Southern California & Arizona Road Trip Itinerary
+ Top Attractions

Enjoy the star-studded walkways of Hollywood Boulevard and nearby movie studios, including Universal Studios Hollywood, which doubles as a theme park. From the iconic Griffith Observatory in the Hollywood Hills you can enjoy breathtaking views over the vast urban metropolis of Los Angeles, as well as the nearby Hollywood Sign, which you can even hike up to if you like.

Los Angeles is home to many important museums, such as the Getty Center, LACMA, The Broad, and the La Brea Tar Pits. The city's many world-class restaurants offer an extremely diverse cuisine from around the world. You'll find exciting nightlife scenes in Downtown, Hollywood, and West Hollywood.

Head to the coast to enjoy the picturesque sandy beaches of Venice or Malibu, and walk along the Venice Beach Boardwalk and nearby Santa Monica Pier, which hosts a waterfront amusement park.

Orange County is located along the Southern California coast between Los Angeles and San Diego and is best known for its beautiful sandy beaches, giant high-end shopping malls, and the original Disneyland theme park.

The coastline of Laguna Beach is lined with countless coves and gorgeous beaches, which sit below tall cliffs. Huntington Beach holds the official title of Surf City, USA, with a very lively atmosphere centered around the iconic Huntington Beach Pier.

If you don't plan on visiting the Disney theme parks or relaxing at the beach, it's recommended to spend one of these day further exploring San Diego or Los Angeles.

San Diego is a magnificent seaside city with many different neighborhoods, located just above the Mexican border. Because of its location, San Diego hosts excellent Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine. The city hosts many stunning beaches including La Jolla Shores La Jolla Cove (a year-round seal and sea-lion habitat), Pacific Beach, and Coronado Beach where you can admire the iconic Hotel del Coronado.

Located approximately 2 to 3 hours away from Los Angeles and San Diego is Joshua Tree National Park, which is named for the many unusual-looking Joshua trees spread out over the landscape.

This national park is located across several desert valleys surrounded by tall desolate mountains, with many stunningly beautiful rocky areas spread throughout this extremely scenic national park. Joshua Tree also hosts many amazing short hiking trails such as the Hidden Valley Nature Trail and Barker Dam Nature Trail, as well as striking rock formations, such as Skull Rock, Face Rock, and Arch Rock.

This beautiful city in Northern Arizona is surrounded by striking red rock scenery and formations in every direction with countless opportunities for hiking and outdoor activities. The city of Sedona is very lovely and features many great restaurants, resorts, and art galleries, as well as many interesting shops selling unique decorations, art, crystals, and new age/metaphysical items.

The city hosts the Chapel of the Holy Cross, a church aesthetically built into the red rock cliffs offering gorgeous panoramic views, as well as the Amitabha Stupa Buddhist shrine. The Sedona area hosts several spots which are said to be energy vortexes, including the Airport Mesa Vortex (which offers striking views) and the Boynton Pass Vortex.

The South Rim of the Grand Canyon is the main tourist destination within the massive Grand Canyon National Park. This area is very well-developed and features over 20 miles (32 km) of easily accessible viewpoints along the rim, each one offering a different perspective.

At the western entrance to the park is Grand Canyon Village, a small town located along the rim hosting hotels, camping, restaurants, and the visitor center, as well as the park’s most popular and easily-accessible viewpoints, Mather Point and Yavapi Point.

Visit Monument Valley, a stunning desert landscape with massive sandstone buttes and mesas that rise above rise high above the valley floor. This valley has been featured in many films and TV shows as an idyllic portrayal of the great American Southwest. Monument Valley sits along the border of Arizona and Utah and is a Navajo Tribal Park.

The best way to see the valley is to drive along the smooth 17 mile (27.5 km) dirt road loop, which is incredibly scenic offering many viewpoints along the way (and can be traversed by almost any vehicle). Within the park you'll find the iconic John Ford Point, countless stunning formations, as well as beautiful and inexpensive handmade Navajo jewelry and crafts. The park's only hiking trail is the Wildcat Trail, which loops around the Sentinel Mesa.

Consider booking a Navajo-led tour to see the picturesque Lower Monument Valley, as well as several arches, Anasazi ruins, and petroglyphs. This section of Monument Valley is only accessible via guided tour and contains many scenic and highly picturesque sights.

The city of Page is located in Northern Arizona very close to the Utah border and the extremely scenic Lake Powell, in an area of immense natural beauty. Page is surrounded by stunning geological formations such as the gorgeous Horseshoe Bend, a massive and picturesque canyon bend in the Colorado River that's approximately 1,000 feet (300 m) tall.

Just east of Page are the iconic Upper and Lower Antelope Canyons, which consist of incredibly beautiful winding red slot canyons. Upper Antelope Canyon is known for the famous beams of light that shine into the canyon, however both canyons are extremely scenic and used in images such as screensavers around the world.

Around Page you'll find many other mesmerizing places, some of which are only accessible via special tours, such as Rainbow Bridge National Monument, Secret Canyon, and X Canyon.

Las Vegas is frequently hailed as the entertainment capital of the world, hosting an array of casinos, shows and performances, clubs and music festivals, and many other activities.

The Las Vegas Strip is a massive boulevard lined with countless themed mega-casinos, many of which are incredible and worth admiring. These casinos recreate the canals of Venice, the skyscrapers of New York, the ancient Roman Forum, the Great Pyramid and Sphinx of Egypt, and even a half-sized replica of the Eiffel Tower, among many other marvels such as a pirate ship bay and a volcano. The Strip also hosts the world's largest Ferris wheel, the 550 foot (170 m) tall High Roller.

Beyond the Las Vegas Strip is the outdoor Neon Museum of the city's old neon signs, as well as a zipline over the LED canopy-covered Fremont Street, the city's Old Las Vegas Strip. In the mountains west of Las Vegas are several gorgeous hiking trails including Red Rock Canyon, First Creek, and Pine Creek. On the eastern outskirts of the city is the iconic Hoover Dam.