Have had several holidays in the States but never to the West Coast. We have about 14 -16 days and although would like to see as much as possible, do not want to spend all our time in a car driving and would prefer to have 2 bases. Flying into San Fran and visitng Monterey, Carmel, Big Sur Road, but not living out of a suitcase we would rather have a base for a week (condo or motel?) and then fly to LA and have a weeks base there (Marina del Rey, Santa Monica possibilities), then fly back to the UK from LA. Does this sound feasible or rather too ambitious? Any help appreciated.

I'd recommend 4-5 nights San Francisco then drive south, two nights in Monterey/Carmel/Big Sur....then on southward. Maybe end your trip in San Diego and flying home from there instead of Los Angeles.

It's a great trip. I've done similar trips, but with several 2-3 days stops along the way. I'd be concerned that you are going to spend too much time driving from your "central" hotel to wherever you want to go for the day and back.

I'd also recommend visiting some of the wineries in the Sonoma or Napa Valleys northeast of SF as well. Also, maybe visit the redwood forest which is North of SF.

You are also not terribly far from Yosemite National Park, which is over-the-top beautiful, but you would want to spend a couple of days there.

Using a central base for day trips works a lot of places (I do it a couple of times every year in the UK).

But not so well here along the coast. Not that you can't -- but the coast route is a looooong narrow corridor so you'd spend a lot of time to-ing and fro-ing, back tracking to your home base.

I would do something like 3 days in SF, 3 days in or near Monterey/Carmel, 1 day enroute to LA like Cambria/Morro Bay/Santa Barbara. And then divide the rest of your time btw LA and San Diego -- maybe 4 or 5 days in LA and 2 in San Diego.

This may seem like a lot of packing up and moving on - but you will always be headed in the same direction and not back tracking so it would not be rushed and you would se a HUGE amount.

Yosemite is glorious - but to do it justice you need to stay in the valley 2 or 3 days and would have to deduct the days from somewhere else (maybe not go as far as SD for instance)

I would try to fly open jaw into SFO and out of LAX or San Diego -- or you could do it in reverse.

I tried doing a similar thing a couple years back, we stayed at the beach mid-way between LA and San Diego. We wanted to do the beach, Disneyland and Sea World. It was a big mistake. We spent so much time in the car driving to where we wanted to be, it was exhausting - particularly after a long day at Disney or Sea World. I think you'll be happier if you do the driving vacation others have suggested.

ttt

Thanks for all your useful info, will take your advice and not stick to 2 bases. In September is it a good idea to book ahead; would we have a problem finding accommodation if we just decided to stay somewhere on the spur of the moment?

What are your dates of travel? 5 Sept. is Labor day this year - sort of like the August Bank Holiday weekend in the UK. The last big spree of summer. Things book up far ahead in any scenic area. Enough said.

If you are traveling later in the month it would be easier - but unfortunately there are nothing like TICs in GB where you can go in and have them book a bed ahead for you.

And in some of the places you will probably want to stay (Carmel or Big Sur or maybe Santa Barbara) accomodations are either scarce or relatively expensive. So it usually is better to research these areas ahead and book places that fit in your budget.

With the strong £ vs the $ right now you do have an advantage budget-wise. But there is no guarantee the exchange rates will be as good nine months from now.

All in all I'd probably book ahead - most US hotels do not charge you for canceling 24 hours ahead -- or often even the same day. So you could book ahead and if you change your mind or find place you want to stay longer, you can cancel w/o penalty.

BTW, Sept. is a GREAT time on the coast - the best weather of the year.