Thinking about visiting the States

[AreaCode707]

I'll look up some events for you a bit later, after work.

I don't drive regularly so I thought I didn't want to spend to much time on the road, and if I decide to stay 3 nights @ SF then I only have 10 days left.

Seattle > SF by car is about 13 hours. SF > LA is something like 12ish. 10 days is plenty. My husband and I do the Sea>SF trip on a regular basis in a day.

Ok, Although I'm not much of a beach guy I guess I do have to take a dip in the Pacific Ocean.

Hahahahaha, no you don't. It's COLD!

I don't think I'm going to spend more than one or two days in LA, but I intend to see lot of the nature and national parks. Since it's my first time in US I do need to see all the tourist stuff

LA is the antithesis of nature and national parks. I wouldn't go there at all except to catch my flight, if I were you.

 

[randomrogue]

The Pacific coast of California is pretty much water that's coming down from Alaska. I wouldn't get in it without a wetsuit on. Your body can freeze up and collapse pretty quick if you're skinny. Especially in Northern California. The only water that I'm comfortable getting in without a wetsuit is San Diego during the summer.

You can scuba dive in many places. Catalina is probably one of the cooler places since you have the seals and the kelp forest. It's not very fun without a dry suit but is doable with 7mm plus a 5mm chest/hood for a 30 min dive. The thermoclines are crazy though. I've been at 30m where the water was only about 5 degrees above zero. Even if you're just swimming you'll notice that if you dive down 3 meters or so it's much colder than the surface.

You can do the Great White Shark cage diving too but it's pretty expensive. I'd recommend doing that in South Africa instead but it's something else to think about that's going to be exotic compared to Denmark.

 

[Farang]

West Coast road trip is the best way to do it I think. Best road trip I did was Seattle to Salt Lake City, then down to Zion National Park (very underrated national park). Then to Vegas (Grand Canyon would've been an easy trip but didn't go). Then to Yosemite then back to Seattle. That was 1 week. You could add a lot more if you had another week (LA, SF, etc.) but it's a good framework.

I'd skip Vegas unless it's on the way or if you're particularly interested. It's sort of a lame city IMO, fun to get drunk in I guess but you can have a better night out in a major city like NYC, LA, SF or Seattle. The weather there is terrible year round, the air is terrible. I guess I'm used to the cold air up north. I didn't mind it as a stop on a road trip but I would not make a special trip.

 

[Wudemaya]

What? No Texas?? Dallas is where its at!

 

[biostud]

What? No Texas?? Dallas is where its at!

Next time

Next decision. How much to splurge on rental car....

 

[Wudemaya]

Next time

Next decision. How much to splurge on rental car....

Haha. Jk....have a great trip. You'll love Los Angeles, great food and a diverse culture with all walks of life. Make sure you visit the beaches.

 

[biostud]

For 11 days rental the cheapest I've found

Chevrolet Spark - $365
Ford focus - $443
Ford fusion - $472
Dodge Avenger - $512

 

[crashtestdummy]

Don't skip Glacier! It's my favorite place in the US I've been to so far! I'd skip everything south of SF, as long as you're going in July or August. (I'm a little biased, though, because I don't like LA or SoCal culture.

Personally, being a nature person, I'd tell someone to just visit national parks. Our cities don't have a ton that will thrill you, really (IMO Europe's cities are mostly nicer), but our nature is unparallelled. I'd do a drive starting in Vegas and ending in Seattle going Vegas->Grand Canyon->Zion->Salt Lake City->Tetons->Yellowstone->Glacier (west to east)->Seattle, with optional side trips to the North Cascades and Mt. Rainier if you have time to spare. It'll give you a really awesome view of the variety of our landscapes, and no leg is longer than about 10 hours of driving.

