Hi guys
Me and my wife are planing a three week road tour (during summer holiday in August) in California and down to Baja.
We accept any suggestions about what TO DO and NOT TO MISS ?
What do you think about extending our tour down to Baja California?
Thanks for your help
Luca (from MONZA....you know Formula 1?)

if you get yourself a rental car, you are most likely not allowed to take it into Mexico anf thus Baja would be out.

Yes - the rental car issue a problem with taking cars into Mexico. You might consider flying from LA or SD to Los Cabos or something though.

In California itself, you've got 3 weeks, so you will be able to see a lot.

I would include a drive up or down the coast, at least between SF and LA - this will take you through the Big Sur coast, which is spectacular, and also Santa Cruz and Monterey. You can go north from SF as well - there are a lot of old-growth redwoods along the north coast that are very much worth seeing. You can see a lot of redwood groves further south near SF and Santa Cruz as well - these are mostly 2nd growth forests.

Then there are the sierra nevada mountains - national parks like Yosemite, Sequoia, and Lassen are great. Yosemite valley will be very crowded, but since you will be here in the summer time you can head up to the high country, which is less crowded. Lake Tahoe is in the Sierras and is absolutely beautiful. There are plenty of other less known areas in the sierras as well.

For cities, San Francisco would be at the top of my list, followed by San Diego and then LA. All are definitely worth visiting. Sacramento is the state capitol and has some interesting things - you might make it a stop over and spend a day there.

There is the gold country - all along Hwy 49 there are plenty of historic sites and small towns.

I would stay away from the deserts and not spend a lot of time in the central valley because of the heat. You will probably end up crossing the central valley a couple times, and the miles and miles of farmland is interesting for the fact that it is such a large expanse, but driving through is enough

So that is my brain storm for right now. Oh - forgot the wine country Just north of SF is the Napa and Sonoma Valleys. There are also wine growing regions along Hwy 49 and down south around Paso Robles in the Santa Ynez valley.

Thanks J_Correa for you brain storming.
Following your suggestions and my ideas of this last weekend, here is my general plan:

3 days in CISCO
Rent a car
Napa and Sonoma (1 day)
Yosemite and Sequoia Parks (2 days)
Go back to the coast to Monterey (1 day)and driving down to Santa Barbara (2 days + 1 in Santa)
LA (2 days)
San Diego (2 days)

Something to add?
Somewhere to stay more?

Thanks
Luca

Where's Cisco? I live here in California, but I've never heard of Cisco.

I think it's San FranCISCO.

Barbara,

Cisco Systems listed on NASDAQ

http://investor.cisco.com/phoenix.zh...rol-stockQuote

A proprosito, Luca-- Noi americani diciamo "Frisco." That is, if we're not from San Francisco. People who actually live in or near Frisco call it "The City".

Luca, I think your itinerary sounds pretty good. I would probably skip the Baja/Mexico and divide up the extra week by adding days to the places you already mention, especially San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Luca, you can go down to Baja another way, without a car. While you are in San Diego you can go on a bus tour that picks you up at your hotel. They have all day tours to Ensenada, Mexico and also a tour in which you can spend the night in Ensenada and travel back to San Diego with the tour company the next day. The overnight hotel in Ensenada is provided by the tour company.

With only 2 days for Yosemite and Sequoia, I would choose one or the other because in trying to do both you will spend tons of time in the car and not much time in either park. Even if you aren't serious hikers, both parks are best seen if you take the time to wander around a bit rather than just driving through. Also, don't underestimate the time it takes to drive theses distances. Sonoma to Yosemite Valley is about 4 1/2 hours, and Yosemite Valley to Grant Grove (the first part of Sequoia and Kings Canyon parks that you come to is another 4 hours or so.

HI..
Being Italian and living in San Diego, I have some advice for you...
3 weeks in California with you and your wife is going to be a blast!
Do you have all your hotel reservations in place? August will be perfect weather and I like your trip.. you are going to love Napa...Love Silver Oak, Rombauer and Joseph Phelps.
San Francisco is so wonderful!! Driving down 101 to Santa Barbara.. keep driving when you hit LA.. and drive down 101 from Newport Beach to SD/Oceanside and make sure you go to La Jolla which is stunning!!
No rental car allowed across the border but I found a tour for you for $69 pp that goes down to the famous Lobster houses called Puerto Neuvo and have fresh caught lobster with beans and rice and flour tortillas and lots of mexican beer...outstanding... about 2 hours from SD and you go shopping in Rosarito Beach.
http://www.sandiego.org/event/Visitors/345
You are going to love California!!

Have a blast and let us know how your trip went...

Hello Luca--I hope you enjoy California as much as we love Italy. If I may comment on your plans---I think you need more time in Napa/Sonoma---beautiful vineyards, great food. And the coast of Mendocino is a "not to miss" area. Also in Yosemite you should spend more time---and you will need to make reservations very soon if you want to stay in Yosemite Valley. It is such a beautiful place, you want to stay IN the valley if you possibly can.

The drive down the coast, past Big Sur to Morro Bay, (Highway 1) is also very beautiful and very different from the coastal drives in Italy. It is much less developed once you leave Monterey, so you will also need to make reservations if you want to stay along the way.

If you truly want to see Baja California, J_Correa has the best idea---fly from San Diego or LA to Los Cabos or another place in the southern part. It is difficult driving in Mexico, and the area close to the border is not a nice as further south.