A UK family, we are visiting California (and neighbouring states) for
the first time in early August as a family of 4 adults/late teens. It
is the start of a 17 day vacation
centering on LA (inbound), Las Vagas, Grand Canyon, Yosemite and
SF(outbound), please suggest other less well known places if you feel
they will add to the experience. We have the flights booked but have
yet to work out a detailed itinerary. At each location we are keen to
learn the most about the area and/or have the most fun in the shortest
time and if worth the cost we are willing to pay to do so. None of us are
particularly energetic but we are able to walk !. If anybody with
**local or travel experience** would care to come up with a suggested
itinerary we would be most interested. We are looking for suggested
specific tours, routes, stopovers etc.

---

Request for Question Clarification by czh-ga on 12 Apr 2006 17:06 PDT

Hello swill-ga,

I love conducting tours for visiting friends and relatives and I?m
excited about preparing a versatile itinerary for you and your family.
In order to customize the research to your needs I?d like to have some
additional information.

1. You said you?ve booked your flights already. When are you arriving
and departing? Depending on when in August you arrive, you might have
to consider where you want to be on the Labor Day three day weekend
(September 2-3-4). This is a major holiday and marks the end of summer
for those who return to school right after this weekend.

2. How old are your teens? Are they boys or girls? Please tell me
about their interests and dislikes. Would you like me to list any
activities that they might engage in by themselves while you and your
wife do something else?

3. Your itinerary is very doable for a 17 day trip. Have you developed
a preliminary schedule already? How much city time would you like to
have as compared to outdoors time? What are your preferences for
indoor and outdoor activities? Do you have any ?must see? destinations
on your list?

4. Please tell me more about your traveling style and preferences. Do
you like long travel days followed by several days in one place or do
you prefer to drive shorter distances and spend only one or two nights
in one place.

5. Do you have a preference on which online maps you like to use.
(Google Maps or Yahoo Maps come to mind. They're very useful and offer
different capabilities.)

http://maps.google.com/   and/or http://maps.yahoo.com


I live in California and I?m very familiar with the loop you?re
planning for your trip. I?m eager to help you with lots of options.
Please tell me more about yourself and your family and your
expectations for this trip so that I can narrow down the
possibilities.

I look forward to your clarification.

~ czh ~

---

Request for Question Clarification by czh-ga on 12 Apr 2006 19:52 PDT

One more question, swill-ga. 

Are you planning to drive the whole distance? The itinerary (LA -->
Las Vegas --> Grand Canyon --> Yosemite --> San Francisco) is
approximately 1500 miles in distance for the direct route but you will
have to add  at least another 500 - 1000 miles for local travel and/or
side trips.

Here are some options for shortening the driving:
 -- Fly from LA to Las Vegas
 -- Do a bus or air tour of the Grand Canyon
 -- Fly from Las Vegas to San Franciso 
 -- Drive from SF to Yosemite and the Gold Country

What are your thoughts about driving vs. flying and specify your
preference for each portion of your trip.

I look forward to hearing from you.

~ czh ~

Hello again swill-ga,

I have been working on your question while awaiting your
clarification. The possibilities are overwhelming. I am presenting you
with a framework for planning your trip along with lots of links for
the destinations you?ve listed. This framework will give you a
starting point for prioritizing your wish list for the trip. I am
including some suggestions for options to consider taking into account
your interests and preferences. Please don?t hesitate to ask for
clarification to help you with gathering more targeted specific
information.

I assume that you will be renting a car and driving yourself for the
entire itinerary. You can substitute drive/fly day or side tour
packages if these fit your interests and budget. I suggest that you
firm up your plans quickly because some of your destinations will
require making reservations as soon as possible.

I suggest that you break your trip into three segments: 

Los Angeles/Orange County (4 days) 
----------------------------------

Beaches, amusement parks, museums, galleries, architecture, history,
shopping, dining, clubs, chasing celebrities, freeways and city
diversions. The range of activities is huge and I will be happy to
suggest specific destinations if you need help narrowing down your
options. Getting around LA requires a car. Other options are simply
not convenient. The distance from Los Angeles to Las Vegas is about
300 miles.

Las Vegas/Utah/Grand Canyon (8 days)
------------------------------------

Visiting the Grand Canyon is a popular option for Las Vegas visitors.
You can do it as a very strenuous day trip ? it?s about 300 miles to
the South Rim. You could hire a plane or helicopter tour if you don?t
want to drive. If you love spectacular scenery I suggest that you do a
bigger loop and take in some of the spectacular national parks that
are also logical destinations from Las Vegas. One example of such a
loop: Las Vegas, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Lake Powell, Grand Canyon,
Sedona, Las Vegas. There are variations on this trip to include
Capital Reef and Monument Valley instead of Sedona. You could also
make it somewhat shorter by choosing fewer parks.

These parks are very popular in the summer and accommodations are
limited so you will have to decide fairly quickly about which ones you
want to visit. You might also want to spend more time in Las Vegas and
make day trips to these destinations instead. Be sure to keep in mind
that this is desert country and the days are very hot in August.

