The Ultimate tailor made holiday to California and Las Vegas

Our recommended itinerary for an unforgettable 18 night American holiday

This article is all about how to design the perfect itinerary, so that you'll see all the best bits of California and Las Vegas in the easiest and most interesting way. Therefore, I have not included any hotel recommendations here. However when we provide a quote for you, we will of course recommend certain hotels to fit in with your budget.

• 4 nights in San Francisco
• 2 nights in the Napa Valley
• 2 nights in Yosemite National Park
• 1 night in Carmel
• 1 night in San Simeon
• 4 nights in Los Angeles
• 4 nights in Las Vegas

Total: 18 nights

San Francisco (4 nights)

There are two good reasons for starting your holiday with San Francisco if you are planning to hire a car.

The first is that because you drive on the right hand side of the road in the USA, you will get an unobstructed view of the ocean by going from San Francisco and driving south to Los Angeles, rather than the other way round.

The second is that you don't really need a car in San Francisco, and so I recommend hiring a car only when you are leaving. We will provide a transfer to your hotel when you first arrive, and it also gives you a few days to get orientated with the city.

What to do...

• Walk across the Golden Gate Bridge and admire the spectacular view of the skyline from 'Vista Point'
• Wander around Golden Gate Park and visit the Japanese Tea garden, Shakespeare Garden and the Strybing Arboretum
• Take the ferry to the infamous Alcatraz Island where Al Capone was held
• Take in the atmosphere of vibrant Fisherman's Wharf where you will find shops, bars, cafes, seafood restaurants, museums, and many attractions such as Ripley's Believe it or not! , the Wax Museum, and Pier 39 which has many restaurants, shops and amusements
• Take a historic cable car ride from Union Square down to Fisherman's Wharf
• Explore colourful Chinatown and its temples, and admire the views from nearby Nob Hill which is the highest point in the city
• Watch the cars try to go up Lombard Street, said to be the crookedest street in the world. There are steps for pedestrians.

Napa Valley (2 nights)

Napa Valley is best known for its abundance of wineries - there are over 250 here, many of which you can visit and enjoy wine tasting. However the Napa Valley is also known for the outstanding quality of its delicious fresh foods.

What to do...

• Drive the 40 mile route of the Napa Valley, stopping along the way to see vineyards, a historic waterwheel, and the largest petrified trees in the world
• Sit back and relax on the Napa Valley Wine Train - a luxury 3 hour journey
• Wander around the delightful streets of Napa with its cafes, art galleries, boutiques and restored buildings
• Take a tour of one of the wineries and try a bit of wine tasting

Yosemite National Park (2 nights)

After a few days in San Francisco and Napa, this will be a very different couple of days. You'll feel like you have got away from it all with beautiful walks, meadows, waterfalls, lakes and forests. There is even a tiny wooden church that is all that's left from the old 19th century village. Other highlights are Yosemite Falls, the highest waterfalls in North America, and the iconic 'Half Dome' granite dome.

What to do...

• Walking, hiking, horse-riding trails
• Take a ride on the two hour open air tram tour around Yosemite Valley
• Hire mountain bikes and ride one of the many cycle routes
• Ride the Sierra Steam Train or for something unique, take the same trip under the moonlight including a BBQ (May to Sep only, Wednesdays & Saturdays)
• During winter take part in typical snow activities such as ice-skating, sledding, skiing, horse drawn sleigh rides and snowshoe hikes

Carmel (1 night)

The next part of your journey south will be one of the world's great drives, down highway 1. Carmel makes a good place to stop for the night before the best bit begins. It is a charming, quaint small town with good restaurants, shops and cafes.

What to do...

• Visit Carmel Mission founded in 1770
• Visit the largest aquarium in the USA at nearby Monterey

San Simeon (1 night)

It is possible to do the trip from Carmel down to Los Angeles in one day, but there are so many photogenic stops along the way that you'll probably be glad of an extra night to do the 300+ mile journey. It is also a great place to stop as you will often find elephant seals basking in the sun along the beaches.

What to do...

• Visit Hearst Castle which stands on the hill above San Simeon
• Watch elephant seals on the beaches around San Simeon

Los Angeles (4 nights)

Los Angeles is the entertainment capital of California, and although 4 nights gives you a very good taste of what's on offer, you can easily spend far longer here, especially if you want to enjoy a few days at Disneyland. It is also a good place to stop for a bit longer if you want a few days relaxing on the beach.

One question to bear in mind is where to stay? The cheapest place is probably downtown Los Angeles where you can pick up a very good 4* or 5* hotel at good rates, but for sightseeing and to avoid to much of the car, Hollywood is the place to be. Alternatively if you are going to be spending some time on the beach, then you might as well stay down on the coast for a few nights.

