HELP WITH TRIP TO CALIFORNIA
 

A FRIEND AND I ARE GIVING ANOTHER FRIEND A TRIP TO CALIFORNIA FOR HER BIRTHDAY AND WE WOULD LIKE TO GO TO SAN FRAN. AND HOLLYWOOD BUT WE NEED HELP PLANNING IT..

Just keep in mind that there are 380 miles and about 5 1/2 to 6 hours of driving time between San Francisco and Hollywood.

Utahtea

Would you be willing to give us all a few more details? Like, how many days will your friend be in CA, what are his/her interests or dislikes, what's your approximate budget for lodging, etc.?

WE ARE FROM ALABAMA, FRIEND IS TURNING 50 AND WE ARE SURPRISING HER WITH THIS TRIP AND WE HAVE NO CLUE OF WHAT TO SEE OR DO IN CALIFORNIA, WE JUST WANTED TO SEE BOTH PLACES, WINE COUNTRY, SHE WANTS TO SEE THE WHALES.. BUT IT WILL BE END OF OCTOBER AND FIRST WEEK OF NOVEMBER...

First thing: Take off the caps lock.

Second thing: Re-read utahtea's post very carefully. Ponder its significance. Bear in mind that there is a lot to see in the SF Bay Area. Bear in mind that "Hollywood" exists more as a fantasy construct than as an actual place. Also bear in mind that the neighborhood of Hollywood is within the huge city of Los Angeles, where there are many, many more things to see (and that's leaving aside the rest of the LA metro area).

Third: Re-read utahtea's post one more time. The distance issue is not insignificant. California is NOT laid out like Disneyland, and it's packed full of neat stuff. You could spend weeks exploring the northern and southern parts of the states BY THEMSELVES. If you're planning less than 10 days, I'd focus on ONE part of the state and really explore it. Two weeks? Then one week in one section, FLY to the other, spend the second week there.

Fourth: Have you read the sections on SF and LA on this website at all? Those are good starts. You probably need to do a bit of background work before coming back here with specific questions.

Hey RJW, Jaybincol is a first time poster. A little less of your condescension might be appropriate. :-)

Jay, You are planning on renting a car, right? If you are and you have at least a week, but preferrably 10 days, see the things you want to see in Hollywood and then take a drive up the coast. Hopefully the weather will be accommodating. (but you could run into a lot of rain). With luck you'll see whales... I'm not sure it's the right time of year for that.

Frankly, I'd stick with 101 until you get to San Luis Obispo, then go over to the coast. If you have time, visit Hearst Castle (a good place for your first overnight along the way). See the elephant seals at San Simeon. (Keep in mind, this is a curvy but fabulously beautiful coastline so if none of your party is comfortable with that kind of driving you might indeed prefer to fly.

There are scads of things to see and do in SF. You can do a search on San Francisco tips by putting San Francisco in the search box.

Just so you know, all capitals is considered "shouting" and rude on message boards like this.

I like Grasshopper's idea of starting in LA and driving up to SF via the coast. You will go through Big Sur, which has some of the most spectacular coastline anywhere. You will also go through the Monterey Bay area, which includes Monterey, Carmel, and Santa Cruz.

Since you are travelling in late October, early November, you will miss the summer crowds on the coast, but still have a good chance at reasonable weather. The first rain usually starts around that time, but it's generally pretty light - a couple hours of sprinkles here and there, but that's about it.

If you have a week, you could do a couple days in LA, a couple days on the road, and then a couple days in SF. That's a pretty popular itinerary. If you have a bit longer, you can spend a little more time.

If you are interested in wineries, there are several in the Paso Robles area (off Hwy 101 near San Luis Obispo). There are also several in the Carmel Valley I believe, and in the Santa Cruz mountains.

Another idea, if you are interested in combining the city with the outdoors, you could split your time between SF and either Yosemite or Lake Tahoe. The drive between SF and Yosemite or Lake Tahoe is about 4 hours. Again, it will be the off season, so you wont have the crowds like you would in the summer. In Yosemite, the waterfalls wont be raging like they are in the spring and early summer, but it is still a spectacular place at that time of year. Being from Alabama, which I understand is fairly flat, the Sierras will blow your socks off.

Grasshopper, I don't consider it condescending to suggest that, for any large destination with lots of possible things to do, one should do a little background reading to see what's there and what's doable.

jaybincol, the end of October and the beginning of November are usually nice autumn days (warm in the day, cool at night). I'm not sure where good whale-watching might be, but I'm inclined to think it may be northern CA where you'd see more of the big whales. We get a lot of dolphin pods swimming by my office in spring and fall (my office view is of the Santa Monica Pier). I'd use Google to search for "whale watching California excursions", then you could e-mail companies offering whale watching boat trips (which are very fun, even if you don't see any whales!).

rjw, I agree that your message was not condescending... it was the delivery. And since this is obviously a new poster (first post!) things like that are exactly what will scare them away and make them never come back.

