My girlfriend and I are planning a coastline trip (San Diego to San Francisco or visa-versa), we are thinking 8 to 9 days in July. First, I was curious if there is any preference of driving north to San Francisco or driving south to San Diego?

Also, is Yosemite reachable in this type of trip or would we be stretching ourselves out too much? Right now our trip is wide open...all we know is that we want to spend at least 3 nights in San Francisco to drive up to the wine country, etc. but otherwise we are open to stopovers...we've heard must stops are Carmel/Monterey/Pacific Grove, Big Sur, and Cambria? Thanks!

Are you starting out in San Diego?

I'd suggest that with that many days, you could fit in Yosemite - lodging would be the biggest problem. It'll be near impossible to get anything inside Yosemite at this time. You could stay outside the park.

The more scenic drive along the coast will be from north to south, so I'd suggest that you cut inland from San Diego and go to Yosemite first.

If you go south-north along the coast, the passenger wouldn't see very much, just the cliff walls. If you go north-south, the passenger gets to see the glorious views over the ocean (the driver MUST see only the road!).

From Yosemite, head west for San Francisco. Drive north to Napa-Sonoma for one day. The rest of the trip would be along the coast back to San Diego.

Well, we are open to starting in San Diego or San Francisco. We've heard that one way is more preferable than the other, not sure why...so we wanted to check. So you are saying to do a loop instead of a one way trip? That would certainly save us money on airfare/car rental....we didn't even consider that...I guess we should!

Accomodations in or even near Yosemite in July will be nearly impossible at this late date. You could try for a cancellation - but you are probably better off skipping Yosemite for another trip when you can plan farther ahead.

We regularly have the debate on here about North/South vs. South/North. The board seems pretty evenly divided.

If you are not used to Hwy 1 - I would recommend heading north. There are places in Big Sur and elsewhere where it is a white knuckle drive if you are on the cliff side (ocean side) of the road. The driver can't really enjoy the views w/ a straight drom hundreds of feet down just off yourright shoulder.

I'd disagree a bit w/ easytraveler about the passenger not seeing anything from the inland side of teh road - the views are pretty spectacular from either seat going either direction. It is just more nerve-wracking for some to drive south.

Driving from north to south is much more verve wracking for the passenger if the driver likes to hug the right side of the road (like someone I know...)

OK, sounds like we should skip Yosemite and do it another time, I'd prefer to do it right anyway. So a round trip trip I guess is doable. We didn't think about this because we thought it would be too much driving time...

Well - if you plan on any time in SF and/or SD, you really don't have time to do hwy1 R-T. You could certainly do the scenic hwy 1 northwards (or south if that is what you decide) but will probably need to scoot back on I-5.

If you drive north, you will have less sun in your eyes. The views are spectacular whichever direction you drive.

If you are flying into San Diego and dropping off your car in San Francisco, it is awkward to include Yosemite in a drive up Highway 1. To do so, you would probably drive from the Carmel/Monterey area to Yosemite and then to San Francisco. However, you would have to lop off two days from SF or the Coast--something I would be reluctant to do.

I believe you would have a better time concentrating on the coast and saving Yosemite for another trip.

PS: I am surprised that driving Highway 1 is nerve-wracking for so many drivers. I don't find it that way in the least, and I thoroughly enjoy the views from the driver's seat. The two-lane road is slow going, but you are less likely to drive off the road into the ocean than you are to be hit by a landslide.

I don't find Hwy 1 particularly nerve-wracking either, but a lot of people do. I guess it just depends on what you are used to. I personally prefer north to south because the turn offs are more convinient - most of the pull outs are on the ocean side.

I agree with those who have recommended a 1-way trip. Airfare for an open jaw ticket shouldn't be any more expensive than for round trip and you should be able to find a car rental company without a 1-way drop off fee.

J_Correa is correct, you could do a one-way and have more time to spend in either SF or San Diego. Depending on where you are starting out from: check out Southwest Airlines. I find they're the best for open-jaw for my cities.

Car rental companies will have frequent sales and discounts, so check out each major car rental website for a NO/LITTLE drop off fee on a one-way rental. Look into travelocity, expedia and orbitz also.

