Saturday, March 24, 2012

2 weeks in California next april

Hi, we are two 25 year old who are going to be spending 2 weeks in california next april.

I%26#39;ve Got quite a lot of questions really, first is where would you recommend going. I have done quite a lot of research and want to go everywhere and really need help in choosing the best places to see. I definitely want to go to san francisco and yosemite and need to know how long i need in these places. The other places on the maybe list are Monteray, Carmel, Big sur, San luis obispo, los angeles, santa monica, san diego, palm springs, death valley, eureka, napa valley. As you can see i really need to narrow it down!

We would like to see a variety of places, we like doing the touristy things and seeing the main sights but also try to spend some time doing stuff off the beaten track. we are also not massive beach people but would like to spend some time there, what would be the best?

Secondly i am asking about travelling around, we would rather not hire a car but are not completely ruling it out if we have to. I have looked at amtrak and it seems very time consuming this way. I was wondering how cheap domestic flights were and if you could let me know where i could find cheap domestic flights. Also what is security like with domestic flights, would we have to be at the airport hours before the flights?

We were also wondering what the weather was going to like this time of year, obviously it varies quite a bit i would imagine as california is pretty big!!!!

We are not really on a budget, although we also don%26#39;t have all the money in the world, sorry this is a bit vague i know, don%26#39;t mind spending money doing stuff once we are there but are concerned that prices might start adding up with lots of flights etc.

Any way think thats it for the time being.

Thanks in Advance

2 weeks in California next april

Good morning Emmy,

You do have big ideas for your trip! While not impossible to do without a car, you might want to recosider that aspect of your trip. Except for the bit in San Francisco, California is not widely known for its friendly public transportation systems. Getting to LA is easy, but getting anyhwere after the airport becomes more challenging. Your stops list are a natural driving route between SF %26amp; San Diego, then East....

Enjoy your holiday, where ever it ends up going!

2 weeks in California next april

Hmmm, emmy-lou, I think you may have to plan on visiting some of those places next time! Do you have a map of California? If so, note the distances between places -- it is a big state. For example, SF to Eureka is about 5-6 hours one way with *no* stops at all.

I do believe you will need to rent (hire) a car. Driving over here is pretty easy, as the roads tend to be wider and straighter than you are used to.

As far as weather, April is one of the nicer months as you will not get the summer heat. Yosemite may still have snow, though.

Many British visitors fly into one city and out of another, such as SF and LA. That way you wouldn%26#39;t have to backtrack or make a circle, and could see more.


San Francisco has wonderful public transportation, and a car is really a liability there. You could, however, rent a car for a day or two to go to Napa. San Diego, also, has a good public transportation system. Other than those two cities, you are really going to need a car. You will save time, obviously, if you fly from city to city (and now that gasoline is over $3.00 a gallon--I know, that%26#39;s nothing in the U.K.--you probably won%26#39;t spend much more if you fly than if you drive between points). If I were you, I would definitely drive to Yosemite rather than take a tour. It%26#39;s an easy drive (even if it is on the right side of the road), and you will be able to plan your own stops. The maps you get as you enter the park are good and will guide you quite well.

If you drive from San Francisco to San Diego, you will get to experience the coast, and Big Sur is wonderful. You could go to San Simeon and see Hearst Castle and the next day go on down to San Diego. If you took the morning tour (you would need a reservation for the tour--see their web site), you could get to San Diego by evening. Both driving days would be very scenic.

It seems to me that you need to choose a type of destination, e.g. beach town, winery, and see one good example of the type, rather than seeing a number of places that have similar attractions--though each does have special things about it--because you have only two weeks.

We have in-expensive airlines. One of the best is www.southwestairlines.com


You already have quite a list of sights, but you asked for ';the best of the best,'; and I%26#39;d consider Lake Tahoe to be in that category.


You%26#39;ll need a car if you want to stop on the coast along the way.

April can be very rainy - won%26#39;t know until you%26#39;re packing, what to expect.


You really are covering a lot of ground. Keep in mind we don%26#39;t have good train service in the states. Not like you have in the UK. You almost have to have a car to get to all the places you want to go. I highly recommend Yosemite - it%26#39;s beautiful. Big Sur and Carmel are definitely worth seeing. San Francisco is wonderful. There is good public transportation there too. You wouldn%26#39;t need a car there, and it would be a tough place to drive if you weren%26#39;t used to it. Very hilly and lots of traffic.

So my suggestion for a two week trip is fly into San Francisco. Spend 3 days there. Go to Yosemite (you%26#39;ll have to drive. I believe it%26#39;s about 4 hours) and spend two days there. It%26#39;s a lovely place. Look at Ansel Adams photography. Stay at the lodge inside the park if you can. Then go to the wine country. (that will be about a 5 hour drive from Yosemite to Napa). Up valley from Napa is nice (I lived there for a number of years) - Yountville, Calistoga and St. Helena were my favorites. I would think two days is enough there. That%26#39;s a full week.

Then fly to Los Angeles (about a two hour flight) and rent another car - LA/San Diego/Santa Monica are all in relatively close proximity. Traffic is terrible down there by the way. That%26#39;s easily another full week. Especially if you plan to spend a day at Disneyland.

As far as the airports - San Francisco and Los Angeles are pretty easy to get around in - you normally have to be at the airport 60-90 minutes before a domestic flight.

Weather in California in April is generally good. It rarely rains in California anywhere anymore (sad but true). Southern California should be in the 70%26#39;s and the bay area should be in the 60%26#39;s. San Francisco weather can be different (Mark Twain once said ';the coldest winter I ever spent was summer in San Francisco';) Check one of the weather sites for averages, but I think that%26#39;s close.

Too bad you won%26#39;t be coming up north to Oregon. The northwest is really beautiful (a lot like Scotland).

Have fun.

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