Help me with a LA to SF plan....
 

Hi everyone,
Just got back from Hawaii for our honeymoon and loved it!! We have a trip to California planned in February, so it's time for me to get started on planning that.

We are going with another couple, and right now we are flying into LAX very late Saturday night, and will be flying out of SFO very early the next Sat. morning, so essentially we have 6 full days.

Our original plan was to do 2 days in LA, spend one day driving, and 3 days in SF. Well, hubby and I did the Road to Hana last week on Maui, and I got extremely car sick more than once. Soooo, I am a little nervous about doing the whole all day drive again, especially if the roads on the Pacific Coast are anything like the winding roads to Hana!

What would you suggest if we spent one day in LA, 2 days driving/sightseeing, and 3 days in SF? What places would you stop and and see? What route would you take? Where would you stay overnight? Any help/tips/advice would be great. Thanks!

Hi, beachgirl86!

Thatseems like a workable plan -

Day one: LA

Day two: drive along the coast, see Santa Barbara, La Purisma Mission, Hearst Castle, night in Cambria.

Day three: drive along Highway 1 - slowly. Enjoy the scenery. Stop off at Nepenthe or Pfeiffer Big Sur for lunch. Continue up Highway 1, visit Point Lobos State Reserve. Visit Carmel/Pacific Grove/Monterey. Spend the night there.

Day four: drive up to San Francisco.

Days five and six: San Francisco. Take the Alcatraz tour. If you have the time, drive up to Sonoma.

Then, homeward bound. Have a good trip!

Have you been before? If not, I'd actually think about spending two days in each and flying between them, there is so much to do in the two cities. Frankly I wouldn't do the drive up the coast unless you could spend at least two full days doing it -- and since you may get car sick, it doesn't even seem worth it to do that to me.
Besides you really don't need a car in SF, so get a car in LA for three days, turn it in at the airport and fly up to SF.

I'm really not THAT bad at math. I meant to spend THREE days in each.

I've done that trip in February, and it was great.

I was driving very fast, considering the rental car, and yes, a lot of the road is twisty, and some of ir it cliffside, so there's something to be said for doing it at a relaxed pace.

Think about driving to Santa Barbara in the evening. We worked in Los Angeles all day, and then left around 5 p.m. and drove to Santa Barbara, and then ate dinner there. The hotel in Santa Barbara was less expensive than the LA hotel we'd been in, and we got a good, somewhat inexpensive dinner, there, too.

The next morning we were already a couple of hours up the coast from LA, and that meant we had more time for the drive north.

We got into Monterey in the late afternoon, and walked around from a while and had dinner there. If you were drivng more slowly, or stopped more often (Hearst Castle certainly seems worth a visit) you'd get to Monterey in time for dinner. And then you could stay there that night.

San Francisco is a car-split city. If you want to go up to the Napa Valley, or down to Carmel, you need a car, but for the coity itself, no car is needed. It may or may not be advatageous to return the rental car, or maybe just hang onto it for the convenience of using it to get back to the airport.

That's what we did.

In SF, make sure you get onto the water so way or other. I took a ferry to Sausalito, which was inexpensive, fun, and gave a good view of Alcatraz, but there are more organized harbor tours, too.

I found the tour or a WWII submarine fascinating, but you'll have to decide if that appeals.

BAK

OK - you COULD do it as a road trip. But Jan/Feb are the iffiest times on the coast. If it is stormy (and you won't know until a few days before your trip) it will be a pretty hairy drive. If there are winter storms the coast and especially Big Sur can be dangerous, or even closed due to slides.

I would just do LA and SF and fly between the two. If the trip was in the Fall or maybe April/May it would be a no brainer - drive and spend at least 2 days/night along the coast. But this far in advance you just can't be sure you could make it up the coast.

I agree, janis, and while others have many good points about the wonderful places between the two, I get the distinct impression most of them have visited LA and SF before. It just seems odd, if you've never been there to not see all there is to offer in the two main cities, but avoid them to see the things between them. Again, ignore that comment if you've already explored LA and SF in depth.
Frankly, many people do a week in SF alone or a week in LA, and end up saying they couldn't do it all. Save the stuff for in between for your next trip (you're young I take it) and plan it when the weather is likely to be nicer. Monterey, Big Sur, and Carmel in February are likely not to be so gorgeous.

Sorry, I missed the month of your planned trip. Somehow just thought it would be in the next couple of months.

The others are very correct, the coast can be unfriendly in February.

Better to stick to LA and/or SF if the weather doesn't break for you.

Agree with the idea of a budget flight from LA to SF: cheaper than driving w/ an overnight and allows more time to see the great stuff in SF.

the weather can be nasty february and it can be great. i would still take the chance taking the drive. it is one of the most gorgious coastlines anywhere.
i'd do whatever you want in la on sunday, get up very early (to avoid rush hour) monday and head towards santa barbara for breakfast. then enjoy a leisurly drive up the coast for a night in carmel/monterey area. enjoy most of tuesday in the are too (17 mile drive) then head to san fran timing it so you enter the city after rush hour.
then you have three full days in san fran.

So, ltt, you're suggesting that beachgirl and friends fly to Los Angeles, arrive late Saturday night, have breakfast Sunday morning and leave without seeing a single thing in the entire area? Just curious, is that really what you're saying?

Driving from LA to SF in February can be a big gamble weatherwise. Although we can have nice weather spells in February, we can also experience waves of storms. On the coast, especially around Big Sur this can sometimes result in the closure of 1 due to mudslides. Even if there are no slides I wouldn't want to drive 1 in a downpour.

Addendum: If you did not live in the US and this was your one and only opportunity to see Big Sur, etc. I might advise you to take a chance on doing the drive in February.

