sydneyy

Hello! My friend and I are in the beginning stages of planning a really awesome road trip. We've allocated 40 days to California; based on the rough itinerary outlined below. We're estimating that we'll be here late September through mid/late November.

Day 1: Drive Portland, OR to Redwoods National Park
Days 2-5: Redwoods National Park
Days 6: Drive from Redwood to San Francisco
Days 7-10: San Francisco
Day 11: Drive to Yosemite
Day 12-15: Yosemite National Park
Day 16: Drive Yosemite to Sequoia
Day 17-19: Sequoia National Park
Day 20: Drive Sequoia NP To LA
Day 21-24: Los Angeles
Day 25-27: Disneyland
Day 28: Start drive to Mexico
3 weeks in Mexico
Day 1-12: San Diego – day trips to Joshua Tree National Park and Palm Springs

We would love any input you could offer - locations where we could add more days, locations we could cut down or skip, must-do hikes/activities within destinations, places to stay...whatever advice you may have

Thanks!
~Sydney

clarkgriswold

U.S rental cars cannot be driven into Mexico. Some car rental companies allow U.S. citizens to drive rental cars into Mexico but only after purchasing Mexican car rental insurances. Apparently (according to something I read on LonelyPlanet) Mexico does not allow anyone other than U.S citizens to purchase this insurance if driving a U.S rental car.
So, you'd have to drop the car in San Diego and rent a different car down in Mexico.

tomfuller

Your own car? Do you live in the the Portland area?
You cannot drive a rental car into Mexico.
There are several places to see big Coast Redwoods in California without visiting Redwoods NP.
If you are flying into PDX, rent a car there and return it there on Day 27 or 28 and then fly from PDX to your Mexico destination.
I don't like the idea of driving through Oregon without a stop on the way to Redwood NP in northern CA.

happytrailstoyou

Don't miss the Columbia River Gorge while you are in Portland or the Oregon coast when you drive from Portland to the redwoods.

Joshua Tree NP and Palm Springs are not reasonably visited as day trips from San Diego.

Consider visiting Death Valley instead of (or in addition to) Joshua Tree.

If you like Death Valley and Joshua Tree, you will probably also like the Mohave Desert and the Anza-Borrego Desert.

It is probably best to go into Mexico on public transport and to rent a car in Mexico.

I like Thrifty or Dollar for car rentals. Look for discounts on retailmenot.com


HTtY

nytraveler

Even if this is your own car I believe you need separate insurance for Mexico. While most US insurance companies cover your personal car if driven into Canada I'm not aware of any that will cover you for Mexico.

And agencies will NOT allow cars rented in the US into Mexico.

happytrailstoyou

Mexico has a very good inter-city bus service.

HTtY

sydneyy

Thank you all so much for your responses!

We will have our own vehicle and are aware of the vehicle permits to drive in Mexico so that's not a problem. It is a lot of somewhat unnecessary driving, but we want to try it (we're young and stupid haha).

I definitely want to visit Death Valley, we have it worked into a different segment of our trip; when we go to Vegas We're planning on five days in Death Valley; is that too much? Too little? Any opinions would be great.

We are planning to camp for the majority of this trip; so any suggestions for campgrounds is hugely appreciated. I looked at that one on Angel Island and it looks cool; we're definitely going to check it out

Thanks!!

jamie99

I'd drop SEKI and spend that time driving Highway 1 along the coast with at least two overnights. You can see sequoia trees in Yosemite. You need to start lining up place to stay in Yosemite asap, September is pretty popular.
Also check the convention calendar for San Francisco, September is a popular month for conventions, think next year they are scheduling Oracle World for that month (this year it was late October).
Can't help with camping, would rather have a root canal but you probably need reservations for the more popular sites.
Many moons ago we drove our personal car to Ensenada a couple of times. There were places in San Ysidro near the border that sold Mexican car rental insurance.

november_moon

I agree that skipping Sequoia in favor of the central coast is a good idea. Otherwise, your itinerary has very little coastal scenery and the CA coast through Big Sur is amazing. You could go from Yosemite to Monterey, then down the coast from there. And September is a really great month for the coast.

For camping, you'll need reservations in a lot of places since September is still very popular. Here are some ideas for nice campgrounds:

Redwood National Park:
* Prairie Creek Redwoods SP - campground in the redwoods near a creek, mix of tents and RVs, but not over crowded. Good location for seeing the area.
* Patrick's Point SP - this park and the campground are on the ocean, not in a redwood forest, but the coast is absolutely spectacular here.

Humboldt Redwoods State Park (south of RNP):
* Albee Creek campground - This is a really nice campground not far from the Avenue of the Giants

Big Sur:
* Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park - this is a larger campground back in the redwoods along the Big Sur river. It is laid out well, so doesn't feel crowded. Its a good choice if you want to be near Big Sur village where there are some restaurants and things.
* Limekiln State Park - a much smaller park, but more remote - has the benefit of a pretty redwood canyon (2nd growth, but still nice) and beach access.
* Kirk Creek campground (I think this is a forest service campground) - Also pretty remote, and right on a bluff overlooking the ocean - views don't get much better than this. The only real draw back is that the campground is right off the highway - there aren't more than a couple cars passing by after dark though, so noise at night isn't a problem.

janisj

>>You can see sequoia trees in Yosemite.

Jean

FYI, Scotty's Castle in Death Valley will be closed for at least a year. Flash floods a couple of weeks ago swept through the resort, deposited several feet of mud, and took out a lot of the roadway you use to get there.

