San Francisco to Las Vegas Road Trip
An experience worth travelling for
We flew in for a birthday… and ended up turning it into a full California-to-Vegas road trip.
What started as a long weekend in Las Vegas quickly became something much bigger. If we were flying that far, it felt like a waste not to see more, so we gave ourselves ten days, a convertible, and a rough plan… and just went for it.
Starting in San Francisco
We spent our first two nights in San Francisco, staying at Hotel Emblem San Francisco, a really good base for a short stay.
It’s one of those hotels that does exactly what you need it to. The location is great, the rooms are comfortable, and it offers solid value. Nothing over the top, but exactly right for a couple of nights before heading off on a bigger trip.
I’d happily stay again.
While we were there, we did a mix of the classics, exploring the city, visiting Alcatraz Island, and spending a day over in Sausalito, which has a completely different, laid-back coastal feel. Nicola also had the biggest ice cream I have ever seen.
San Francisco is one of those cities you don’t need long in—but you do need to experience properly.
Hitting the road
After San Francisco, we picked up our car, a red convertible obviously, and started the road trip properly.
We didn’t massively overthink this part. We knew we needed to get to Vegas, and we had a rough route in mind, but beyond that we just wanted the freedom to stop when we felt like it and see where the road took us.
We drove down through Monterey and Carmel-by-the-Sea before joining the iconic Big Sur Coast Highway.
Big Sur: the moment it all clicked
This is where it started to feel like a proper road trip.
Driving along Big Sur with the roof down, stopping whenever we wanted and taking in those views, it’s one of those stretches you don’t rush.
If there’s one reason to do this route, it’s this.
Travel tip: Don’t try and power through it too quickly. Give yourself time to stop along the way. That’s the whole point.
A stop we’d slow down next time
We passed through Carmel-by-the-Sea, and this is probably the only part of the trip I’d change slightly.
It had that effortless coastal feel, boutique shops, relaxed pace, and somewhere you’d want to wander in the evening. I wish we’d stayed overnight rather than just passing through.
Real-life road trip moments
We stayed overnight in Lost Hills at a roadside motel, which was absolutely fine… until someone drove into our car while we were asleep.
Not ideal.
The car was still drivable, although the passenger door would not open, so for the next few days we were climbing in and out of it like it was part of the experience.
And just to complete the set, I later reversed into a bollard in Death Valley.
At this point, we were fully committed to seeing what that insurance policy actually covered and were slightly dreading returning the car.
Death Valley: completely different, completely worth it
From the coast to the desert, the contrast in this trip is what makes it.
We stayed at The Oasis at Death Valley, which felt like something out of another era, a bit like Kellerman’s from Dirty Dancing, just surrounded by desert instead of mountains.
And honestly, I loved it.
Death Valley doesn’t feel like anywhere else. It’s vast, quiet, and slightly surreal, the kind of place you need to experience properly.
Travel tip: Don’t just drive through. Stay the night. It completely changes the experience.
Ending in Las Vegas
We finished the road trip in Las Vegas, which felt like the perfect contrast to everything that came before.
After days of driving, scenery, and complete freedom, arriving into Vegas, bright lights, big energy, and a full birthday celebration was exactly what the trip needed.
(And yes… we handed the car back fully expecting a bill, but they didn’t bat an eyelid. Insurance win. I am fairly sure we would not have had that experience if we were in Spain.)
The drive was the whole point of this trip. Vegas was just the ending
Who this trip is for
This kind of trip works really well for:
friends or couples
anyone who wants a mix of experience and flexibility
people who don’t want to be tied to one place
It’s not a “fly and flop” holiday. It is very much a see more, do more kind of trip.
If you’re debating whether to just fly straight to Vegas or turn it into a road trip… do the road trip. It completely changes the experience.
The practical side
Budget: £££
Time of year: April, ideal with warm, sunny weather and not extreme heat
Driving: really easy, Google Maps was all we needed
Travel tip: Download offline maps before you go, just in case signal drops in more remote areas.
If I did it again, I would probably add a few extra days and include the Sequoia trees.
Final thoughts
This is exactly why I always say travel is about more than just the hotel.
Having the freedom to move, to stop when you want, and to see completely different landscapes in one trip is what makes something memorable.
It’s the kind of trip I would recommend to anyone, and one I would 100% do again.
