Houston To LA TO San Francisco and Back

[imported_Thomas]

Hi,

We are planning a trip from Houston to LA (stay there for a week) then go to San Francisco (stay there for a week) and drive back to Houston. Is this advisable or should we go by flight. If we are driving, I think it will take 2 days for the first leg - so where would be a good city and hotel to stay. Any words of advise.

Thanking you in advance,
-tom

Tom,

If you have the budget and you're pressed for time, I'd fly to L.A., rent a car, and drive to S.F. You can take two days to drive up Highway 1 (the coastal route) and pass through some incredible towns and cities, as well as some of the best scenery in the entire country.

If you go ahead as planned, you're looking at about 1500-1600 miles between Houston and Los Angeles. I'd guess that Las Cruces, NM is about halfway between, but I'm too tired to look at a map right now.

Good luck and safe driving.


AB

Thanks

[Courtney G]

I drove from LA to Austin in 4 days, that was in a u-haul with a 70 mile an hour limit, and we drove for about 8 hours a day. When you think about it, half of the drive to LA will be in East Texas. It's up to you to decide if it's worth it, but I'm sure if you live in TX you know there's not a lot between San Antonio and El Paso.

There are several airports to choose from if you fly to LA: LAX, Burbank, Long Beach, Orange County, Ontario. You're bound to find a cheap flight from Houston to one of those airports, and still have it be worth your while.

Also the coastal hwy in CA is arguably one of the most beautiful in this country. But to get a sense of the farming side of CA, you can also take the 5 (Interstate 5) back to LA.

I just got back from driving from San Antonio to San Francisco. San Antonio to Las Cruces took a day, and Las Cruces to Palm Springs took another day. Palm Springs is about 100 miles out from L.A. WE LOVED the drive...the desert scenery of west Texas/New Mexico/Arizona is beautiful! And I-10 thru west Texas is an easy drive due to virtually NO traffic! So two days is definitely do-able. L.A. to SFO takes 6-8 hours on I-5 (boring), much longer if you go by coast, but much more scenic too.

[Mark Sedenquist]

Thanks for saying that -- I like West Texas too. But then I also like I-5 in California.

There are very few places that I don't like driving in and to