albatravels

We are considering driving HWY 1 for Spring break. My husband thinks the best route is to start in Oregon and drive down to LA......in a week. Is that a good idea?

We are flying in from Dallas with two teens. Please help me with a fun and scenic route!

tomfuller

The route from Astoria, Oregon to Los Angeles, CA is US 101.
From PDX to Astoria is 97 miles 2.0 hours
Astoria to Brookings: 339 miles 7.7 hours
Brookings to SF 464 miles 8.3 hours
SF to Santa Barbara 337 miles 5.5 hours
Santa Barbara to LA 95 miles 1.7 hours

Total 1332 miles in 25.1 hours
The return trip up I-5 is 977 miles and 15.4 hours.

BillJ

Hwy 1 will be much slower than 101. I don't think you could do it in a week, and see anything. Suggest you divide the state into north or south, and pick one for the week. If you do the north from Oregon (I assume flying into Portland), take in the Oregon coast, very beautiful.
Do some searching here. You will find plenty to occupy you and your teens between CAl/Or border and San Francisco. The Redwood Highway, Fern Canyon, plenty of hiking opportunities. Beautiful redwood country. Might try some deep sea fishing out of one of many fishing towns along the way. End the week with a day or two in SF.
OR
Fly into San Francisco, and head south from there. Monterrey and the aquarium is great, then south through Big Sur and some of the most dynamic sea scapes you will see. Hearst Castle, sea lions, Santa Barbara, then to LA and home.

I would not do the whole state, north to south, on Highway 1 in one week. More like a month.

janisj

tomfuller's post is info copied from mapquest or google maps and doesn't reflect reality. And it doesn't include hwy 1. Even for 101, the times are not accurate. For instance the 337 miles/5.5 hours from SF to Santa Barbara is entirely inland (not a glimpse of the Pacific) except for a few miles just before getting to SB

Now -- for your plan . . . Assuming you want to stop over and see places along the route, w/ just one week you can drive from Portland to SF -- or -- from SF to LA, but not from Portland to LA. And you would not have enough time to return to your starting point.

So you would have to fly open jaw into one city and home from the other and pay one way drop off fees for the car.

Ackislander

I like LA to SF better, think a week would be great, and the drop off fees last time I did this were not horrible.

Be sure to stop lots in small towns to let the kids hang out, particularly in beach towns. Be sure to get down to the water in Big Sur. Wow, lucky kids! Wow, great parents!

albatravels

THANK YOU ALL! My husband has put together an itinerary that follows some of these siggestions but it seems a bit ambitious! I will posted under and "itinerary" message to get suggestions....

Michael

Spring break, meaning end of March or early April? I would stick to California. You might get stormy weather, but that is less likely than along the Oregon coast. Between SF and LA you will find missions, elephant seals, Hearst Castle, the Monterey Aquarium.

To give you some ideas, the first half of this set covers the coast from San Diego to San Francisco:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7624512998387/

albatravels

Tes, this is a 7 day trip starting MArch 14th. here is the crazy itinerary....maybe too much...please comment:
DAY 0
Arrive in San Jose
DAY 1
Depart San Jose via Carmel
Stop at Los Lobos Nature Reserve
Stop at Andre Molera Park
Stop at Harmony
Spend the night in San Luis Obispo. Dinner at Buona Tavola

DAY 2
Depart towards San Simeon
Visit Heast Castle
Keep driving towards Big Sur
Stop at Pferiffer Park
Keep driving towards Monterrey
Visit Monterrey’s Aquarium
Drive to Salinas and spend the night there

DAY 3
Drive from Salinas towards Carmel
Spend all day in Carmel
Drive to Sunny Valley and spend the night

DAY 4
Drive towards San Francisco
Stop by at Sonoma State Park for lunch
Stop by the Old Faithful Geyser?
Spend the night in San Francisco

Day 5
Drive towards Bodega Bay
Stop at Sonoma Coast State park and or Salt Point State Park
Visit and spend the night in Mendocino

DAY 6
Drive towards Fort Bragg
Do the Skunk Train
Whale Watching (ALL ABOARD ADVENTURES
boat tour)
Drive back to Mendocino

DAY 7
Drive back to San Francisco to fly back to Dallas

sf7307

Comments:

1) Have you looked at a map of California?
2) Is there a special reason you're going all the way to San Luis Obispo instead of stopping near San Simeon? Why Salinas? Where is Sunny Valley?
3) Sonoma is north of San Francisco, not on the way from Carmel.
4) What do you plan to do "all day" in Carmel?
5) Very doubtful you can do Hearst Castle and the Monterey Aquarium the same day. Likewise, the Skunk Train and whale watching.

hazel1

Ditto everything sf7307 is saying. That itinerary makes absolutely no sense. There is no such place as Sunny Valley -do you mean Sunnyvale, which is just an average suburban community near San Jose, and if so, why are you going there (unless you're visiting someone who lives there)?

