Cities are stops, not destinations
Almost all our guests land in one of three cities: Los Angeles, San Diego or Las Vegas. And almost all of them ask the same question – how many days should I plan?
My honest answer, after years of that question: one evening, at most two nights. Not because the cities are bad, but because they are not the reason you flew. That reason is two hours outside town, and every extra city day comes out of it.
So this is not a “top 10” ranking. It answers a more practical question: you have one evening, a vehicle with a rooftop tent, and jet lag. What do you do with it?
Los Angeles: the evening belongs to the hill
Stay: one night before handover, one or two evenings after.
Los Angeles frustrates first-time visitors because there is no downtown to walk. The city is a carpet of neighbourhoods and traffic dictates your day. Try to see Hollywood, Santa Monica, Downtown and Beverly Hills in one day and you will spend six hours in the car.
If you only have one evening: drive to the Griffith Observatory. In one hour up there you will see more of Los Angeles than in a day of driving around – skyline, Hollywood sign, and on clear evenings the Pacific. Admission is free, parking is paid, and it is closed on Mondays. Arrive well before sunset.
If you have two evenings: the second belongs to the coast. Santa Monica Pier for the Route 66 sign, then Highway 1 north to Malibu. That is already the beginning of your actual trip – more under Santa Monica and Malibu.
Parking with a rooftop tent: in LA this is the real issue. Many garages in Beverly Hills, Hollywood and Downtown have height limits around 6.5 feet, and with the tent your vehicle is taller than a standard Model Y. Plan for street parking.
When to move on: as soon as you have seen the observatory. North runs the Pacific Coast Highway; east lies Joshua Tree, two to three hours away. Handover details are under Tesla rental from Los Angeles; for couples we have written up the LA days separately in the Los Angeles honeymoon guide.
San Diego: the easiest first American city
Stay: one to two nights. San Diego is the only one of the three where I understand an extra day.
San Diego is more relaxed than Los Angeles, more compact, and with around 260 sunny days a year the weather is close to predictable. For guests driving in the US for the first time, it is the gentlest introduction: manageable traffic, short distances, an easier pace.
If you only have one evening: La Jolla Cove in the late afternoon. Sea lions on the rocks, a clifftop path, sunset over the Pacific. There is still time for dinner by the water afterwards.
If you have a full day: Balboa Park – a generous park complex of museums and Spanish colonial architecture where you can spend half a day without it feeling like an obligation. The grounds are free to walk; the individual museums charge admission.
When to move on: San Diego's great strength is how close the contrast is. Beach in the morning, desert stars in the evening – the Anza-Borrego desert is a few hours east. We have built that combination into a short route under road trips from San Diego and as the Surf & Desert Escapade.
Las Vegas: the arrival city
Stay: one night. Genuinely just one.
Las Vegas is the most practical starting point for the entire Southwest – direct flights from Germany, a cheap hotel night before you start, dense Supercharger coverage. And it sits closer to more national parks than any other airport: Zion around 160 miles, the Grand Canyon around 280, Death Valley around 120.
If you have one evening: walk the Strip once, after dark. That is the whole point of the city, and it reveals itself in two or three hours on foot. After that, you have seen Las Vegas.
The tip I give almost everyone: on your first evening after handover, do not drive back into town – drive an hour northeast to the Valley of Fire. Fire-red rock in evening light, a campground for around $20, and the contrast from Strip to star field within an hour is the best opening this trip can have.
When to move on: the morning after handover. The full loop through the parks is in our Grand Circle guide, and start details are under road trips from Las Vegas.
Three practical things for all three cities
1. Sleeping in the car does not work in cities. Santa Monica and much of greater Los Angeles prohibit it by ordinance, and it is enforced. In cities, take a hotel or an official campground outside town. How free overnight stays work legally outside the cities is in our boondocking rules.
2. Charging in the city is a non-issue; parking is not. California and Nevada have the densest charging infrastructure in the US. Your problem is not electricity, it is the height of your vehicle with the tent on.
3. Leave your arrival day empty. After a long-haul flight you are in no state to cross an unfamiliar metropolis. A hotel near the airport, an early night, handover the next morning – that is the most relaxed version, and it costs you nothing in travel time.
So how long, really?
| City | Recommendation | The one place, if time is short |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 1–2 evenings | Griffith Observatory at sunset |
| San Diego | 1–2 nights | La Jolla Cove in the late afternoon |
| Las Vegas | 1 night | The Strip after dark |
Anything beyond that comes out of the time you could spend outside. And outside is why you came.
The cities are the frame. The picture is two hours out of town.