband fell ill, so we decided to spend an extra night in Vegas to relax, so 4 nights Vegas, 3 nights Yosemite became 5 nights Vegas, 2 nights Yosemite, and I so regretted it. Vegas got very boring after a couple of days and we adored Yosemite. He would have rested and re-couperated so much more in the peace and quiet of Yosemite, but you live and learn. I would love to go back and concentrate more on Northern California and cut our some of the driving. Yosemite was definitely the hightlight of our trip. We went in August and the falls were mainly dry, so would love to go back earlier in the Summer and see the falls in full flow.

Am I reading correctly that your holiday cost €1900 for the two of you? Or is that €1900 each? I'm sure I paid nearly €1900 for two flights alone in 2008!

Eoin

I don't know if 10 days was too short; I think if we had spread the days around a bit more it would have been fine. Maybe one day less in San Fran and/or Las Vegas with extra time in Yosemite or something like that. Vegas just wasn't for us really.

That was 1900 for the two of us - I booked everything a good few months in advance. It really pays to shop around. I used ebookers.com to get an idea of the flight prices, and then booked them through trailfinders as they don't charge as much commission and fees. I think the flights were about 600 between us.

I'd also either look at North California next time, or go the opposite direction down Route 1.

ncmc

eoin wrote: »

I don't know if 10 days was too short; I think if we had spread the days around a bit more it would have been fine. Maybe one day less in San Fran and/or Las Vegas with extra time in Yosemite or something like that. Vegas just wasn't for us really.

That was 1900 for the two of us - I booked everything a good few months in advance. It really pays to shop around. I used ebookers.com to get an idea of the flight prices, and then booked them through trailfinders as they don't charge as much commission and fees. I think the flights were about 600 between us.

I'd also either look at North California next time, or go the opposite direction down Route 1.

That's an amazing price, I must look at Trailfinders for next years hols, I'm always convinced that it's cheaper to book everything seperatly yourself, but when we went, €1800 was literally the cheapest I could get flights for the two of us. Wonder if it would have been cheaper to book with an agent . Think the 16 nights cost us around €3800 and that was when the dollar was about 1.44!

Eoin

I just checked my booking email, and it was exactly 290.00 each for flights. It looks like it's at least double that these days - though it pays to play around with the dates.

Nalz

We got 22 days - 6 in San Fran, 3 in Las V, 8 in NYC and 4 in WDC

all 4 and 5 star hotels, grand canyon helicopter tour included.

we've one day in the park unpaid for, all comes to 2100 each

ncmc

Did you book that with Trailfinders Trilla? That is an amazing price, especially when you consider how expensive hotels in NYC are. That sounds like an amazing trip, when are you going?

Nalz

ncmc wrote: »

Did you book that with Trailfinders Trilla? That is an amazing price, especially when you consider how expensive hotels in NYC are. That sounds like an amazing trip, when are you going?

Nope boooked with American Holidays...booked it 2 months ago, and it would have been cheaper only due to complications we didnt book our NYC hotel til only 2 weeks ago.

Going last week in August

paddydriver

Its so coincidental to see so many people doing similar trips in California/Nevada. We did a road trip for our honeymoon in 2005... funny how I can recall the fantastic roadtrip but the wedding is a blur..:D

We covered 3000 miles in 18 days and I know so many friends that did similar but by airport hopping and it just does not sound as much fun at all. I planned to stay off highways as much as possible and only time we did a big highway drive was when we went across to the GC National Park (South Rim) and that was 500 miles in 2 days.

We started in LA @ 1 night in Beverly Hilton (for the wife) then did HW 1 up to SF via a night in Monterey (visited Pebble Beach GC etc) then stayed 3 nights in SF down by Fishermans Wharf - cycled the bridge and nearly got blown over the side, Alcatraz, tram rides etc - lovely spot compared to kip that is LA; we drove to Lake Tahoe then and stayed 2 nights there too - scenary there was fantastic! - then down to Yosemite for 2/3 nights and stayed in a river view room in Yosemite Lodge; I liked this cause it served its purpose and did not cost near as much was what you pay in the park. Got up early each morning and went to see all the high points (Glacier Point etc) and get pic's - I loved Yosemite! Will definitely go back. I remember that pizza place in the Yosemite View Lodge... $10 pitcher of budweiser between us. Amazingly the shop was not a rip off either.. could get more beer for regular price; no price gouging the states!

We left Yosemite headed for GC and cause Tioga pass was closed (early June) we drove up and around via Sonora Pass (added 180 miles) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonora_Pass but worth it as we drove all the way along the spine of the Sierra Nevada's and spent a night in Lone Pine with a view of US largest peak - Mt Whitney - largest in main US; Alaska has all highest. Then took a mammoth drive around to GC in Arizona. The drive through Sierra Nevada's was great... past Death Valley and lots of other great spots; far better than I think the 395.

We stayed in one of the cabins in GC too for 3 nights I think - was fantastic viewing and once in lifetime opportunity. We had been to GC via Las Vegas the previous year in one of the Papillon helicopter rides (I had work trip and managed to take along the the fiancee:p) and we always wanted to try get to the South Rim and see the real Grand Canyon.

We left GC and drove back via Hoover Dam (one of my favourite parts.. and the warmest spot of the whole trip!) to LV and capped all off with 3 nights in lake view suite of Bellagio... tears in the wife's eyes. Speed back middle of night to a dingy best western in LA and flew home. LV is not for everyone but we loved it - we aint gamblers either but walking the casino's is memorable; and just played the 5 cent slots and got our free drinks.

I remember it like it was yesterday... even though 5 years and 3 kids ago now.

It is such a great place to visit and driving is the only way to see it. Want to do Route 66 when kids are up to it and plan to re live honeymoon trip in about 5 years when we are both nearing (or past) 40.

FWIW I booked everything myself online - payed it in chunks for the months coming up to the trip but all in I recall flights, car and accomodation being about €4k - there was a few good hotels in there in LA, SF and LV.

Will chat for any amount of time about this trip so PM me for any info.... don't ask about the wedding though; wipe out by midnight... wine.. Eh

Paddy

ncmc

Trilla wrote: »

Nope boooked with American Holidays...booked it 2 months ago, and it would have been cheaper only due to complications we didnt book our NYC hotel til only 2 weeks ago.

Going last week in August

I can't get over the good value you got there, any time I have priced a holiday with an agent, it has worked out really expensive. I wonder is it because you left it quite late to book. I am a real panicer and always book really far in advance. Wonder if it works out cheaper to book that bit later, will definitely consider that for next year.

Great trip report Paddy! Brings back great memories from my own trip, I really want to go back to Yosemite after reading all this!

Nalz

ncmc wrote: »

I can't get over the good value you got there, any time I have priced a holiday with an agent, it has worked out really expensive. I wonder is it because you left it quite late to book. I am a real panicer and always book really far in advance. Wonder if it works out cheaper to book that bit later, will definitely consider that for next year.

Would 4 or 5 months be late booking? Our hotel in NYC was dearer because we didnt book it at the same time, only booked it a few weeks ago. Cant complain really though.

Have to say American Holidays are very good, nearly 1,000 cheaper than Trailfinders!!