UPDATE POST 29 Driving this summer from PHOENIX TO YOSEMITE TO SF

[bcla]

You don't say where you are from in your profile, but everyone thinks CA is this state full of people. Actually CA is full of nothingness. 85% of the population is with 100 miles of coast. When the big one hits and LA, SF & SD slip into the ocean, CA will have a population like Delaware.

Not really. Over 6 million people live in the Central Valley. It may be hot and it may be boring, but there's a lot of land there and several population centers - including Redding, Sacramento, Stockton, Merced, Fresno, and Bakersfield.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

The Best Western Mariposa is 30 minutes closer in theory, but it depends on how the crowds are at the entrances as to which is really faster. I think I'd stick with Oakhurst and take advantage of the Mariposa Grove (Wawona), Glacier Point and stopping at the Wawona Tunnel.

Overall the trip is completely nuts though. You do realize that right? Most people do a trip like this in 14 days, not 7. You are traveling through vast swatches of nothing.

You don't say where you are from in your profile, but everyone thinks CA is this state full of people. Actually CA is full of nothingness. 85% of the population is with 100 miles of coast. When the big one hits and LA, SF & SD slip into the ocean, CA will have a population like Delaware.

Are you a TripAdvisor member? There are lots of topics there on trips like this.

Tommy-
Thanks for the info and we are nuts.
I live in the middle of Indiana...flat, boring nothing but fields. Have been traveling back and forth from Indiana to Arizona for 20 years. Have made several trips from Phoenix to California (San Diego, Disneyland) and to Grand Canyon, Las Vegas (twice) all by car.
I do belong to trip advisor.
I mean if we miss Conan---no biggie.
Paid for Alcatraz and Universal.
Could we miss Yosemite and do more time in SF and LA sure. Possibility will do more searching.

 

[Tommy_B]

Tommy-
Thanks for the info and we are nuts.
I live in the middle of Indiana...flat, boring nothing but fields. Have been traveling back and forth from Indiana to Arizona for 20 years. Have made several trips from Phoenix to California (San Diego, Disneyland) and to Grand Canyon, Las Vegas (twice) all by car.
I do belong to trip advisor.
I mean if we miss Conan---no biggie.
Paid for Alcatraz and Universal.
Could we miss Yosemite and do more time in SF and LA sure. Possibility will do more searching.

Yosemite is the one thing I wouldn't miss if you like nature. I think it is spectacular, but I know people who think two weeks in Las Vegas would be heaven and they would be bored with Yosemite.

You might go the Trip Advisor Road Trip forum and get a check on your plans, or the CA forum.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g1-i12567-Road_Trips.html
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g28926-i29-California.html

In any case, have a great trip

 

[Fantaluminishes]

In SF we are now booked at the Courtyard Fisherman's Wharf- price is more than I wanted to pay but my sister was in SF this week. She stayed there but they went to Union Square and said there is a lot of construction around the area (I also didn't realize it was a 2 mile walk to Fisherman's Wharf area). I have checked other areas near Yosemite and the other idea is Best Western in Mariposa...would that be better than Oakhurst? Plan as of now is picking up rental car in Phoenix. Sunday- driving to Yosemite (yes I know it is a long drive and we are used to long car trips) Monday- spend day at Yosemite Tuesday- head to SF (saw its about a 4 hour drive from Oakhurst to SF), would like to get early start and get to SF so we can do Disney Museum on Tuesday Wednesday- Alcatraz (tickets purchased for 8:45 AM tour), then other sight seeing (not sure what we will do) Thursday (get moving early again and I mean early) and head to LA. Need to be down there as we have Conan tickets and need to get down there Friday- Universal Studios first thing and hopefully some other LA/Hollywood sites Saturday- head back to Phoenix for a few days with family Yes, its a lot. Anybody have any suggestions on if it is too ambitious? We don't mind walking, don't mind the car rides and have learned to leave early or late to avoid the traffic. In LA staying at Embassy Suites Glendale-- got a good rate there and 15 minutes to Universal and where Conan is taped.

We live in the Bay Area & have stayed in Mariposa AND Oakhurst. There are some great rentals in Oakhurst. Really like the drive to Yosemite Valley from Oakhurst. Mariposa Grove is pretty awesome too. I think you need another day for Yosemite alone.

Also, the Disney Family is a great place to spent 2 or 3 hours, and it's very close to the GG Bridge. HOWEVER! You need to know that the Disney Museum is CLOSED on Tuesdays. So you will need to plan a different day to visit that.

 

[bcla]

Yosemite is the one thing I wouldn't miss if you like nature. I think it is spectacular, but I know people who think two weeks in Las Vegas would be heaven and they would be bored with Yosemite.

You might go the Trip Advisor Road Trip forum and get a check on your plans, or the CA forum.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g1-i12567-Road_Trips.html
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g28926-i29-California.html

In any case, have a great trip

I'm going camping in Yosemite this summer, so I guess I don't have to think about Mariposa or Oakhurst per se.

Having been to the area many times, Mariposa works better for visiting Yosemite Valley. Oakhurst has more of a town and shopping, although it still feels like a small town in the middle of nowhere.

Ideally one would stay inside Yosemite Valley, but reservations are hard to come by and pricey to stratospheric. Even Curry Village tent cabins are over $100 a night during summer. I already mentioned vacation home and condo options at Yosemite West. There's also Foresta.

Also - in park lodging at the Wawona Hotel sometimes have better availability.

