lynntigon

Hi there

I am planning a trip from SF to LA covering the PCH with my son, I am 60 he is 33. I am a first time left hand side driver in America ( i come from the UK) and to be honest am more than a little apprehensive. I hope to pick up the car at SFO and drop it off in Santa Barbara before continuing to LA by train.
We are spending 4 nights in SF and starting the PCH drive on Monday 30th July. Any help with an Itinerary would be much appreciated. Also, is the coast highway as scary as some people say, being a first time driver in the States I am a little concerned about the drop offs and possibility of fog obscuring the road edges. I will also be the only driver.
1. How long should I hire the car for - I am thinking 4 or 5 days.
2. My son is a computer freak and wants to visit Palo Alto????? on the way.
3. Where should we make overnight stops. I was thinking of making the first stop in Santa Cruz, then Monteray, Carmel, SLO and finally SB.
4. Suggestions for reasonably priced overnight stops.
5. Any other useful tips

We will prob spend the weekend in LA (any tips for staying here and best things to see). From there we hope to fly to Vegas and take a tour of the Grand Canyon(hints and tips appreciated) before flying to New York (again any tips would be appreciated) and spending 2 days before heading home on 16th August.

Hope you locals and seasoned travellers can help

Tomsd

In the States - you can usually rent a car for a week for the same price as 4 to 5 days, and I always first go to www.carrentals.com, to get quotes. Also - you need to check for any drop off charges if you are renting in the SF area and turning in when you get to Santa Barbara or even LA.

Palo Alto is an easy stop from SF (less than an hour driving - without traffic) - and actually - has a lot to offer. You could even find a place and "commute" into SF if you wanted to, or leave SF one morning, and spend the day/night there - and then it's only two hours or less to Carmel/Monterrey.

As for driving in Big Sur - doesn't bother me at all - and if you need to - there are places to pull over and let others pass, enjoy the scenery, etc. And if it's foggy/marine layer - it's usually in the morning (or it rolls in late afternoon)- and it should burn off.

And my rule when driving on the "other side of the road" is to make sure I start out correctly - first looking BOTH ways - as traffic will be coming from a direction you are not used to. I then remind myself - when driving - to keep my outside/window shoulder next to the center/yellow line, and once rolling - it seems to flow after that.

I personally am not a big fan of Santa Cruz and would rather find a place for two nights in Carmel/Monterrey - or the Big Sur area.

From Vegas - there are a couple of ways to tour the GC. One is a day long bus trip - or you can also go via airplane I believe. Just google away.

There are many other blogs in here under California about driving down the Coast and also what to do/see in LA - and I think the Getty Center/Museum is at the top of the list. Hollywood, the LA County Museum of Art, etc - are also fun.

sf7307

The good news is the rental car will be an automatic, so no need to take your hands off the steering wheel.

Frankly, driving in towns and cities is more problematic than driving on the PCH, because on the latter there's really no place to go (other than some turnoffs so you can sightsee or let traffic pass) - no traffic lights, no left turns etc.

janisj

I wouldn't bother w/ dropping the car in Santa Barbara and taking the train. You will almost 100% need/want a car while in LA so dropping it makes little sense.

Also -- You will most likely get MUCH better rental deals hiring and pre-paying from the UK (including all insurance - we don't have the same CDW/excess policies as you do in the UK)

seems weird - but Americans can do a UK hire for less than you could locally, and you can rent for less than we can here in California.

The driving is generally not as congested as in many built up parts of the UK. There are exceptions such as LA and the SF Bay Area during the morning and afternoon commute hours. But our roads/traffic lanes are usually much wider -- and there are no single track roads or hedgerows

What part of the UK are you from -- then I can give you a traffic/driving comparison.

PeaceOut

Here is a coupon I received for Pacifica Hotels:
http://www.pacificahotels.com/emailblast/june2012/

We have stayed in their properties in L.A.: Inn at Venice Beach and the Jamaica Bay Inn.

It is a well-managed 'chain' with individual, unique properties.

jamie99

First, look into renting from a UK based broker such as carhire300 as they will usually price out all the stuff like insurance and often the one way dropoff fees get waived, they get good reviews on another travel forum.

