Detailed Trip Map
If you would like to see a detailed map with all the spots we visited including hotels and food spots (137 destinations) you should check out our Steller travel map using this link (Steller: Plan & Book Trips). Just download the app and create an account (it’s free!), then search for our account “Tworoamtheworld”. The trips name is “3 Week USA Westcoast Road Trip”. We just wanted to inform you, that the link to the app is an affiliate link. That means we get a small commission when you create an account. But for you nothing will change. So thank you for your support! It means a lot to us and lets us continue doing what we love the most. To travel and to share useful tips on the most beautiful destinations in the world.
Preface and Planning
In September 2023 we hit the road. 4 states, 3 weeks, 2 people and 1 unforgettable experience. Before you read this post, let me tell you that it involves a lot of traveling in a very short time. We didn’t spend much time in the various places and didn’t go on any long hikes. If you are planning to do this, you should plan a little more time or only do part of the route. However, if you want to see as much as possible in as short a time as possible, this route is just right for you. It stretches from Napa via San Francisco to Los Angeles and on towards Las Vegas, Arizona and Utah. The ultimate road trip guide for an unforgettable trip to the USA.
Planning was quite spontaneous, only just before the actual trip and largely completed in one day. We already had a few destinations in mind in advance that we really wanted to see (Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, etc.), but didn’t know which spots were the most beautiful. In order to make the planning as easy as possible, we tried to use ChatGPT. It was helpful in the sense that it told us the most important must-see spots in the places. After we had written down the places, we looked at which ones were the most beautiful and which ones could be neglected. The whole thing was done with the help of Google Maps, where we simply entered the various places and looked at what was the best and quickest way to get there by car and in what order.
My girlfriend has already done roadtrips in California and Nevada before, so we could also use her experiences and we also gave some extra spice to the trip. And that’s how our route was created. A route that covered more than 6000 km (3800 miles).
Day 1: Arrival in San Francisco
We arrived in San Francisco and spent the first day buying some essentials, such as purchasing a hotspot and a SIM card to ensure internet connectivity throughout our trip. The second act was checking into the hotel, and also waiting for each other as we arrived from different countries at different times. In the evening, despite our fatigue and jet lag from the long journey, we managed to take a brief walk around the city before going to bed early. Our hotel was situated near Chinatown. Not the nicest area, but it was central and affordable.
Day 2: Exploring San Francisco (+ Alcatraz Island)
Real fun awaited us on the second day. The following attractions were all conveniently located within walking distance of our hotel. We enjoyed a nice walk through the city, visiting Union Square, Chinatown, the iconic Lombard Street, Fisherman’s Wharf, Pier 39 to admire the cute seals, and embarked on a really interesting trip to Alcatraz Island. Just the boat trip around the island and past the Golden Gate Bridge alone is not as remarkable as the visit to Alcatraz itself.
If you’re considering a visit to Alcatraz Island, we highly recommend booking your tickets in advance, as they can sell out quickly on certain days. Make sure that you only buy tickets from the official website (cityexperiences.com). This is where the tickets are the cheapest and you can be sure that there will be no problems with the tickets.
Once you arrive on the island, you can start with a self-guided tour through the prison areas. You are given headphones and a pre-recorded recording and can then explore everything at your own pace and get to know the island with its all little stories and secrets. On clear days, you’ll also have great views of the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco. We recommend allowing at least two hours for the complete Alcatraz exploration, which already includes the ferry ride, which takes about 15 minutes each way. The self-guided tour takes around 45 minutes. All these programs simply fitted into one day and we didn’t even need public transport.
Day 3: The Golden Gate Bridge & Haight-Ashbury
The third day began with some “must-sees” as we visited the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. I think we don’t have to say much about the symbol of San Francisco. It’s truly a sight one must see at least once in their lifetime. We spent a considerable amount of time there, capturing photographs from various angles and enjoying the warm (but sometimes windy) Californian weather.
