SF/LV/LA Itinerary Help
Sep 28th, 2016, 10:25 AM
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SF/LV/LA Itinerary Help
Hi everyone, I am travelling for the first time to California, and need a bit of assistance. I am landing at LAX at roughly 13:30, and should probably be out of the airport by 14:30. Our trip will be mid January for a total of 17 days. And I have already got flights from SFO-LAS, and then LAS-LAX. All the accommodation is already booked, now its all about the finer details to the trip.
Part 1: The first bit of info that I need is regarding getting from LAX to San Francisco, I have been advised to take the PCH and stop over for the night in Morro Bay/Cayucos, then drive early the next day to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for a few hours before making our way to San Francisco. I have read many forums saying its not advisable to make that trip in 1 day, as theres too much to see, which I agree with... Unfortunately its that or take a flight direct to San Francisco. Please can you tell me if it is at all worth making that drive, or just taking a flight.
Part 2: We will spend 5 nights in San francisco, and I am struggling to define what are must do's, as so many people recommend different things... right now this is my plan, please critique it,and help me make the right choices.
Day 1: Arrive at the hotel mid day in Fishermans Wharf, spend an hour or two relaxing at the hotel, then going out to explore the Wharf, Pier 39, Ghirardelli's and maybe catch the evening tour of Alcatraz. Return and have dinner close to the hotel.
Day 2: Head out just after sunrise, taking the Cable car from Fishermans Wharf to Market street, and will probably walk to the Ferry Building and explore there, then make our way back to Union Square, and up to china town and exploring there. Afterwards, taking the cable car to Lombard street, then head back to the hotel, relax before dinner and find a nice area to eat with some music.
Side note -- please can you tell me if i fit too many or too little things per day
Day 3: Up and out early again to Steiner Str to walk through the park and see the Pink Ladies. Up to Golden Gate Park and the Academy of Science, the Morrison Planetarium, and the Japanese Tea Garden. then to the Golden gate bridge, will probably rent a bicycle and cycle to the other end... We would love to from here, go to Muir woods, spend an hour there, before making our way back to the hotel, again relax a bit, then go out for dinner.
Day 4 : This day is still up for debate, but my wife would love to see Yosemite for the day... I know that you can easily spend a week without seeing everything, but the thought is that while we are on the west coast, we should make the effort to see the park, or at least as much as we can in 1 day.
Day 5 : Take a small group tour to Napa and spend the day exploring the wineries.
Part 3 : Departing to Vegas at around 11am, spending 3 nights there. This part of the trip is pretty much easy enough to plan for, but the highlight would be a helicopter trip to the grand canyon.
Part 4 : Depart Vegas to LAX, we will be spending 4 nights staying in Hollywood area, and another 4 nights saying in Anaheim. Now for this part of the journey, we LOVE theme parks, and we are dedicating 3-4 days to it.
Day 1 : Land at LAX at 13:00, make our way to the hotel, relax for a few hours, then off to see Hollywood BLVD, for the rest of the night.
Day 2 : Drive to Six Flags Magic Mountain ( Never been to a Six Flags before, looking forward to it).
Day 3 : Universal Studios
Day 4 : Tour around LA (Please help me which things to see)
Day 5 : Move to the new hotel in Anaheim, and explore the area for the day
Day 6 : DisneyLand
Day 7 : Disney Adventure
Side Note: Let me know if 2 days is too much for these 2 parks.
Day 8 : Still debatable, was thinking of driving to San diego for the last day.
We fly out the next morning at 1AM, so don't want to do too much on the last day... pretty much just relax.
That you all in advance for the advise and I look forward to you responses.
Part 1: The first bit of info that I need is regarding getting from LAX to San Francisco, I have been advised to take the PCH and stop over for the night in Morro Bay/Cayucos, then drive early the next day to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for a few hours before making our way to San Francisco. I have read many forums saying its not advisable to make that trip in 1 day, as theres too much to see, which I agree with... Unfortunately its that or take a flight direct to San Francisco. Please can you tell me if it is at all worth making that drive, or just taking a flight.
Part 2: We will spend 5 nights in San francisco, and I am struggling to define what are must do's, as so many people recommend different things... right now this is my plan, please critique it,and help me make the right choices.
