Where to go in California

Hi, we are two 25 year old who are going to be spending almost 2 weeks (12/13 dyas)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 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!!!!

Where to go in California

What to see, I would recommend south to north (kind of):

(You%26#39;ll NEED to hire a car!!) Days listed are ';at least';.

I%26#39;ve lived here for 5 years, 3 in San Diego and 2 in Monterey; this is my perspective....

San Diego - (2 days) beach, Catholic mission, hike at Torrey Pines, see the Hotel Del (I like to get ice cream at one of the shops there and walk around.)

LA/SM - LA and its nearby cites all seem the same to me. Save yourself the frustration of traffic and enjoy the beach in San Diego. Or maybe do a studio tour in Hollywood as that is unique to that city.

SLO - A fun thing to do is rent ATV%26#39;s at nearby Oceano Dunes: http://www.bjsatvrentals.com/

Skip Palm Springs (My humble opinion).

Big Sur - (2 days) drive up scenic highway 1, stop near Cambria to see elephant seals

Carmel (1 day) - hike at Point Lobos State Reserve, walk around downtown boutiques

San Francisco (3 days) - Chinatown, bike across the bridge, Alcatraz

Sonoma or Napa - (1 day) a few wineries, possibly Armstrong redwoods SP (see comment below about Eureka)

Yosemite National Park (2 days)- see valley waterfalls (great that time of year) and one of the sequoia groves. If you can get over Tioga Pass (unlikely), see Mono Lake.

Eureka is really out of your way, you can see giant Sequoias at Yosemite and Coastal Redwoods from Big Sur to Sonoma to save yourself a lot of travel time.

Others will disagree, I%26#39;m sure!

Where to go in California

Unfortunately, unless you plan to stay in the larger cities, you will most definitely need a car to travel around. Flying domestically, you will normally be OK getting into the terminal not less than 70-90 min. before your flight--but much depends upon security at the specific airport. Be sure to check in and print your boarding pass online, prior to arrival. A huge time saver is to check luggage at the curb with one of the skycaps (larger airports)--be sure to tip them well (in addition to the fee which is usually $2-$3 per bag). If I could convince you to limit this trip to either Northern Calif. or Southern--I would! It%26#39;s a HUGE state and in 2 wks. you will be skimming over a lot of wonderful places, spending hrs. just driving if you try to visit places spread out all over the state. Another option is to limit yourself to 4 main areas where you will be able to spend a few days in each--much more enjoyable than speeding thru. If I had to choose the 4 areas, they would be: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Napa/Sonoma (or substitute Monterey/Carmel), and Yosemite.

The above itinerary is a good one.

The key things about your trip is that its hard to see California if you are not on an organized tour or if you not renting a car.

If you do fly within California, Southwest Airlines is one of the cheaper domestic flights.

http://www.southwest.com/

In terms of security if you fly the local airports (such as San Jose, Oakland, Sacramento, Burbank, Ontario) its an hour or less to do security and get to the flight. (i.e. It can be longer at the morning due to the business travel and the massive amount of business people who carry on too many carry-on baggage delaying the whole process. This again is true in the afternoon (4-5:30 or so.). As such try to fly mid day to minimize the line or later in the evening.

Weather if you want to see Eureka to San Diego - I%26#39;d travel in May - September as best times. If you want to travel October - April it is cooler and more rains. April however can be quite delightful in Southern California.

California is quite large.

I%26#39;d probably ';minimize your travels some'; to enjoy it most. Given you%26#39;re 25 its likely you will return some time.

As such, you might want to:

San Francisco - 5 days

(include a day trip to wine country - Napa, Sonoma)

(including a 1/2 day trip to Muir Woods)

(include a full day trip to Monterey)

If you don%26#39;t want to rent a car, I%26#39;d recommend just booking day tours.

http://winecountrytourshuttle.com/

sanfranshuttletours.com/muir_woods_tours.htm

extranomical.com/HTML_PAGES/MONTEREY_CARMEL_…

Not sure what your lodging $ budget is - you might want to see if the Chancellor meets your needs or look at one of the hotel discount sights.