Following our time at the bridge, we boarded a bus to the famous Painted Ladies and afterwards to Haight-Ashbury. It’s undeniable that this place feels like a different world; the architecture, the people, the scents, the colors, and even the sounds. It is really a special gem of the city. After a delicious ice cream and surprisingly cheap beer, we hopped on another bus to Twin Peaks. Upon our arrival, the weather had turned quite cloudy, limiting our visibility. We were very surprised when several people warned us to take care of our belongings, as there are often pickpockets in this area. It gave us the strange feeling that you can’t trust anyone here. At the same time, we were also glad that we weren’t alone. The quite spooky weather didn’t help this situation, so we rather left and had an evening walk by the Bay Bridge.
Day 4: Yosemite National Park
The real “road trip” vibe kicked in on the fourth day when we got our car. Early in the morning, we headed to Yosemite National Park. We have to say that this national park is simply beautiful in itself, but fall is not the best time to visit. It was also in our mind that spring could be better, as the waterfalls have more water here and nature wakes up after the winter. But we didn’t want to miss the opportunity to visit and I have to say we didn’t regret our decision.
Recommended hiking and photography spots include Glacier Point, Mariposa Grove, Tunnel View, Bridalveil Fall, Sentinel Bridge, Lower & Upper Yosemite Falls, Mirror Lake, Valley View, El Capitan, and Tuolumne Meadows. It’s important to mention that we didn’t make it to Mariposa Grove and Tuolumne Meadows.
However, most of the places are in Yosemite Valley, very close to each other and you can easily reach them by car, only a few (e.g. Mirror Lake) require a 2 mile (3.2 km) round trip hike. On the whole USA road trip, we mainly visited places that could be reached directly by car and without much hiking, in order to make the most of the time we had available. Our favorite experience was to get close to those wild animals (birds, deer, squirrels etc.) and be in the nature for some hours. You can find accommodations inside the park as well, so we decided to spend the night in Yosemite too.
General Tips for visiting US National Parks
Even if you already know about this and take it for granted, I wanted to mention the following points, as they are very essential for a successful visit to a national park:
- Very important, always check the official national park website shortly before you leave to see which parks, roads or viewpoints are currently closed to avoid disappointment on site and to plan alternatives in good time.
- Be prepared, even though you have US internet, it’s quite sure you don’t get signal in some of the national parks. So we recommend using offline maps in Google Maps to be able to navigate without problem through the parks.
- We also recommend visiting the parks during the week and outside of the holiday season as it can be very crowded during that time obviously. It’s not so important to come early, if you consider the two points above, you will always get a parking space (at least in Yosemite). Bryce and Zion can also be difficult (more on this later). And avoid visiting in the middle of summer, especially in the desert areas, as it can get very hot here.
- Also fill up your car before entering the parks and always have enough to drink with you!
- If you visit more national parks it’s worth to ask for an annual pass (“America the Beautiful Pass”) for only 80 USD. With that you have access to several national parks such as Yosemite, Bryce Canyon, Grand Canyon, Zion and Joshua Tree etc. for the duration of 1 year. Just ask the rangers while entering your first park. A regular ticket for one parks is mostly around 35 USD and is only valid for 7 days. So it’s worth getting the Annual Pass from your third visit to the national park. That can save you some serious money.
Day 5: Yosemite & Drive to Lake Tahoe
We spent the morning of the fifth day in Yosemite to visit the remaining places on the list above that we had planned. After that we continued on to the southern part of Lake Tahoe, the start of our circumnavigation the next day. We arrived at our motel right by the lake in the evening, just had a bite to eat and went to bed.
Day 6: Lake Tahoe & Drive to Napa
The next morning we started our trip around the lake. This place really surprised us in a positive way. It’s really beautiful there, and we were particularly taken with the large villas right on the water. Here, too, we drove all the way around the lake, from viewpoint to viewpoint. But again, without any major hikes. Get out of the car, take pictures, enjoy the view and continue. All easily possible in one day and with enough buffer to drive to our next stop in the evening, Napa Valley, famous for its beautiful vineyards. Unfortunately, we didn’t manage a wine tasting in the evening, but the anticipation for the next day was particularly great.