What to do...

• See the movie sets at Universal Studios, and enjoy thrilling rides, 3D and 4D shows, and character photo opportunities - plus see Wisteria Lane from TV's Desperate Housewives
• Walk down Hollywood Boulevard one of the most famous streets in the world including the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Hollywood Wax Museum, Kodak Theatre, and the Hollywood Guinness World of Records
• Drive out to see the famous Hollywood sign
• Disneyland Resort - a huge theme park with rides and shows
• Take a tour of the Movie Stars homes in Beverley Hills
• Shopping - department stores include Bloomingdale's and Macy's
• Escape to Griffith Park where there is a bird sanctuary, Greek Theatre, a collection of vintage trains and cars and the wonderful Griffith Observatory
• A day at the Beach - there are several good beaches around Los Angeles but our favourite is Venice Beach - there are still some of the old canals, while artists, people on roller skates, musicians, and belly dancers all make it the most interesting beach in LA

Las Vegas (4 nights)

Las Vegas makes the perfect end to your holiday - whatever you think of it, everyone should come here once, even for just a day, just to experience the extraordinary fantasy world of themed hotels, famous shows and gigantic casinos.

But it is also a place where you can chill out at the end of your holiday. One hotel even has an 11 acre beach, not to mention a luxury 30,000 sq ft spa and 14,000 sq ft bathhouse. With hotel rates lower than in California, you can easily spend longer here just relaxing.

What to do...

• Watch a show - for example Cher, Bette Midler, Cirque du Soleil and The Lion King are all showing
• Fly over Las Vegas Strip at night on a thrilling helicopter ride - Sip champagne before boarding your helicopter for a fascinating flight over the fabulous Las Vegas Strip. Glitter, gulch, Fremont Street, Stratosphere Tower, and much much more! An unforgettable nighttime buzz …and an amazing flight you will never forget!
• Wander in and out of Las Vegas' themed hotels - there can't be too many places on earth where the hotels are an attraction in themselves, but especially at night they do make an amazing sight. Stunning designs include the Venetian Hotel with its replica St. Mark's Square and canal system, and the luxurious Wynn Las Vegas with its opulent furnishings and priceless artworks, such as Picasso, Renoir and Van Gogh.
• Visit the Hoover Dam
• Enjoy a relaxing massage in the hotel spa
• Take a day or overnight excursion to Death Valley
• Have a gamble - from the moment you arrive at the airport there are fruit machines, so why not have a go at roulette? Alternatively, watch the serious gamblers stake eye-watering amounts of dollars on the spin of a wheel.
• Go shopping in the vast array of bargain and designer stores. Go to the Stratosphere Hotel and wander through cosmopolitan streets reminiscent of Paris, Hong Kong and New York. Or visit the exotic North African marketplaces in the Aladdin where you will be treated to a live indoor thunderstorm!
• Afternoon at the Venetian - no trip to the Venetian would be complete without a graceful, romantic glide down the Grand Canal in an authentic Venetian Gondola! Spend time at the famous Guggenheim American Pop Icons exhibition, then take advantage of a unique opportunity to meet and mingle with America's finest ... at Madame Tussauds Las Vegas.
• Lake Mead Dinner Cruise - Jump on board a delightful, 2-hour dinner cruise on Lake Mead. Enjoy the evening on a Mississippi-style paddle wheel boat as you see the sun set around the mountains, creating brilliant red and gold hues as you cruise around the lake. Whilst you enjoy a 3-course dinner, and possibly a cocktail or two let the enchantment of the lake relax you! After dinner, en route back to Vegas, you will drive over Hoover Dam and see its spectacular beauty under a shower of night lights. This truly is a spectacular way to spend an evening in this unique setting!

Alternatives

This 18 night itinerary is just one way to organise your trip, so let's look at a couple of alternatives.

• Instead of flying back from Las Vegas, you could drive to Death Valley, spend a couple of nights there, and then back San Francisco via Yosemite National Park, flying home from San Francisco. With this circular route, you would of course miss out Yosemite at the beginning, so it would look like this:

  4 nights in San Francisco +
  2 nights in the Napa Valley +
  1 night in Carmel +
  1 night in San Simeon +
  4 nights in Los Angeles +
  4 nights in Las Vegas +
  2 nights in Death Valley +
  2 nights in Yosemite National Park

  Total: 20 nights

  
  

• For a shorter holiday, say of 12 nights, what would we suggest as the best itinerary? Well you could do a simple 3 centre holiday, flying between cities so it would be:

  4 nights in San Francisco +
  4 nights in Los Angeles +
  4 nights in Las Vegas

  Total: 12 nights

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