San Diego to Vancouver road trip

Old May 17th, 2016, 06:20 AM
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San Diego to Vancouver road trip

Hi everyone. I've been pretty obsessed with the idea of moving to CA for quite some time, since that's not happening anytime soon I'm trying to a plan a road trip with my soon to be husband next summer-ish. I'll be graduating school in may 2017 so I think it'll be a nice excuse to do something fun! We'd be flying in to San Diego from new York and renting a car, driving up the coast and would like to make it to Vancouver and then fly home (maybe drive back to Oregon for that)I don't have an exact time frame, no more than 9days-14days and between june-august. We both love nature and animals so zoos and parks are a must, even though we want to stay closer to the coast we'd like to see Yosemite. Just looking for suggestions on time frame, places to visit and good months to visit. Thanks!
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Old May 17th, 2016, 06:56 AM
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I take it that you both have passports valid through 2017?
This would be my plan: Fly to Portland (PDX), rent a car for 10 days, drive the Oregon coast and the California coast all the way to San Diego if you want to.
Come back north on I-5 and swing over to Yosemite via Fresno.
See how soon you can get lodging in Yosemite.
From Yosemite, head for Mt. Shasta. From Mt Shasta head for Crater Lake. At least do a drive through if you can't get a room at the Crater Lake Lodge. Visit Bend before returning the car to PDX. Take the TriMet red line downtown to Portland. Take the Amtrak Cascades train or bus to Vancouver.
See Vancouver and then come back to Seattle. See Seattle and then fly home from there.
After you see Oregon you won't feel you want to move to California.
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Old May 17th, 2016, 07:14 AM
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If you really want to do the whole drive from San Diego to Vancouver, you'll need more than two weeks if you want to stop and see anything.
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Old May 17th, 2016, 07:37 AM
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@tomfuller how long would this take? I don't have a time limit yet, it dependals on how long we'll be able to get off for. Yes we both have valid passports. I know July and August are really busy, how's the weather in late June?
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Old May 17th, 2016, 07:44 AM
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Including Yosemite, nine days would really be pushing it. Fourteen would give you enough time, but you'd still be doing an enormous zigzag in order to include Yosemite.

The main thing is, how many days do you want to spend in the cities en route? You've got half a dozen of North America's most exciting cities - San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Vancouver... and even spending a day in each reduces your road time to an unreasonably short period.

So my "back to the drawing board" recommendation would be to edit your plans. I'd consider starting in San Francisco, skipping Yosemite, but allocate a couple of days for the Columbia River Gorge outside of Portland, where the waterfalls will be comparable but the crowds a fraction of those you'll find in Yosemite, plus it doesn't take you away from the coast nearly as much. And keep with 14 days; you'll still have to pick and choose among the many city- and countryside-based activities on offer.
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Old May 17th, 2016, 09:11 AM
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We just got back from a trip to San Diego - definitely go to the zoo if you have time. It will take an entire day to see it. There's also a safari park if that interests you. You can go to La Jolla Cove and the Children's Pool in La Jolla and see seals, sea lions, pelicans, etc. in the wild. There are a lot of good restaurants in La Jolla. I got several recommendations on this board that were great - Cody's has delicious French toast, also liked Brockton Villa, Bobboi for gelato, and George's at the Cove - the views are beautiful. We stayed at the Hotel Indigo and really liked it - nice little rooftop bar with views of Petco Park.
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Old May 18th, 2016, 12:36 PM
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MissKK,

If you're doing all of this next year anyway, why not go in August and time it with the eclipse ??

Build the whole thing around being somewhere in (a strip across) North Central Oregon on the morning of August 21, 2017.