Day 7: Horseback riding, San Francisco & Route 1
Day 8: Santa Barbara, Camarillo Outlet & Mailbu
Then it was time to go shopping at the Camarillo outlet, where we strolled through the shops for a while. A stop at the famous In-N-Out burger was of course a must. The price was really good, but the taste didn’t really convince me, but maybe it was just the branch. We continued on to El Matador State Beach in Malibu, where we admired the sunset. A real photographer hotspot, we must have seen 5 wedding parties. Then we went to our hotel in Thousand Oaks.
Day 9: Santa Monica Pier, Venice Beach & Beverly Hills
The new day began with a short stop at Dan Blocker Beach and Malibu Lagoon State Beach, neither of which is highly recommended. However, the Santa Monica Pier was an absolute must-see. Here you can park all day for 15 USD and right on the pier. But what we didn’t see until later was that if you drive just 1 or 2 side streets further, there are parking spaces for much less. So keep an eye out. We walked around the pier and watched the hustle and bustle and also played a bit in the arcade.
Afterwards, we walked along Venice Beach for a bit, but as the walk to our actual destination, the Venice Skatepark, was too long, we decided to go there by car. Again, we had to pay 9 USD for parking. You can only park directly on the beach all day. Here too, we walked along the beach promenade, past the numerous stores and street vendors. We watched people skate and walked to Little Venice to marvel at the famous sign. Then we continued with a drive through Beverly Hills, past the magnificent mansions and along Rodeo Drive. Highly recommended. However, we didn’t stop here. But we did stop at the Urban Lights, just as dusk was falling, where we took a few more photos. Afterwards, we headed to our hotel in Pasadena (TBBT sends its regards) with a wonderful sunset.
Day 10: Universal Studios Hollywood
The tenth day was completely dedicated to Universal Studios. We really wanted to try out the new Super Nintendo World here. Therefore, we also bought the corresponding wristbands especially for this purpose. Otherwise, this section of the park would make no sense. Unfortunately, you have to pay 40 USD per wristband. In Super Nintendo Land, you can collect coins and stars by playing lots of little mini-games and, if you have enough stars, you can compete against the final bosses. Part of the app, on which you can see the various stations and games, are also stickers that you can collect. A clever method that is really addictive and draws people back to the park again and again as they want to complete their collection.
Apart from that, we also took all the other rides with the Express Pass. It’s not often the case, but on this day we would probably have done everything without the Express Pass. However, we did have time at the end to ride some of the attractions again and also queue a second time for Mario Kart. The main attraction in the Super Nintendo Land, where there is no Fastpass and you have to wait a long time. We spent the night in the same hotel as before in Pasadena.
Day 11: Warner Bros. Studio Tour & Hollywood
The eleventh day was a Hollywood day. It started with the Warner Bros. studio tour in Burbank. We had booked the Studio Tour Plus here. This cost USD 150, but it was more than worth it. You are first escorted to a separate room where you can enjoy delicious pastries, snacks and refreshments for breakfast before being greeted with a welcome film.
The guided tour then begins with a guide through the historic facilities of Burbank Studios. This is 2 hours long, another hour longer than the standard tour. An absolute must for all fans of film and television. Afterwards we went to a replica of the Central Perk Cafe for lunch. With the Studio Tour Plus, you get a main course, a side dish and a drink for free. Which saves you at least another 30 USD per person. If you always go for the most expensive option, you can save just under 50 USD. Afterwards, you go on an independent journey inside, where you can explore several worlds, including the original sets of TBBT (including Sheldon’s place) and the couch from the Friends reunion show. It really was an unforgettable experience and one of the highlights of our trip to the USA.
The Hollywood Sign was less overwhelming. There are several different ways to get up there. We entered “The Last House on Mulholland” into Google Maps and drove as far as we could by car and walked the remaining meters. Here you can get a really close look of the sign. It’s a must-see, but not a major attraction. Neither is the Walk of Fame, which we went to afterwards. We walked up and down once. But here, too, everything is very dirty, there are lots of houseless people and it’s not the big glitz and glamor that you always imagine. Definitely a must visit, but not something you should spend too much time with.
In the evening we went to the Griffith Observatory. It’s open late, so it’s perfect for an evening program when everything else has already closed. There are telescopes outside with which you can look at Saturn, the moon or certain stars, for example. The inside can be viewed free of charge. But the highlight here is the Zeiss 12 inch telescope, with which you can marvel at the night sky. However, be prepared for a long wait, as the queue to the telescope is quite long. So we didn’t queue here, but instead went to our next hotel, which was in Anaheim.
