Pacific Coast

[rawsco]

OK, just booked flights for California/Nevada/Arizona driving holiday late summer. Flying in to San Francisco and Leaving from Las Vegas 2 weeks and 2 days later.

Plan is to spend a few days in Vegas before flying home but the rest is unwritten.

Any one got any tips/experiences? We aren't big on tourist traps. We'd like to hire something quite nice, Miniblonde wants a convertible mustang I'm not sure as i think an Elise would be better, or an Atom, or Caterham 620 but apparently you need more than just a couple of pairs of pants and a shirt or two.

[ed]

Sounds epic, sure it will be amazing.

Dare I say it but I think she's right re a mustang. It will be chuffing hot at that time of year and the roof down novelty factor will soon wear off. IMHO

I reckon most of the time the roof will be up and the aircon on max.

Enjoy!

[mwmackenzie]

No experience of America I'm afraid, but when I went to the Ring last May I had the roof off most of the time, thing is on the first day driving down I got my face burnt without realising it as the cabin was relatively cool so that might be one to watch if you do get a convertible

[ChrisG]

We did it a few years back but in reverse direction to you. I have to say it was one of the best holidays I've ever had. We booked flights and car then sat with a map and picked off the stops down Route 1, having a night or two at each place.

I can look out more detail but off the top of my head our stops were:

San Fran - Alcatraz is a must, the audio our with ex-inmates an guards talking you round is amazing
Monterey - the aquarium is worth a visit, old cannery stuff
Pismo Beach
Santa Barbara
LA - Universal Studios, Disneyland, Venice Beach, Hollywood
Las Vegas - Helicopter flight in to Grand Canyon is well worth doing.

[Lazydonkey]

We flew into San Fran, had a few days there then went on to visit pals in San Jose (wouldn't recommend it - just a commuter town)

Then hired a mustang and drove to Yosemite, overnight there then full day in park.

Then back down to Bakersfield, overnight there in a cheap motel then drove to Vegas then home form there.

San Fran is lovely, been there a few times now and it keep getting better. A real mix of European and us vibe. I'd second alcatraz but i'd also recommend just spending a few days eating and drinking your way round the city.

Yosemite was AMAZING. i'm not a cultured man but it was just break taking. Accommodation around the park can be hit and miss but if we went back we'd spend more time there. You can then drive through death valley to vegas but mrs donkey wasn't keen on full days in the car hence the bounce down to Bakersfield.

After a week of that vegas was a culture shock but you have to do it, you may not love it but you need to experience the scale and mentalness of it. We flew to the further away part of the grand canyon which was nice but not worth the full day out.....the closer more touristy one is probably just as good. We then saw a few shows and just spent time wandering round the hotels, each of which has it's own attraction.

Most of the driving is 55mph straight line highway stuff and you definately don't want a convertible! Way too hot.

[campbell]

Ross,

Awesome trip awaits.

10 years out of date (eek) but take a look at my old website. See Days3-9 here... http://www.the-fords.org.uk/wedding/honeymoon/index.htm

Enjoy

Campbell

PS - conv Mustang is clearly the sensible choice. We might be booking one for Colorado this summer too. Am I mad.

[j2 lot]

I agree with Ed, Campbell & Miniblonde the option of roof off / aircon on will probably be a welcome relief. Enjoy your trip when it comes.

[fd]

Best way to tour the PNW and interior is in a van . . . all american rental cars are pretty crappy, been there with the mustang and mustang convertible multiple times as upgrades and on roadtrips, they are terrible - and the roads are nothing to write home about either - the USA is all about the geography. Escape Campervans out of LAS/SLC/SFO, Lost Campers out of SFO/SLC/LAS are worth looking at - get the biggest van they do. Probably on par with the cost of a crappy car . . .

Go biking in Sedona, incredible scenery.


Go to Monument Valley, very cool place, decent hotel overlooking it, Alternator replacement on the way to this picture by a load of crazy Navajo Indian mechanics on a Saturday evening.



Go to Canyonlands, The start of the Grand Canyon but no tourists, proper isolated.


