Reply With QuoteI have done a similar trip in the past, I do think 3 weeks is too much, the driving isn't too intense and it is very fun! If you have 3 weeks I would look at venturing into other states for sure.
Am considering the above for my 50th in a few years (gives me time to prepare and save) and wondered if anyone had spent some time travelling up the California coast ?
Would like to see San Diego, LA, Monterey, Carmel, San Francisco, and then maybe move on to Portland/Seattle.
Other than that, I have no idea how to approach it or if there are different/better/nicer places to go, and if a package is suitable or better to get flights and then a car, and just have hotels in each place for a few nights ?
Based on not knowing better really, it feels like a 3 week trip but not sure if that is too long ?
Basically, looking for tips and advice as I am currently clueless as to what is possible and whats good etc, so please feel free to offer up any wisdom - cheers !
I have done a similar trip in the past, I do think 3 weeks is too much, the driving isn't too intense and it is very fun! If you have 3 weeks I would look at venturing into other states for sure.
We've done this several times - it's probably our favourite place to visit.
Difficult to know where to start, and I could bore you with different possible itineraries since California is an incredibly diverse part of the world - cities, beaches, deserts, moutains, forests. There are a number of world-class national parks within California itself, but if you venture into Arizona and Utah, you've got some of the most spectacular scenery the US can offer.
Three weeks isn't even touching it if you want to see everything, but it's plenty to get a taster. An itinerary would be San Diego, LA, Central Coast, Monterey, SF, then loop inland to see Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, the rest of the Sierra Nevada, Death Valley, Palm Springs/Joshua Tree, then back to LA/SD - that's a lot to see in 3 weeks though (and a lot of driving), and you've not even touched Arizona, Utah and Nevada. You could spend a couple of months doing the South-West properly. An abridged version of that itinerary would be better - you could cut off the San Diego/Palm Springs part of the loop and not miss much. Similarly, you can fly into to e.g. LA, then out of SF to avoid doing the return drive. (There's normally no charge for one-way car rental within CA).
Best general advice is not to spend too much time in the cities (other than to do the essential tourist stuff), and get out into the country.
I would fly into SF - spend a day or two seeing SF then pick up a *nice* rental car - head inland towards Napa - spend 2 days there then head south to Yosemite spend 2 days there - then cut back towards the coast (Monterey / Big Sur) pick up the coastal route towards Carmel, head to Santa Barbara (spend a night). Drop off car in LA. Fly to Phoenix. Pick up another rental. Drive from Phoenix to Grand Canyon then onwards to San Diego. Take a short drive down to Tijuana and back to SD. At that point either fly home, drive up to LA, or fly somewhere else in the US (Seattle?) for a few days.
It will be a great trip but personally I would ditch Portland and Seattle.
A long distance and nothing much to see, however YMMV.
I would go South into Baja California
Cheers,
Neil.
Hi, I've done a few tours of the West coast of the US along with some business trips to some of the cities that you have mentioned.
One consideration that you might want to start with is what time of year you would be looking to go (this could change what would be best to see and also which gateway city you want to fly into to begin your trip (this could affect the price you pay by quite a lot.
On the places listed I would say that my top picks would be San Diego, Carmel and San Francisco. There is a very big distance North from San Francisco to Seattle & Portland, so that might just end up being a lot of driving for those places.
I would look to venture further inland to find some great places to explore or even fly into somewhere inland like Las Vegas (you don't have to stay there and drive off to capture other big sights (Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon, Lake Mead in one direction) or Death Valley, Mono Lake & Yosemite National Park (My Personal favourite some of the best scenery in the world here) in the other.
Be happy to help if you would like any more advice
John
A couple of years ago we did; LA>Palm Springs>Joshua Tree NP>Sequoia NP>Yosemite NP>Napa>San Francisco>Big Sur>San Diego>LA in 2 weeks which was a nice circular route of approximately 2,000 miles.
But you're missing out on Grand Canyon/Zion/Bryce/Canyonlands/Monument Valley etc. and the whole of Utah, which IMO (apart from Yosemite) trumps California for beauty.
