SarahAndWIll

Hello!

My boyfriend and I are planning on travelling the coast starting in SAN FRAN and ending in either SAN DIEGO or LOS ANGELES. We are travelling from Oct 7, 2017 - Oct 18, 2017. So a total of 12 days.

Below is a basic rough draft of our itinerary. Can you guys please help us out by letting us know if there are any cool spots we have missed that we MUST stop at and add it to our itinerary where it fits best!? Any advice is much appreciated it you have any suggestions to improve our trip please let us know!

We want to make sure we see everything worth seeing and want some insight on the best way to go about this adventure. Its the first time we have ever done something like this so its a huge deal. We have only ever done all inclusive trips before.

We may not do the Big Sur because of the bridge being closed. SO please provide any advice you may have regarding that as well.

Thank you in advance!

Saturday, October 7, 2017
Land in San Fran
Golden Gate bridge
Palace of fine Arts
Pier 39 (Sunbathing seals) & Fishmans Wharf
Alcatraz Island (Ferry leaves from Pier 33 @ 6:45PM)

Sunday, October 8, 2017
Half Moon Bay
Natural Bridges State Park
Santa Cruz Broadwalk
The Mystery spot


Monday, October 9, 2017
Fisherman’s Wharf (2 hours and 45 minutes from San Francisco).
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Point Lobos State Natural Reserve
Pebble Beach and 17-Mile Drive (15 minutes from Monterey).


Tuesday, October 10, 2017
Bixby Canyon Bridge
Big Sur - Pfeiffer Beach, McWay Falls, Point Sur State Historic Park, Ragged Point

Wednesday, October 11, 2017
McWay Waterfall
Natural hot spring baths at the Esalen Institute
Motel 6 3 Broadway Cir, King City, CA 93930, USA
Item not on list:
Hearst Castle 2 hours 50 mins away from Mcway Falls

Thursday, October 12, 2017
Moonstone Beach
Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery
Bubblegum Alley



Friday, October 13, 2017
Santa Barbara Zoo
Santa Barbara Botanic Garden




Saturday, October 14, 2017
Point Dume in Malibu
Topanga Canyon
Santa Monica Pier (2 hours from Santa Barbara).



Sunday, October 15, 2017
Venice Beach (2 hours from Santa Barbara).
Venice Canals


Monday, October 16, 2017
Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood
Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hike to the Hollywood Sign
Eat in Beverly Hills.




Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Universal Studios Hollyword
Kodak Theatre
Skyspace LA
Dog Café
Runyon Canyon
Long Beach Queen Mary boat
Coronado Bridge



Wednesday, October 18, 2017
Calafornia Shark Fishing
Fly out of San Diego


Items we haven't put on our list yet but would like to make room for:
Disney Land Resort
Ocean Side
Morro Bay - Moor Rock
Santa Monica Pier

If you know of anything we should avoid or anything we MUST do while in Cali please help us out !

SarahAndWIll

Sorry for the typo in the title

Patty

The latest estimate from Caltrans for the reopening of Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge is mid-October so I wouldn't plan to be able to drive any farther than 26 miles south on Hwy 1 from Monterey at the time of your trip. Pfeiffer Beach will still be closed and McWay Falls and Esalen aren't easily accessible as they're located south of the bridge. Point Sur Lighthouse is accessible via 3 hour guided tours only which don't operate on Tuesdays. You can get a glimpse of the lighthouse from the highway. Ragged Point is only accessible from the south (by taking Hwy 1 north from Cambria). Why King City?

Patty

Between Monterey and Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge, you can see Point Lobos (which is already on your list), Garrapata Beach, Andrew Molera (there's a beach here too and the most extensive hiking trails currently open), the north end of Big Sur Village with some restaurants and shops and Pfeiffer Big Sur (a few trails open). You can also hike a half mile trail through Pfeiffer Big Sur to get around the bridge closure. Once on the other side, you can shuttle to Nepenthe (1.5 miles farther south on Hwy 1) or rent electric bikes to ride to McWay Falls (10 miles each way).

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...os-6102017.cfm

janisj

Just two quick comments right now:

King City?

and:

>>Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Universal Studios Hollyword
Kodak Theatre
Skyspace LA
Dog Café
Runyon Canyon
Long Beach Queen Mary boat
Coronado Bridge<

This day is 100% totally impossible. That is about 2.5 or 3 days worth.

Jean

If your intent was to spend just Friday night in Santa Barbara, you may have trouble finding lodging. Many/most properties have a 2-night minimum on weekends, even well into October.

Re October 17... janisj is correct. First of all, the order of your list creates backtracking. Runyon Canyon is between Universal Studios and the Dolby (formerly Kodak) Theater (presumably you actually want to go to Grauman's Chinese Theater). Most people spend at least a half day at Universal Studios, at least an hour hiking in Runyon Canyon, and a couple of hours at the Queen Mary. Is "Dog Café" referring to Black Dog Coffee on Wilshire? As it's not close to the other sights on your list, why go specifically there?

If you put things in logical order (Universal-Runyon-Dolby-BDC-Skyspace-QM-Coronado), your total drive time (not including the sightseeing) is about 4 hours. If you drop Black Dog Coffee, the overall drive time would be about 3.5 hours. If you dropped both BDC and the Queen Mary, you're down to about 3 hours of driving. But that doesn't include time for parking (esp. Runyon Canyon), possible traffic delays, etc.

Jean

Or is the Dog Café a reference to the rescue dog adoption center? FYI, you need a timed reservation, and they only serve beverages, no food, so you'd still need to get lunch somewhere. Considering the many opportunities for your day's schedule to go awry, I don't think this stop is realistic.

jamie99

Check with Caltrans on road conditions but as others have said the bridge replacement is pushed out until October from late September.
http://www.dot.ca.gov/cgi-bin/roads....&submit=Search

mrwunrfl

You have "Golden Gate Bridge" without any plan or specific meaning.

I will take it to mean a drive across the bridge and up Conzelman Road.

Please see this:
http://www.sfgate.com/outdoors/sunda...ws-4121559.php

Also, Coit Tower sh/could be on your SF itinerary.