Day 1: Arrive at the hotel mid day in Fishermans Wharf, spend an hour or two relaxing at the hotel, then going out to explore the Wharf, Pier 39, Ghirardelli's and maybe catch the evening tour of Alcatraz. Return and have dinner close to the hotel.
Day 2: Head out just after sunrise, taking the Cable car from Fishermans Wharf to Market street, and will probably walk to the Ferry Building and explore there, then make our way back to Union Square, and up to china town and exploring there. Afterwards, taking the cable car to Lombard street, then head back to the hotel, relax before dinner and find a nice area to eat with some music.
Side note -- please can you tell me if i fit too many or too little things per day
Day 3: Up and out early again to Steiner Str to walk through the park and see the Pink Ladies. Up to Golden Gate Park and the Academy of Science, the Morrison Planetarium, and the Japanese Tea Garden. then to the Golden gate bridge, will probably rent a bicycle and cycle to the other end... We would love to from here, go to Muir woods, spend an hour there, before making our way back to the hotel, again relax a bit, then go out for dinner.
Day 4 : This day is still up for debate, but my wife would love to see Yosemite for the day... I know that you can easily spend a week without seeing everything, but the thought is that while we are on the west coast, we should make the effort to see the park, or at least as much as we can in 1 day.
Day 5 : Take a small group tour to Napa and spend the day exploring the wineries.
Part 3 : Departing to Vegas at around 11am, spending 3 nights there. This part of the trip is pretty much easy enough to plan for, but the highlight would be a helicopter trip to the grand canyon.
Part 4 : Depart Vegas to LAX, we will be spending 4 nights staying in Hollywood area, and another 4 nights saying in Anaheim. Now for this part of the journey, we LOVE theme parks, and we are dedicating 3-4 days to it.
Day 1 : Land at LAX at 13:00, make our way to the hotel, relax for a few hours, then off to see Hollywood BLVD, for the rest of the night.
Day 2 : Drive to Six Flags Magic Mountain ( Never been to a Six Flags before, looking forward to it).
Day 3 : Universal Studios
Day 4 : Tour around LA (Please help me which things to see)
Day 5 : Move to the new hotel in Anaheim, and explore the area for the day
Day 6 : DisneyLand
Day 7 : Disney Adventure
Side Note: Let me know if 2 days is too much for these 2 parks.
Day 8 : Still debatable, was thinking of driving to San diego for the last day.
We fly out the next morning at 1AM, so don't want to do too much on the last day... pretty much just relax.
That you all in advance for the advise and I look forward to you responses.
Sep 28th, 2016, 11:02 AM
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This topic is discussed repeatedly on this forum, just an FYI. REPEATEDLY. There is a wealth of information found with a bit of searching.
First of all, for things to do in San Francisco, I shall defer to Stu Dudley, who has curated this unbeatable list:
http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...mendations.cfm
Second of all: January is the wild card in your plans, to be honest. Weather in the southern half of the state can be a little unpredictable-- warm and lovely, cool and rainy, blustery and windy, who knows? Given we're just coming out of a quick but savage Santa Ana condition in which we've had three sun-baked, swelteringly hot days, it's hard to picture rain-- but it could happen. Just know that you may have to make changes on the fly if the weather doesn't cooperate.
Thirdly: San Francisco is great. The Los Angeles metropolitan area is HUGE and VAST and OVERWHELMINGLY BIG. The area everyone thinks of as "LA" is a collection of over 100 cities and municipalities connected by a complex web of roads and railways and airports. If you don't give us a bit more guidance as to what you'd like to see and do in the LA area, we can't narrow things down. Think of LA as The Entire World in One Place-- but with valet parking.
I think that trying to drive from LAX up to San Francisco over two days right out of the gate is, frankly, insane. Not advisable AT ALL (and it's not "the PCH"; in the greater LA area you can call it "PCH", but to cover it over its entire length just call it "Highway 1"). Are you used to driving on the side of the road we drive on in the US? Putting yourself on that kind of learning curve on a coastal road that actually has a few cliffside passes is NOT a good idea at all. Besides, if it's raining in January, all bets are off as to how long the trip could take on Highway 1. Save yourself the heartache. FLY. We have two low-cost airlines that will make the journey pleasant: Southwest and JetBlue. Look for flights from LAX to either SFO or OAK (Oakland). Besides, you won't need a car in the City, so why bother?