 

[vailr]

Amtrak's USA Rail Pass might be worth looking into:
http://www.amtrak.com/take-the-trains-across-america-with-usa-rail-pass
Or maybe: just travel from Denver to California on the Zephyr train.
Suggestion: fly Denmark > Las Vegas, then stay a day or 2 to recover from jet lag.
Rent a car & drive to Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Sequoia, Carmel, Bay Area, Napa Valley. Take Amtrak from Emeryville (Oakland) to Winter Park, Colorado, taking about 30 hours, with many scenic views. Rent a car & visit Rocky Mtn. Nat'l. Park (if time allows), then to Denver. Fly Denver > NYC, & tour around a few days, then take Amtrak to Boston. Fly home from there.
Edit: or just do the reverse itinerary, starting with Boston & ending with Las Vegas. I would avoid Las Vegas in July & August, however.

 

[biostud]

So I've been working on my trip, and I think I'm closing in on the route, but I have a question regarding Grand Canyon.

I was think about going to Grand Canyon after visiting Las Vegas and then return to southern part California, before returning home, but after having studied the map, It seems like a very long drive in the "wrong direction" from Las Vegas. So my question is: Is it worth driving more than 8 hours in a single day, just to visit Grand Canyon?

My route planned so far:

https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=...DCgDHxrYtpV3uodw&oq=yo&mra=ls&via=2,3&t=m&z=7

 

[OCNewbie]

Your route looks great so far. I wish I could comment on the Grand Canyon, but I haven't actually been there (but have heard many first-hand experiences of how amazing it is). I can't imagine I would skip it though, given all the planning you've put into this, and where you're coming from (Denmark, right?).

 

[IronWing]

IMHO, Las Vegas is a waste of time and driving, a very shiny dump. I would head to Joshua Tree, Salton Sea, Glammis Sand Dunes, Anza Baraga, Pala, and into San Diego and then from San Diego up to Los Angeles.

 

[OCNewbie]

IMHO, Las Vegas is a waste of time and driving, a very shiny dump. I would head to Joshua Tree, Salton Sea, Glammis Sand Dunes, Anza Baraga, Pala, and into San Diego and then from San Diego up to Los Angeles.

I wonder if he could hit Crater Lake in Oregon? Or maybe Zion NP? Or would that take too long? I've been to Joshua Tree a couple times, and I really loved it, but I've never been to places like Yosemite, etc., so I'm not sure if JTree can hold a candle to places like those.

 

[IronWing]

Just noticed you're driving past Lassen Volcanic National Park. Go there, it's cool and you can see the hot springs in a couple hours. Stop at Mono Lake, also cool. If you backtrack from Yosemite and head down 395, it is much nicer than Fresno. If you are set on Las Vegas, coming through Death Valley would be much more scenic than your current route.

 

[freegeeks]

Yeah, I'm not interested in spending all my holiday on the road, that's why I thought Seattle -> LA should be doable in two weeks.

Or maybe just SF -> LA

I did a San-Francisco - Portland - San-Francisco roadtrip / holiday 10 years ago. One of my best holidays ever. Last year I did San-Francisco, Death-Valley, Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Las-Vegas. I also did Boston - NYC probably 5 or 6 times by now

The USA is one of my favourite countries for holidays

ps: I'm from Belgium

 

[biostud]

Just noticed you're driving past Lassen Volcanic National Park. Go there, it's cool and you can see the hot springs in a couple hours. Stop at Mono Lake, also cool. If you backtrack from Yosemite and head down 395, it is much nicer than Fresno. If you are set on Las Vegas, coming through Death Valley would be much more scenic than your current route.

I'm going to, even though I also saw hot springs in Iceland this spring

Your route looks great so far. I wish I could comment on the Grand Canyon, but I haven't actually been there (but have heard many first-hand experiences of how amazing it is). I can't imagine I would skip it though, given all the planning you've put into this, and where you're coming from (Denmark, right?).

Yes, I am.

IMHO, Las Vegas is a waste of time and driving, a very shiny dump. I would head to Joshua Tree, Salton Sea, Glammis Sand Dunes, Anza Baraga, Pala, and into San Diego and then from San Diego up to Los Angeles.

