San Francisco - San Diego road trip

comewatmay

Hi guys,

Just looking to get yere insights into a proposed roadtrip in August. Couple mid twenties. August

Here is brief outline of what we are planning.

2 nights San Francisco
2 nights Monterey
1 night San Luis Obispo
2 nights Santa Barbara
1 night Los Angeles
2 nights Las Vegas
1 night Palm Springs
3 nights San Diego.

San Francisco to Monterey - 2hrs
Monterey to San Luis Obispo - 2hrs 30mins
San Luis Obispo to Santa Barbara - 2hrs
Santa Barbara to Las Vegas - 5hrs 30mins
Las Vegas to Palm Springs - 4hrs 20mins
Palm Springs to San Diego - 2hrs - 30mins

1. San Fran:

Visit Alcatraz island and Chinatown (biggest Chinatown outside Asia)
Cycle the Golden Gate Bridge & go to Baseball game

2. Drive to Monterey

Go whale and dolphi watching in the bay


3. Drive to Saint Loius Obipor


4. Drive to Santa Barbarbara
activities TBD......

5. Drive to Los Angeles

Hollywood/Visit relations/Magic Mountain 6 flags theme park

5. Drive to Las Vegas

gambling/musical/show/grand canyon etc.


7. Drive to San Diego

San Diego zoo......

Is this trip feasible? i got a quote of 2,000euro each for this trip to inlcude flights,hotels and car rental. is this a good price?

ANyone recomendations on things we should definetly include/leave out on this trip.
MAny thanks.

CaliforniaDream

It's a lot for two weeks.
Personally I would skip Monteray, San Luis Obispo and Palm Springs.
You can whale watch in San Diego. I love that city so I'd choose to spend more time there.

comewatmay

Is there any particular reason why you would advise me to skip those places?

Would drive time not be huge between places as a result?

él statutorio

One night in Monterey is plenty. There's not a lot there to be honest and you'll see it all in a day. You can do Whale and Dolphin watching in Santa Barbara and pretty much anywhere along the coast too so I wouldn't get hung oup on doing it in Monterey.

I'd skip San Luis Obispo too (not much there IMHO).

Never been to Palm Springs so can't comment on that. BUt I'd amybe tack on an extra day in San Fran or in Vegas(or both).

ScottSF

A few comments that will hopefully help...

You could easily spend a week in San Francisco, definitely one of the top 3 cities to visit in the U.S. for culture, food, scenic views, and entertainment. Why rush it after you have just arrived and probably jet-lagged? From SF you can also take day trips to Napa and/or Sonoma wine country, the redwood trees park, Sausalito, Berkeley, etc...

Monterey is quite nice but don't forget about Carmel and driving the 17 mile drive along Pebble Beach. Better to stay in Carmel in my opinion. Another popular option is Santa Cruz.

Consider driving all the way down spectacular Rt 1 via Cambria, Morro Bay, Pismo Beach, ... to Santa Barbara. The highway is not very exciting but certainly much much faster.

Los Angeles vicinity can easily take up numerous days as it is made up of many tourist friendly cities, beaches, and amusement parks. Perhaps skip San Diego.

Palm Springs is lovely but may not be worth the visit unless you have specific reasons. Like golf, spas, Joshua Tree National Park or even better another top park for visitors to CA, Yosemite.

iusedtoknow

I live in SF, and Monterey is the weekend destination of choice when we have the time

But a day/night when you are on a flying trip would be enough. As someone said, do the 17 mile drive (costs 9.75 per car but is worth it) - steer clear of Cannery row and all that crap

Staying in Carmel would probably be better, however it is pretty frou-frou (and hotels are pretty pricey)

InTheTrees

iusedtoknow wrote: »

steer clear of Cannery row and all that crap

Monterey Bay Aquarium is on cannery row and definitly worth a visit.

www.montereybayaquarium.org

InTheTrees

comewatmay wrote: »

San Francisco to Monterey - 2hrs
Monterey to San Luis Obispo - 2hrs 30mins

Yikes. You'd be hard pressed to make those times. You have to drive Highway one between SF and Monterey. To take the freeway would be Criminal and a waste of holiday money because the coast road is spectacular.

Similarly highway one between Monterey and SLO is one of the most scenic drives in the US but its a narrow two lane cliff road. Plus as you're going south it means you'll be on the outisde lane which gives you a good view but means you have a 300 foot drop just feet from your right tires. You'll find you wont be driving much over 40mph.