Yosemite/San Francisco Bay Area (5 days)
----------------------------------------

The drive from Las Vegas to San Francisco via Yosemite is spectacular.
I suggest that you drive North on the East side of the Sierras. The
scenery is magnificent. It?s about 360 miles from Las Vegas to
Yosemite Valley by way of Tioga Pass. Yosemite Valley is extremely
popular in the summer so you should make your lodging reservations as
soon as possible. Yosemite to San Francisco is about 200 miles. You
could choose to take the long way to get there and travel North
through the Gold Country and visit Lake Tahoe before heading to San
Francisco. Alternately, San Francisco offers many attractions or you
might want to allow some time to visit the wine country and other easy
side trips in the Bay Area.


Whether this suggested schedule makes sense for you or not depends a
lot on whether you?re more interested in visiting spectacular and
somewhat remote scenic wonders or spending time in more urban settings
and activities. I?ve included a started kit of links for each segment
of your trip. As I said before, you have a huge variety of options. I
will be very happy to help you further if you need any assistance in
sorting out these offerings.

I know you will have a wonderful time on your trip.

Welcome to California!

~ czh ~


=====================================
MAPS, TRIP GUIDES AND OTHER RESOURCES
=====================================

http://maps.google.com/
http://maps.yahoo.com
http://www.mapquest.com/


http://www.aaccessmaps.com/
http://www.aaccessmaps.com/show/list/us/CA
http://www.aaccessmaps.com/show/map/nevada
http://www.aaccessmaps.com/show/map/arizona


http://gorp.away.com/index.html
http://www.us-parks.com/index.html
http://www.tripadvisor.com/
http://www.californiatraveldreams.com/destinations.htm


===========
LOS ANGELES
===========

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g32655-Los_Angeles_California-Vacations.html
http://www.losangeles.com/
http://www.aaccessmaps.com/show/satellite/4/53
http://www.aaccessmaps.com/show/info/lametro
http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-191501884-los_angeles_vacations-i;_ylt=ApThFBDqm7wOmPsjFOMdd8g8FmoL
http://www.cityguide.travel-guides.com/city/sightseeing.ehtml?o=71&NAV_guide_class=CityGuide&NAV_City=71


=========
LAS VEGAS
=========

http://www.visitlasvegas.com/vegas/index.jsp
http://www.usatourist.com/english/places/lasvegas/index.html
http://www.aaccessmaps.com/show/satellite/6/117
http://www.aaccessmaps.com/show/map/lasvegas_metro_big
http://www.destinationcoupons.com/Nevada/Las_Vegas/Reference/mileage.asp
http://travel.howstuffworks.com/40006-13-national-parks-near-las-vegas.htm
http://www.vegasareaguide.com/guide/day_trips.html


============
GRAND CANYON
============

http://www.funwayholidays.co.uk/tours/air_tours.asp
http://freespace.virgin.net/john.cletheroe/usa_can/natparks/canyon.htm
http://gocalifornia.about.com/cs/lasvegasnevada/a/nvgcanfromlv.htm
http://govegas.about.com/cs/offthestrip/p/Grndcyndytrp.htm
http://govegas.about.com/od/nature/a/lvcdaytrips.htm
http://www.rockytrails.com/new/tour_rev.php
http://www.nps.gov/grca/
http://www.nps.gov/grca/grandcanyon/south-rim/whereisit.htm
http://www.nps.gov/grca/grandcanyon/south-rim/index.htm
http://www.nps.gov/grca/grandcanyon/north-rim/index.htm


==========
UTAH PARKS
==========

http://www.us-parks.com/the_grand_circle.html
http://www.viamagazine.com/top_stories/articles/UtahColor04.asp
http://aaa.americantours.com/va_detail.php?package_id=6501&PHPSESSID=0ed836f4386731572f44abf4a0196cc7
http://escortednationalparkstours.com/Walkbike/bryceziongndcanyonmtsb.htm
http://www.escortednationalparkstours.com/Budget/NationalParksHighlights.htm


========
YOSEMITE
========

http://www.usatourist.com/english/places/california/yosemite.html
http://www.yosemitepark.com/content2hdr.cfm?SectionID=18&PageID=17
http://www.inetours.com/Yosemite/Yosemite.html
http://www.yosemiteblog.com/
http://www.yosemite.org/index.html
http://www.visitmammoth.com/
https://world2.dncinc.com/smsworld/yosemite/world_frame.asp?x=y&wsi=VYOSEM&rcp=VYOSEM&rca=&rcc=&rad=//&rdd=//
http://www.yosemiteguides.com/


=============
SAN FRANCISCO
=============

http://onlysf.sfvisitor.org/
http://www.dpway.com/sfchamber/search.aspx
http://www.aaccessmaps.com/show/satellite/1/20
http://www.mapwest.com/


=================================================
MULTIPLE DESTINATIONS ? SIMILAR TO YOUR ITINERARY
=================================================

http://www.escortednationalparkstours.com/Budget/westernwonderext.htm
http://escortednationalparkstours.com/Budget/Drive/western_adventure.htm
http://www.completenorthamerica.com/flydrivecnawestern.htm
http://www.rokkorfiles.com/America.htm
http://www.usatourist.com/english/places/california/drivingtour.html
http://www.funwayholidays.co.uk/tours/esc_tours.asp
http://www.completenorthamerica.com/flydrivecnawestern.htm
http://www.desertholiday.com/specialty_14_Days_WESTERN_BONANZA.htm