California Travel Forum

Hi

We will be visiting Big Sur in Sep and from there will be driving to Las Vegas.

Looking for suggestions of where to stay for one night on the way to Vegas - a town 3-4 hours from Big Sur area would be ideal.

Would prefer to avoid any larger towns/cities. As long as there is a hotel/motel with clean rooms, and somewhere close by for dinner we will be happy.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions

Sue

Trouble is with driving from Big sur to Vegas is that you have the Sierra Nevada mountains in the way so its not really a direct route.

5 hours from big sur would either get you to Santa Barbara heading south It would still be an 8 hour drive from Vegas from there tho.

Last time we toured the US we used the Best Western chain. Nothing special but always clean and somewhere to eat nearby. They have a directory you can pick up which gives you details and directions to all their properties in the US or check out their website.


another useful site is google maps for calculating driving distances between places.

Thanks for the suggestion. Hadn't considered going as far south as Santa Barbara, as it looked like it might be faster to cut east towards Bakersfield.

Though never having been to nor driven in California I don't really know!

Hello


I done the same itinerary in 2007, we made a 1 night stop in the small town of Barstow, CA Desert. We stoped at;
Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites
2700 LENWOOD ROAD
BARSTOW, CA 92311

The drive to Barstow was just over 3 Hrs, total journey time to Las Vegas South Blvd approx 8 Hrs 30 mins

I did however use google map to plan my trip in 2007, from Big Sur to Las Vegas S Blvd (MGM Grand Hotel&Casino)


Best wishes

If you go east towards Bakersfield the scenery is not so interesting. The central valley is flat and agricultural . you'll miss the coast which is gorgeous and dramatic. Still , guess it depends on how much time you'll have.

Barstow is a good place to stop but its a 6 hour drive from Big Sur.

There is a lot of open space along this route - as mentioned above, Barstow and Bakersfield are your best bets.

I am assuming that you will either be flying into Los Angeles or San Francisco, and picking up your rental car ? I think I would return the rental car to that airport, and fly to Las Vegas. If you decided you need a car for Las Vegas, you could always rent and return it locally. You would avoid possible "drop off" fees on the rental car, save money on gas, and avoid a night in a hotel in the middle of nowhere. Southwest Airlines or Virgin America Airlines, among others, frequently have special fares for Las Vegas. You could also use the "Book Travel" option here on VT, which is located at the top of the page, in the brown "toolbar". That would save you from going from site to site, searching fares, etc. A good "links" web page for Las Vegas: www.a2zlasvegas.com. Gary

Hello all


My correction Barstow is approx 6 Hrs drive, Bakersfield is approx 4 Hrs drive

Bakersfield place to stop-over i'd recommend

Holiday Inn Express Bakersfield
4400 HUGHES LANE
BAKERSFIELD,
CA 93304



Best wishes

You might also wish to browse the Las Vegas forum. There was recently links given for sites which offer discounted show tickets. Sometimes those shows can be as, or more exspensive than your hotel room. Gary

I would probably try to plan 5pm dinner in Santa Barbara , lovely place to stop for awhile. Just south of SB in Montecito or Summerland would be nice too, casual and you can take a walk on the beach. Wait out the nighttime traffic and then head down the 101 and across the 126 to Canyon Country/Santa Clarita. Stay the night here or in Palmdale and then you have avoided big-city traffic in the morning, just take the 14 to the 138 Pearblossom to the 18 Victorville, then the 15 north to Las Vegas.

I would drive down Hwy 1 to Cambria and then take Hwy 46 over to Bakersfield and spend the night. There are several places to stay around Hwy 58 and Hwy 99. Going farther east from Bakersfield is not going to find you any better places to stay. Otherwise just drive the eight hours straight through and spend an extra night in LV.

James has a great route suggestion and Lostsooner really has a great idea with returning the car and flying to Vega. You don't need a car in Vegas unless you want to go into the surrounding area. Are you headed anywhere after Vegas?

If you really want to drive to Vegas, I like James' idea of highway 46. It is great scenery into Paso Robles. Then go through Bakersfield. It is a long and boring drive once you come down out of the mountains, but it will get you there. ( Don't try it on a Friday afternoon for there is too much traffic on I-15 )

However, if I were doing it, I'd continue south along 101, visit Santa Barbara, then continue into Burbank ( a city in northern LA county ), and fly from Burbank to Vegas. Southwest will usually do it for $69 + taxes. If there are only two of you, you will probably save enough on car return fees and gas to pay for the airfare.

Thanks everyone for the really great advice! I think you have convinced me to just drop the car back at SFO and fly to Vegas, which gives us an extra night in Carmel.

When flying within the US, how much time do you have to allow for check-in etc at the airport?

Getting in a late reply, but flying is a great option. SFO, after checking in the rental car, you should plan on 1 1/2 hours before flight time.

I think an extra night in Carmel is a very nice option. Two web sites for discount show tickets: (1) www.broadwaybox.com/lasvegas, (2) www.smartervegas.com/shows.aspx. You may also wish to visit the following web site to make sure you aren't going to need to make "special" arrangements in Las Vegas. There are a few good-sized conventions that might impact such things as transport/rental cars, room availability, show tickets, meal times, etc: www.lvol.com/conventions/conv0908.html. Gary

You might also wish to look at the site for the monorail system in Las Vegas: www.lvmonorail.com. You can click on the station guide, and it will give you highlights at, or nearby, each station. Gary

Hello


Be at the check-in area a minimum 90 mins for US internal flights at any major hub. Most airlines offer online check-in (pre-print boarding pass some 48 hours before the departure;) just drop your bags off at the designated drop off-point. Some airlines namely continental will charge a fee of up to $25.00 for a second checked bag, so travel light, certain frequent flyer tier (elite and silver upwards) members may be exempt from this surcharge.

Best wishes

I'm sure that you will be happier flying.

However, why go back all the way to SFO? Try the San Jose airport ( SJC ). It is a shorter drive to get there, and it is often cheaper to fly out of there for local flights.

Probably best to go back to the airport where you rented the car unless there is not drop off fee for a different airport. Car rental companies in California love huge drop off fees.

I agree that looking into SJC rather than SFO could be a good option. It's a smaller airport and cuts out travel time to the Monterey Peninsula. While in Carmel, don't overlook Pacific Grove, which is adjacent to the north.