Ultimate Nevada Road Trip

Day 1 UK to San Francisco

Today depart the UK and fly to San Francisco. On arrival make your own way from the airport to the hotel where you will stay for the next three nights. San Francisco is a city that needs no introduction. With its multi-coloured Victorian homes, bustling wharves, excellent shopping, world-class restaurants, museums and art galleries, the island of Alcatraz and instantly recognisable Golden Gate Bridge, this is the ultimate Californian city. Originally settled by the Spanish and built with Californian gold, famed for its fog and colourful 1960s hippie counter-culture, the remainder of the day is at leisure to relax after your flight. (N)

Accommodation in San Francisco: Handlery Union Square Hotel (or similar)

Days 2 - 3 San Francisco

Over the next two days explore San Francisco under your own arrangements. A city of many distinct districts, there is plenty to see and do. Head to Pier 33 and take the ferry to Alcatraz then visit the crab shacks at Fisherman’s Wharf or the food-stalls of the Ferry Building. Despite its hills San Francisco is a walking city but take one of the famous cable cars remembering to stop at Lombard Street, ‘the most crooked street in the world’, Coit Tower for stunning views and the hippie enclave of Haight-Ashbury. Further afield, cross the Golden Gate Bridge to visit charming Sausalito and the giant redwoods of Muir Woods or the award-winning wineries of the Sonoma and Napa valleys. (N)

Accommodation in San Francisco: Handlery Union Square Hotel (or similar)

Day 4 San Francisco to Lake Tahoe – 194 miles

This morning collect your hire car and begin the drive which will take you from the Bay Area to the high mountains of the Sierra Nevadas. Crossing the double-decker Bay Bridge, enter the flat central valley. On the way you may wish to stop in the Californian capital of Sacramento – the impressive white-domed State Capitol and historic district of Old Sacramento are an enjoyable diversion – then start to climb the Sierra Nevadan foothills. This is El Dorado County and, as the name suggests, the discovery of gold here in 1848 sparked the California ‘Gold Rush’. There are many pretty towns between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe but Placerville, with its Bell Tower and antique shops is one of the most attractive. Arrive at Lake Tahoe in the afternoon where you will stay for the next two nights. (N)

Accommodation in Lake Tahoe: Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort (or similar)

Day 5 Lake Tahoe

Once referred to as ‘the fairest picture the whole Earth affords’ by Mark Twain, Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America and straddles the California-Nevada border. The town of Stateline on the south shore is the main centre of activity here and there is a good selection of restaurants, shops and casinos. However, the real draw is the spectacular natural scenery and today explore the lake and wider region. Hike in the hills, the Tahoe Rim Trail is one of the most popular walking routes, hire bikes and cycle the rugged shoreline or board one of the many passenger boats to cruise the lake. (N)

Accommodation in Lake Tahoe: Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort (or similar)

Day 6 Lake Tahoe to Reno via Carson City and Virginia City – 37 miles

After breakfast leave Lake Tahoe and drive north towards Reno. You may wish to stop on the way in Carson City to visit the 150 year old State Capitol or pretty Virginia City which started life as a gold rush boomtown and today is a nationally protected historic landmark. Later arrive in Reno where you will stay overnight. Famously known as the ‘Biggest Little City in the World’ and ringed by high mountains, Reno is western Nevada’s answer to Las Vegas. Although much smaller in both scale and spirit, the downtown has a good range of casinos and restaurants as well as the respected Nevada Museum of Art. (N)

Accommodation in Reno: Whitney Peak Hotel (or similar)

Day 7 Reno to Elko – 289 miles

Today begin the long drive east through the barren and lonely flatlands of the Nevada Great Basin. Break for a coffee in Winnemucca then continue to Elko arriving in the afternoon. Spend the afternoon at leisure after the long drive.

Accommodation in Elko: Best Western Elko Inn (or similar)

Day 8 Elko

Located close to the California Trail – one of the main overland routes for the pioneers travelling west – Elko has a long association with the American West. Elko’s Western Folklife Centre and California Trail Interpretive Centre are both well worth visiting and the more active could also visit Lamoille Canyon – a glacier-carved valley which is a short drive from the town. (N)

Accommodation in Elko: Best Western Elko Inn (or similar)

Day 9 Elko to Ely via Eureka – 180 miles

Re-trace your steps to Carlin then turn south towards Eureka – ‘The Friendliest Town on the Loneliest Road’ and one of the best preserved historic mining towns of the west. Walk Main Street and see the restored Eureka Opera House then re-join Highway 50 towards Ely arriving in the afternoon. This stretch of the isolated Highway 50 still follows the original overland stagecoach and Pony Express routes and today forms part of the transcontinental Lincoln Highway. Just north of Ely is the McGill Drugstore Museum, a preserved 1950s pharmacy rediscovered in the mid-90s and, in the town itself, is the Nevada Northern Railway Museum. (N)

Accommodation in Ely: Prospector Hotel & Casino (or similar)

Day 10 Ely to Las Vegas – 244 miles

Start the day at Great Basin National Park to see the stalactites and stalagmites of the Lehman Caves then travel south towards Highway 375, famous the world over as the ‘Extraterrestrial Highway’. En-route make a brief stop to see the weather-sculpted red-rock cliffs and canyons of Cathedral Gorge State Park before arriving in the tiny roadside settlement of Rachel. Here discuss aliens, flying saucer sightings and top-secret Area 51 with locals and UFO enthusiasts alike at the aptly named Little A’Le’Inn before continuing to Las Vegas. You may wish to stop again en route at the Valley of Fire State Park – the largest and oldest in Nevada. An ethereal landscape of wind-sculpted vivid-red sandstone, following the scenic byway is the best way to see the park and the many geological highlights that include Arch Rock, Piano Rock and Rainbow Vista. On arrival in Las Vegas drop off your car and make your way to the hotel for a three night stay. The self-billed ‘Entertainment Capital of the World’, Las Vegas is an extraordinary blend of neon lights, lavish hotels, super-casinos, world-class entertainment and high-quality restaurants. (N)

Accommodation in Las Vegas: Excalibur Hotel & Casino (or similar)

Days 11 – 12 Las Vegas

Spend the next two days in Las Vegas. Take the obligatory photograph of the famous ‘Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada’ sign then thoroughly explore the strip and the hotels and casinos that line it. Highlights are the Venetian with its replica Grand Canal, the mesmerising fountain water show at the Bellagio and the New York, New York rollercoaster. If possible, also try to take in one of the many excellent shows. In addition, day trips can be made to the Hoover Dam and the enchanting Grand Canyon – the latter of which can be viewed by helicopter. (N)

Accommodation in Las Vegas: Excalibur Hotel & Casino (or similar)

Day 13 Las Vegas to the UK

Check out of your hotel and make your way back to Las Vegas airport for your return flight home, arriving the following day. (N)

Day 14 Arrive UK

Arrive back into the UK in the morning. (N)

14 days from £1800 per person

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Pettitts guide to price for this itinerary would be £1800 per person

Itinerary: Ultimate Nevada Road Trip

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