Travelling from San Francisco down the coast towards LA

WoollyRedHat

Hi guys

Hoping to leave SF soon to travel down to the coast towards L.A. Want to spend about 2 days somewhere else before staying in downtown L.A for a few nights. Where would people recommend stopping along the way for a day trip/overnighter?
Have been considering Monterey as well as Barbara and Monica atm.

Want something to keep me occupied during the day and with nice beaches preferably and then some decent nightlife would be a plus.

Also which is better to travel on in your opinion, megabus or Greyhound?

iusedtoknow

megabus is the cheapest

The thing is....it is direct, down the 5 so you just through boring ranch country for 5 hours until you get to LA. There is no way to get down the coast via bus. The furthest you could get is probably Monterey before having to head back to Salinas and take the train down.

Monterey is nice, but is pretty family friendly. Santa cruz is a college town, and has a pretty good night life - both are within striking distance of SF.

ProudDUB

Recent thread about Greyhound.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057264087

(There are lots of other posts about Greyhound in the Travel forums. If you use the Search feature, you should be able to dig them up.)

InTheTrees

The scenic road down the coast, highway one, is a curvy two lane road that hugs the side of a cliff for about fifty miles. Buses dont go that way unfortunately. It would be terrifying.

And Interstate five has nothing much.

YOu could take the train? It doesnt go down the big sur route but it does hug the coast from San Louis Obispo on to LA, more interesting than a bus, more expensive too:

http://www.amtrak.com/coast-starlight-train

InTheTrees

WoollyRedHat wrote: »

Have been considering Monterey as well as Barbara and Monica atm.

If you mean Santa Monica. Thats actually in LA. Its also the best place (i think) to stay in LA, or Venice Beach which is right next door to the south.

They're also the best areas to stay if you dont have a car. You can actually walk around a bit. And its on the beach. LA witout a car can be very restricted. Public transport is not good, and distances are long. You should try and go on some kind of tour though because it is a fascinating place.

Dont be fooled by "Downtown Los Angeles", its the Business Centre only, full of banks and insurance companies and is very quiet after 6pm. Beautiful Library there. And the convention center.

tricky D

Down hugging the coast most of the way and with stunning scenery is the Pacific Coastal Highway/Route 1. It is a definite must-see/do/bucket list item imho. This is a drive by car job all the way, as there would be so many places and viewpoints with stunning vistas you would want to stop off at: Monterrey, Carmel, Big Sur, Hearst Castle, Santa Barbara, Malibu to name a few as well as a load of lay-bys with views, turnouts/turnarounds in US parlance. Besides, LA is pretty much a see by car city only, public transport is mostly between very poor and non-existent, totally unlike SF, and getting taxis will eat dollars really quickly. You could get a one-way rental for around $150 over 2 nights/3 days if you are over 25 and it's a really good idea to have SatNav as one or two of the turnoffs are easy to miss/not well signposted, nevermind getting around LA. I stayed in San Simeon which is basically a small motel town halfway between SF and LA, and just down the road from the must-see Hearst Castle which you pretty much have to book well in advance to get a tour slot which suits your timetable. I'd great night in San Simeon chatting with fellow travellers, which most people staying there are, in the San Simeon Beach Bar and Grill.

Make sure your itinerary is planned to drive only during the daylight as the scenery is stunning and it's dangerously windy in some parts, especially around Big Sur - when it says the speed limit is as low as 15mph, you stick to it. Also add at least 30 minutes to your plan for contra-flows where there are roadworks on the tight stretches in the middle section ie. north of San Simeon. Also be sure to bring some CDs as in some parts like the Big Sur area the radio choice and reception is very poor to non-existent.

As for staying in LA, I'd recommend you stick to the corridor between Santa Monica/Venice and Hollywood around or on Santa Monica Blvd. Most of the rest of LA isn't worth going near.