I wish to leave Bozeman, MT on the 30th July and travel to west
yellowstone for 1 night then jackson hole for one night, ending up in
San Fransisco for about the 20th August I wish to visit LA, Vegas and
Santa Barbara, San Diego enroute. I would like a trip which will cover
the highlights of the US and any accomodation advice (economy but
clean for 3 people). Hiking, biking and less strenuous activities will
all be good. Many Thanks- I am English and would like a more
knowledgable person to plan this.

Planning such a trip means hours of work. You might want to consider
raising the fee.

Regards,
Scriptor

honestly....i think your best bet is going to a travel agent....they
are free.  I think you'd have to raise the fee quite a bit to get a
researcher willing to do all the research.  On other "trip planning"
questions that i've seen,  a lot of work is done by the researchers
and a lot of options given, but the question never really gets
answered or comes to a final conclusion....Travel agent, i'd say.
Good luck

Hello Jo_anne_young,

Hmm. I'll echo the other comments on fee / use of a travel agent. I'll
also note that travel agents for the most part are not free either.
Take that into consideration if you want a GA researcher to do this.
For a comparable question, see
  http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=338818

However, I will make a few other suggestions (for no cost) as well:
 - since this is roughly a 3 week trip, I suggest short driving
segments / more frequent stops; based on the distance / time you have
it appears you are OK.
 - I would plan on at LEAST two full days in Yellowstone. That allows
you to do both the north and south loops. I would also check the
eruption schedule and see Grand if you can (much more interesting than
Old Faithful).
 - the kids and I spent a morning north of Ogden UT to see the
reenactment of the transcontinental railroad (working steam engines,
lots of history). In the same area is also the Thiokol plant w/ a nice
rocket park in front of it (e.g., Shuttle solid fuel boosters).
 - try to spend a day each at Bryce and Zion national parks
 - if you can spend a day at the Grand Canyon (unfortunately a couple
day / 500 mile side trip), it is great
 - from the Grand Canyon, travel to Vegas and see Hoover Dam on the way
 - a stop at Calico Ghost Town may help break up the trip from Vegas
to the Los Angeles area. A little corny perhaps but there is not much
else to suggest for that stretch.
 - if you go inland on the way to San Diego, the wine tasting in Temecula is good
 - very many good attractions in the San Diego area, you may want to
stay near Balboa park to help minimize travel
 - travel up the California coast is pretty beautiful. A stop near San
Luis Obispo would be good. A tour of the Hearst Castle is well worth
the time / money. There are also several good missions on the way.

A quick check indicates over 2300 miles and about 40 hours of driving
(not counting side trips). Certainly something that is doable. Having
done similar road trips for my family (and about to do another), I
know this will take several hours to do properly. As another
alternative, if you are a AAA member (about $50 a year?) - they can
prepare a triptik for this and provide maps / tourbooks / etc.
  --Maniac

The best US travel info I have found is through the American
Automobile Association.  You can get state maps and guidebooks for
free, if you are a member.  As a matter of fact, I just called AAA and
asked them how you would get a membership.  They said they honor most
other countries Automobile Association memberships by providing the
same benefits that American AAA members receive.  So if you join where
you are, you can then call AAA and receive highway maps for each of
the states you will visit, regional guidebooks for the areas in which
you will be and a TripTik that will give you very clear driving
directions and distances customized for the places you will visit. 
This service is also available through their website on their "Travel
by Car" page, http://www.aaa-texas.com/travel/autotrav/index.asp. 
Basic membership includes 3 miles free towing if your car breaks down
and free jumpstarts if your battery goes dead.  Most hotels offer a
10% discount for AAA members.
Randy

Not to knock this service, but a lot of this information is available,
free, via various newsgroups. Granted, that takes the researcher time,
but I would think a traveler would want to read that stuff herself.

I Operate a very nice log cabin resort in West Yellowstone.
http://www.hibernationstation.com. I would like to encourage you to
come through Yellowstone Country. There are some of the most beautify
sights in the world here. (My opinion) I would like to point out some
options and give you some of the local information on what to see and
what to not waste your time on. Feel free to contact us at our we site
you can find all our contact information and we are full of great
ideas to make your road trip awsome. Plus Grissly and Black bears can
be seen from your car these days if you know where to go to look.