L.A-San Francisco

[starla]

Hello,
I'm a first time roadtripper from Ireland and I'd really appreciate some help..my boyfriend and i had originally planned to drive from l.a. to nyc in 3 weeks but the car rental is working out so expensive we were thinking maybe we should just drive to san francisco and spend a week there and really see san francisco..but can anyone else where we could drive to from san francisco for a few days? or that we could stop en route? we'd like to see more than l.a. and san francisco... any suggestions would be much appreciated? thanks so much...starla..x

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

There is so much to do in California that you'll have no problem at all chewing up 3 weeks.

I'd do a round trip, going up the coast via Big Sur and Monterey and then go back inland via Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks. With 3 weeks you could also throw in stops in places like Napa, Lake Tahoe, or even Las Vegas.

Both trips are very popular, and you'll find literally hundreds of threads full of suggestions by Searching the Forum.

[starla]

Thanks a million..it sounds great..i think i was a bit confusing though..we can't afford to rent the car for 3 weeks so we're just going to go for 2 and spend a week in san francisco..i was just thinking that maybe we could stop off some places enr oute from l.a. to san fran and then maybe drive on from san fran to some other places? in day trips rather than keeping the car rented out all the time..does that make sense? any help much appreciated..thanks again..x

[Mark Sedenquist]

in day trips rather than keeping the car rented out all the time..does that make sense?

Just about any rental company in the USA, offers a weekly rate and it is nearly always cheaper to rent by the week than doing it by the day, unless you will be renting less than 3 days in any 7. (Generally if you rent more than 4 days, you will have paid as much as full weekly rental). Other tips -- start your week on either a Friday or Saturday, beause the weekly rate starting on a Monday is usually at least 40% higher.

I am still not sure I understand your schedule. Is this correct: two weeks on the road. Starting in LA and ending in San Francisco, one full week in San Francisco? So you would have 2-3 days for the period of LA to San Francisco and 2-3 days for car exploring from San Francisco? If you do that, you wll spend the same as or maybe more than if you had simply kept the rental car for two full weeks.

As far as where to for those 4-6 days of road trip travel -- there are hundreds of possible destinations. What kinds of things, events, and places are of interest to you?

Mark

[starla]

Hello,
I would really love some advice..my boyfriend and i are flying into l.a. on 16th july and have to be in san francisco on 22nd july..can people recommend a route we can take that will bring us through loads of great places and best use the week as we only want to spend 2/3 days in l.a...could we drive down to mexico and back? any help and suggestions much appreciated..
thanks so much in advance..x

[Quebec Gen]

Hi Starla,

can people recommend a route we can take that will bring us through loads of great places

Without a doubt, I think the most scenic road in these parts is the Pacific Coast Highway. Here's a post with loads of suggestions for the PCH and other must sees in that area, including LA and SF. To get a visual idea of what this road looks like, one of our regular posters took some awesome pictures while travelling down that road.

If you plan to do the trekk down to Mexico, you should stop by San Diego and explore the city and its various attractions. I've never been to Tijuana before but I heard it wasn't necessarily the cleanest or the nicest place to be as a tourist. I've been to a border city once so I can give you a few tips. Before you cross the border, leave all valuables in your hotel or at another safe location. Don't wear any expensive jewelry, watches and stay low profile. Always keep your camera, money and passports on yourself. If possible, avoid crossing the border with your car, especially if it is a rental. Most rental car companies won't allow you to cross the border anyway and you would need to get Mexican insurance. I'm sure you can easily find a safe place to park your car on the US side and visit TJ by foot.

Have a nice trip!
Gen

[starla]

Thanks so much for that!

[AZBuck]

Five days is barely enough to scratch the surface of the area you want to see, and not enough, I don't think, to do everything on your wish list, especially if you spend three of those days in LA. So, my first suggestion would be to budget out your other activities and see what you have left for LA. Los Angeles to Tijuana is around 170 miles, so you could do that as a day trip. Along the way, you may want to take some time and explore one or two of the coastal towns north of San Diego such as Del Mar and Oceanside. You could (and I have) spend weeks in this area alone. Take a look as well at Balboa Park in San Diego. The drive from LA to San Francisco can be done in a day if you just head up I-5, but I really think you'd do much better to take a couple of days and drive up US-101 and CA-1, the Pacific Coast Highway with possible stops in Santa Barbara, at the Hearst Castle in San Simeon, at some of the spectacular state parks in the area, the 17-mile drive in Pebble Beach, and Monterey with its history and aquarium. If you spend three days, doing those things, then you really only have 2 days for LA. Not a lot, but enough to get over your jet lag and see a few things.

AZBuck

[starla]

That sounds brilliant...the hard part for me is knowing how long it will take to get from place to place so that I can make out an itinerary..if anyone could help be break it down i'd really appreciate it..
at the moment i arrive in l.a. on sunday 16th july..if we stay in l.a. until wed 19th july and then start making our way to san francisco can help me make out an itinerary between for between wed and sat when we arrive in san fran? i'd really appreciate it..thanks so much for all the great help so far..

[starla]

p.s. i think we'll skip mexico by the way unless we just make a day trip from one of our days in l.a.