Lunch: http://www.nepenthebigsur.com/
Staying the night: www.ventanainn.com

Important to stop off at: www.hearstcastle.org


https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=36.006104,-121.509873&spn=0.023399,0.042872&t=m&z=15&layer=c&cbll=36.006104,-121.509873&panoid=hUJocXZ1JppeLz3V6xxHmw&cbp=12,148.35,,0,4.32

mockingjay

Did part of this trip two years ago, wasn't keen on going to San Louis Obispo but what a wonderful surprise when we got there - arrived on a Thursday night and the farmers market was on, all the restaurants bring big BBQs on to the street and it was a spectacular night, queues were a mile long - it was a sight to behold, the place rocked, but this is only on a Thursday night - otherwise i agree it has little to offer other than the world famous Gumball Alley. Stayed in the Madonna Inn which is amazing, google it, you can pick your own themed room, relax in the cliff side pool - it's amazing - ended up the most memorable night of the trip.

InTheTrees

I always try and point this out to people when i see one day allocated to Los Angeles.

There's a few major cities in this world, New York, London, Paris, Los Angeles...

Would you really allocate ONE day to any of those others? No. SO why with LA? Its huge and diverse and can takes weeks to get to really know. And there's a huge amount to do. What is it that puts people off so much? 3 days in San diego (which is basically a navy base) and one day in LA? Especially since you have relations there (they'll also have stuff they want to do with you right?). I would do one night in San diego instead of 3 and add the 2 to LA.

And the driving isnt that bad. If you can drive in Dublin you wont have any issues. The Only disadvantage in LA would be parking. You'd probably have to pay extra at your hotel.

You could also kind of play it by ear on the whole southern california section. Hotels are plentiful and wont be booked up, there's always places to stay so just wing it.

InTheTrees

iusedtoknow wrote: »

I live in SF, and Monterey is the weekend destination of choice when we have the time

What about the beach and boardwalk in Santa Cruz?

iusedtoknow

InTheTrees wrote: »

What about the beach and boardwalk in Santa Cruz?

Oh that is a lot of fun, but is basically an afternoon out from the city . We've been down to the Rio for a few concerts on a weeknight and still managed to get home at a reasonable hour - Monterey is that bit further

As for the aquarium....it is the exception to the rule that cannery row in general sucks.

CaliforniaDream

There's not a lot going on in Palm Springs. It's a mostly older crowd there.
Monterey and San Luis Obispo are nice for passing through imo but I wouldn't be crazy on staying there overnight just to save some driving time.

I love heading to San Diego for the weekend. It's beautiful there and so relaxed. There's a few different areas to stay and see but not far apart from each other that you miss something.

If Vegas is not a must for you, you'd save a lot of driving time. I love driving though and see the drive as part of the holiday. Otherwise just fly.

number66

Just like to draw your attention to a couple of things

http://www.visitsequoia.com/redwoods-and-sequoias.aspx
http://www.americanwhitewater.com/american-river-rafting/middle-fork
https://plus.google.com/101279893985082792459/about?hl=en
http://wine.about.com/od/historyandculture/a/10Waystotour.htm
http://www.sanfrancisco.travel/events/Festivals-and-Special-Events-2013-.html
http://www.golden-gate-park.com/

Think you might end up spending a bit too much time driving, but maybe you like driving
anyway, just some suggestions off the top of my head.

SuperSean11

Book Alcatraz as early as possible it books out weeks in advance, do the angel island tour aswell. Great little extra

This is something I so want to do next year , how much money are we talking?

InTheTrees

A spectacular view spot just outside SF that is often overlooked.

You go over the GG bridge and, take the first exit (not the parking lot), and go right under the freeway and up the little winding road.

Be aware of morning fog. try going in the afternoons if there's fog in the morning.

https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=37.827129,-122.499211&spn=0.002856,0.005316&t=m&z=18&layer=c&cbll=37.827231,-122.499164&panoid=xHpGIQ-W8XepxcJL-7qG5w&cbp=12,105.92,,0,8.45

Also a good spot in the city. Especially at night:

https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=37.754747,-122.446505&spn=0.002033,0.002658&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=37.754747,-122.446505&panoid=nsd35xjTt_8HP7zuufYzSw&cbp=12,32.22,,0,7.17

Novella

I drove from San Fran to San Diego on Monday last and the drive time was 9 hours, including 3 stops and a small amount of traffic around LA. It was fine to do. San Diego is absolutely beautiful and there is a lot to do here. I wish I had more time here than I do.

QikBax

I'll just echo what other people are saying having done similar trips twice.

2 nights in Monterrey is far too much. The aquarium is well worth going to but not much else to do.

Taking the freeway as opposed to Highway 1 is not advisable. Takes longer but the views are absolutely stunning.

Santa Barbara is lovely if you have the time.

InTheTrees

Novella wrote: »

I drove from San Fran to San Diego on Monday last and the drive time was 9 hours, including 3 stops and a small amount of traffic around LA. It was fine to do.

Which route?

Did you take highway one, highway 101 or highway 5?

duck_77

At that pace inc. 3 stops I would say I-5