Day 12: Disneyland Anaheim
A hotel in Anaheim, so you know what that means. Day twelve was a complete Disney Experience. Here too we had a Fast Pass, called Genie +. Where you can always book a fast lane ticket for a specific time (if available). However, only one at a time and you can only book a new one once you have completed the ride. Unfortunately, you need something like that these days, otherwise you’ll just spend hours waiting (you have to with Genie+ too, just less) and can hardly drive anything. We really made full use of the time as we were up from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the evening. So tired we fell into bed, the same as yesterday.
Day 13: San Diego (La Jolla Cove) & Drive to Palm Springs
The next day, after a short stop at Long Beach, we drove on to San Diego. There we visited La Jolla Cove. A place where you can see a lot of seals/sea lions up close as they lie on the beach. In addition to that, you can also observe other animals here such as pelicans, albatrosses and other species of birds. We took a little walk along the bay here. Definitely worth a visit. We then continued to our next stop, the desert city of Palm Springs and arrived here in the evening but didn’t explore anything else.
Day 14: Palm Springs & Joshua Tree National Park
On day 14 we explored Palm Springs a bit, driving through the iconic palm tree-lined streets and checking out the Hotel California.
Before we went to our main day stop, Joshua Tree National Park. This is also included in the Annual Pass for the National Parks. The park is not really big, you can drive completely through it (without stops) in just under 1.5 hours. There is one main route through the park. We came from the south side and drove up to the exit in the northwest. The roads are very good and many of the sights are located right on the side of the road and can be reached without much hiking. Don’t worry, if you drive into the park from the south there won’t be anything to see for a long time, but most of the sights start in the middle of the park and increase towards the west.
We drove completely through the park and stopped at various stops. Must-see points here include Skull Rock, Hidden Valley Nature Trail, Arch Rock, Cap Rock, Cholla Cactus Garden, Barker Dam, Keys View and Cottonwood Spring. We haven’t managed to do everything here due to time constraints, but it should give you tips on what you can do. Depending on your schedule, you can watch more or less. If you are still in the area at night, be sure to take a look at the beautiful starry sky, which is particularly clear here. After our time in Joshua Tree National Park, we went to Las Vegas in the evening, our next stop and to a hotel right on the Strip.
Day 15: Mojave Desert, Amboy & Las Vegas Strip
Day 16: Grand Canyon & Helicopter flight
On day 16 we went from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon. But first with a short stop at Hoover Dam, the famous dam on the border between the US states of Nevada and Arizona. The best view here is from the Mike O’Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge. The best way to do this is to park at the Boulder Dam Bridge Parking shortly after the security check and walk the few meters up to the bridge.
Afterwards, we continued towards the Grand Canyon. We visited the South Rim here. I can only recommend it as there are the best viewing points. But before we visited the canyon on foot, we took a helicopter flight. This is an approximately 45 minute helicopter flight through the canyon. The views here are truly breathtaking and it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. At 400 USD per person, it’s not exactly cheap, but since you probably won’t do it again in your life, it’s definitely worth it.
Next we headed to the South Rim Visitor Center (also included in the annual pass). There are a lot of parking spaces here, very close to the Canyon Rim Trail. The Canyon Rim Trail is also the place with the most beautiful views. You can now decide whether you prefer to walk east or west – it’s up to you, but you’ll come to further viewpoints every few meters. However, most of them are found if you walk west. Here and on our way out of the Canyon, we again saw many animals (bighorn sheep, deer). And on the way to our next spot (Page/Horseshoe Bend) we stopped at Moran Point for the sunset, which I can only recommend.
Day 17: Horseshoe Bend, Antelope Canyon & Monument Valley
Day 17 started very early in order to be at Horseshoe Bend in time for sunrise. Please note that this park is not included in the Annual Ticket, you pay a parking fee of USD 10 each time and for a normal car. A spectacle that I can only recommend. Come either at sunrise or sunset, when the lights are really at their most beautiful. There are also comparatively fewer people, especially in the morning. With a motif like this, however, they don’t usually get in the way. However, if you want to decide which you would rather do, I would recommend the sunset. It looks even better at Horsehsoe Bend than the sunrise. However, due to time constraints, we only ever managed to see the sunrise (twice).
