Wear coast intinery

comewatmay

Leaving on Monday for California. Here is our proposed intinery for our trip. Anything we should add in or leave out?

Monday 12th
San Fran 2 nights

Pier 37
Alcatraz
Golden gate
The 'windy' road

Wednesday 14th
Monterey 2 nights

Aquarium

Friday 16th 1 night
Santa Barbara

Drive down coast road sea lions etc
Hearst castle

Saturday 17th 2 nights
LA

Celebrity tour
Six flags
Universal studios
Hollywood way

Monday 19th 3 nights
Las Vegas

Beatles cirque du soleil
Grand Canyon
Gambling etc.

San Diego 22nd 3 nights

Zoo
Sea world
Shopping?

Any ideas on what to add in?

Anyone with experience of this trip where would be the best place to see giant redwoods? Also any 'ghost' towns that we could fit into our intinery.

Many thanks

InTheTrees

Looks okay.

Drive down the coast all the way from SF, through Monterey to SB. Dont just drive the coast after SB. (hearst castle would be on this leg).

2 nights in Monterey is a lot. There's also Carmel, Pebble Beach and 17 mile drive to do there.

Also San Louis Obispo is a good stop point after driving the coast road from Monterey. Santa Barbara may be a little far.

2 nights in LA and 3 nights in SD? Seems back to front. LA is one of the largest cities in the world, while san diego is a naval base with sea world. But whatever...

Be aware of fog. August is the peak of fog season. But dont worry its mostly a morning thing and as the heat of the day increases it dissolves away. It screws with Tourists all the time ("Oh it was "cloudy" every day".), but it does go away.

Try and do the highway one drive between Monterey and Hearst Castle after lunch. Monterey is particularly famous for its fog. Sometimes in summer it never gets above 15 degrees and it can linger for days.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_layer

Calico, ghost town, its between LA and Vegas:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calico_Ghost_Town

Redwoods. (in Santa Cruz county, about 2 hours south of SF).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Cowell_Redwoods_State_Park
http://www.bigbasin.org/

Have a great trip!

iusedtoknow

I'll be honest with you...pier 37 is horrible, there is little or no enjoyment to be had from it.

As for alcatraz - i'd recommend you do the night tour rather than the day one. It is quieter (only 2 boatloads go out) and slightly creepier, plus the views of the city are amazing.

As for the windy road (lombard street), a lot of people make the mistake of seeing it only from the top - make sure you see it from the bottom.

Golden gate is worth it, my favourite view is from from underneath it from Fort Point

Make sure you bring layers of clothes, hoodies etc...it may be "summer" but last night is was 12c and not too much warmer in the day

Falcon.ie

As a California native, I wouldn't recommend San Louis Obispo, Maybe for lunch but little besides. Santa Barbara is much more beautiful location to stay. In august you should be fine for Fog. Shouldn't have any issues. From living in Carpinteria most of my life I've found June and July to be the worst for fog.

On your trip overall. Since your in LA for only 2nights. I'd skip Six Flags, its out of your way in Santa Clarita and personally I'd definitely pick Universal Studios over Six flags. And try find time for Griffith Observatory in LA. Probably the best View of LA with a good view of the Hollywood sign to boot.

InTheTrees

Falcon.ie wrote: »

In august you should be fine for Fog. Shouldn't have any issues. From living in Carpinteria most of my life I've found June and July to be the worst for fog.

But what about San Fransisco and the central coast? The June gloom is a socal thing.

They are way different from carpinteria. Pacific Grove is socked in all summer. Ive spent 15 years on the beach in Santa Cruz and its Foggy in July and August.

iusedtoknow

well in SF it's cold and foggy in the mornings, warmish in the afternoon then cold, foggy and a bit rainy in the evenings and night

hopefully will clear by September