Hotel rooms have probably been booked solid for years, so you'd have to strategize and perhaps drive-in early on the morning of... but you could do so from any of a number of spots north or south of the zone.
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Old May 19th, 2016, 01:17 PM
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@northwestmale I had no idea, that sounds amazing! I've just heard august is really busy and hot so I figured late June/ early July. I was also thinking of flying to San Diego and driving to LA then hopping on a 7-10 day cruise to Vancouver. Idk if that's cheaper or better than all that driving?
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Old May 20th, 2016, 09:26 AM
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What is the attraction of flying to San Diego first?
I prefer a north to south trip starting in Seattle or Portland.
If you wanted to come for the solar eclipse, I'd try for a room in The Sleep Inn in Redmond and drive to a spot about 4 miles north of Madras for the eclipse time of 1015.
From Madras it is an easy drive west on US 26 to Government Camp. From there drive north on Rt. 35 down to Hood River on the Columbia.
If you are looking at alternatives to a rental car for the whole trip, remember that there is the Amtrak Coast Starlight that goes between Seattle and Los Angeles with a connecting Pacific Surfliner between Santa Barbara and San Diego.
A train or 2 will be cheaper than a cruise from Los Angeles.
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Old May 20th, 2016, 09:54 AM
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When we were planning our trip to San Diego, a lot of people told us to avoid June, due to the "June Gloom" - seems like things are kind of gray then.
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Old May 20th, 2016, 10:01 AM
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Check of you can drop off a rental car in another country. We couldn't return a US rented car in Montreal.
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Old May 20th, 2016, 11:15 AM
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Make sure to try and avoid Comic Con in San Diego, this year it is July 21-24.
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Old May 21st, 2016, 05:09 PM
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I also think that a north to south journey is a better idea unless you have some reason you have to be in Vancouver at the end. I have done the trip from the peninsula of Washington where Hwy 101 begins at Port Angeles. A great trip! it is so much easier pulling off the road on the right side as everything will be to your right and pulling back on to the road is easier too.

And I seriously there will be any ships on LA in June, they will be in Alaska. (Well, maybe a Carnival ship. It may not even go to Vancouver, but I do not follow that line)
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Old May 21st, 2016, 05:53 PM
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If you do the trip south to north, drop the car in Seattle and take the train or bus into Canada (Vancouver).
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Old May 21st, 2016, 06:13 PM
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Unless you really want to see Vancouver, I'd actually fly out of Seattle. It's generally cheaper and less of a hassle, at least when I last ran prices between NYC and Vancouver.

But honestly- even as someone who loves Washington- since you want to move to California, I'd probably fly into Portland and out of San Diego. I spent a whole month driving around California and I still didn't get to see everything on my list, at least if you have any interest in seeing both the cities and national/state parks. And this was without the inclusion of San Diego, since I'd been there before. I'd include Oregon for more nature, although I also like Portland.

And I wouldn't neglect inland cities in California. CA is expensive, especially on the coast. I liked Sacramento, and I thought gold country was one of the best parts of my trip. I'd focus on the places you really think you could live- California is a huge state and has a lot of unique "zones". For instance: if you are interested in LA, spend a few days driving in the traffic. If you are interested in SF, check out the neighborhoods and the transit system. I don't know if you're obsessed with the SoCal or NoCal way of live but reality may not live up to what your daydreams. I didn't expect to like LA and I thought I'd enjoy Santa Monica. The opposite happened. I don't see a lot of love for Sacramento on this board, yet (possibly because I am a enthusiastic cyclist) I really enjoyed the neighborhoods and the general layout. It's pretty impossibly to get a feel for a place without spending a few days on the ground there.

I drove the coast south to north- I feel like if I did it again, I'd drive north to south, because of the pullouts mentioned above.



Redwoods are worth at least 2 nights. Lake Tahoe is worth at least 2-4 nights. Gold country, for me, was a highlight and I did one night there, but probably could have done 3. Big Sur is worth 1 night, at least. Carmel/Monterey- 2, the aquarium is fantastic and the area has some of the best scenery. Santa Barbara- I did 2, could have spent a week, though, as that's probably my favorite California town hands down. But budget will somewhat dictate how long you spend in each place- SB is very pricy, and after that, oddly, I found Big Sur and the Redwoods to be the most expensive simply because of limited options. I don't know if camping is an option for you, but I definitely recommend looking into it- I'm assuming as a recent grad, you'll be on a pretty tight budget


Lastly- before you book anything, even plane tickets- nail down your Yosemite reservations. That dictated my route and my timing. Try to stay in the valley if at all possible- crowds are intense in the summer. Highly recommend at least 3 nights!
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