Day 1, spend the night in Cambria, not SLO. Day 2, See Hearst Castle, spend the night at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park Lodge. Day 3, go to Monterey, see the Aquarium, see Carmel, spend the night there. Do not go to Salinas - there's nothing there. Day 4 spend the day in San Francisco, then Day 5 you can go to Sonoma State Park and Old Faithful Geyser on your way to Bodega Bay/Mendocino. Day 6, do whale watching OR the Skunk Train. Day 7, I hope you leave late, beacuse it's a 4 hour drive to SFO, accounting for traffic.

This is doable, but still really exhausting and LOT of driving.

tomfuller

Day 4-I am not aware of a geyser in California, Old Faithful is in Yellowstone NP in Wyoming. Route 1 stars in Leggett, CA a few miles from the coast.

sf7307

And I agree with hazel's suggestions, with the following possible exceptions:

1) Day 2 - you could drive all the way to Monterey/Carmel, just don't plan to see the Aquarium that day. Stay there two nights.

2) I would spend Days 4 and 5 in San Francisco, then maybe do Sonoma on Day 6. I would not personally be in Mendocino the night before my flight out, so I would ditch that altogether.

sf7307

Old Faithful Geyser is actually in Calistoga, not Sonoma. So like the rest of the plan, this one is kind of crazy --- lunch in Sonoma and "stop by" Old Faithful, which is 20 miles NORTH of Sonoma?

happytrailstoyou

We made a similar trip in January, starting is Seattle and spending nights in Cannon Beach, Yachats, Crescent City, Mendocino, Monterey, and Pismo Beach.

I suggest in your circumstances that you go from Portland to Lincoln City and then take 101 as far as Monterey. The stretch of 101 from Lincoln City to Eureka affords many ocean views, and it passes through the redwoods on the way to Monterey.

I would then advise you to take Highway 1 from Monterey to Santa Monica.

If you want explanations or specific suggestions, please ask.

HTTY

november_moon

What about going straight to the Cambria area from SJ on your day of arrival? If you take Hwy 101 south, you can be in the Cambria area in about 3 hours. The flight from Dallas isn't long, so you shouldn't be esspecially tired when you get to SJ and as long as you arrive in SJ by about 4pm or so, you can be in Cambria at a reasonable time. If you arrive earlier, you can do a little sightseeing on 101 on the way down.

Maybe something like this (I didn't include time in SF since you hadn't originally, so I figured you weren't interested in SF):

Day 0: Arrive in SJ and drive to Cambria/SLO.
Day 1: Tour Hearst Castle in the am, drive through Big Sur to Monterey.
Day 2: In Monterey/Carmel (don't stay in Salinas)
Day 3: In Monterey/Carmel
Day 4: Drive to Sonoma or Calistoga in the am, sightseeing in the pm
Day 5: Drive to Mendocino in the am, sightseeing in the pm
Day 6: In Mendocino
Day 7: Flight home

This will have less backtracking than your previous plan.

november_moon

Thinking about it a bit more, it would definitely be a shame to skip SF and being in Mendocino the night before your flight is a risk. Consider droping Mendocino and adding SF. I think that most teens (I forgot that you were travelling with teens) would enjoy SF a lot more than Sonoma, Calistoga, and Mendocino.

If you stick to SF, then the day you drive from Monterey to SF, you will have time to stop in Santa Cruz - go to the Boardwalk, the beach, etc. Lots of fun.

happytrailstoyou

Sorry, alba, I didn't notice you had already published your projected itinerary.

<i>I think that most teens... would enjoy SF a lot more than Sonoma, Calistoga, and Mendocino.</i>

I agree, and to that I would add Salinas, Bodega Bay, and even San Luis Obispo. <i>Fodor's California 2011</i> is an investment you should consider.

HTTY

sf7307

Salinas? For what?

tomfuller

For at least part of his life, Salinas was the home of John Stenbeck. There is a Steinbeck Center there.

janisj

tomfuller: Yes - there <i>are</i> geysers in California (not that they are worth a substantial detour).

albatravels: Your route really makes no sense. Sort of zig-zagging all over the place w/o a lot of rhyme/reason.

Just one quick comment to add to what everyone else has mentioned-- You want to spend your last night either IN San Francisco or very nearby. You do not want to be driving from Mendocino to catch a flight. Especially since it might be foggy and the drive from Mendocino to SFO will take forever.