3 weeks in California...what would you do?

Old Dec 26th, 2003, 06:59 PM
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3 weeks in California...what would you do?

My sister and I are from Australia and travelling to California next January (2005) for three weeks. We haven't set an itinerary yet so we wondered what other people would do.
She wants to go to theme parks, I want the chance to take landscape/nature photographs.
We're also on a limited budget - both being students and were thinking of staying in hostels. Is this a good idea?

Any help grateful.
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Old Dec 26th, 2003, 09:10 PM
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erry,

California is a huge state. For theme parks southern California is your best bet: Disneyland in Anaheim and Seaworld in San Diego are two notable ones that many people like to visit. In January you'll find the best weather in the Los Angeles and San Diego areas. In Northern California the weather will most likely be cold and rainy most of the time. Snow will be a problem at higher elevations.

Some things to see and do:

Los Angeles area: Getty Museum, Hollywood, Disneyland, California Adventure, Santa Monica Pier, Catalina Island.etc...

San Diego area: Seaworld, San Diego Zoo, Gaslamp District, Coronado Island, daytrip to Tijuana, Mexico, Horton Plaza for shopping, Old Town, etc...

Check out www.lacvb.com and www sandiego.org for more information in planning your trip.

I also would recommend a drive up highway 1 (Pacific Coast highway) through Big Sur and up to Monterey for some great scenery. Below is a link to an interactive map of the most scenic parts of Highway 1 from San Simeon to Monterey.

http://www.pelicannetwork.net/big.sur.coast.htm

Along the way up Highway 1 Hearst Castle is a great place to visit. www.hearst-castle.org In the Monterey Bay area the aquarium, Fisherman's Wharf, Carmel, and Point Lobos are some of the main attractions. www.monterey.com

Please feel free to come back with more specific questons.

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Old Dec 26th, 2003, 09:41 PM
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Please don't miss Yosemite. Although it will be cold and perhaps snowy, it is among the most beautiful natural settings you'll ever see. Go to www.yosemitepark.com for more information. Have fun planning!
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Old Dec 27th, 2003, 06:27 AM
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"We're also on a limited budget - both being students and were thinking of staying in hostels. Is this a good idea?"

There are very few hostels in the US. Have you researched this? Does anybody else out there know of any hostels in CA they could recommend? Maybe in the SF area perhaps -- or how about budget hotels? What's your daily budget for hotels?
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Old Dec 27th, 2003, 08:19 AM
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There are some hostels in CA. But there are also MANY decent quality low-cost motel chains. Many of them will be nearly as cheap as hostels.

3 weeks sounds like a lot of time for one state - especially coming from somewhere as large as Oz. But it is not really long enough to see everything. The weather in San Diego and in the desert would most likely be decent - January can be stormy anywhere in the State. Just this week there were torrential storms and mud slides near LA. Also parts of the coast road (Hwy 1) can be dangerous in really stormy weather.

Are you interested in skiing or mountain/snow scenery? If so an Itinerary something like 3 days in San Diego (skip the trip to Tijuana - it is REALLY seedy and the border crossing can take hours each way), 4 or 5 days in LA/Orange County (Disneyland/CA Adventure, Universal City plus lots of other tourist attractions), 2 days in Yosemite (the high parts of the park will be snowed in but the Valley will be accessible and is glorious in the winter), 2 days at Lake Tahoe, 5 days in San Francisco (not just for SF bat as a base to see other sites), 2 days in Monterey, one more day on the coast (Santa Barbara or somewhere like that)

That about fills up 3 weeks.
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Old Dec 27th, 2003, 12:25 PM
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I believe that there is a hostel on what used to be part of the Presidio above Fort Mason in San Francisco. At least one lighthouse complex along the coast has been turned into a hostel, but it is within an hour of San Francisco.
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Old Dec 27th, 2003, 03:51 PM
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I heartily agree with Janis' itinerary above--great guidance and comments. In my opinion, there are three absolutely incomparable, don't miss things to see in California: San Francisco, Big Sur and Yosemite. Yes, weather may be a factor January in visiting these last two, but they are both so spectacular and one-in-the-world special that you should not let anyone diisuade you from seeing what you can of them, even if winter is not the easiest time to see them. These are are landscape photographer's paradises (the great Ansel Adams was most famous for photographing Yosemite, but lived in Big Sur.)

