Californian Road-trip... [Archive]

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ghost77uk

16-07-2008, 15:04

Gavin Bl

16-07-2008, 18:42

Best trip ever!

You've got a long time so you could cover alot of ground, and have time to linger.

A 'classic' route which we did can include LA or slice it out would be

- SF

- drive south on coast road

- either go to LA - or cut east into desert

- see stuff like joshua tree, hoover dam etc

- grand canyon (flagstaff is a good place to stop - Monte Vista hotel is pretty classic or was ten years ago

- drive to and stay in Vegas

- drive to death valley

- drive up into Sierra Nevada (stop at Mono Lake)

- over the top to Yosemite (unmissable)

- stopped at Mariposa grove to see the giant redwoods

- drove back to SF (lovely drive most of the way)

thats waht we did - depends on how much driving you want to do, and how much 'Red Rock Country' you can face, but with 3 weeks you could detour up from the Grand Canyon to Monument Valley, Zion Park, Arches, Bryce Canyon etc - glorious, but might be too much.

this is all ten years ago - so couldn't say on hotels anymore, also not sure of the costs 'gas'-wise now.

sorry this is a bit rushed, putting the kids to bed! Its a gobsmacking trip though - Cal is unbelieavable, but push into the deserts of Nevada and Arizona too.

gav

beeboo

16-07-2008, 19:19

I'll tell you in a month, I'm heading out there in a couple of weeks :cool:

What Gavin Bl says is probably the perfect way to spend a three week trip. We only have 2 weeks, and have to spend a few days in Vegas due to a wedding, so we're just doing:

SF
Yosemite
Highway 1 to LA (ie coastal path)
LA
Vegas with day trip to Grand Canyon.

Big Sur (the most scenic stretch of the coastal route) has just suffered massive fires, so isn't at it's best right now, but the coast will still be spectacular no doubt.

I'm in holiday-obsessed planning mode at the moment so I've done looooads of research, however as I haven't done the trip yet it's a bit early to start making recommendations - I'll report back :)

kyser_soze

16-07-2008, 19:37

You could always do a Top Gear and buy yourself a $1000 motor too...

1927

16-07-2008, 19:39

trashpony

16-07-2008, 19:47

Don't forget to go to Hurst Mansion. That's ace. There are loads of pretty little towns on route 1 between LA and SF

ghost77uk

16-07-2008, 21:05

Thanks to all so far...Love the idea of doing the Topgear thing...Might start looking into that :)
And look forward to your report Beeboo once you return from your trip...Make lots of notes for me please :)

beeboo

16-07-2008, 21:56

I'm currently in a state of panic as I applied for a new driving licence (for some reason I thought you needed a photo driving licence in the states and I had an old fashioned paper licence) and now I'm not sure it's going to turn up in time for the trip...AAARGH!

Gavin Bl

17-07-2008, 08:42

Thanks to all so far...Love the idea of doing the Topgear thing...Might start looking into that :)

till it breaks down in the desert, 50 miles from anywhere, 110C heat, no shade - and no support team and tv crew to save you!:p

jæd

17-07-2008, 09:00

Any advice?
Not booked anything yet, but thinking of heading out on the 17/09 (back on 05/10) to LA & driving up to San Fran on the coastal path :) So just wondered if any Urbanites have done the same & any recommendations with regards hotels/restaurants/bars/places not to be missed etc., etc.
Cheers all :)

Better to drive south from SF to LA... The Big Sur / Highway # 1 can be hair-raising during the day time. Its 70 miles of sharp corners and cliffs. Very silly to try it at night. There's also very little mobile coverage (ie none) on that highway so a long walk/wait until you get help... The Big Sur alone will take around 4 hours to drive as you'll want to stop and have a look. And you won't be driving fast due to the corners...

You can do LA - SF in one day (scenic route is 8 hours, direct is 6), but better to spend at least three/four days, and go to places like Hearst Castle (big American folly) on the way.

