I am spending a family vacation in California in the summer starting and ending in San Fran for 19 nights. Is it realistic to have 3 nights in San Fran and then visit the Napa valley,Yosemite and Seqoia national parks staying at Fresno for 2 nights and then drive to LA for 3 nights staying for a night en route and then Montetrey for 2 nights and back to San Fran for a couple of nights. Is this a sensible plan avoiding being stuck in a car for too long and will I miss any major sights?

I would fly into SF airport, do your thing, and then head south (do Monterey), and fly out of LAX on your departure. That way you don't have to back-track.

That's what we did and it saved A LOT of driving time.

With that much time, either an open jaw into SFO and out of LAX or a circle route in/out of SFO would work.

But I MUST ask -- Fresno? Why on earth do you want to stay there? Staying w/ friends who live there? If not, do not try to stay in Fresno to visit Yosemite/Sequoia. Stay in or near YNP for 1 or 2 nights, and then stay 1 night in SNP or maybe Three Rivers.

The nice thing about the circle route is that you can hit the Sierra parks one way, and the coast drive on the way back. Be aware that the central valley of CA (including Fresno) is hot, dry, and dusty in summer; staying in the mountains is much more pleasant.

I have to agree - base yourself in or as close to the parks as you can. If you go to Yosemite first, then Sequoia, you'll have an easy day's drive from Sequoia to Los Angeles.

Lee Ann

Thanks for all the comments, I am flying in from England and am limited to arriving and leaving from SF. Would it be best to head along the coast to LA and then inland on the circle route, and with the traffic is it best to hit LA on a weekend?

Nothing wrong with a circle route. However, I would go down Hwy 1 on the Big Sur coast on the ocean side, i.e. from SF to LA, because the pull-outs for viewing are on the ocean side. With the curves and the traffic, it might be much more uncomfortable to pull out from the inside lane. From LA I would drive up to Sequoia and Yosemite. However, if the intent is to see the giant sequoias, you can see them near the southern entrance of Yosemite, and it would save considerable time if you would skip Sequoia National Park.

I would actually do the circular route the other way if you are coming from England, only because Highway 1 is pretty intense driving, even for those of us who drive on the right. I've had a number of friends from England come to visit me in L.A., rent a car, and drive up the coast, and they all feel better driving north on Hwy 1 than south.

Since you'll be coming in summer, I would advise against staying in Fresno two nights unless you have family or friends that live there, only because it is unbearably hot. It's been built up over the years, so it's not as culturally striken as it once was, and it's probably got Bakersfield beat by a mile, but that isn't saying much. I'd tack on an extra night in Yosemite, if you can, then take the 6 hour ride straight down to L.A.

When I say hot, by the way, if you live in London, you may remember the summer of 2003. It's worse than that.

Just to clarify: Hwy 1 is a two lane highway with the double line in the middle (no armadillos), so that it is not a very narrow road which might appear only one and a half lane wide. Anyone who has ever driven in the high Alps or the Pyrenees on a secondary road can handle Hwy 1 easily.

I definitely agree w/ surfergirl about travling north instead of south on hwy 1. Michael - you and I and surfergirsl are all probably very happy to drive north or south on hwy 1. But it is NOT easy for a lot of people. Don't downplay the cliffs and drop offs hundreds of feet straight down to the rocks/water. It is actually easier to look at some of the views from the south bound lane because it isn't as "white knuckle-ish". I have had friends and distant relatives (mostly from the east coast/midwest but also from England) who were absolutely terrified by parts of hwy 1.

I am one of those east coasters who was absolutely terrified during our drive on Hwy 1. The scenary is out of this world, but it is a white-knuckle drive

Oh darn - I sure messed that up.

It should have read " . . . It is actually easier to look at some of the views from the north bound lane . . . ."

I can only plead the late hour and the fact I was answering an earlier post about driving in Scotland and got my LHD and RHD mixed up.

I hope that donk will give a road report after their vacation. I still think that Europeans who are used to driving on some very narrow roads will have no problems on hwy 1. The road to Muir Woods and especially Mt. Tam is something else.

I really do not think it matters very much which way you go on highway 1 as I have done both ways many times. Might be easier to go south as this allows you to pull off to the ocean
side of the road if you want to stop and look around.
I would do SF to Carmel/Monterey to Big Sur to Santa Barbara than LA. San Diego if you have the time. Drive north on the 5 to Yosemite.
Do not use Fresno as a base to explore the national parks. There is really little for a tourist in Fresno and it is a long drive to the parks as it is twisting, winding road up through the mountains to both parks. Stay in Yosemite or perhaps Fish camp on the southern entrance to the park if you cannot get a park hotel. Consider skipping Sequoia National park and passing through Tioga pass in Yosemite to Nevada with a drive north along the eastern Sierras to Lake Tahoe. Take 80 back into California, through Sacramento to SF. Stop in Napa if you have the time.

You can hop on and off Hwy 101 to Hwy 1 in parts to save time while driving the coast.

For instance, skip Hwy 1 to Lompoc from Gaviota pass and drive up to San Luis Obispo to pick up Hwy 1 again. The drive from Cambria to Monterey is beautiful, but if you're concerned take Hwy 46 in Cambria back to Hwy 101 up to Salinas, then head out to Monterey there.

Hwy 1 between Monterey and Santa Cruz can also be slow and boring.

Hwy 101 is a 4 lane and is usually 55 mph+, Hwy 1 can be as slow as 15 mph in some areas (and I learned to drive in the mountains of Colorado).

Allow at least 4 hours plus stopovers from Cambria to Monterey along Big Sur.

There are some nice motels half way up to break up the drive. Lucia, San Simeon, Big Sur.

I have some photos and links on www.centralcoasttourist.com if you're interested.

I agree with janisj about the white knouckle ride on hwy 1 through Big Sur; the scenery is beautiful but I was a bit too nervous to fully enjoy it. If that's not a problem for you, however, may I second the suggestion of leaving SF for the Monterey penninsula, stop there for lunch? then go Hwy 1 to Cambria and spend the night. Or if you go the "inland" sea route on 101, maybe stop in Santa Barbara, which is incredible, and spend the night. From SB to LA is somewhere around 2 hours (depending on what part of LA you are referring to).

As far as traffic in LA: coming in from the north, if you continue on the 101 fwy you might hit afternoon traffic from Thousand Oaks into the city; I am not familiar w/traffic along Pacific Coast Hwy (PCH) if you divert at Oxnard/Ventura. The traffic in LA is of course worse during the week, but you just never know. Try tuning in to 980am radio to hear traffic reports every 10 minutes "onm the ones" (i.e. 1:11, 1:21, etc) and listen for the fwys you are taking.

As far as the Fresno/ Yosemite discussion, years ago we stayed in Wawona, within YNP but at the south end, and loved it. The Hotel Wawona is a lovely clapboard hotel there, and it took us about 45 mins. to get to Yosemite Valley or Glacier Point. It's also very close to the Mariposa groves (I want to stop now and do a search to refresh my memory - are those sequoias or redwoods? whatever, they're big trees...). We thought it was very nice, and perhaps this could be an option for you.