Hi,

My husband and I are thinking of taking a trip to California this september. Since this will be our first time, we're not sure of how to plan our itinerary. We will be renting a car and want to drive to the following places: 4-5 days in San Franciso, 2 days in L.A., 2-3 in Nappa and if the time permits it, 2-3 days in Phoenix. We'll be flying out of Montreal
thanks

Napa can be a day's outing from SF. I would suggest Sonoma because it has more to see in terms of historical sights (the main square in Sonoma itself, General Vallejo's home, Jack London State Historical Park) along with the wineries that can be visited.

It'll be over 100 degrees in Phoenix in September. And it's hundreds of miles out of your way. I would drop that part of your trip and add it somewhere to your California travels.

Long way from the Bay Area or LA to Phoenix. If you want heat and the desert go to Death Valley or Jousha Tree NP. Still a long drive but much closer than Phoenix.
If you do a day trip to Napa, skip the city and just spend time in Napa Valley...a route a little less traveled is the Silvarado Trail on the east side of the Valley.
But, like Michael, prefer Sonoma and environs. If you want a little further north since you have a car, look at the Healdsburg area, Russian River Valley and more up there. IMO, better wineries.

So, after a few days in SF and a few days in Napa, head down Highway 1 destination LA, but take your time. A very beautiful and rugged coastline. Stop 1 night Monterrey (Aquarium, 17 mile drive), down 1 to Cambria and Moonstone Beach area. Then Santa Barbara. Finish off with a couple days in LA and whoosh, back to Montreal. You could make a good two weeks out of that.

Agree with the above: Cut out Phoenix part of your trip and end in LA

BillJ has the right solution!

"Few" days in SF?? How many days is few??

I would spend at least 5 nights in San Francisco, followed by 2 nights in Healdsburg/wine country, 2-3 nights in Carmel/Pacific Grove/Pt Lobos, 1-2 nights in Big Sur, & 1 night in San Simeon to visit Hearst Castle. After that - you may not want to spend a whole lotta time in LA & all the freeways/traffic/concrete there.

Here are my ideas for the SF Bay Area.
http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...mendations.cfm

Stu Dudley

Oh StuDudley - I love all your San Francisco advice but don't knock LA too hard. With good planning it can be a great place to visit with ocean beaches, foothill hiking, world class museums and gardens, architecture (50's, arts and crafts, old theaters), terrific restaurants and classic tourist spots.

I agree about LA. It has many pockets of greatness amidst the craziness. You just have to know where to go and when to go there. Don't diss L.A.

>>You just have to know where to go and when to go there.

I think the goal of Fodors Forums is to help travelers find the "pockets of greatness." I used to feel the same way as Stu about LA until our daughter moved there. She transferred her joy of discovery in the LA area to fabulous itineraries for us when we visited. We absolutely loved our visits in LA! That said, Phoenix does seem a bit out of the way, unless the OP has special reasons for going there.

Star48, if your time schedule feels tight, consider just a day trip to Napa from SF, or just spending one night with 2 very full days there. To justify the long drive to LA, I think I would spend more than 2 days.

I'm afraid StuDudley's view of LA is pretty outdated, if it ever really was accurate (after all, he lived in San Gabriel!)

I think yk has some of the most useful trip reports on Fodors, so just for reference here is one she did with some ideas: (and it includes a link to a second one).
http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...os-angeles.cfm

I wasn't knocking LA. There's plenty interesting things to see there. But the op apparently has only a couple of weeks.

Every trip is a compromise of what doesn't get seen.

>>

As beautiful as the wine country is, unless you're going to spend days wine tasting, you can drive through and see the beauty (and even get out of your car once in awhile ) in one day.

>>>>>I'm afraid StuDudley's view of LA is pretty outdated

When in L.A., do not miss the Museum of Jurassic Technology, making sure that you see every room.

If you read Yks report, you can see that not only did she WALK between sights, she actually found lots to do..in 40 hours. And I'm not sure that she needed to take a single freeway.

Nothing is wrong with San Gabriel, I just wouldn't judge the ease of seeing LA tourist things from a suburban home vs staying downtown or in (heaven forbid) Hollywood. And a lot has changed since you left...I won't ask how many years ago.

>>You just have to know where to go and when to go there.

>>

Blame it on the Dodgers. LA is okay, there's certainly plenty to occupy tourists, the weather is usually great. Really, the only problem with visiting LA is that everything is so spread out and traffic is awful (the difference between traffic in San Francisco and traffic in LA is that the former is bad during commute hours and the latter is bad all the time --- like 2:10 to drive on a late Saturday afternoon from Torrance to Hollywood, for no apparent reason other than lots of cars)