Thanks for all the suggestions! I am sort of wishing now that I had just stuck to 1 city, but the tickets were free rewards tickets, and I took the open jaw flight because there were available seats that way.

Patrick, I think ltt was saying to leave LA early Monday morning, if you read the post again.

Thanks for all your ideas, I am still undecided, but welcome any and all opinions that you continue to contribute!

I live in Santa Barbara so have my biases, of course, but perhaps some drive times can help you make your decision.

There are indeed, cheap, short flights from LAX to SFO as some have suggested. But you need to consider all the parking and security and check-in time so add another couple hours to that 75 minute flight.

The drive time from LA to Santa Barbara is just under 2 hours if you're not driving during rush hour(s).

The drive from Santa Barbara to San Francisco on Hwy 101 will take you about 5 1/2 hours. Hwy 101 isn't as scenic as Hwy 1 along that windy coast, but it is pleasant enough, especially in the winter, much faster and it's a fairly straight shot to San Francisco.

San Marcos Pass /Hwy 154, between Santa Barbara and Santa Ynez, cuts about 15-20 minutes off the drive north and the scenery is spectacular, but the first half of the drive is windy.

Santa Barbara and our wine country 40 minutes north are great for a more leisurely time. But San Francisco, especially for a first-timer, deserves as much time as you can give it.

My suggested itinerary would be:
Leave LA on Sunday morning. Stop at the Getty Museum on your way north to Santa Barbara.

Spend Sunday late afternoon and evening in Santa Barbara (the hotels usually have a lower rate on Sunday anyway).

Monday morning, have breakfast at the harbor or wharf or one of the other local beach front restaurants. Then drive Hwy 101 (with the shorcut on Hwy 154) to San Francisco and check into your hotel in time for dinner.

That would give you a full 4 days in San Francisco which would be a good taste of the City.

Feel free to email me for Santa Barbara information if you decide to spend any time here in the Big Avocado!

Harriet: Your suggestions sound great! Thank you so much. The only thing is I think I would like to spend a little time in LA, not just leave Sun. morning. And I think you're right, I don't want to fly between LA and SF with only 6 days, I'd rather have a bit of a road trip adventure!

Many people have recommended Santa Barbara to us, as someone who lives there, what can you tell me about it?

Also, it seems like many people are advising against Highway 1 (which I think is the PCH, correct?) that time of year. Would 101 be advisable weather-wise? And what is the shortcut on 154?

Thanks again!

Free rewards tickets are usually changeable, so if the weather reports are bad....you can always just fly in and out of one city.

By the way, I would spend Sat & Sun night in LA, leaving LA for Santa Barbara on Monday around, say, 3:30pm before the traffic gets too heavy. Spending Monday night in Santa Barbara or Pismo Beach will cut some drive time out on Tuesday, I'd head north and either spend the night in Monterey or Carmel or continue up to San Fran.(weekday accomodations won't be a problem in Feb, you can plan-as-you-go). Then a Wednesday drive to SF (not too early, you wanna leave maybe 10:30am to avoid traffic snarls, arriving in SF early afternoon.) Then Wed night, Thurs and Fri in San Francisco. I agree you might want to drop the car instead of paying for parking while you're in San Fran...although 7 day car rates are often cheaper than 4 day rates.

There shouldn't be any reason to change the tickets... keep the open jaw and grab a cheap flight up to JSC, SFO, OAK. You can check Jetblue, and I think Southwest for cheap flights, among others.

My husband and I drove from LA to Monterey in one day on a recent trip and LOVED every minute of it! Of course we'd like to go back and spend more time but we certainly don't regret squeezing that one day into our itinerary. If you'd like to read my trip report just click on my screen name and scroll down to: CA and Vegas Trip Report. The drive is awesome and well worth it even if your just getting a quick taste.

We do this trip annually but in 10 days...

I say skip LA, if you can fly into Santa Barbara.

Spend a night in Santa Barbara (we stay at the Radisson on the beach)

A night in Cambria on Moonstone Beach (lots of great shops and a beautiful drive to Monteray through Big Sur - stop at Harmony on the way - a few miles before Cambria)

A few nights in Monteray/Carmel (Farmer's Market on Tuesday nights in Monteray, 17 mile drive to pebble beach, Awakenings for breakfast, aquarium - we stay at the Doubletree)

Then the last few nights in San Francisco. Union Square is the most Central place. Take a Cable Car ride, see Alcatraz, go to the Cliff House ruins, visit Sausalito, bike the Golden Gate Bridge, see Wine Country - Oakville is the best place (Oakville grocer, Robert Mondavi, Francis Ford Coppola, Cakebread, Opus One, Silver Oak & Plumpjack)

Hwy 101 is a good alternative to Hwy 1 if the weather is bad or if Hwy 1 has been closed previously due to slides. Caltrans cleans up some slides to reopen the road, but if there are multiple slides and/or big slides, they generally close the road and just wait until spring to clear everything out.

Hwy 101 is freeway most of the way, so it is fine in bad weather. It goes through some nice country - rolling hills with oak trees on them, past some wineries, and through some agricultural areas. Plus, in Feb, the hills will be nice and green from the rains. It should be beautiful.

If you can spare 2 days for this drive, and stay the night either in or around Cambria or Monterey, you can kind of play it by ear with regard to route. You could head up Hwy 101 to San Luis Obispo, and then either continue on Hwy 101 if the weather doesn't cooperate, or if it's nice and the road is open, you can take Hwy 1 from there and go through Big Sur. Hwy 1 and 101 almost meet up again in Monterey, so if you went up hwy 101, you could cut over to Monterey fairly quickly and see some coastline there. Point Lobos is spectacular and will give you a good idea of what Big Sur is like if you didn't get to drive through there.