Considering the record-breaking rains being forecast for this winter, it's imperative you pay attention to the weather conditions as you're driving through Death Valley. Take alerts and warnings very seriously.

http://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/...htmlstory.html

Jean

Oh, I guess you mean next year... But you should still take weather/driving alerts and warnings very seriously.

welltraveledbrit

I agree with some of the other posters, my immediate thought was that you're missing out on the coast.

You could consider either the central coast or heading out to Mendocino and coming back in through the Russian River Valley or Tomales Bay/Point Reyes. It's very scenic and sees far fewer foreign tourists than the central coast. One of our favorites is Steep Ravine Cabins near Stinson beach but they're booked six months in advance.

We haven't driven in Mexico in quite sometimes but we had a couple of really great trips south of the border. I loved the whale breeding grounds in San Ignacio Lagoon in Baja California

Michael

If you plan to camp, make sure that you have warm sleeping bags and clothing. Places like Sequoia can already get quite cold at night even in late September and even more so as the trip extends into the Fall.

sydneyy

Thank you all so much for your input! I've edited our itinerary a bit, let me know what you think now.

Day 1: Drive Portland, OR to Redwoods National Park. (6.5 hours). Overnight in Redwoods National Park at Bluff Beach Campground
Day 2, 3, 4: Redwoods National Park, back country camping
Day 5: Drive Redwoods National Park to Mendocino, CA (3.75 hours), overnight in Mendocino (suggestions?)
Day 6: Drive Mendocino to San Francisco (4.25 hours)
Day 7, 8, 9, 10: San Francisco (day trips to Napa and Alcatraz)
Day 11: Drive San Francisco to Yosemite (3.75 hours) overnight in Yosemite
Day 12, 13, 14, 15: Yosemite National Park
Day 16: Drive Yosemite to Monterey (3.5 hours) overnight (suggestions) or drive to Pfeiffer Beach tonight (1 hr)
Day 17: Drive Monterey to Pfeiffer Beach (1 hour) overnight at Pfeiffer Beach
Day 18: Pfeiffer Beach
Day 19: Drive Pfeiffer Beach to Los Angeles (5.75 hours) we are thinking of camping at Bolsa Chica State Beach campgrounds, any thoughts on this location?
Day 20, 21, 22, 23, 24: Los Angeles - considering camping, Long Beach (Bolsa Chica State Beach)
Day 25, 26, 27: Disneyland - for these nights we're still deciding on splurging on a Disney property hotel or staying at a Good Neighbour Hotel. I'd like to stay at the Grand Californian, but not sure if budget will allow. Any thoughts on hotels close to Disneyland with a lower price tag? (Closer to $100/night)
Day 28: Start drive to Mexico


Thank you all so much for all of your advice!

tomfuller

This site might be helpful if you are looking for a camping site somewhere near San Francisco. http://www.beachcalifornia.com/hoca/...arks/martinez/
I would drop a day in San Francisco for a day in or near Yosemite. I would pick either Monterey or Peiffer Beach and not one night in each.
There are some oceanfront camping spots north of Santa Barbara. I remember seeing them from the Coast Starlight.

janisj

Near Fort Bragg/Mendocino I'd camp in either Van Damme or Mackerricher State Parks. Totally different surroundings -- check them out to see the views/camp sites.

As for Disneyland -- you aren't going to get the Grand Californian for even 3 times your budget. The DL hotel runs less but is still expensive the farther back the rooms, the cheaper. The only close to budget on-property hotel is the Paradise Pier but still well over your budget.

In fact, several of the off-property hotels/motels along Harbor Blvd are actually closer to the entrances than The DL hotel or Paradise Pier are. Any of them will be fine.

sydneyy

For the Disneyland portion; I'm willing to spend more for the Grand Californian or Disneyland Hotel (like $300ish) but I'm not sure if my friend will be as crazy about it. I frequently visit Disney World in Florida but have never been to Disneyland; I hear the importance of staying on-site is much less in Disneyland than it is in Florida (we always stay on site at WDW)

Any suggestions for an off-site hotel that's decent but cheap?

Patty

You can't camp at Pfeiffer Beach. The closest campground is at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park and it's inland in the redwoods. There's ocean view camping in Big Sur but not very close to Pfeiffer Beach or Big Sur Village. Wherever you decide, make sure you have reservations as fall is a popular time on the central coast.

If you overnight in Monterey, did you still want to camp? There are some usually inexpensive (barring holidays and special events) motels along Munras/Abrego aka Motel Row in Monterey. You can also tent camp at Veteran's Memorial Park. A bit farther are campgrounds at Laguna Seca off of Hwy 68 and in Carmel Valley.

janisj

As I said -- any of the properties across Harbor Blvd will be fine. Not much difference one to another (except for the few high-er end ones). Most have room sleeping a minimum of 4 and mostly 6, and many two room family-suites. Most have the same (mostly basic almost inedible) breakfast -- a room w/ microwave, toaster, cold cereals, juice dispenser -- you get the idea.

On Property -- the Grand Californian is head and shoulders above the others but the rates can be eye wateringly high. Huge benefit having the entrance directly into California Adventure. I love the place -- but it is a splurge to be sure.

The Disneyland hotel is good. Years ago the monorail stopped there, but now it is about a block walk to the only station and it takes you to Tomorrowland. That works well because having a room key lets you in early and you can be in the center of the park an hour before the masses are admitted at the main entrance. The biggest issue is it is quite a long walk to California Adventure. But for a compromise of being on property but for quite a bit less than the GC -- it would be my choice. There is a very large range of rates -- so if you book a back room w/o a view towards the parks you can save nearly half.

Both the GC and DL are convenient to all the restaurants/shops in Downtown Disney.

I don't think I'd stay at Paradise Pier -- I'd stay on Harbor before I'd book there.