Expert: Ernest Tufft - 5/15/2008

Question
QUESTION: We are trying to organise a fly drive holday - 18/10 - 3/11/08 starting base San Francisco, where we plan to stay 3/4 nights on our arrival from UK.  We want to include Yosemite, Monterey/Carmel area, Sequoia Forest, Grand Canyon/hoover dam and flying back from Phoenix.
We did at one point consider hiring an RV (to save having to book 2 hotel rooms each time on route) but was advised that this could be troublesome on some roads.

Would appreciate any advice/info or even recommendations of places we just shouldn't miss.

ANSWER: Your plans for this two week adventure seem appropriate for me.  I agree that driving an RV isn't such a great idea.  You don't mention how many are "we", but if you are just two, I would recommend getting a sports car, rather than an RV.  RVs are gas guzzling monsters on the road in my opinion, that won't save much if any costs for accomodations.  I would sequence the trip this way:

San Francisco 3/4 days, Santa Cruz/Monterey/Carmel 2-3 days, Yosemite 2-3 days, Las Vegas (Hoover Dam) 2 days, Grand Canyon 2 days, Phoenix 1-2 days.

This doesn't seem to add up to the number of days available, and I dropped Kings Canyon/Sequoia because Yosemite's Mariposa Grove will suffice nicely for the Sequoia Tree experience while saving you many hours of driving.  You might consider also Napa Valley Wine Country, which should be a day or two immediately after San Francisco, and before Monterey Bay (You can drive over the Golden Gate bridge to get there, and then drive down I-680 to Hwy 101 to get to Monterey Bay).  A little further north, but very popular, would be Lake Tahoe; similarly, further south, would be San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara, and even LA.   But, I recommend spending more time at each of the stops you've planned to maximize the enjoyment and minimize the driving time.  On the trip from Yosemite to Las Vegas, take the Tioga Pass road over to Mono Lake, before turning south on Hwy 395 through the Nevada desert.  It's also possible to do a quick drive through of Death Valley along this route.

Have fun!

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for your prompt reply.  The reason we were considering the RV was because my 28 daughter will be travelling with my husband and myself which would have involved booking 2 rooms. Sports car sounds a fabulous but not practical idea for us.

If you can give any advice where we should aim to look for accomodation in Grand Canyon area it would be really helpful


Answer
For three people, I still think you will find an RV too cumbersome to drive.  Rather than getting two rooms, have you considered getting suite?  As for the Grand Canyon, I'm not an expert in this area, but try this link:
http://www.grandcanyonlodges.com/

Good Luck...