 

[Syndrome]

We are doing a similiar trip this summer, but we are doing it in 14 days. I cant imaging trying to squeeze that much in 7 days. Good luck !
We will be flying into Vegas (from the east coast), then we are staying in Zion for 5 nights , visiting Zion, Bryce and possibly the Grand Canyon North rim. Then we are driving out to DisneyLand and staying for 5 nights at the Grand California Villas. After that we are heading up to Sequoia, staying at Wuksatchi lodge for 1 night. Then up to Yosemite /Mariposa and staying for 2 nights at Tenaya Lodge. The last Night of our trip we will be staying in the SF / Oakland area Visiting GG bridge , maybe some of the redwoods / Muir woods . Then we are flying out of Oakland. Whew ..............even that much in 14 days seems stressful .
We just need to find a good hotel that is close to SF / Oakland that doesnt have outrageous prices like SF .
Thanks for the tips on staying in Walnut creek . Is it a good safe area ?
We have found the Hyatt House in Walnut Creek to have some nice suite type of rooms for reasonable prices. Anyone know if its a good hotel ?

Good luck on you summer road trip too !

 

[Fantaluminishes]

We are doing a similiar trip this summer, but we are doing it in 14 days. I cant imaging trying to squeeze that much in 7 days. Good luck ! We will be flying into Vegas (from the east coast), then we are staying in Zion for 5 nights , visiting Zion, Bryce and possibly the Grand Canyon North rim. Then we are driving out to DisneyLand and staying for 5 nights at the Grand California Villas. After that we are heading up to Sequoia, staying at Wuksatchi lodge for 1 night. Then up to Yosemite /Mariposa and staying for 2 nights at Tenaya Lodge. The last Night of our trip we will be staying in the SF / Oakland area Visiting GG bridge , maybe some of the redwoods / Muir woods . Then we are flying out of Oakland. Whew ..............even that much in 14 days seems stressful . We just need to find a good hotel that is close to SF / Oakland that doesnt have outrageous prices like SF . Thanks for the tips on staying in Walnut creek . Is it a good safe area ? We have found the Hyatt House in Walnut Creek to have some nice suite type of rooms for reasonable prices. Anyone know if its a good hotel ? Good luck on you summer road trip too !

Judging from your plan, it looks like your family is into nature. I don't remember how far Zion and Bryce are from Arches, but a stop there would be great for you, if possible.

Tenaya Lodge is very close to the Mariposa Grove inside Yosemite. Those trees are quite amazing. We stayed in Oakhurst a couple of months ago. The drive to Yosemite Valley from Tenaya is about 75mins. Hopefully 2 nights will be enough time for Yosemite.

Walnut Creek is nice and very safe. I've lived there. The BART is convenient for getting into SF. But if you're driving to "the city" during commute hours and most weekend times, there will be plenty of traffic. Alameda is pretty safe, and centrally located. You can tamale a ferry to SF, and even Angel Island, which is a fantastic day trip.

Because you have sequoia, Yosemite, etc. I'd skip Muir Woods. It's a bit out of the way and the parking is a nightmare. Maybe focus on the coastal areas south of Pacifica. There are some very nice beaches, and the views are great along highway 1. We're heading over there today for a picnic to get away from the mid-ninety degree weather. Being relatively close to everything is one of the best parts about living in the Bay Area.

Like Walnut Creek, the Dublin/Pleasanton area is a very nice suburb. It's a little bit further from SF, but a decent spot for traveling further south. It's also about a 25 minute drive to Oakland Airport.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

UPDATE:

Dropped Yosemite until we can spend several days there and plan to try and stay inside the park.

Now we will go to SF on Sunday (yes a long drive but that is our option). Will have all day Monday, Tuesday and half day Wednesday in SF. Main things to do are Disney Museum on Monday and Wednesday 8:45 AM Alcatraz (have those tickets purchased). Then after Alcatraz we will head down the coast --looking at Atascadero (just saw partway and would like to drive down coast a ways).

Thursday get up and head down to LA and do Conan and Friday do Universal (if we can do anything else which I doubt that'd be great if not we are ok with that).

Head back to Phoenix on Saturday morning EARLY.

We are staying in Phoenix before and after as my family is there and we are flying into there. I have a great car rate there so one way driving will negate that. I have factored in gas and the parking costs in LA and SF. We don't plan on driving at all once in SF (using our legs or public transportation).

 

[zoo2tycoon]

Things have really changed...

Sunday we will head to SF and do a straight drive from Phoenix.
We will spend Monday thru Wednesday lunch in SF.
Main things we will do are Disney Museum, Alcatraz (paid for) and biking across bridge (got a 2 for 1 groupon)

Wednesday after lunch we will head down the coast to Paso Robles and stop at Pebble Beach if time permits. If not no biggie.

Thursday thru Saturday is LA. We are staying in Glendale as a base because of prices of hotels near Universal. Our Conan taping was canceled which is actually probably for the better. Once in LA area we will do Graumans Theater and pictures by the Hollywood sign (I researched where to get best pictures online). What we get done Thursday is fine (might prioritize heading to Pasadena to my grandparents grave). Friday is Universal and we leave Saturday to head back to Phoenix.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Things have really changed...

Sunday we will head to SF and do a straight drive from Phoenix.
We will spend Monday thru Wednesday lunch in SF.
Main things we will do are Disney Museum, Alcatraz (paid for) and biking across bridge (got a 2 for 1 groupon)

Wednesday after lunch we will head down the coast to Paso Robles and stop at Pebble Beach if time permits. If not no biggie.

Thursday thru Saturday is LA. We are staying in Glendale as a base because of prices of hotels near Universal. Our Conan taping was canceled which is actually probably for the better. Once in LA area we will do Graumans Theater and pictures by the Hollywood sign (I researched where to get best pictures online). What we get done Thursday is fine (might prioritize heading to Pasadena to my grandparents grave). Friday is Universal and we leave Saturday to head back to Phoenix.

Look into driving along the 17 mile drive on your trip south from San Francisco It is just south of Monterey.