San Francisco To Los Angeles Road Trip Itinerary – Home » Destinations » North America » America » 2 Week USA Road Trip Program: California, Las Vegas & Grand Canyon
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San Francisco To Los Angeles Road Trip Itinerary
We have done many road trips in the USA, and this is our favorite country for road trips. From Route 66 to the Oregon Trail to the Pacific Coast Highway to the Deep South, we’ve had some amazing road adventures across the state.
Road Trip Itinerary: The West Coast National Parks
One of our most popular road trip itineraries for the United States is our two-week California road trip. However, readers often ask me how it can be adapted to include some of the more popular places in the United States, especially Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon.
In response to this request, I’ve put together a detailed two-week USA road trip itinerary through parts of the southwestern and western United States.
This itinerary includes California highlights, such as Yosemite and Death Valley National Parks, as well as the Pacific Coast Highway, San Francisco and Los Angeles. It also takes you to drive some popular stretches of Route 66, spend time in Las Vegas, and visit the spectacular Grand Canyon.
This is an extension of the popular “Golden Triangle” road trip, which usually includes Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Our road trip itinerary will take you through three states – California, Arizona and Nevada, and is suitable for trips of two to three weeks.
San Francisco To Los Angeles Road Trip — Alexandre Kan Visuals
Obviously, while you try to see a bit on this trip, it requires quite a bit of driving, and you won’t really see everything on offer. We recommend a minimum of two weeks for this trip, but if you have a little more, you can easily extend it to three weeks or more, and make a few stops along the way.
However, for now, let’s take a look at the journey day by day to see how it looks. As always, please use this itinerary as a guide only, and feel free to customize it to your specific interests!
I designed this trip to be circular, so you start and end at the same place. This makes things like renting a car easier, as there is often a one-way fee if you rent a car in one place and drop it off somewhere else. However, this is not always the case, for example, we rented in Las Vegas and dropped off in San Francisco and no fee was charged.
Of course, if you want to avoid driving in the United States, you can also take tours that follow this route, like this one. You can see a list of tour options later in the post.
Day San Francisco To Los Angeles Road Trip
A circular route also means that you can start and end at any point along the route, and you can do it in any direction. If you’re flying from scratch, cities with major airports include Las Vegas, San Francisco and Los Angeles. For now, we’ll assume you start in Las Vegas.
We recommend starting your US road trip in Las Vegas. The city is world famous as a casual adult playground, with lots of gambling, shows, restaurants and bars. This is an easy place to spend a lot of money very quickly!
However, there is definitely more to Las Vegas than the famous Las Vegas Strip, in the city and surrounding area. The magnificent Valley of Fire State Park is just a short drive away, and you can easily visit the magnificent Hoover Dam. So whether you’re into natural wonders or man-made delights, you should find something to do.
We recommend that you spend your two days in Las Vegas. There’s a lot to do in the city, and if you’re coming from a different time zone, these two days will give you time to acclimate and adjust. However, if you want to venture out of the city, we’ve also included some suggested itineraries to popular nearby attractions.
The Great American Road Trip
With about two days to explore, depending on when you arrive in town, you should be able to find a good price in Las Vegas.
Some of our personal highlights that we recommend are the view from the top of the Stratosphere Tower, visiting the famous Welcome to Las Vegas sign for a photo opportunity, walking the Strip at night, seeing the famous Bellagio fountain show and Includes a visit to the Mob Museum. .
You might also want to check out one of the shows hosted nightly at venues around town. There are so many shows to choose from, you can check out the options and book them online in advance here. Other popular Vegas activities include dining. The city is home to many world-class restaurants as well as excellent buffets.
There’s also no shortage of shopping if you want to indulge in a little retail therapy. We also suggest taking some time out and relaxing by your hotel pool as part of your fitness strategy. There will be a lot of driving and sightseeing over the next few days, so relaxing a bit by the pool with a beer or cocktail will start your trip off on the right foot. Alternatively, there are also some fun rides that you can take in the city, if you are a thrill seeker.
Los Angeles To San Francisco
Finally, you’ll probably want to partake in the pastime that Vegas is best known for – gambling. There are many casinos to choose from, with many hotels also running large casino operations. Even if you don’t want to gamble, it’s worth checking out some of the casinos as the buildings themselves are very popular.
In terms of visiting Las Vegas, the city has many options. It is quite spread out, so while you can walk, it will probably take you longer than you think to get around on foot. Even walking becomes difficult due to summer temperatures.
Instead, you can consider a popular rideshare, taxi or monorail services, which connect many key points in the city. We recommend driving in Las Vegas – parking fees are high, and the streets are busy.
If you prefer to get out of the city for any part of your days in the city, we suggest visiting and hiking the Hoover Dam or heading to Valley of Fire State Park. If you go out early and have your own car, you can fit in a day.
Ultimate California Road Trip Itinerary — The Present Road
The Hoover Dam is an amazing feat of modern engineering, and is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Industrial World.
Valley of Fire State Park is home to spectacular scenery, made up of the brilliantly colored rocks that give the park its name.
Hoover Dam is a ticketed attraction, with various tours available. Some of these tours can be purchased online in advance, while others are only available in person. If you choose to take a tour that requires the purchase of an individual ticket, you’ll want to arrive early as slots are limited and this is a popular attraction. Check more about ticket types and prices on the official website here.
Valley of Fire State Park also has a fee, which is charged per vehicle rather than per person, and you can find the details here. You can take several short trips to explore the park, or you can visit observation points and enjoy the scenery.
Usa Road Trip: 11 Day San Francisco To Los Angeles Itinerary Under S$1.8k
Note that if you are doing this road trip in summer, hiking is generally not recommended as it is very hot, often over 100F / 37C. Visiting the Valley of Fire this time of year is not as great as the experience in the colder months.
You can take a tour to reach our recommended sites or drive yourself. If you don’t want to pick up your rental car yet, or prefer the convenience of just getting around, here are some options to consider:
Whether you decide to spend all of your time in Las Vegas or check out some of the surrounding attractions, we’re sure you won’t run out of things to do here.
For more inspiration, check out our guide to things to do in Las Vegas for more ideas as well as money-saving tips.
California Highway 1: The Essential Road Trip Itinerary
There is no shortage of places to stay in Las Vegas. Our suggestion is to try to stay on or near the Strip if possible, as this will make it easier to get to many places. We also suggest staying at one of the casinos as it is part of the Vegas experience! Here are some suggested options available
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