DeborahB

I am going to be taking a trip with my father to CA. We are thinking about flying out to San Francisco and driving thru CA to San Diego stopping at points of interests throughout the way. LA is not on our list of things to hit but we would like to see San Francisco, Sonoma (wine country), some of the desert, Catalina and San Diego.
What are the 2 best times of year to visit these areas when weather is most pleasant? I'm sure I'll have more questions as we plan this trip but right now I'm trying to figure out which months we should consider. I really want it to be special for my dad because he has not had a vacation in years and his health is good but not the greatest.

auntiemaria

Growing up and living in the SF Bay area for 50+ years, the drive down the California coast was always one of my favorites!

If you're flying to SF, Sonoma will be just slightly north -- an easy day trip excursion. For all of the spots you've mentioned, the weather in May and in late-September thru October, are the best (mild temperatures; little or no fog). But May will give you the glorious wildflowers.

Have a _wonderful_ time!

Jocelyn_P

The climate is much different in various parts of the state. Here in San Diego, I feel the best weather is in November: clear, comfortable temperatures, and you see a little change of season with some amber leaves. October can be nice as well, but it's usually still pretty hot with frequent Santa Ana winds (remember the big fires were in late October). In May we have "May Gray/June Gloom," so it's overcast until (usually) early to mid afternoon, although some days we don't see the sun at all. However, I agree that the wildflowers in the mountains and desert are stunning in the spring. July is a very pleasant month in San Diego, especially if you like the beach, but the city is crowded with tourists, and the desert will be scorching hot. It depends on what you want to see at it's peak. I'm glad you're including Catalina--one of my favorite getaways in the state.

rjw knows a lot about the state as a whole; hopefully he'll see this and pipe in.

Enjoy California!

TKay

As auntiemaria has said, for the best weather in northern and southern California either May or September would be good. How much time do you have for our trip. If you go in October, it will be harvest time in Wine Country. Some places to check out along the way between SF and San Diego would be San Jose, Big Basin redwoods, Montery/Carmel, Big Sur, Hearst Castle, and Santa Barbara.

Please come back with more sepcific questions as you plan your trip.

TKay

Make that "your" and not "our" trip

Barbara

For San Diego, I would say September, October or November, my favorite months of the year here. The daytime weather is a little warmer in September that November and it's cooler at night in November. The schools are all in session, except for Thanksgiving week, and so sightseeing is a little easier. Only a little, though, because our kids go to all the biggies on school trips.

cynic

I agree that San Diego is probably nicest around October, still usually warm and sunny but uncrowded. Be careful about September, it can be pretty hot if the Santa Ana's are blowing. The May gray/June gloom thing is so true. I feel so bad for tourists when they come in June only to experience huge crowds and so-so weather. Of course the Bay Area has completely different weather patterns. I seem to remember that San Francisco gets really cold in the fall, but I haven't been there in a long time.

WillTravel

We went to San Diego Dec. 25-28 in 2003. It never got beyond the low to mid-60s at most. Still warmer than where we left, but not exactly a tropical paradise

WillTravel

I can also attest to southern California being very hot in September at times. Once when we were there, Pasadena got up to 108 in mid-September.