Juldie

Gotta make a decision about flights by midnight tonight.

We are planning a trip beginning a few days in SF then driving down the coast for a few days before settling in southern coastal CA for a week or so as a base.

I can save a substantial amount of money to fly with America West non stop to LAX round trip versus Delta to SF and returning out of Orange County airport. Eventhough I would be using 2 FF tickets and paying for 2 (very expensive) tickets with Delta I would probably be able to fly the 4 of us on AW for the same price as the 2 Delta tickets and I would still be left with 2 free Delta tickets.

My concerns are two - one is about AW airlines and how they are to fly Boston - CA, and the other concern/question is whether it is ridiculous to consider arriving in LA, driving straight up to SF to get there, spend a few days and then do the slow, picturesque drive down the coast.

I would appreciate any input. I have been spending hours on line and the phone trying to get the best flights for the best fares and my head is a bit fuzzy on this whole thing. By the way, this is during the XMAS -New Years stretch.

Thanks for your perspective.

og719

If it were me, I would take the savings and fly into LA. You get to keep the two DL tix, plus you'll save some $$$ on the rental car because you can return to the same location, vice renting in SFO and returning in LA.

If you go up I-5 it's only about a 7 hour drive LA to SF.

Merilee_Tucker

Maybe it would be worth considering if you have the time to take a different route from LA to SFO than the one you are going to take from SFO to LA. I am not sure about the route or what there is to see or do, but that's the only reason I would do it. Another thing to consider for safety's sake is the approximate 9 hour drive, being tired, and jet lag.

Juldie

How long of a drive is it by highway - 7 or 9 hours?

rjw_lgb_ca

Another possibility: Could you maybe fly into LAX and use JetBlue or Southwest to fly between LA and the Bay Area? Note that for JetBlue you'll be flying Long Beach-Oakland. This could be a cheap, quick option if you don't want to deal with the long (if spectacular) drive.

wantsomesun

I would suggest making other arrangements to stay outside of LA, why put 16 or so hours of driving into your vacation, since you only have a few days there. There are alot of nice places to stay in the area and you could be by the beach, nice warm weather. San Francisco will not be as nice weather wise. Basically you will be wasting almost 2 days driving.

Juldie

We've got about 2 weeks total. This is a big trip for our family before my son goes off to college next Fall. We can spend as many days in SF as we want, just thought 2-3 would be enough for us before we head south. We are wanting to experience as a family as much of CA as is reasonable, and not going to SF would feel like we really missed out. We want them to get an overview and of course we will focus in on specifics that we as a family really enjoy.

og719

Another alternative is to fly into LA, spend one night at an airport hotel, then get up and drive to SF via Hwy 101. Some great missions, wineries and sights along the way. Spend your time in SF, then drive back south through Monterey and down Hwy 1.

Solvang, Paso Robles, Morro Bay, Hearst Castle...sounds like a good itinerary.

My first suggestion of I-5 was based on time only. Not very scenic.

J_Correa

Since this will be wintertime, I would be inclined to fly directly into SF.

The quickest way from LA to SF is via I5, which is a typical interstate without much to see or do along the way. It's a very boring drive most of the year, and can be dangerous during the wintertime. High rates of speed combined with rain or valley fog can make for a very stressful trip.

Unless the savings were significant, I would definitely fly into one city and out from the other.

curmudgeon

One more thought is to spend a day or so in Yosemite on the way up. That way you get some value out of the northbound trip, and then can return along the coast. Yosemite in winter is still fun, though the higher elevation roads are closed. Or maybe go up to Lake Tahoe for some skiing and scenery.

I've found AW to be fine as an airline. They don't tend to include meal service (though they used to have a cart of box lunches at the gate for you). Another alternative might be Southwest; they fly to one of the smaller airports in the Boston area (Manchester?, Providence?), and might make a viable (though not non-stop) flight choice.

LA to San Jose or San Francisco is usually a fairly cheap flight. The fastest driving route is up I5, fairly boring but fast moving (should be 7 hours or less if you don't hit peak traffic times). I'd call the choice somewhat of a tossup, but it depends on your driving boredom threshold.

janis

Since you can usually get really cheap one-way fares from the LA area (not just LAX - there is Long beach and Burbank too) into the Bay area I would probably save the free tickets. You coud do the R-T to LAX and then fly up to Oakland, San Jose or SFO. It would save you a full day's drive. And then you can drive down the coast back to LA after visiting SF.

If convenience is more important than final cost, then do the Delta open jaw thing - but I'd probably go for saving the money, and also saving the extra drive.

SAB

There is an article in the AAA magazine for California, VIA, which compares flying and driving betwen LA and SF which you might find useful.
http://www.viamagazine.com/top_stori...or_drive03.asp

vivi

Southwest Airlines has cheap fares but they do not fly into SFO. If you're arriving at LAX at a decent hour, you could claim your bags and immediatley check them in at Southwest (can be an ordeal) and fly into Oakland. Then rent a car (Hertz, for one, does not have a drop charge for one way rentals.)

Juldie

Thanks everyone. I haven't yet decided on flights - I actually let my paying Delta reservations drop at midnight because $573.00 was just tooo expensive.

I don't think my husband can be convinced to skip SF. We were both there last in the late 70's during a college vacation and we both loved the city and I think he is pretty set on out sons seeing the city. I do agree though that is makes a lot of sense to just concentrate on southern CA. There is such a strong negative voice on Fodors about SF. I don't know who to believe.

janis

Juldie - that is the problem with sincere posters being misled by a VERY weird Fodors stalker. Treck is a trouble maker who has posted under at least 15 different aliases. Currently he is using Treck, Lake and Guarto. He re-posts identical garbage over and over and eventually attacks other Fodorites. Fodors deletes him every time they are made aware of him, but in the meantime he conducts a personal anti-San Francisco guerilla war. If you read all the answers on your thread - only Treck has said you should not go to SF. If you want to see San Francisco - DO IT and please ignore Treck.

rjw_lgb_ca

"Strong negative voice on Fodors about SF"-- from whom? There are a couple of people who point out that the weather there might be cool and rainy, plus certain gadflies who post misleading messages about the dangers of San Francisco and the endless touristic delights of San José (a bit of a stretch). Pretty much everyone else says that San Francisco is well worth a visit, safe and beautiful and diverse and fun. The weather in New York City and Chicago is often very inhospitable-- and you don't hear people badmouthing them and asserting that they're not worth visiting.

Having said that, you would be better off doing the southern CA thing in winter (and even then the weather can be iffy) and doing northern CA in late summer/early autumn, if you're going to let weather dictate your travel. No telling what kind of weather you'll find down here in southern CA-- although day before yesterday, it hit 100 in my hometown of Long Beach, so....

14VK8SHN

Janis what makes me mad is MY post gets gestapoed by Fodors only because I mention by name I guess that LAKE gives MISLEADING info.

janis

yeah - happens to too. If Fodors doesn't know how to stop this jerk they will lose many of their legitimate posters. Lake/Treck/Guarto and all of his previous aliases are just too much bother.

Sharon

I just want to add that the drive from LA up to SF in the winter can be treacherous. Foggy and quite a few accidents. I couldn't believe the recommendation from AAA to drive. I live here in No.Calif. and you couldn't pay me to do that drive. Even with the hassles with flying, you are better off driving, in my opinion.

Sharon

Jeez, I must be tired. I meant to say "better off flying."