Sounds like a great idea, and three weeks would be excellent if you really want to soak in the character of the West Coast. I suggest you buy a few trusted travel/guide books to identify all the places you would like to visit or stay during your trip.
https://www.amazon.com/Fodors-Califo...vel+california
https://www.amazon.com/Lonely-Planet...vel+california
https://www.amazon.com/Fodors-San-Fr...vel+california
https://www.amazon.com/Fodors-Pacifi...vel+west+coast
We did a small one a couple of years ago with the girls - based in Anaheim- kept the hotel there for the fortnight and travel from there
Went down to San Diego, spent quite a few days around Santa Monica and the beech- we then drove to vegas for a few days stopping in Palm Springs for a day and night on our return to LA
Loved it and Mrs Lewis and I will return for a larger trip soon
Originally Posted by NikosF
My thoughts exactly! My wife is Californian - from Santa Barbara - and we took a road trip for our honeymoon - I can't remember the order - but
Las Vagas (fly - drive)
Death Valley
Sequoia National Park
San Francisco
Napa (wine region)
Hit Route 101 down the coast - and stop for a few days for beach holiday
Santa Cruz
Big Sur
Santa Barabara
Los Angeles (flight back)
What a choice - depends what you like to see/do. I love LA but many don't so pick your time at each accordingly. I'm heavily biased towards Arizona so if wilderness is your thing, it's only 4 hours from San Diego. Consider Sacramento on your way north?
I'd book the flights in/out of whichever 'ends' you're doing and book the accommodation directly.
I did a road trip last Nov. 3 days in LA then drove to SF over 2 days (stop off in Morro Bay) then 3 days in SF.
It was amazing! Highly recommend it. There's already plenty of advice above. One thing I'd add is that a mustang is a very average car!
The whole trip was fantastic, I could easily have spent an extra few days on each step of the journey.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
We did a similar thing 2 years ago.
I can echo Neil C's comments and leave Portland/Seattle for another day.
We flew int San Francisco and did a week snowboarding in Lake Tahoe - the drive down from there is potentially stunning but the mountain pass road was closed due to the snow so if you are considering this you need to leave it until spring.
We headed back to SF and spent a couple of nights there. Drive down Lombard Street, go across the bridge do the waterfront, visit Chinatown. Head down the coast a little to Monterey - canning museum is worth a visit and some great sea food restaurants around the waterfront. Other places of note included 7 Mile Drive, Carmel, Santa Cruz, Santa Maria, Venice Beach, LA and we headed to Palm Springs for a few days of chill after a few 1000 miles of driving. the roads and scenery is stunning all down the coast.
Crack on!.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Give us a clue as to what time of year and what you're in to. I've spent a great deal of time in California and there's a huge amount to see and do. I recently returned from 10 days skiing around Lake Tahoe but that's of little use as a recommendation if you don't ski or you'll be there in the Summer. As others have said, ditch the idea of Portland/Seattle in the same trip. Three weeks is a good period of time and will allow you to spend a bit of time in several places rather than sitting in a car the whole time. Having just used AirBnB for our Tahoe accommodation (albeit for 10 straight days rather than a couple of days here and there) I would strongly suggest looking at this as an option.
Thanks all - tons of advice here so will take some time to digest it all - will be getting at least one of the travel guides suggested.
Skier - plan to go in the summer months - it is a few years off yet so that may be flexible but more likely summer than not. As for what I am into, love architecture, scenery, the coast and eating out when I travel so these will influence things to an extent but will also need cater for my wife and possibly my sons although they are keen on the same things as me - we quite like trying new experiences when we travel too, so open to give most things a go.
A few of the places that stick out for me on the several road trips we have made.
Stay at the Madonna Inn at San Luis Obisbo, try and do the Thursday night in the month that they hold the night market on the street. Lots of food stalls and bands on every corner, great evening.
Have lunch at the restaurant in Nepenthe, which has an outdoor terrace with a 180 degree view of the sea and the Big Sur mountains.
Visit Hearst Castle and stay on Half moon bay drive in cambria, head to the shrimp shack for dinner.
Stay a couple nights in Santa Barbara, it is a buzzing town with a great beach.
Stay in Carmel and head for dinner to Clint's bar, Mission Ranch.
Walk on the beach at Carmel and view the Pebble Beach golf course and the amazing properties around it.
Head to the Pebble Beach hotel before sundown and have cocktails around the outdoor fire pit, while a piper plays as the sun goes down.
There are lots of other things that we enjoyed, but that should provide some research options.
Cheers and enjoy.
James
We've done this, used Complete North American:http://www.completenorthamerica.com/
Can only echo many of the comments above,
I did the Northern part of California. SF>Sacramento>Yosemite>Coast>SF
Yosemite was stunning, the coast fantastic esp the Hearst Mansion - really interesting and I stayed at Ragged Point Motel, right on the cliffs and my window looked out over the Pacific. Pebble Beach is nice but those houses are behind high walls, wasted some time there. I'd try and get over to Arizona or Nevada but the driving is the killer as the distances can be huge. Big Sur is breathtaking and that PCH drive stupendous. Isn't there a train that runs down the West Coast - The Sunset Limited? No, it's The Coast Starlight (Seattle > LA) and The Pacific Surfliner (San Louis Obispo>LA>San Diego) acc. to Google
Last edited by mrushton; 18th April 2017 at 08:29.