Not everyone is as internet savy and comfortable with the frankness and attitude that comes across around here. :-)

Jay A few of things:

You might go on MapQuest.com to get some idea of the distances and driving times.

The 101 to SR1 in San Luis Obispo is a great idea. The transition 101 to SR1 in SLO is confusing. So stay alert.

You can also stay in San Simeon. Not great but OK.

You can get a description of the tours and make resrvations at Hearst Castle on the web.

No, JAY's response wasn't condescending it was just plain snotty :-B

Jay; You may want to fly into LA and fly home from San Fran.(or vise versa) In LA, you could do one of the many guided bus tours of Hollywood-they include Hollywood walk of fame, Manns chinese theatre,drive by stars homes,Farmers market, ect. The one we did also did a 1/2 day at Universal studios.
After a couple of days in this area, head north and possibly stop at Hearsts Castle. The scenic coastal route thru Big Sur is a must do. Then you may want to stay in Monterey, and go to the aquarium there.They may have whale watching excursions from there if I remember correctly.
From there its not a far ride to San Fran. Lots to do there.Some suggestions-go on a tour of alcatraz, walk around the pier area, do a walking tour of Chinatown(Wokwiz.com),Take a boat ride on the bay, visit Muir Woods to see the Redwoods.If time allows, head up for 1 night in wine country, and then back to San Fran for your flight home.

thanks so much for all the info, i guess we better do alot of checking before we head that way...

Hi Jaybincol,

How much time do you have? I would recommend focusing on one part of the state, north or south, instead of trying to do both LA and SF in the same trip. Considering that will be the rainy season in northern California, I would advise staying in the LA area and maybe combining San Diego as well. LA and San Diego will be beautiful at that time of year.

OMFG, please pinch me because I canNOT believe I am about to say this....but I agree with Hann! LMAO

So Cal will be a nicer place to visit during those months and if it's wineries you want, you could even go to the Santa Barbara area. California is an enormous state and more easily handles if broken into No Cal and So Cal trips -- but that's just IMO of course. You can certainly do both, but be prepared for some loooong driving trips or a quick flight from one end of the state to the other.

BTW, *applause* to Grasshopper sticking a pin in some of the overinflated and yes, condescending egos around here. Thanks for your kindness to newbies.

Jay, we just returned from a SF to LA trip staying 3 nites in SF and overnite in carmel,cambria, santa barbara, and 2 nites in santa monica. Each stop is appx 2-2 1/2 hr drive (ecept cambria to carmel) and allowed time to get a taste of each area that we stayed at. santa barbara is beautiful, moonstone beach in cambria was a perfect place to relax and enjoy the sunset, US1 from cambria to carmel is a must see and heading north is not as freaky as heading south. There are many things to see on the way (nepenthes, point lobos,etc) so allow a full day to cover the 90 mile distance. Our trip was awesome and I am grateful for all the good advice I received on this site. FPK

JAYBINCOL - I would go to your local library and pick up a travel guide or two, browse through them and see what catches your eye, and then go from there. There is just so much to see in this state that it's hard to narrow it down. Maybe you'll just have to plan two trips ;) Whatever you decide, I'm sure you and your friends will have a blast.

I don't have anything to say about the alabama folks trip except have fun and think of this as your first trip to CA. I am wondering though, do I have to LOCK MY CAPS TO GET SOMEONE TO RESPOND TO MY CALISTOGA QUERY?

Green and not afraid of "mean"

Dear friend,

Everyone who has replied has given good advice on itinerary, but let me just give you one thing...taking the 101 from LA to San Louis Obispo is NOT a good idea. This is simply for two reasons, it's not an insignificant drive and the 101 is borrriiing. Plus, depending on time of day, you'll hit enough traffic on the highway to never want to drive in California again. I would jump on the PCH 1 from LA, which takes you past Santa Monica and the coast (which is a much nicer drive than the 101) then switch to the 101 in Oxnard (this can be a little confusing but recent construction has made it easier) which will take you through Santa Barbara, where the 101 starts running along the coast. Prior to that the 101 is all boring in-land highway driving. Have a good trip!

thanks so much for all of your help...since we have never been to california, what would you all suggest doing if we just went to san francisco and not try to go to los angeles..give me all your ideas and it will greatly appreciated..
jayne

jayne, if my tone was a little off-putting, I certainly apologize. This is a supremely great state to visit, and a lot of people do come with misconceptions and end up ruining their vacations. I think you are making a good decision to center your visit on one part of the state-- and the northern part is as good a place to start as any. San Francisco, wine country, etc.-- you'll have plenty to do and see. Save southern CA for another trip (maybe May or mid-September).