After that, we wanted to take a look at Antelope Canyon. Here, Upper Antelope Canyon is what people visit most often and what is shared everywhere on social media. I would recommend this accordingly. Lower Antelope Canyon should only be visited if time and budget allow. Upper, however, is a must visit.
We actually didn’t inform ourselves in advance and therefore didn’t know that you can only get in here on a guided tour. Fortunately, there were still places available on a tour at 11 am, which we spontaneously booked with the local tour providers. 11 am or around midday is also the time when the tours are most expensive, as this is when the chances of seeing the famous light beams are highest. We were really lucky, the next tour, for example, at 1 pm would have thrown our entire planning overboard. But make sure you always check your time so that you don’t arrive too early or too late. This is because the time in the area jumps forward or back an hour every few minutes due to the different time zones.
However, the tour itself is definitely worthwhile, even if you pay 120/130 USD pp. The guides tell really interesting background information about the canyon and really help every single guest to take the best pictures. Including tips for the best colors for iPhone users! They also made video recordings for us. At that time (September 2023) it was still allowed. However, it now seems to be explicitly no longer permitted to take videos, only pictures. However, it was an unforgettable experience and really worth the money.
Luckily, we still had time to drive on to our next stop, the Monument Valley visitor center. Admission here is also not included in the America the Beautiful Pass and costs 35 USD. Here you can take a scenic drive, which is an approx. 27 kilometer (17 mile) round trip on a very bumpy and dusty road past the famous red rocks. There are a total of 11 official stops where you can stop, get out, enjoy the view and take great pictures.
The drive is really worth it. Again, everything was perfectly timed. We drove in at around 4:30 pm and, without hurrying too much, we made it out again before closing time at 6 pm. It took us 1.5 hours to complete the loop, although it can take more or less time depending on your own pace. So we got out just in time to be ready for the sunset. We spent it at one of the most famous spots in the USA, Forrest Gump Point on the US Scenic Highway 163. An absolute must-visit if you’re in the area and a great spot for beautiful pictures. After the photo session, we headed back to Page.
Day 18: Bryce Canyon & Drive to Zion National Park
Day 18 was planned for Bryce Canyon National Park and a bit of Zion. We set off early in the morning for Bryce Canyon, which is also included in the Annual Pass. Even on the way there you could marvel at the beautiful red canyon landscape. Fortunately, Bryce Canyon itself is also quite clear and manageable. If you want to, you can quickly work through the most important points here too. Seen from the Visitor Center, these 4 spots are called Sunrise Point, Sunset Point, Inspiration Point and Bryce Point.
All four viewpoints are located on the same main road and (usually) have plenty of parking spaces. One point was temporarily closed. Only when enough people had left the parking lots was it possible to enter again. However, this only took around 10 minutes. So if you don’t want to go on long hikes but still want to experience the essence of the park, these four points are a good choice. In general, the park is not as crowded as Zion, for example, and we both actually found it more beautiful and impressive than Zion (if you don’t have time for Angels Landing).
Afterwards, we went on to Zion National Park. We drove in through the East Entrance, which I can only recommend to anyone. This part is really beautiful. You take a scenic drive from the east entrance through the Mount Carmel Tunnel and past many scenic viewpoints and cute goats, down the serpentines to the visitor center. This is where we want to start the actual Zion trip the next morning. So we drove out through the main entrance to Hurricane, a town about 30 minutes from the Zion visitor center.
Day 19: Zion National Park & Valley of Fire State Park
On day 19 we drove to Zion National Park. We definitely recommend getting there very early, as there are very quickly no more parking spaces and you may have to park outside (for a fee) and take the shuttle bus (Springdale line) in. It is also important to mention that you cannot drive into Zion National Park (at least the main part) on your own. There is a shuttle service (Zion Canyon Line) that takes you to 9 stops in the park and leaves every few minutes from the visitor center. The shuttles take about 45 minutes for a trip between the Zion Canyon Visitor Center (Stop 1) and the Temple of Sinawava (Stop 9). So you need to plan at least 1.5 hours for a complete round trip.