The LA portion of your trip is jam-packed with barely any breathing space. Traffic can be nightmarish here, so be prepared (here you WILL need a car, no question, don't even try to do what you want to do without a car). You should also be aware that Hollywood Boulevard is pretty gritty during the day; at night it gets even grittier (and not in a good way) except around the most brightly-lit entertainment venues (Hollywood and Highland, TCL Chinese Theatre, the Pantages Theatre). And most of the main Hollywood tourist stuff can be seen in a couple of hours. You'll need to let us know what floats your boat so we can suggest more stuff to fill that first day in LA.
The trip up to Magic Mountain is, in my honest opinion, completely optional (Valencia is not a scintillating part of LA Metro, to be honest). If you're that hot about thrill rides, great (I'm not, so that colors my indifference to Magic Mountain in general); just know that if it's raining, a lot of rides will probably be closed.
Universal will be fine for you, and if you're indeed staying in Hollywood, it's easy to get to. Hooray!
Like I said before, as far as what to see in Los Angeles, that's as open-ended as "what to see in New York City" or "what to see in England". List some concrete interests.
Ah, exploring Anaheim. This is going to sound a bit dismissive (and laughable since I live in dumpy ol' Long Beach, literally down Ball Road/Wardlow Road from Disneyland), but other than Disney and the Convention Center area, Anaheim is a pretty nondescript bit of So Cal Suburbia. If the weather holds up, I'd say you should plan on pointing your rental car in the direction of either Newport Beach or Huntington Beach-- or both if you have time. Time it so you can have drinks somewhere on the coast at sunset; views of the Pacific, including lovely Catalina Island, can be breathtaking.
Don't bother trying to drive back and forth to San Diego in one day. It is a destination worthy of at least two full days (the Zoo is famous for a reason: it's absolutely one of the best in the world, and it's located in one of the most outstanding public parks in the Western Hemisphere). Traffic on I-5 can turn the relatively short trip into a multi-hour ordeal, and again: If it's raining, all bets are off.
You seem to have a lot of time for this trip on paper; but I can tell you that when you're talking about the state of California, you can't see it all in YEARS, let alone a couple of weeks. I think you can have a great time, but come back with a bit more information so the Fodors community can truly help you.
First of all, for things to do in San Francisco, I shall defer to Stu Dudley, who has curated this unbeatable list:
http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...mendations.cfm
Second of all: January is the wild card in your plans, to be honest. Weather in the southern half of the state can be a little unpredictable-- warm and lovely, cool and rainy, blustery and windy, who knows? Given we're just coming out of a quick but savage Santa Ana condition in which we've had three sun-baked, swelteringly hot days, it's hard to picture rain-- but it could happen. Just know that you may have to make changes on the fly if the weather doesn't cooperate.
Thirdly: San Francisco is great. The Los Angeles metropolitan area is HUGE and VAST and OVERWHELMINGLY BIG. The area everyone thinks of as "LA" is a collection of over 100 cities and municipalities connected by a complex web of roads and railways and airports. If you don't give us a bit more guidance as to what you'd like to see and do in the LA area, we can't narrow things down. Think of LA as The Entire World in One Place-- but with valet parking.
I think that trying to drive from LAX up to San Francisco over two days right out of the gate is, frankly, insane. Not advisable AT ALL (and it's not "the PCH"; in the greater LA area you can call it "PCH", but to cover it over its entire length just call it "Highway 1"). Are you used to driving on the side of the road we drive on in the US? Putting yourself on that kind of learning curve on a coastal road that actually has a few cliffside passes is NOT a good idea at all. Besides, if it's raining in January, all bets are off as to how long the trip could take on Highway 1. Save yourself the heartache. FLY. We have two low-cost airlines that will make the journey pleasant: Southwest and JetBlue. Look for flights from LAX to either SFO or OAK (Oakland). Besides, you won't need a car in the City, so why bother?
The LA portion of your trip is jam-packed with barely any breathing space. Traffic can be nightmarish here, so be prepared (here you WILL need a car, no question, don't even try to do what you want to do without a car). You should also be aware that Hollywood Boulevard is pretty gritty during the day; at night it gets even grittier (and not in a good way) except around the most brightly-lit entertainment venues (Hollywood and Highland, TCL Chinese Theatre, the Pantages Theatre). And most of the main Hollywood tourist stuff can be seen in a couple of hours. You'll need to let us know what floats your boat so we can suggest more stuff to fill that first day in LA.
