Los Angeles, San Diego & Las Vegas Tips...

Baz_2

Yes that looks about right for SF to Monterray but the picture I posted and most of the best coastal scenery is south of that around the big sur area.

If you plan to do the coastal route all the way from SF to Santa Monica in one day then you will be talking a very long drive. Unless as I said you are planning on cutting inland and taking the freeways.

Also if you like films and have seen the lost boys, the roller coaster and the seaside amusement park in that film is at Santa Cruz. If that floats your boat that is.

senwar

Baz wrote: »

Yes that looks about right for SF to Monterray but the picture I posted and most of the best coastal scenery is south of that around the big sur area.

If you plan to do the coastal route all the way from SF to Santa Monica in one day then you will be talking a very long drive. Unless as I said you are planning on cutting inland and taking the freeways.

Also if you like films and have seen the lost boys, the roller coaster and the seaside amusement park in that film is at Santa Cruz. If that floats your boat that is.

Nice one - love that film by the way so deffo!

trets77

Baz wrote: »

Yes that looks about right for SF to Monterray but the picture I posted and most of the best coastal scenery is south of that around the big sur area.

If you plan to do the coastal route all the way from SF to Santa Monica in one day then you will be talking a very long drive. Unless as I said you are planning on cutting inland and taking the freeways.

Also if you like films and have seen the lost boys, the roller coaster and the seaside amusement park in that film is at Santa Cruz. If that floats your boat that is.

If you go to Santa Cruz you Have to go here.

http://www.mysteryspot.com/


it is a little hard to find , but it's not too far (5 mins in a car) from the boardwalk ....seek it out.

anglo1967

Remember if youre going to do Monterey, do the *17 mile drive* - you have to pay a small charge but its great scenery... private... also, yup, it can be like 3 hours for the drive from Monterey to SF, but beware all the cars going slow and the twisty road.

I swear that road drives me to diazepam **scared of heights**.

Murphy_The_Cat

There's quite a whopping thread called Touring Holiday to Nevada, Arizona & California that may/will be useful for planning a trip to that part of the world :beer:

Flummaxed

Hi all,

Oh dear this is the 3rd time I have tried to do this - fingers crossed!

Thanks to everyone for all the invaluable tips and advice on this thread. I have a lot of notes to take from here before I head off to California in 3 weeks time with my 13 yr old daughter.

I have travelled through CA before (early 1990s) but was then a lot more carefree, travelling with a friend. This time round I am a single parent with a teenage daughter so my priorities have changed. I am far more security conscious now and have a much tighter budget. In this respect my questions to you intrepid travellers are about budget hotels and dodgy areas.

We plan to spend a couple of nights in San Fran - maybe staying in Youth Hostel type places (or the Red Victorian on Haight-Ashbury for it's Kitsch value - Summer of Love room etc!). Anyone have any advice about areas to avoid as I don't want to compromise our safety for the sake of a few $.

We will then pick up hire car for the 2nd week and hit the road. So any info you may have about budget priced hotels heading south would be most welcome. I'd love to see Monterey, Carmel, Santa Barbara and San Diego again. But, would also love to spend a couple of nights camping in Yosemite or make a trip to Josha Tree Nat. Park in the Mohave Desert, don't think time will allow for both so trying to decide which would be better (am a bit concerned about bush fires round Yosemite tho).

Thanks again to everyone for all this amazing information. And to anyone travelling soon - have a fantastic trip.

Thanks x

My_Fathers_Daughter

Can I ask a quick question please?!!

If we are doing the california coastal road is there a better way to do it? ie is north to south better than south to north??

Additionally, is it better to book hotels in advance for the end of August (not sure if we will make it yet but thinking about it!), we normally just head off and see where we get to but wouldn't like to risk a night in the car at the moment (I will be 13 weeks pregnant!) and I am assuming that this is a busy route!

cfbc

We are going to LA and driving up to San Fran via H1 on the 07-08-08 so thank you so much to everyone for their tips, hints and places to visit too.

We are going to spend three nights driving-up H1 as we have a soft top hire car. Are there many hotels and places to stay and can anyone recomend any?

We are not tied to any schedule, so it's a case of just turning-up.

Also, we are stopping on the heart of San Fran for two nights with a friend and everyone had said that parking is a nightmare. Do we surrender the hire car early?

Regards in advance

anglo1967

Flummaxed -
1. Check out the link for local news to see whether or not Yosemite will be closed. Use the listings I gave earlier in the year, or go to www.cnn.com which will show you the nat'l weather. Cal is always ablaze with brush fires this time of year, & if they close them, it may be a reaaaaalllllllyyyy long way around, or they could be open that day - it will depend & you need to keep up to date. Joshua Tree should be ok, but its always best to check.

For discount hotels, use the link I gave earlier -www.johnnyjet.com. I would say any chain hotel is ok, like www.embassysuites.com, marriott courtyard is also ok. I know youre security conscious, I would avoid the embarcadero area or any area where there are civic buildings - theyre empty at night and they tend to be isolated, so unfortunately they attract vagrants. SF is a lot like London, the city is only about 7 miles around, so each neighborhood has its own vibe & its easy to get around... I would say youre ok at haight/ash, but theres lots of grugs in that area (for obvious reasons). Have you tried the Frommers or fodor's guides? they have people check them every year, & I have found them to be accurate for hotel & area advice. www.fodors.com. I also think the Time Out guides for the USA are great, they tell you what areas to avoid www.timeout.com (go to the guide section)..

If you are going to camp, I would make arrangements now, that area is really busy, despite the blazing heat.

Any other questions, feel free to pm me & Ill help you with whatever I know.

anglo1967

Ha!Ha! I meant "drugs" not "grugs" ... I swear I went to college!!!!