Well, I guess for me it's more enjoyable than nerve-wracking to drive along the coast on the coastal side. It's more nerve-wracking for me inland on I-5 with all those big trucks in one lane and the guys going a jillion miles in the other lane, I feel like one or the other is going to mow me down from behind - LOL!

rmeyer: July is peak tourist season here, so expect slower traffic along the coast, especially during the Big Sur segment. Have a great trip, whichever way you decide to go!

Another driver who does not find 1 to be the least bit nerve wracking and after having driven on the Amalfi coast recently, 1 is piece of cake in comparison. As far as direction I prefer driving N to S especially if I'm driving with someone who likes me to pull over to admire the view--it's simpler.

Hwy 1 is a great drive and doesn't bother me either direction. However I have too many friends and relatives who have freaked out on the southward journey to discount the difference between being on the cliff side or on the inland side for anyone not used to that type of road.

easytraveler - I completely agree about I5. That road can be rough, esspecially in the winter. North of I80 it isn't as bad, but south to LA can be treacherous.

J_Correa:

C

easytraveler
(when driving along the I5 corridor)

Last month during our trip to CA, we drove north-to-south, the Big Sur coast highway 1. It was an amazing 100-mile drive and we prefer to drive south rather than the other way for the following reasons:

- you drive closer to the ocean, ergo, better scenery, especially for the passenger
- all the vista points are located on the ocean side and since you are inclined to stop at all of them in order to see the amazing scenery, it's safer to get off and on the highway, whereas driving north you would have to cut off the oncoming traffic regularly; not always a safe procedure.
- Either way the drive is amazing but would caution you to take this route if the weather was rainy, foggy or at night.

One advantage to driving South to North is that the scenery tends to get more spectacular the further north you go - it just gets nicer and nicer, not plainer and plainer. It is always nice when we drive up to Monterey via the 1 because, from So. Calif, every hour it gets nicer to look out the window. Then we always cut inland and zip down the 101 and/or 5 to get home in a hurry (via the ugly route).

If you have 8-9 days you could spend 3 days/2 nights going up the coast (stopping a lot on the way at places like San Simeon Hearst Castle, Carmel, Monterey), 3 days in SF. I think the trip to Yosemite from SF is about 6 hours but check mapquest. You can stay there until you need to leave, but you will obviously have to drive back to SF or SD, so that will take time off your schedule also. If you are flying out of SD then you have to allow a LONG day to drive back down there (take the 99/5-fastest, but ugliest, way) so that is something to keep in mind. Your trip can be done (we've done it before with young children in only a week) BUT it is very rushed. We have done it several times, but because we live in the area, we don't need to stop everywhere so we make better time. We know we can easily go back whenever we want to.

Maybe instead of Yosemite you would rather see the redwoods or the forest areas directly above SF instead? Or maybe a boat trip to the Channel Islands? This area is lovely and you could avoid the drive inland if you want to.

Is there a particular reason that you are set on seeing San Diego? You might be happier staying up near Yosemite/San Francisco area and skipping it. I'm no fan of SD, but that is just me. A lot of people love it.

My husband and I are planning a trip from San Diego to San Francisco in August (we are from Philadelphia).
We plan on 2 nights in San Diego, 2 nights in Palm Springs, 2 nights in LA, 1 night in Santa Barbara, 1 night in Monterey, and 5 nights in SF (we will be taking a red-eye back). We plan to take the PCH.
In San Francisco, we are planning to rent a car and visit Yosemite; we found a hotel about 30 miles outside of the park (since we are staying on points, it is cheaper for us to leave our room empty one night in SF than to rent 2 rooms). In addition, we also plan on renting a car to drive to Sonoma.
We know this is very ambitiuos, but we are in our 20's and love adventures. We are very excited about the trip.
So, answer your question, on paper the trip can be done; you may just be exhausted at the end!
Have fun planning!

Before trying to get into Yosemite, check to be sure which of the routes are open. There is a rock slide on Hwy 140 blocking that route in. It may not be cleared when you go. We stayed in Mariposa when we went in May and our "1/2 hour into the park" turned into 2 hours when we had to double back down to Oakhurst and come in on the 41 instead.

http://www.nps.gov/yose/index.htm