St Louis Obispo is a nice college town to stop at for lunch. Head for Big Sky Cafe -- very good food (Remember that this place shuts at 9pm-ish -- like most restaurants outside big cities in California). Also look out for the Madonna Inn just outside. Completely over the top hotel, in honour of the Madonna.

Kanda

17-07-2008, 09:03

I think you should only do a week :D

ghost77uk

17-07-2008, 15:15

I think you should only do a week :D

I think I should do 3months :D

ghost77uk

17-07-2008, 15:18

Better to drive south from SF to LA... The Big Sur / Highway # 1 can be hair-raising during the day time. Its 70 miles of sharp corners and cliffs. Very silly to try it at night. There's also very little mobile coverage (ie none) on that highway so a long walk/wait until you get help... The Big Sur alone will take around 4 hours to drive as you'll want to stop and have a look. And you won't be driving fast due to the corners...

You can do LA - SF in one day (scenic route is 8 hours, direct is 6), but better to spend at least three/four days, and go to places like Hearst Castle (big American folly) on the way.

St Louis Obispo is a nice college town to stop at for lunch. Head for Big Sky Cafe -- very good food (Remember that this place shuts at 9pm-ish -- like most restaurants outside big cities in California). Also look out for the Madonna Inn just outside. Completely over the top hotel, in honour of the Madonna.

That I love the sound of :D

And have already been checking out the Madonna Inn...Over the top is an understatement! :D

Kanda

17-07-2008, 15:35

I think I should do 3months :D

that can be arranged :D

1927

17-07-2008, 19:04

A website you might like to look at for a bit of fun is http://www.roadsideamerica.com/.

HAL9000

23-07-2008, 20:16

I've driven from

LA to Sanfrancisco

I found this a bit frustrating because it wasn't always possible to get a good view point. Best views were above Santa Barbara, as seen here

http://www.zooomr.com/photos/20944@Z01/sets/17120/

Cheapest solution for accommodation is camping, state parks are like £8-10 a night. The most expensive site was a private campsite that was $34. (I had to camp there because I ran out of time to find a campsite)

The other trip I've done

Sanfrancisco to Portland

I liked this trip a lot (it might be because it was my first road trip). In Oregon the tourist information centers have a leaflet which listing all the view points along highway 101 in Oregon. All long highway 101 there are mile posts and this leaflet tells you which mile post to stop at for a good view of the coastline.

PPS

If you haven't been Yosemite, its well worth a visit.

fractionMan

29-07-2008, 10:39

I did it the other way around San Francisco to LA (and on to San Diego afterwards). It's a lovely drive but quite a long one. Plan on stopping half way down the coast. We did it an a soft top jeep and it was ace.

jodal

01-08-2008, 01:47

One tip, don't go the inland route. Most boring trip ever.

paolo999

01-08-2008, 02:24

Rent a convertible. It makes Highway One sooo good. Ideally, rent a Mustang :cool: I did this a couple of times and found they were relatively affordable if you got one from a non-city-centre place (mine was from a Ford dealership in the SF suburbs).

Skimix

01-08-2008, 05:44

I just got back from doing this yesterday :D

Absolutely brilliant time. In terms of driving I think highway one north of san francisco is probably "better" (less traffic and more narrow road right along the cliffs) than the bit between San Fran and LA. The redwoods are amazing.

If you go north of San Fran remember it can be a bit chilly on the coast. We stopped off a Mendicino between San Fran and the redwood national park which was a pretty cool little town.

South of San Fran you should be ok on highway one nr big sur now, it was shut for quite a while but we drove it about a week ago and everything seemed under control.

Monteray was fun (the aquarium is dead cool) if very touristy. We rented some kayaks and went out in the sea...loads of sea otters, dolphins and sea lions (seals? one of the two!) swimming about.

Detroit City

01-08-2008, 06:04

Absolutely brilliant time. In terms of driving I think highway one north of san francisco is probably "better" (less traffic and more narrow road right along the cliffs) than the bit between San Fran and LA.

yes, you are correct :)

And have already been checking out the Madonna Inn...Over the top is an understatement! :D

she was quite controversial in her day...