Either Monterey or Carmel are good choices, they are only a few miles apart. Another good stop would be Cambria if you wanted to see Hearst Castle, or Pismo Beach and then a third night in Santa Barbara. There are wineries nearby in the Santa Ynez Valley near Santa Barbara. I would also keep the car in Los Angeles as the public transport is not that great. It is better than it used to be but without a car you would want to stay someplace where there is a transit hub such as Hollywood near Hollywood and Highland.

Have a great trip.

whoknew

I'd say stay overnight Monterey, Carmel, or Cambria,or even Morro Bay. Skip Pismo..a lot of people love it but I myself think it it not a pretty town and few attractions if you aren't into camping on the beach. (Just my humble opinion).

Besides the Getty Museum, there is also the Huntington (Look for MaiTai Tom's trip report in the forums).

PCH is relatively easy to drive. There will be a lot of slow traffic because people will all be cruising to ejoy the view. There are lots of turnouts to pull over in. Stop at Nepenthe in Big Sur. If there is no fog you'll have a great view.

NoCaliGal

I'm from San Francisco. I would suggest not renting a car until you leave SF. Instead, take BART, our local Tube system, into SF, for $8.10 and a 30 minute ride to the center of the City. If you are staying in the Union Square area, or the Embarcadero area, your stop would be Powell St, or Embarcadero. There are escalators and elevators if you have big suitcases. Public transportation in the City is good. You can get day passes or longer length passes. SFMuni.org, for info.
BART.gov for BART info. Bart runs 5 am to midnight only, just like London.

Plan to spend several hours exploring the Palo Alto / Stanford Uni area. It's a lovely tree-filled town, with a lot of good restaurants. Youll pass by Google and E Bay on the Freeway 101 going down. They wont let you in, of course.

You'll be going by wonderful beaches to stop all the way fown Highway 1. Be sure to keep your stuff out of sight in the trunk. Don't miss the Carmel Beach. The water will be very cold --55 degrees at most. You'll definitely need a warm jacket.
Since this trip is soon, get cracking right away on your hotel or B&B reservations in SF, Montery/Carmel, and Santa Barbara...high season is now through September.

lynntigon

Thank you all very much for your suggestions and thank you Peaceout for the voucher. I feel a little better about the driving aspect thanks to you guys. I was going to ditch the car in SB so as not to have to drive in a big city.

JanisJ - I live near Southend in Essex, a mixture of open roads and town driving.

We have already booked 4 nights in the Orchard Hotel in SF but did not want to work to a deadline on PCH so were hoping to stop off for the night as and when we got to places. Is that not a good idea?

lynntigon

Sorry forgot to say thanks for the car rental info = will deffo check it out.

janisj

Funny it would be Southend. That is the one town I've driven in (only been there once) w/ a semblance of a grid system. You'll feel right at home

Really the main difference that will take getting used to is on the freeways (motorways). In the UK one drives in the slow lane and only overtakes in the fast (outside) lane.Here you will find cars passing (overtaking) in every lane. And of course few if any roundabouts. There are MANY more traffic signals/controlled intersections.

"were hoping to stop off for the night as and when we got to places. Is that not a good idea?"

On week days that will be mostly OK/doable. But I'd definitely pre-book for the Carmel area, it is a popular place year round (and probably in/near Santa Barbara as well). Many, if not most, coastal properties will have a 2 night minimum on weekends, but it is easier on week nights. Though some will require 2 nights even through the week.

nancytwo

The coast can be foggy and cold in July. I live on the Monterey Bay it is lovely but July and August you will need a jacket.

lynntigon

Janisj - fancy you having driven in Southend. Not many visitors to the UK even know Southend exists. What brought you to my neck of the woods?

Thanx for the heads up, I have booked a Ford Fusion thru carrental3000. I may look into hotels in Santa Barbara for the end of the week but as i really don't know how long we will hang around in any given place on the roadtrip I can't really book anything. As we will be doing the road trip Mon-Fri, hopefully, we will be lucky with the accommodation and we have the use of the Internet en route too.

Thank u nancytwo - I was going to ask about what to pack as I want to travel fairly light in case I pick up some of those US bargains to bring home.

janisj

It was years ago (I lived in England for about 5 years) my neighbor was a birder and my ex and I took him to Foulness Island for (I think an RSPB excursion.