San Luis Obispo is a great place, the farmers market is every Thursday and it's pint night on a Tuesday. I can reccomend the station for food and wine and the firestone for a tri tip sandwich.
I really liked Lake Tahoe in the summer, can go swimming while there's snow on the peaks around and it seemed fairly quiet and very chilled. Definitely worth a day or two. Think we stayed at holiday inn, walk out of room onto beach.
Be aware that the heavy rains have affected Highway 1 due to landslides and in some places the road is closed.
CalTrans info available on link below
http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/roadinfo/display.php?page=sr1
Some suggestions from me (repeating what others have stated in places):
Los Angeles
Getty Centre. Free entry though you pay for parking, just turn up.
Getty Villa. Free entry though you must book a time slot and you pay for parking.
Griffith Observatory. Free entry.
Malibu/Santa Monica.
Paradise Cove. A location used for film shoots with a good restaurant/cafe right on the beach.
Up the Pacific Coast Highway
(From a personal perspective stopping off in loads of towns doesn't appeal as they tend to blend into one but definitely worth choosing and stopping in a couple as you head up/down the PCH.)
Hearst Castle. A must visit. When you've finished here turn North on the PCH for about 5 miles and stop to see the Elephant Seals.
Monterey. Plenty to see and do here including whale watching, sea otters etc.
Carmel. Another nice coastal place. Clint Eastwood's hotel/restaurant.
San Francisco
Alcatraz. Pre-book your tour well in advance.
Golden Gate Bridge.
Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Quite nice to rent bikes, cycle over the bridge and spend some time here.
Fisherman's Wharf area. Walk west along the sea front to the Maritime Museum (Fort Mason). There's a WWII Liberty Ship and submarine currently moored there.
Segway City Tour. These are a hoot and a great way to see the city.
Pier 39. Very touristy but.......you'll be a tourist! This is where there are loads of sea lions. There's also an excellent restaurant at the end of the Pier, now called the Chart House. Book a table by the windows and you'll get a great evening view of Alcatraz and Golden Gate Bridge.
North Beach. You'll enjoy the architecture.
San Diego
Gaslamp Quarter. The central tourist, cafe, restaurant, shopping area.
Old Town State Historic Park.
Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum.
Balboa Park. You could spend a whole day here.
Seaport Village.
Kansas City Barbeque. The bar from the film Top Gun. Just go for a drink, the food is poor and it's not worth going out of your way to see it.
Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcala. Beautiful old architecture.
Other Areas
Yosemite. A must; one of the most beautiful places you'll ever visit.
Lake Tahoe. For the best views over the lake take the Gondola at Heavenly to the observation point. An absolutely stunning area in both Summer (watersports/hiking) and Winter (skiing).
Last edited by Skier; 18th April 2017 at 10:37.
Great timing this. Birthday today, and present to me and wife was an October trip to SF, Carmel, SD, Hoover, Yosemite, GC, DV and all. The recommendations here are very helpful.
I did a similar trip in 2012, I flew to LA and then drove up the PCH all the way to Canada, did it in 2 weeks. Superb trip, awesome scenery and the driving was easy, roads are huge and empty once you get out of LA
You'll have a great time, I booked a few hotels in advance but in the main just stopped when I felt like it and found good Motels/Hotels for the night
My tip would be hire a SUV as you get much better views of the coastline from an elevated position.
If you go up as far as San Francisco try and head a bit further north to a place called Point Reyes, just stunning.
Worth a look if you're passing through the San Jose area - Mount Hamilton and the Lick Observatory (https://www.ucolick.org/main/visit/info.html). It's a fun drive or cycle up and down, has great views and the observatory is really interesting.
I can't add much, others have made great suggestions, but can I echo them all especially Yosemite. Don't miss it for the world, it's truly stunning. I could have stayed there for a week. Get up early and head in early to avoid the traffic.
The west coat is like a different planet to the East Coast imo, and you'll love it.
This is a must - the views are amazing and the food is very good.Have lunch at the restaurant in Nepenthe, which has an outdoor terrace with a 180 degree view of the sea and the Big Sur mountains.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Thanks again all, especially the detailed post from Skier - appreciated.
Work has been manic this week, so will have a proper read through all of this at the weekend...
There is nothing better than driving down the Highway Number One in a nice car with good music. Make sure you go to Point Reyes when in SFO. it's about 1 1/2 hours of beautiful drive up north. Get some oysters and then drive to the lighthouse and chimney rock. SO BEAUTIFUL!
Went there earlier this year,as mentioned Highway 1 closed by Big Sur but a fabulous trip, went to Yosemite then crossed the Sierra Nevada Mountains which was stunning. We hired a Mustang convertible which was brilliant. Cheers, John B4
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