Hello

Planning a first time trip to California during March Break (live in Nova Scotia). Please take a look at this proposed itinerary and advise. We are not looking forward to the traffic at all and are very nervous of driving in it. Any suggestions or advice will be welcome.
8th - Fly into LAX, arriving mid afternoon
Stay in hotel in Santa Monica (Comfort Inn on Santa Monica Blvd)
9th - Drive to San Diego (we are early risers and will get up early to avoid traffic. Spend night in SD (no hotel yet)
10th - Drive back to Santa Monica - stay two nights. Would like to take a studio tour and ride bikes on boardwalk and probably a bus tour of the area.
12th - travel north to San Francisco, staying overnight somewhere (?). Would like to see Santa Barbara, Big Sur and Carmel.
13th continue driving to SF and check in to The Grant Hotel.
Spend 3 days, 4 nights in SF.
17th - depart SF Saturday morning
Does this sound reasonable? We like to be on the go and just sightsee.
Thanks.

Hi 43Cheeks!

I know L.A. traffic can seem intimidating when you are not used to it, but don't worry. The only real problem is volume of traffic, worse at certain times and directions than others. Even though certain times can be classified as "rush hour", there may be heavy traffic at any time of day, especially on certain freeways (like the 405). However, the freeways are well-marked for identification and easy to follow. And generally the drivers are considerate - just always in a hurry. We all have to get somewhere - we are used to the traffic and just deal with it.

That being said, when you drive to San Diego, if you really want to leave early, try to leave by 6:30am. That way you will be out of the area before the 7:00am rush to work since the 9th is a Friday. Either that, or wait until after 9:00am. Coming back to Santa Monica on the 10th (Saturday) it won't really matter.

I don't believe there are any studios that give tours in the Santa Monica area. There are studios in Culver City, but I'm not sure about tours of those. Warner Brothers is in Burbank, Universal is in Hollywood (actually Universal City), both are on the other side of town.

However, Santa Monica ia beautiful and there is a lot to see and do on the west side of town.

I agree with LC, with your timing the driving shouldn't be too bad.

As for studio tours, I think the best one is the VIP tour at Warner Bros. (check it out on their site). It gives you the best glimpse of a working studio. Universal is more of an amusement park attraction, imho.

Nice place to stay in SD, although it can be pricey, is the Crystal Pier. They are cabanas right on a pier, with a kitchenette and patio.

Good luck and have fun here!!

Denice

Thank you LCBoniti and DeniceRG for your responses. We will definitely leave by 6:30 then. As far as studio tours go, the Warner tour is the one I'd decided to go on so good to hear that you would recommend it. Seems to have best reviews (plus I'm a Gilmore Girls fan). We're close to Hollywood/Burbank aren't we - doesn't look far on the map, anyway. Husband is now asking about redwood trees or national parks that can be seen on the route we've chosen. Would love to see the big trees. Thanks again!

Just called the Crystal Pier - afraid it's way out of our budget, but it looks so beautiful - very tempting. It's a two night minimum stay though and is around $270 per night.

Any other such charming hotels on the beach for between $150 - $200?

Well, you won't see any big trees in So. California! There are some Redwood groves just north of San Francisco which, I believe, you can do as a day trip.

Your op says you are planning to drive to San Francisco through Big Sur (Highway 1). That is a beautiful area and a state park.

As for Hollywood/Burbank, although it is not that far in actual miles, it can be quite a drive time-wise - again because of traffic. It is completely across town from Santa Monica. What day of the week do you think you will go? Warner Bros. Studio is in Burbank.

43cheeks -

It's Muir Woods that is just across the bay from San Francisco. It is a Redwood grove. I have not been there. You will get more information from the No. Calif. folks if you post a question with "San Francisco" or "No. California" in the title.

You might also post another question regarding San Diego hotels. Others who have much more information for that area will not necessarily respond to the title of this thread.

Ok, will check out Muir Woods.

We'll be in Santa Monica on the weekend - Saturday and sunday.

Sorry - but your itinerary is very to-ing and fro-ing. 1 night in santa monica, 1 night in san diego, 2 nights in Santa Monica, 1 night on the coast and finally 4 nights in SF.

This is a LOT of driving and you won't have enough time for either SD or the coast.

As for redwoods - your two best options are Big Basin between Santa Cruz and San Jose, and Muir Woods north of SF. Big Basin is the better park.

If it were me I would ditch San Diego. It is a great place (I much prefer SD to LA) but you just aren't giving it any time so skip it.

Then you can stay in Santa Monica 8th - 10th, on the coast 11th and 12th, and in SF 13th - 17th. On the coast - one night say in Morro Bay and one in Carmel or Monterey.

Janisj makes very valid points, 43cheeks.

If you are planning on Warner Bros studio tour on Sat or Sun, traffic will not be an issue. It will still be a good 1/2 hour to 45 minute drive, though.

