This is an interesting road trip if you have already done the obvious around California and the Grand Canyon on previous trips or just fancy something a little different.
This trip can be done in a circle starting in Las Vegas and finishing in Las Vegas. Or you could start or finish your trip in LA and start of finish in Vegas. For the purpose of illustrating the trip Ill do a round trip starting and finishing in Vegas.
Drive from Las Vegas to one of three places. LA (as detailed on road trips above, 5 hours from Vegas), Palm Springs (as detailed above, 2 hours from Vegas), or Joshua Tree national Park (4 hours from Vegas). You could of course – if you have time – take in all these places. I would recommend starting with LA, travelling onto Palm Springs, visiting Joshua Tree on a day trip from Palm Springs and then travelling onto San Diego from Palm Springs).
Joshua Tree isn’t one of the biggest national parks, but it is a lovely stopover en route between Las Vegas and San Diego. Named after the Joshua Tree that grows within its boundaries it is a beautiful and peaceful desert park. There are no hotels on site, however, plenty in the surrounding towns of Indio, 29 palms and Desert Hot Springs.
When Travelling onto San Diego from LA or Palm Springs you can travel down the bottom portion of the Pacific Coast Highway (this would be a direct route from LA, a ‘scenic route’ from Palm Springs as there is a more direct route.
LA to San Diego down the PCH is 2 and a half hours. Palm Springs to San Diego – the most direct route – is 2 and a half hours, to detour down the PCH you would be looking at roughly 3 and a half hours.
I would recommend at least 2 nights in San Diego. Don’t forget Seaworld, you may want to add a night to spend a day here.
From San Diego you can travel across the border into Arizona and spend a night in the Wild West town of Yuma. The drive to Yuma from San Diego is roughly 3 hours.
From Yuma the loop heads on towards the pretty Arizona resort town of Tucson. Tucson has a number of sprawling resort hotels and golf courses to entertain you, with some fantastic spas. If you interests are a little more active than this, Tucson is a great place for a dude ranching break. Something well worth looking into if you enjoy campfire cooking and horseback riding! Some of the bigger resorts in Tucson include those by Loews hotels, Westin hotels, JW Marriott and Omni resorts. When you want to venture outside of Tucson don’t miss the famous town of Tombstone, home to the OK Corral.
When you have finished relaxing and rejuvenating or learning the ropes of being a cowboy in Tucson its time to hit the road again. This time to the area of Phoenix/Scottsdale (2 hour drive). There are two options here. You can choose to stay in downtown Phoenix in a city hotel such as The Hotel Palomar, or the Westin phoenix downtown. Or if you need some R&R after staying in a dude ranch in Tucson, or if you fancy a more resort feel hotel you can stay closer to Scottsdale in a hotel such as The Four Seasons, The Phoenician, The Hyatt Regency at Gainey Ranch or The Westin Kierland. There are also plenty of Holiday Inn Express, Courtyard by Marriott etc options in both these areas if you just fancy somewhere to lay your head.
From Phoenix/ Scottsdale you are Vegas bound. The journey should take you roughly 5 hours.