The trip up to Magic Mountain is, in my honest opinion, completely optional (Valencia is not a scintillating part of LA Metro, to be honest). If you're that hot about thrill rides, great (I'm not, so that colors my indifference to Magic Mountain in general); just know that if it's raining, a lot of rides will probably be closed.
Universal will be fine for you, and if you're indeed staying in Hollywood, it's easy to get to. Hooray!
Like I said before, as far as what to see in Los Angeles, that's as open-ended as "what to see in New York City" or "what to see in England". List some concrete interests.
Ah, exploring Anaheim. This is going to sound a bit dismissive (and laughable since I live in dumpy ol' Long Beach, literally down Ball Road/Wardlow Road from Disneyland), but other than Disney and the Convention Center area, Anaheim is a pretty nondescript bit of So Cal Suburbia. If the weather holds up, I'd say you should plan on pointing your rental car in the direction of either Newport Beach or Huntington Beach-- or both if you have time. Time it so you can have drinks somewhere on the coast at sunset; views of the Pacific, including lovely Catalina Island, can be breathtaking.
Don't bother trying to drive back and forth to San Diego in one day. It is a destination worthy of at least two full days (the Zoo is famous for a reason: it's absolutely one of the best in the world, and it's located in one of the most outstanding public parks in the Western Hemisphere). Traffic on I-5 can turn the relatively short trip into a multi-hour ordeal, and again: If it's raining, all bets are off.
You seem to have a lot of time for this trip on paper; but I can tell you that when you're talking about the state of California, you can't see it all in YEARS, let alone a couple of weeks. I think you can have a great time, but come back with a bit more information so the Fodors community can truly help you.
Sep 28th, 2016, 11:05 AM
#3
Regarding Part 1, the drive LAX to SF, I'm unclear where you intend to drive in 1 day. To Morro Bay? If so and you have just the remainder of a day to take in Monterey, I'd drive all the way to Monterey the first day so you have the entire next day. Monterey is far more than the aquarium, I think one of the most interesting areas in the state and would fly to SF rather than have less than a day there. You could also fly to SFO and drive south from there to Monterey.
Sep 28th, 2016, 11:09 AM
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The drive from LA to SF up #101 takes about 8 hrs. More if you plan on going #1 along the coast. If it's raining on #1, you won't see much and because of this summer's fire's, there may be land slides and road closures. I'd leave LA early in the morning and drive up #101, and cut over to Monterrey at Salinas. It's a long drive but doable. Then visit the Aquarium in the morning and head to S.F.
Sep 28th, 2016, 03:10 PM
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Check road conditions her before setting out and have a Plan B.
http://www.dot.ca.gov/cgi-bin/roads.cgi
http://www.dot.ca.gov/cgi-bin/roads.cgi
Sep 28th, 2016, 03:49 PM
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As far as Part 2 Day 4 is concerned, if you're thinking about visiting Yosemite, even if it's just a day trip, we can say from personal experience you certainly won't regret it. We were on road trip coming down from Napa wine tasting cutting down the 99 to crash in Merced. So it wasn't too much of a drive for us. My recommendation for you then is get up as EARLY AS POSSIBLE. From SF to Yosemite, you're talking about a minimum 4 to 4 1/2 hour drive. But if you love nature, it's absolutely breathtaking!
Sep 29th, 2016, 07:51 AM
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I'm not clear as to whether your trip to SF is immediately upon landing at LAX? If it is, no, just fly. It's unlikely you'll be on the road by 2:30pm and anything later is going to be a slow mess of traffic, and then another traffic mess around Santa Barbara at 5:30pm. And in January it'll be dark after 5pm so what are you going to see on a drive to Morro Bay?
If your tickets LAS to LAX are on Southwest Airlines, then change them to arrive BUR airport which is closer to Hollywood and easy/quicker for rent-a-car.
If your tickets LAS to LAX are on Southwest Airlines, then change them to arrive BUR airport which is closer to Hollywood and easy/quicker for rent-a-car.
