Advice on Holiday along West Coast of US

The world over

What do you think of this holiday timetable for the next month?

8th November- Leave Dublin and arrive in San Francisco and stay for 3 nights, hotel booked.

11th November - drive to Yosemite National Park

13th November - leave Yosemite National Park and drive to Monterey

14th Nov to 19th Nov - Drive to San Diego, we have 2 hotel nights booked in San Diego. See as much as possible down the coast.

19th Nov - Fly from San Diego to Las Vegas for 3 nights, flight booked

22nd Nov - Fly from Las Vegas to New York for 3 nights, flight booked

25th Nov - Home sweet home

My friend wants to go to Yosemite but I am doing my utter best to convince him that it will involve too much driving. I think Yosemite should be left for another holiday and make 3 or 4 days of it during a different time of the year as snow could be an issue in November.

InTheTrees

Looks good.

The only pressure is your flight from SD to Vegas on the 19th right? Otherwise its open?

If there's a lot of snow you could drive to South Lake Tahoe, its a pretty drive through the snowy mountains and is a lot easier than Yosemite.

Or skip it.

One important thing is to drive Highway One down the coast DO NOT cut over to 101 at Monterey.

Also give LA a chance. People love to hate it, I think because its such a car orientated city, and it is. But its also one of the Worlds great cities and there is so much there to see. I would always pick LA over SD.

oh And get a convertible. I dont think they cost that much extra and it really makes a huge difference. the weather will be beautiful that time of year too.

How flexible is that flight from SD to Vegas? can you cancel? You can drive it easily and it gives you a taste of driving in the Desert its a whole different experience to the coast. You'd have to drop the car off in Vegas so there may be extra charges though.

The world over

Quote=InTheTrees;81164250]Looks good.

The only pressure is your flight from SD to Vegas on the 19th right? Otherwise its open?

If there's a lot of snow you could drive to South Lake Tahoe, its a pretty drive through the snowy mountains and is a lot easier than Yosemite.

Or skip it.

One important thing is to drive Highway One down the coast DO NOT cut over to 101 at Monterey.

Also give LA a chance. People love to hate it, I think because its such a car orientated city, and it is. But its also one of the Worlds great cities and there is so much there to see. I would always pick LA over SD.

oh And get a convertible. I dont think they cost that much extra and it really makes a huge difference. the weather will be beautiful that time of year too.

How flexible is that flight from SD to Vegas? can you cancel? You can drive it easily and it gives you a taste of driving in the Desert its a whole different experience to the coast. You'd have to drop the car off in Vegas so there may be extra charges though.[/Quote]

Cheers for that InTheTrees, the flight from SD to Las Vegas is only 50euro so will hold on to that.We are doing enough driving anyway. Just wondering Is it worth all the hassle of nearly 10 hours round trip driving to see Yosemite for a day and a half??
We will be travelling down the coast during the week,what are the essential things to stop off and see along that trip?

southsiderosie

I'd suggest stopping in Santa Barbara - it is really lovely, and only 2 hours from LA. It is definitely pricey, but worth it. Shop around for hotel deals and try to stay on or around State Street, which is the main drag. The closer to the beach, the better. And be sure to take in the view from the clock tower in the old courthouse.

InTheTrees

Here's a list of links heading south from SF. Its pretty basic and there's obviously a whole lot more. It only goes as far as San Louis Obispo too, which is just before Santa Barbara:

www.thetech.org
www.beachboardwalk.com
www.capitolabythesea.com
www.canneryrow.com
www.montereybayaquarium.org
www.mazdaraceway.com
www.pebblebeach.com
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/17-Mile_Drive
www.carmelcalifornia.com
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Sur
www.nepenthebigsur.com (stop here for a break, amazing views)
ventanainn.com (very expensive)
www.hearstcastle.org
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Simeon,_California
www.morrobay.org
www.madonnainn.com

adambrown2738

Highly recommend a stop in Santa Monica too if you get the chance... beautiful!