krysnbrad

Hello. I am taking a (last minute) trip starting in Sacramento in about 2 weeks....and I will stay approx. 5 -6 days. I would love to hear opinions on what can be done in that time! I have only been to Cali on business trips and never really had a chance to see much. I will have a car and don't mind driving I am interested in the scenery, Big Sur, and also the Redwoods....possibly San Francisco or San Diego. I have totally no idea if I can do it all. Love any opinions! thanks!

tomfuller

Do you have a rental car that needs to be returned to Sacramento or your own car?
Before someone else says it, Cali is a city in Columbia.
The people of California hate the term "Cali".
Skip San Diego and Los Angeles. You don't have the time for that.
The main road into Yosemite (Rt. 140) is blocked by a big rockslide so you might want to skip that.
About 50 miles south of San Francisco there is a HI hostel next to the Pigeon Point lighthouse. It's a lot cheaper than the hotels in San Francisco.
If you are staying for a night in Sacramento, stay at the HI Hostel which is a Victorian mansion at 10th & H.

MmePerdu

"Before someone else says it, Cali is a city in Columbia."

Before someone else says it, Cali is a city in Colombia.

janisj

>>Before someone else says it, Cali is a city in Columbia.<red>o</red>mbia

krysnbrad: Don't make any plans til you are here. We are having an El Nino year and MUCH more rain than the last 4 winters. If there is a winter storm you won't want to be driving Big Sur or in the mountains. And if it isn't stormy - driving down the central Valley to LA/San Diego will likely be fogged in and quite dangerous. And the northwest/Redwood parks are in the wettest corner of the state.

Are you flying in and then picking up a car, or are you driving to Sacramento? Because you might be better off taking the train to SF or flying to San Diego than driving to either one.

janisj

was posting the same time . . .

clarkgriswold

Starting in Sacramento and ending where? Do you have a round trip ticket?

jamie99

Before setting out to drive Highway 1, check with Caltrans for road conditions either via Internet or phone, their site is:
http://www.dot.ca.gov/cgi-bin/roads.cgi

You have enough time to drive down to Cambria then return via the 101, then drop the car and visit SF (not "San Fran") for a couple of days. You can see redwoods at Henry Cowell State Park near Santa Cruz. If interested in wine tasting, there are some very good wineries in Paso Robles, just inland from Cambria via Highway 46.

krysnbrad

Okay, sorry about the Cali slip. I actually like that name...but ok. We are flying into Sacramento. There is a car there that we will be using for the trip. We need to go to Mendocino County and the end result will be me flying home (no preference of airport) and my partner driving to Tuscon for other business. I have about a week to play with. Thanks so much for all of your advice!

MmePerdu

"About a week to play with" including Mendocino? Or a week after Mendocino, flying home from anywhere?

janisj

Mendocino county where? The towns of Mendocino/Fort Bragg or maybe inland like Ukiah, or somewhere else? Do you travel to Mendocino Co. before or after your free time?

The logical combo w/ Mendocino would be San Francisco and/or Napa/Sonoma.

Where you fly home from mostly depends on if the Mendocino bit is at the beginning or end of your trip. If you have free time and then head up to Mendocino Co, then the best places to fly out of are either SMF (my choice) or OAK/SFO - which ever gets you the best schedule.

Mendocino to Tucson is one hellacious looooooong haul! About 17-18 hours plus stops.

MmePerdu

If your week starts after Mendocino and your partner will go on to Tucson after dropping you off at an airport, you really can do something, although not a lot, anywhere between Mendocino and San Diego. But I think you need to choose what interests you most. If it's San Diego and you don't mind a forced march to get there, you could spend 5 days or so there, or 3 in SD and a couple on the way down. But you really do need to make a decision in that regard, then come back for help with a plan.