In general, Zion National Park is a place for many great and famous hikes such as the angels landing hike from stop 6 (The Grotto) or the day hike “The Narrows” from stop 9 (Temple of Sinawava). It is therefore not really suitable for people like us who want to see as much as possible in as little time and with as little effort as possible. There are not even viewpoints at every spot, such as points 5, 2 or 9, but almost all the places are starting points for some kind of hike. It was definitely an interesting experience, but next time we will have to bring more time with us. However, the drive in the evening before was very nice. Although we visited every single stop once, we finished quickly so that we still had enough time for the Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada.
Valley of Fire State Park was one of my favorite parks on the trip, which really surprised me in a positive way. Admission is not included in the annual pass, but only costs 10 USD for cars with Nevada license plates and 15 USD for everyone else. But it’s totally worth it. We were lucky, although we started in San Francisco we had a Nevada license plate. Probably because we had specified Las Vegas as our destination and drove a car back with it.
This park is also very clearly laid out and easy to explore. Most of the action here also takes place on a road that you have to drive once there and back again. On this road, however, there is also the famous and so often photographed section of road, which is particularly beautiful at sunset (I don’t know if this spot has a name).
At the very end of the road you can also take a short hike (1.5 miles/2.4 km roundtrip to the “Wave”), also very famous. Note that this trail is closed from June 1 to September 30 due to excessive heat. However, as we have seen, it doesn’t stop people from going there anyway. But we avoided it for once. The park offers a really impressive landscape. After exploring each of the points marked on the map (which did not include a hike), we headed back to Las Vegas.
Day 20: Las Vegas & David Copperfield Show
Day 20 was the last real day of the vacation. However, we didn’t plan anything big for it. It was more of a buffer in case we didn’t manage to do anything, or to relax. First of all, we slept in properly for the first time in a long time 😀 Then we went to the Las Vegas sign again, but this time during the day. And then back to downtown Las Vegas to ride the super hero zoom zipline already described on day 15. Apart from eating and packing, the highlight of the day was still to come in the evening. A David Copperfield show at the MGM Grand hotel. I don’t want to give too much away, but it is definitely an artist and a show that you should definitely see if you are in Las Vegas. It’s also a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Day 21: Departure from Las Vegas
That was it for our three-week road trip. We just dropped off the car and flew home. A really beautiful, but also exhausting, but above all eventful trip comes to an end. We hope we were able to inspire you a little and show you what is possible in such a short time. Maybe you can take some tips with you for your next trip to the USA. We wish you lots of fun! Benedikt and Kinga 🙂
USA Westcoast Road Trip: The Ultimate 3 Week Itinerar
USA Westcoast Road Trip: The Ultimate 3 Week Itinerary
USA Westcoast Road Trip: The Ultimate 3 Week Itinerary
USA Westcoast Road Trip: The Ultimate 3 Week Itinerary
USA Westcoast Road Trip: The Ultimate 3 Week Itinerary
USA Westcoast Road Trip: The Ultimate 3 Week Itinerary
USA Westcoast Road Trip: The Ultimate 3 Week Itinerary
USA Westcoast Road Trip: The Ultimate 3 Week Itinerary
USA Westcoast Road Trip: The Ultimate 3 Week Itinerary
USA Westcoast Road Trip: The Ultimate 3 Week Itinerary
USA Westcoast Road Trip: The Ultimate 3 Week Itinerary
USA Westcoast Road Trip: The Ultimate 3 Week Itinerary
USA Westcoast Road Trip: The Ultimate 3 Week Itinerary
USA Westcoast Road Trip: The Ultimate 3 Week Itinerary
USA Westcoast Road Trip: The Ultimate 3 Week Itinerary
Hi. Love your post. We are going from Denmark to the west coast next week. I would like to ask you if the road to Zion from the east entrance is with very high hills and hairpin turns. I am not good at hight 🙂
Oh that is great! So there are a few, but it’s not really high. You can also see this on Google Maps.