San Francisco to LA

piptypibe

Hello
Trying to plan our holiday and just not sure where to stay along the way.
We have two weeks. Starting and ending in San Francisco.
Anyone have suggestions/recommendations on where to stay or accomodation recommendations or winery's?
Many thanks in advance

Big Wex fan

It's twenty years since I was there but from what I remember.
San Francisco - Tourist area Pier 49 ( I think)
Pre book your tickets for Alcatraz before you travel because it's so popular.
Monterey - Famous Aquarium there for Sea Lions.
Santa Cruz - rockety old wooden roller coaster there to frighten the bejesus out of ye & where surfing all started in California.
Carmel - picturesque town might bump into Clint Eastwood.
Red Wood Forests. Loads of vineyards as you drive along.

lc180

I stopped in Yosemite National Park for a couple days when I was doing that route. It's a really amazing.

iusedtoknow

So north of San Francisco (over the golden gate bridge) there is Napa valley, about 1 hour by car)
It's pretty small, about 25 miles and around 30 wineries of every conceivable vintage. It is a great trip, either for a day or an overnight - there are police around either rent a car with a driver or have someone responsible .

To get to LA from SF, highway 1 is the leisurely drive. If you do it in one shot, it takes 8 or 9 hours but if you're on vacation - overnight in Monterey, then start winding south. A good stopping off point Cambria. If you can, go to the Hearst mansion. You need to book ahead but it is worth it. It's usually worth doing over 2 or 3 nights so you can enjoy the drive.

You could take a long route back through yosemite, but as a park it needs a few days and if you are just wanting to see SF and LA (and you should head south to San Diego as well) then it is probably not worth it.

There are 2 ways back to SF, the 101 and 5. The 101 is the older road and slower but has towns up and down. The 5 is a boring, straight (but fun drive) that takes around 5 or 6 hours. You'd really want to switch drivers every couple of hours as it can get monotonous. There is an in-n-out burger in Kettleman city that is part of the California road trip culture. All the kids that work there are local (from a town of about 200) and so it is also vital to their economy.

Let me know if you have any questions. I've lived in SF for a couple of years and drive up and down to LA twice a year now.

tricky D

I'd suggest something like:
1 night in SF
Take the Pacific Coastal Highway, it is stunning and a Bucket List item. Take your time and stop off for a night or 2 on the route. Places to see on the way: Santa Cruz, Monterray incl 17 mile drive, aquarium and seafood, Carmel, Big Sur, Hearst Castle (book in advance), Morro Bay, Santa Barbara, Malibu.
The spend 2 or 3 nights in LA.
3 nights in Las Vegas and do the Grand Canyon by helicopter which is pricey but worth it - another Bucket List item. Driving to the Canyon is a long way so if you go for that you'll need a night but at sunrise and sunset, the shadow travelling up/down the Canyon is amazing.
From Vegas up through Death Valley via Pahrump, Zabriske Point, Stovepipe Wells, Panamint Valley, Lone Pine, Bishop, Tom's Place, then to Yosemite via Tioga Pass, either with a stop on the way or a full day's driving all the way to Yosemite.
A few days/nights in Yosemite for the amazing scenery.
Then back to SF for the 4/5 days/nights that remain with a wine tour to Napa Valley.

Apart from the usual easily found tourist sights in SF, you could think about other sights like Nike Missile Base*, Point Bonita*, California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park, Amoeba Records at the west end of Haight St, the Camera Obscura at the Cliff House, Twin Peaks, check for gigs in the Great American Music Hall and the Oakland Theatre

* check the days these open on beforehand.

hth and enjoy

piptypibe

Thank you all so much for your replies. We really appreciate it.

fullstop

From the above, would definitely recommend Monterey and Carmel, which are just beside each other. Big Sur is a short drive south of there. Closer to San Fran, if you're going towards Napa Valley, Santa Rosa is worth a look. Stayed in the Hyatt there last year and they couldn't have been more helpful, recommended wineries to go see, where to eat for dinner and there are a few breweries in the town, Russian River is pretty famous in the area and you can do a tasting menu of beers.
Armstrong forest (redwood) and Bodega Bay (The Birds) are also close by and worth a visit.

InTheTrees

Make sure to take Highway One out of SF and go down the coast to Monterey Bay. Its tempting to take the freeway down to Monterey and start on Highway One there but you'd be missing a lot.