I think I both have to see LA and Las Vegas Even though I don't expect them to be glamorous like in the movies. But one of the main reasons also to get to Vegas was that it would be a stop before going to Grand Canyon. The amount of driving needed to reach Grand Canyon just makes me wonder if it's worth it. I'll look into to your suggestions, I'm very happy to get recommendations.

ATM it's the last four days from the 18th when I leave Visalia to the 22nd were I fly home from LA I need to plan.

 

[Agent11]

Here is a sample Google Maps route based on what I suggested:

Air fare is not too bad. This comes out to about 6.200 DKK or 830 EUR, round-trip.

If time isn't an issue I would add Yellowstone to that itinerary.

 

[skyking]

Looks like you plan on coming back for the Northwest and Yellowstone. I think that is a sensible plan. I see so many who just drive their collective asses off out West trying to see it all, and doing a very poor job of it. I'd stick to what you have there and even drop off the Vegas leg, go to Lassen as suggested. Savor the trip, don't make a job out of it.

 

[randomrogue]

Is the grand canyon worth it? It's insanely large. On a clear day it's wonderful. The temperature difference between the top and the bottom where the Colorado river runs is quite a bit and many people spend quite some time hiking down and around.

If I was from Denmark and I had a chance to see the Grand Canyon I wouldn't pass up on it. It's really, really, really, big.

 

[esquared]

I'm going to, even though I also saw hot springs in Iceland this spring



Yes, I am.



I think I both have to see LA and Las Vegas Even though I don't expect them to be glamorous like in the movies. But one of the main reasons also to get to Vegas was that it would be a stop before going to Grand Canyon. The amount of driving needed to reach Grand Canyon just makes me wonder if it's worth it. I'll look into to your suggestions, I'm very happy to get recommendations.

ATM it's the last four days from the 18th when I leave Visalia to the 22nd were I fly home from LA I need to plan.

Going to the grand Canyon is worth the visit. I've been there three times myself. First time to the North Rim and the other two times I took family and went to the slightly more commercial, South Rim.

North Rim is at a higher elevation. Around 8100 ft IIRC. South Rim is around 6,000 ft above sea level.

If you are coming from Las Vegas, the North Rim, its (268 miles) will take you 4 hour 40 minutes . If you go to the South Rim, it's 274 miles but will take 4 hours and 25 minutes get there, as it's mainly freeway all the way.

Vegas to South Rim
https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=...seBQ-Skl4_-VTxczhzGhniKadMLMuA&mra=pd&t=m&z=9

This is Vegas to the north rim

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=las+...5tXMOg;FWqHKAIdoBRS-SlDkHK3sRIzhzEKxcXAAl3LqA

If you only have a day to visit and you're a first time visitor, I would recommend the South Rim. If you had more time to camp and hike, then North Rim would be the place.
I had a week at North Rim and I hiked to the bottom of the Canyon to Phantom Ranch (15 mile hike). South Rim has more amenities, lodging, restaurants, sightseeing than does the North Rim. They have mini tours that you can take where they drive you for a few miles to give you a little history lesson and take to you some more vista points for taking pictures.

 

[RossMAN]

I did a San-Francisco - Portland - San-Francisco roadtrip / holiday 10 years ago.

You stopped at Portland, why not continue north to Seattle or Canadia?

 

[freegeeks]

Time

 

[Chaotic42]

ATM it's the last four days from the 18th when I leave Visalia to the 22nd were I fly home from LA I need to plan.

I visited southern California in 2007 and I went to Joshua Tree and San Jacinto. Here are some pics I took. Maybe they'll give you an idea of what's going on there:

Joshua Tree
San Jacinto

 

[skyking]

You stopped at Portland, why not continue north to Seattle or Canadia?

Stay away from Seattle, the weather is terrible up here.

 

[RossMAN]

Stay away from Seattle, the weather is terrible up here.

You are so right, terrible indeed http://weather.weatherbug.com/WA/Seattle-weather/local-forecast/7-day-forecast.html