Desert to Coast: Southern California Self-Drive Tour

Eleven nights from Las Vegas to San Diego, self-drive with the flights included, from desert to coast.

Las Vegas takes the first two nights, with a Cirque du Soleil show available and a helicopter flight over the Hoover Dam to the Grand Canyon that lands on the canyon floor, which is a different proposition from looking at it from the rim. The desert in spring is the best time to see it, before the heat arrives.

Palm Springs follows for three nights, a mid-century resort town with more than fifty golf courses around it, a cable car up the San Jacinto Mountains, a guided hike in Joshua Tree and an architecture tour of the modernist houses the place is known for. Laguna Beach comes next for two, which calls itself the whale watching capital of the world, then La Jolla and San Diego for three, with a whale watching trip on a schooner, Torrey Pines golf available, and a last morning at Coronado and the Hotel del Coronado.

Flights, fully insured car hire, the named activities and all the accommodation are included, along with round-the-clock support while travelling, and the price is quoted per person. Twelve days with three-night stops is a slow pace by American road trip standards, which suits a route where the activities rather than the driving fill the days. The helicopter flight is weather dependent. No wildlife sighting can be promised, and the whale season runs through the winter and spring. Palm Springs in July is a different experience entirely, with temperatures that keep everyone indoors until the evening.