I agree that your stop in San Diego will be rushed and whirlwind. It is a great town, and you could spend a couple days there and still feel rushed.

Is there any way that you could fly in to San Diego or at least Orange County (John Wayne Airport)?? That would cut alot of driving off of the front of your trip.

Personally, I would cut out either the San Diego junket or chop off a night in Santa Monica, and hang around Santa Barbara long enough to see a couple things. Santa Barbara and Santa Ynez county is a destination in its own right, and worthy of more than a sleep stopover.

So many good ideas. Thank you all. Ok, may have to reconsider this. Have to stay in Santa Monica Friday morning to do the studio tour (just read that it doesn't run on the weekend). So, one night in Santa Monica. Wondering about staying two nights in SD. Travel to Santa Barbara for one night and take two nights to go to SF. OR what about staying two nights in Santa Barbara. Would love to hear opinions. Two nights in SD or two nights in SB

My vote, for what it's worth, is that you skip San Diego for this trip. Your OP mentioned bike ride along the boardwalk and a bus tour of the city. Very good ideas. The last paragraph of Janisj's post seems like a good plan:

<<Then you can stay in Santa Monica 8th - 10th, on the coast 11th and 12th, and in SF 13th - 17th. On the coast - one night say in Morro Bay and one in Carmel or Monterey.>>


Since you are going to Burbank for the Warner Bros tour on Friday, either leave very early (6:00am) and have breakfast in Burbank, or leave late morning (11:00am or so). Of course, depending on how long the tour lasts, you will hit traffic coming back beginning around 3:00pm.

Someone from N.S. might not be too accustomed to driving on 6-lane (one one side) freeways, so it would be worthwhile knowing if there are any tricky left-side of road exits or interchanges (where you would have to cross lanes to get to). I am not familiar enough with the OPs route to advise.

I would happily forgo San Diego (would love to go there, but simply don't have the time), but my teenage son HAS to go there, so we're trying to accommodate him. He's looking for beaches and sunshine (we are not resort type people which is why we aren't going south, but we'd like to see some sun during the vacation. Understand that weather in SF could be very wet and cold, so thought a couple of days of sunshine would be welcome. We are just in SD to look around, really, won't be doing the zoo or marineland or whatever. Love the idea of Santa Barbara now! mrwunrfl is right - we aren't accustomed to major multi-lane freeways so thanks for the heads up re tricky spots. Anyone know of any we should be aware of?

Well, I hate to disappoint your son, but March is not really good beach weather anywhere in California. It may well be warm inland, but beach areas will be cool all day and overcast at least all morning. Of course, there could be the odd heat wave (not unheard of) and surfers are out in all weather in their wetsuits. But the beach will not be really warm until July, August and September.

Could you ask your son exactly why he wants to go to San Diego? If we knew what it is he is looking for, we could be more helpful.

As for traveling the freeway, I will be happy to do details for you from Santa Monica to Warner Bros. The freeway interchanges are pretty clearly marked however, whether they are to the right or to the left. Of course, my "clearly marked" may be "tricky" to you, so I'll check it for you.

actually all the traffic on the freeway can be an easy way to drive it. You can't go fast, and will have plenty of time to see your exit coming up and be able to get off in time. Drivers in LA rarely honk their horns, and they usually change lanes to let you come onto the freeway. So it looks crazy but it really works rather well. At least everyone is going in the same direction. Surface streets can be really stop and go, and take for ever to get somewhere. We used to live in LA, moved to N. Calif. Now, even the short cuts I knew in LA are jammed. Your son can see great beaches and surfing around San Juan Capistrano... no need to go all the way to San Diego... Also there are beaches in Santa Monica, Malibu and Santa Barbara... Since you'll be in Santa Monica, its easy to get to Malibu and see the beaches there.

My guess is your son won't be laying out on any beach in March - nor going in the water w/o a wet suit.

Even as mild as SD is - it ain't the tropics . . . . .

43cheeks -

Are you familiar with www.mapquest.com? If so, use the directions they give you NOT the ones on Warner Bros' website. Warner Bros' directions will take you through downtown and that is not necessary from your location in Santa Monica.

According to mapquest (and my opinion) you will take the 10 West to the 405 North, the 405 to 101 East, and the 101 to 134 East to the Pass Avenue exit. The only "tricky" part is you will need to keep left on the 101 to take the 134 toward Burbank/Glendale. Your exit is shortly after that.

This may sound complicated, but as you will see from any map, you are really just going north and then east to your destination. The entire distance is less than 25 miles, but you will be going with traffic on the 101/134 portion so leave early.

And remember, all freeways are clearly marked, well ahead of the time you make a change.

Think he just wants to go so he can say he's been there. It's as close to Mexico as he can get without actually being there. It is important to him though and it's his March Break, so we're willing to do it even for an abbreviated time. We truly do appreciate all your feedback and will probably post more questions here. My husband is amazed at how helpful everyone is (we're very new to this)!