Expert: Steve Summers - 6/13/2008

Question
We are living in Australia and my wife and I will be flying from Vancouver to San Francisco mid/late July.  We would like to visit Yosemite, Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley.  We thought we would stay two or three days in San Francisco, fly to Yosemite (is there an airport there?) then on to Las Vegas.  Use Las Vegas as a base and then helicopter to and from Grand Canyon and Monument Valley then fly on to Los Angeles.  Would be grateful of any helpful suggestions and possible suitable companies.

Thanking you,

David

Answer
Hi David,

There is no airport in or around Yosemite. The closest is Fresno (FAT, although they have petitioned to change it to FIT, ironically), which is about 80 miles from FAT. So you can fly to Fresno,then take a tour or just drive to Yosemite. Your best bet might just be a tour from SF. You can Google Yosemite Tours or go to sanfranciscosightseeing.com or extranomical.com.

Try to allow for 2 or 3 days in Yosemite. It really is awesome, and quite different from most of America. In many cities, it's a mad rush to get from here to there, and see everything. In Yosemite, you can admire the beauty of the place. Since it takes awhile to get there, I'm never in any hurry to leave. IMHO, the 1-day tour should be outlawed.

I don't think I can prepare anyone adequately for the sensory overload that is Las Vegas. It is a tribute to American Excees. There ir truly too much to see at once, and one can only boggle at this city in the middle of the desert. Las Vegas Grand Canyon Tours is as good a company as any. They offer helicopter tours to Grand Canyon, and airplane tours to Monument Valley (which is a lot further, hence the fixed-wing plane).

Here's a suggestion: It can get VERY hot in Las Vegas. Sure, it's dry heat, but you still bake like a Thanksgiving turkey if you stay outside for very long in July. Yosemite, on the other hand, may require long pants and warm clothes, since it CAN get cold at night. It's best to be prepared. We went to Yosemite last year, and it never got below 60F at night. However, I have been there in July, and we got a dusting of SNOW! Go figure. You can almost count on a little rain in Yosemite if it's hot in Fresno... not much more than a sprinkle, but be prepared. I haven't been to the Grand Canyon for about 30+ years, but I have been researching it so I can take my youngest. Be prepared for some limited visibility in Grand Canyon, as the pollution comes down from Las Vegas in the summer.

Have a great trip!