Arches NP is also worth a visit, near Moab where there is a ton of superb desert MTB . . . kinda hot in the summer tho'


Go an see a Space Shuttle in LA, smaller than you'd think, on the way to the airport and the only reason to go through LA


If you're driving from SLC area to Tahoe, see if there's any racing at Bonneville, take a hat. The noise of an unsilenced v8 doing 250+ at the end of the timed mile is something you will remember for a long time


SFO is always a cool place to visit, try not to get thrown off the trams after a St Patricks day/night in the Buena Vista . . . also try not to break your rental car on the hills in the city


Lots of vanning and car road tripping over the years, and I'd take a van every time now


Have my own for this side of the pond for that reason, minimalist, on par with the Elise in terms of a 'good' toy.


Lastly, make very sure your medical insurance is very good . . . this cost (my insurance company) about the cost of a mint S1 Elise after a minor impact with a mountain on an MTB in Colorado . . . roadtrip over . . .

[smoo25]

Have done a couple road trips over there. First was New York to San Diego in a people carrier with pals from uni. Was epic! Grand Canyon was well worth a visit, and in Vegas put at least $10 on zero on the roulette!..

Second trip was around the north east with the missus. We had a convertible mustang that time and was great fun (even if it was a measley V6). Hertz were the best deal by far, £500 for 2 weeks and they guaranteed a mustang, whereas other companies have "or similar" in the small print. There are penalties thingor dripping the car off at a different location from where you pick it up.

Enjoy! I'm a bit jealous now

[greido]

I’ve done a few road trips in the last couple of years in and around California, both were great; in 2014 I hired a 6.2 V8 Camero convertible which was great fun and well specced with SatNav, Head Up display etc but only returned 15mpg over 2000 miles, petrol was cheap as chips though so not an issue.
In 2015 I hired a Mustang Convertible, this was a 3.7 and not quite as much fun to drive as the Camero but was still great and had a much bigger boot which was a big help as we never tended to stay anywhere more than a couple of nights and had loads of luggage.
If I was doing another road trip in California I’d be more than happy to hire either one of these again, would proably prefer the Camero but whatever I chose I’d always get a convertible, below are the routes we took:

2014 – California & Nevada in a Camero:
San Francisco > Half Moon Bay > Santa Cruz > Monterey > Pebble Beach > Carmel > Big Sur > Santa Barbara > Yosemite National Park > Lake Tahoe > San Francisco
Highlights for me were:
• Carmel – Beautiful place (Take a drive down 17 mile drive & visit Pebble Beach)
• Big Sur – Amazing views, great lunch in Apenthe
• Yosemite National Park – Stunning place, epic views
• Lake Tahoe – Stayed in Incline Village which was a chilled ski resort, when we visited it was August and the weather was amazing.

2015 – California, Arizona & Nevada in a Mustang:
Los Angeles > Palm Springs > South Rim of the Grand Canyon > Lake Mead > Lake Las Vegas > Las Vegas > Los Angeles
Highlights:
• Driving around Mulholland Drive and Beverley Hills
• Manhattan Beach was a really cool area in LA, would recommend a visit or stay there
• Grand Canyon
• Route 66 – Not the most interesting road but pretty iconic from the Grand Canyon to Las Vegas
• Valley of Fire State Park (near Las Vegas)
• Hoover Dam
• Las Vegas – Stayed in the Venetian which was an epic place

[Oldsparky]

We did the West Coast fly/drive last year but took a few extra days to tour around Utah. What an amazing State. Highlights were Dead Horse Point near Moab (amazing view over the Colorado River) but driving up the Mokai Dugway (near Mexican Hat) was a thrill. You approach this seemingly impenetrable line of cliffs and have no idea how you are going to get to the top. You are almost at the foot of the cliffs before you spot a graded gravel road winding steeply up the side with numerous switchbacks, I think it was built as a uranium mine access road but is now a public "highway". Much better for your nerves/brakes to drive up rather than down and the views over the Valley of the Gods state park are incredible. Wouldn't like to attempt it on anything other than a sunny day though.....