Sample trip · West USA
West USA road trip in 14 days
The route most Europeans mean when they say “the West”: the Pacific Coast Highway, San Francisco, Yosemite, the Grand Canyon and a stretch of real Route 66 — in a loop from Los Angeles, with no day behind the wheel longer than it needs to be. This is the same itinerary a Flying Cape book is built around: realistic drive times first, the region’s must-sees placed on them, and a place to sleep every night on the route.
The shape of the trip
- 14 days, 13 nights, one loop — the car starts and ends in Los Angeles, so there is no one-way drop-off fee.
- About 1,900 miles (3,100 km) and 36 hours of driving, spread so the two longest days are ones with nothing else planned.
- All five West USA must-sees included: San Francisco, Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, Los Angeles and Route 66.
Day by day
Drive times are behind-the-wheel estimates without long stops, for the late-May-to-October season. Every stay links to a plain search — Flying Cape never books, you do.
- 1
Arrive in Los Angeles
No driving today
Land at LAX, pick up the rental car in the evening (or the next morning) and sleep near the coast. Jet lag from Europe works in your favour: you will be awake very early, which is the best state for a first day of driving.
Stay in: Santa Monica or LAX area · typical $140–230/night · check live prices
- 2
Los Angeles
~30 min local
Griffith Observatory for the skyline view, Hollywood Boulevard on the way, late afternoon on Santa Monica Pier. Resist the temptation to plan more: the car stays parked and the trip starts tomorrow.
Stay in: Santa Monica or LAX area · typical $140–230/night · check live prices
- 3
Los Angeles → Cambria, up the coast
~3 h 45 · 215 mi / 345 km
US-101 past Malibu, lunch in Santa Barbara, then the road hugs the water north of San Luis Obispo. Arrive in Cambria or Morro Bay with time for sunset over the ocean.
Stay in: Cambria or Morro Bay · typical $120–190/night · check live prices
- 4
Big Sur → Monterey
~3 h · 110 mi / 180 km
The shortest driving day, and the one people remember. Bixby Bridge, Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, a long lunch, then Carmel-by-the-Sea before the night in Monterey.
Stay in: Monterey or Carmel · typical $130–200/night · check live prices
- 5
Monterey → San Francisco
~2 h 15 · 120 mi / 195 km
An easy morning: the Monterey Bay Aquarium or the sea lions on Fisherman’s Wharf, then up the coast with a stop in Santa Cruz. Drop the bags in San Francisco and walk to dinner — you will not want the car again until Day 7.
Stay in: San Francisco · typical $180–280/night · check live prices
- 6
San Francisco
No driving today
Golden Gate Bridge from Crissy Field, a cable car ride, Alcatraz if you booked the ferry weeks ahead (it sells out — book it before you leave Europe). The car stays parked; hotels near Union Square or Fisherman’s Wharf charge $40–60 a night for parking.
Stay in: San Francisco · typical $180–280/night · check live prices
- 7
San Francisco → Yosemite
~4 h 45 · 210 mi / 340 km
Leave after breakfast, cross the Central Valley and enter the park over CA-120. By evening you are at Tunnel View looking down the valley the pictures never prepare you for.
Stay in: El Portal or Yosemite Valley · typical $150–260/night · check live prices
- 8
Yosemite Valley
0–40 min by shuttle
A full day in the valley: the Mist Trail past Vernal Fall, Mirror Lake, El Capitan meadow. In summer the free shuttle replaces the car — the valley car parks fill by mid-morning.
Stay in: El Portal or Yosemite Valley · typical $150–260/night · check live prices
- 9
Yosemite → Death Valley
~6 h · 320 mi / 515 km
The long haul, and worth it: over Tioga Pass, past Mono Lake, then down through desert emptiness to Furnace Creek. Late afternoon light on the dunes near Stovepipe Wells. This is the one day with no sightseeing stop worth scheduling — drive it in one go, in daylight.
Stay in: Death Valley (Furnace Creek or Stovepipe Wells) · typical $130–220/night · check live prices
- 10
Death Valley → Las Vegas
~2 h 15 · 125 mi / 200 km
Zabriskie Point and Badwater Basin before the heat of the day, then an easy afternoon run to Las Vegas. Show up to the Strip in the evening or go quiet downtown on Fremont Street — the room prices make up for it midweek.
Stay in: Las Vegas · typical $60–140/night · check live prices
- 11
Las Vegas → Grand Canyon South Rim
~4 h 30 · 280 mi / 450 km
Leave early, leave the Hoover Dam for the way back, and stop for lunch in Seligman — your first taste of Route 66. Reach the South Rim in late afternoon, which is the quietest and best-lit time at Mather Point.
Stay in: Tusayan or Grand Canyon Village · typical $120–200/night · check live prices
- 12
Grand Canyon → Kingman, on Route 66
~3 h 30 · 160 mi / 260 km
Walk the Rim Trail in the morning, then drive west into the park exit and onto the old road: Seligman, Peach Springs, the drive-in screen at Hackberry. Kingman is a genuine Route 66 town with Route 66 prices to match.
Stay in: Kingman · typical $70–110/night · check live prices
- 13
Kingman → Los Angeles
~5 h 30 · 370 mi / 595 km
The second long day, almost all motorway. Leave by mid-afternoon at the latest, return the car in the evening and have the last dinner back where you started. If two long days feel like too much, this is the one to split — Santa Monica makes a fine 14th night.
Stay in: Santa Monica or LAX area · typical $140–230/night · check live prices
- 14
Fly home
No driving today
Daytime flights to Europe land the next afternoon; evening flights land in the morning. Either way, the trip page for this route fits the flight home: fourteen days, no day wasted.
Typical prices. Check live prices and opening conditions before booking — Tioga Pass (Day 9) is closed roughly November to late May, when this route swaps to the southern approach and gains driving time.
Car plan
A mid-size SUV or similar is the right car here: Big Sur and Yosemite roads are fine in anything, but the luggage of two people for two weeks is not. Because the route is a loop, pick up and drop off at LAX and pay no one-way fee. Europeans under 25 pay a young-driver surcharge in most US states — check it before choosing dates, not after. Two weeks typically lands in the $500–800 range before optional insurance; compare rental comparators and book two to three months ahead.
Flight plan
From Paris, Air France flies non-stop CDG → LAX in about 11 h 30; from London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and the Nordics you will usually take one stop, which adds 3–5 hours. Return economy fares from Western Europe typically sit between €450 and €750 when booked three to five months out — the same window that gets you the Yosemite and Grand Canyon lodgings before they sell out. Search flights to Los Angeles from your own city before fixing the dates, and let the flight choose the trip, not the other way round.
Want this trip on your own dates?
Flying Cape writes this route as a full book for the dates, pace and departure city you choose — day by day, with hotels, car and flights from your city. $29, one time.
Flying Cape is built and run end to end by AI agents on NanoCorp, which is how a route like this one gets re-checked for drive times and seasonal closures before you ever read it.