If theme parks are a priority, yes, Disneyland is the one you should see if you only see one. If you need more, Sea World and the San Diego Zoo (yes, consider it a theme park) for living creatures and Magic Mountain for thrill rides. I would consider all other theme parks quite missable after those. By all means, if it is a movie studio tour you want rather than one of those more missable theme parks, skip Universal Sudios for the Warner Brothers tour.

Yes, the hostel scene in the U.S. is bleak compared to Europe's, but as Janis comments, the budget motel scene substitutes. At one point in my checkered past, I spent a few months as the night clerk at a Motel 6, the lowest-priced national chain, and I loved to get European guests because they so often enthused about having a chain available with relatively dependable (even if very basic)standards and such low prices, and bemoaned the lack of any counterpart chain in Europe. (Maybe because they were unusually aware of the need, Motel 6 is now owned by Accor, a French lodging company.)

I do concur with the advice to look for more inexpensive B&B and private home lodging, particularly in the urban areas where prices are high and low cost motels--including Motel 6's--may be in dangerous or unpleasant neighborhoods. I would have to say that my old Motel 6 in Petaluma, California, in a small town but with San Francisco, Berkeley, Muir Woods, Point Reyes and both the Sonoma and Napa Wine Country areas easily accessible for day trips--is probably still a good, safe inexpensive option for visiting those places.

I'd be very interested in hearing and maybe helping more with your decision process, and especially hearing your impressions after your trip.
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Old Dec 27th, 2003, 05:10 PM
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"Does anyone else out there know about any hostels in California that they can recommend?"

Well, yes. I had to drop a couple of students once at the San Pedro hostel. It was in a beautiful setting and the beds were in a dormitory style room. There were a number of students from other countries as well as Americans on a low budget. Seemed like a really friendly crowd.

I would suggest looking at Hostelling International and their locations in California. There are not many, but the ones that are listed seemed to be in good locations. Prices may be slightly cheaper or the same as for a Motel 6 (which now charges, not $6, but $39 for a room?)

If the one in San Francisco is in Fort Mason, that's a beautiful location as well.

On the other hand, I don't think of B&Bs in California as being "cheap".
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Old Dec 27th, 2003, 05:22 PM
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Try www.hostelusa.com

They have many dormitory style rooms for around $15 - 20 a night in SoCal(one on the beach at Venice), a bit more for a private room.
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Old Dec 27th, 2003, 05:47 PM
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Easytraveller, while the B&B's you see in the glossy guides and magazines are universally pricey, B&B's (or just B's) do come in all price ranges just as hotels do. Those willing to consult net, local chamber of commerce or tourist board listings can find accommodations which are not necessarily picturesque or gourmet, but safe and comfortable. There is clearly a market of people priced out of decent hotel/motel accommodations, and some other people with extra space and time have chosen to meet that need. Many of them may have age limits to avoid the hard-partying college crowd, but they'd be delighted to have a couple of adult sisters from Australia as guests. These are the types of places you probably don't know exist unless you are looking for one. So Erryn, don't be discouraged about the many places where you won't find hostels (or Motel 6's, for that matter.) Type the towns in a net search engine and explore the results.
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Old Dec 27th, 2003, 06:36 PM
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For a listing of hostels in California go to

http://www.hostels.com/en/us.ca.html
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Old Dec 27th, 2003, 07:13 PM
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From a fellow Aussie
We've done several trips to the USA at different times of year, and have stayed in Youth Hostels at times (Although we are middle aged) Lately though, it is not much dearer to stay in motels, especially off season, which it will be. We stayed in two hostels near San Francisco, one over the Golden Gate Bridge in the National Park (noisy with young kids, plus a disruptive visit from a skunk in the night - an experience!) and a lovely one in an old lighthouse south along the coast.You would need a car for transport to both of these.