Take Amtrak from San Francisco to Yosemite and spend 2 nights in Yosemite.

ttp://www.dot.ca.gov/rail/go/amtrak/what_to_see/destinations/yosemite-national-park/index.cfm

Return to Sacramento (see Sacramento old town) and then fly from Sacramento to Burbank. Most recommend staying in Hollywood, California area if you don%26#39;t have a car. Tours are accessible; some tourist sights you can walk to; and metro is nearby.

You might want to consider Hollywood Orchid Suites.

http://www.orchidsuites.com/

Some of the tours you might want to consider

http://www.lacitytours.com/LACityTours.asp

You may want to do one of the all inclusive tours of LA to see the highlights. From Hollywood you are a short metro ride to Universal Studios.

To summarize this tour:

1) Fly into San Francisco

2) Spend 5 days in San Francisco

Bus Tour to Napa Valley (one day)

Bus Trip to Monterey/Carmel (one day)

1/2 day tour to Muir Woods

2 1/2 days to explore San Francisco (plenty to see)

3) 2 to 3 days Yosemite (including en route to and from)

4) Fly to Burbank Airport on Southwest (closest to Hollywood)

5) 4 to 5 days Hollywood

1 day Universal Studios

1 day Disneyland

Los Angeles City Tour

Hollywood Sights

etc.

Fly home.

The things I have eliminated just because the state is so big is:

1) Eureka - it takes 3 to 4 days and no easy way to get there.

2) Death Valley - save it for a future trip when you come back and spend time in Las Vegas.

3) Big Sur - without a car hard to do.

4) San Luis Obispo - this is not a big highlight place to go to.

It can easily be skipped (see it when you plan to spend more time on the coast.)

If you want to ';do fewer days'; at any of these places you could add back in San Diego. Taking Amtrak would be a good option as the coastal route is pretty from Los Angeles to San Diego. Stay in Downtown San Diego.

Thanks so much for all the information, I am gradually getting together a first itinerary.

How long does it take to drive between san francisco and los angeles. What we are initially thinking is to stay in monteray/carmel the first night and cambria/big sur the second night, would this be breaking the trip up quite well. Also could you recommend some good car companies.

One thing I would also ask is that some forums say that the coastal drive especially around big sur can be quite hairy (windy and on the edge of a mountain). This would put us off somewhat as although we are both quite experienced drivers, that is around towns and cities!

My last question for now is pretty subjective and I know is down to personal opinion but is the coastal drive one of the main sights in California. Quite a few people on this site seem to think so, and if so we really don%26#39;t want to miss out on it, what exactly would we be missing out on if we left it out?

Thanks again

Emmy, if you are an average British driver, you will have absolutely *no problem* driving Hwy 1 on the coast! It is only narrow and winding when compared with most of California%26#39;s big, wide straight roads. It is a perfectly fine two-lane road with some stretches that have some sharpish curves to take at about 25-30 MPH.

Do not equate it with an English road that is ';hairy and windy';. It is not anywhere near as narrow or winding as most of the roads in the Lake District, for example.

This road is one of the ';jewels'; of California. I%26#39;ve been all around England and Scotland and you really do not have anything to compare. It is a spectacular drive.

So don%26#39;t miss it :-) Cambria or Pismo Beach are both good places to stop, but different from each other in character.

Highway # 1 from San Fran to L.A. is one of these classic roads that you should not miss at all. Heck, there are hundreds of songs written about this particular street, for a reason i might add

Not only will you have spectacular views and beaches, mountainranges and little beach towns to visit. It is also a fun drive. I would take it over flying anytime if i had the time

Thankyou again for all your responses, we will definitly be doing the drive down the coast, i%26#39;m sure i will be back with loads more questions asking for all your knowledge :-)

That sounded a bit like i was ending the post, please anyone with anymore information please continue to post, the more i know the better. Especially with where to stop off on the drive down the coast, now we%26#39;re definitly doing it.