The last few times, we've used the AAA book and rung ahead (free if you are a NRMA member) or the travel coupons available from airports, McDonalds and "Welcome Centres" along the way. See roomsaver.com for an idea of the savings.

We booked a great stay in Las Vegas in the middle of the Strip for about $45US at the "Barbary Coast", and got around $10 back to play the pokies etc. Terrific spot, great views. but not California of course. However, I would go and see it if you can.
I also vote for Yosemite in the winter - you'll need chains if you drive, so maybe a bus trip would be more relaxing.

We always try to fit in a day or two in Primm, on the California Nevada border, where a stop in very nice high rise casino costs around $20 US for two on week days. Desert scenery, good cheap food and an experience you'll not get in Australia. Weird, but fun.

Good Luck
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Old Dec 27th, 2003, 08:35 PM
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Another Vote for Janis. AND STAY AWAY FROM TIAJUNA AT ALL COSTS! You should try to stay in budget hotels and not youth hostels. Anything hostelish could be dangerous for two young girls so far away from home. This is the wild west after all...and getting wilder by the day! I recently took my kids to Universal Studios and I could definately see the appeal for a tourist.
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Old Jan 3rd, 2004, 11:13 PM
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I think that Abi's itinerary is very good. As others have said, California is a HUGE state. 3 weeks sounds like alot of time but it is really not alot.
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Old Jan 5th, 2004, 11:17 AM
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If you do go to Yosemite, plan on taking the free shuttle bus to the Badger Pass ski area. Rent some snowshoes and go hike in the surrounding area.
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Old Jan 26th, 2004, 05:54 PM
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I have lived in California all my life -it is so crowded though now, although I suspect you will see why after you visit.

I'd agree with Abi that you should definitely try and see Southern California. I like Sea World and prefer the Wild Animal Park to the Zoo as far as San Diego goes. If you like to hike some and get away from some of the crowds, the Torrey Pines reserve is a beautiful spot to go to while in San Diego (right near Del Mar and La Jolla).

Disneyland is worth a day, and by coming in January you won't have as many crowds as you would in the summer months. It would fun I think for you to go to Beverly Hills, Hollywood, etc. to just say you were there.

I would suggest the drive up north on the coast from Ventura area up to Paso Robles - you could catch Hearst Castle too that way (just north and west of Paso Robles). Go to San Luis Obispo - a wonderful college town located about 100 miles north of Santa Barbara. I went to college there and wish I still lived there! There is also a very nice wine country in this area - not as well known as Napa but has been coming on great with some very good wines of late.

I might consider though not driving up the 1 and instead head over to the San Joaquin Valley and then up to the giant Sequoia forest. There is a wonderful new lodge that is just about Three Rivers/Visalia (the name escapes me now but you should be able to locate with a search for this area). A cool cave there to visit but I don't think it is open in the winter.

I also truly think no trip to California would be complete without a visit to Yosemite. It is wonderful there and I like it best in the wintertime. This will require you though to drive in the snow (maybe) so I don't know how you feel about that. There are tent cabins there but I don't think they are open in the winter - if you splurge for any accomodation I would make it the Awhwanee Hotel which is on the floor of Yosemite and one of my favorite places - I guess you can tell I like Yosemite!

From Yosemite I would head over to Monterey area and then into San Francisco and if you have time continue up to the wine country and maybe further up the northern coast (this part of California has a very differnt feel than the other part of the coast) and then back down to SF/Oakland to fly out again.

Just my thoughts - I hope you have a wonderful time. I am a bit worried about you finding many hostel type of accomondations though at some of these spots - I think as Americans we do a poor job on having these type of acomodations available to travelers like we should. But the hotel chains like Motel 6 (and others related) are clean and safe, so you should be fine and they shoudl be in most if not all locations that you try to get to.

Have fun - I hope to make to Australia some day!


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