Richard

My wife and I are trying to plan a trip and getting confused! We arrive in LA on June 6 and need to be back there June 13th. Inbetween we'd like to drive up to SF, staying in Big Sur on the way.

We'd then like to see SF for a few days, on to Yosemite and then back to LA.

My question is, have we got time for this? (We had even thought of Las Vegas too, but I guess that's too much!) Also, can we make it a round trip so we don't take the same route twice?

All help much appreciated.

Richard, London, UK

Ross

Hi Richard!!!

You can rent a car, drive up to San Francisco, stopping along the way in Big Sur, drop off the car in SF, and fly back to LA. You can olso do the trip in reverse order. You can purchase inexpensive one-way fares on Southwest Airlines on the web for under $50 between LAX and Oakland Airport, one of SF's major airports. I think I just paid $47.50 each way last week. This woul cut out half of the driving, save you time,and alow you to see much more during your stay in California.

Have Fun!!!

Ross.

rob

......did the same trip a few years ago....except for yosemite which is a seperate trip IMO. we flew into LAX, drove up the pacific coast hwy to san luis obispo (sp?) for 1 night; continued up the PCH to carmel for 2 nights; PCH to san fran for 2 or 3 nights; drove down to LA on interstate (I-5 i think...took about 6 hours) for 2 nights.

don't short-change big sur coastline which was the highlight of the trip for me.

we went to yosemite a few years later.....very nice, but requires at least 2 full days IMO....and its a long drive from SF.

gail

Great ideas! Make sure to check the one-way drop off charge though.Thrifty was quoting 200.00 plus last week. Wouldn't want to lose the savings in drop-off costs.

kamq

I'm afraid I think Yosemite and certainly Las Vegas are out of the question! Renting one way and flying back is a great idea. I certainly wouldn't recommend you drive back on I 5---it's inland, hot, dusty, smelly in parts and loaded with huge trucks. Note that if you plan to fly back, Southwest is the best value and they have just recently moved out of SFO and only fly from Oakland or San Jose now.(that actually works much better) You could also check into the Amtrak CoastStarlight train which would get you up along the coast to SF--part of the route is through Vandenburg AF Base, which is inaccessible by private car. You can get on and off the train wherever you wish, so could get off in San Luis Obispo, drive up through Big Sur and then return the car in SLO and continue up on Amtrak to SF. Return then would be on SWA. Please realize that it's about 500 miles between the two cities and roads are often slow because of traffic, tourists and just geography, making them two lanes. The 98 miles between Cambria and Carmel (through Big Sur) will take 3-4 hours! You can do this as a circle by taking 101 back south to SLO if you've just rented the car for an overnight. I actually did this with a houseguest from back East--we got off the train in SLO in the afternoon, spent the night in SLO, drove over to Cambria and up the coast the next day and back to Cambria for an overnight and then returned the car in SLO in time to get the train at about 3:30 pm as I recall, but check the schedule. Good luck and plan to return to California!

susan

YOU HAVE EIGHT DAYS! Yes of course you can do this trip to San Francisco, Big Sur, and Yosemite! It takes seven hours to get from LAX to Big Sur along the Pacific Coast Highway. No longer than that. Stay there for a couple of days, drive up to San Francisco (no more than three hours). Stay there for a couple of days. From San Francisco to Yosemite, the drive is three hours going east on the 120. Stay in the walk-in campground for a couple of days. On the way back, drive the 5 freeway back to LA in no longer than six hours. I have done this many times. You have time to do all of it AND enjoy it. Have fun!

Caitlin

I think Susan is just a bit misleading. First, if you're driving up the coast, you may want to stop in San Simeon to see the Hearst Castle. Seond, while you can drive from Big Sur to SF in three hours *if trafficis light* (which I can almost guarantee you it won't be), if you're really trying to see the best of the region, you'll probably want to stop in Carmel and possibly also Monterey if you'd like to see the aquarium (worth a few hours IMO). Also, Yosemite is four hours from SF, not three. And you don't have eight full days; presumably, you will stay overnight in LA the first night to overcome jet lag, etc. (especially if you'ere flying straight from the UK). You could drive up to Cambria the first day, see Hearst Castle, and stay overnight there (essentially at the south end of Big Sur). Then spend a day exploring the Big Sur coast and stay in Carmel or Pacific Grove. Next day, explore Carmel and Monterey as you wish and drive to SF. Park the car while you're there and take public transit in the city. I also would have to say that it would be really hard to fit Yosemite in. I'd spend some time in SF and do a day trip outside the city to the north--Pt. Reyes Nat'l Seashore, Muir Woods, or Healdsburg-area wineries, if wine-tasting interests you. Flying back to LA is a good idea, but if the one-way drop-off cost is prohibitive, I agree that you should do a fast drive down 5; just know that it's extremely monotonous and boring, so make sure you've got the music up loud and can keep each other awake! Oh, and you'd best settle on an itinerary and make hotel reservations ASAP!

kam

Richard, in making the suggestions I did, I assumed you would want to stop along the way as Caitlin does. Susan's itinerary is possible, but doesn't allow for any time to stop and see things. And, I've never known it to take 3 hours from SF to Yosemite unless you're flying on the highway. Personally, I wouldn't want to fly from London to L.A. and immediately jump in a rental car and drive up to Big Sur! (most flights I know of get in about 4-6 pm) But, I hope by all these suggestions, you've got some of the parameters in place. Hopefully, you'll find a rental agency that doesn't charge a drop off rate.

lucy

We recently did a one way rental with Avis. There was no extra charge.
While you can do some heavy and fast travelling, if you are from the UK, I assume that our roads will be unfamiliar and you'll be driving on the "wrong" side of the road. Americans, and Californians in particular, think nothing of commuting 100 miles to work or to have dinner and a show. I'd plan a leisurely 3 day trip up the coast route, stopping at any of the above mentioned places, and then enjoy San Francisco for 3 days. After Windsor and Blenheim Palace, you may not be as impressed with Hearst's castle (San Simeon) as americans are, and that is a real time consuming trip, due to crowds and ticket times. Ventana Inn in Big Sur is a fabulous place to stay. When you've seen enough natural beauty and SF style, take a quick flight for one night in Las Vegas. Vegas is easy...flights, cabs, hotels are designed for gamblers in a hurry, and it is a fun town that you won't find anywhere else. from there fly directly back to LAX. You'll enjoy it a lot more than a screaming road trip. Have fun, and don't worry...you can't see it all, but whatever you see will be interesting!

Barbara

Topping for Richard.

Andy

I agre with those who say don't try to pack too much in.

I'm from the UK and spent 2 weeks driving fairly leisurely from SF to San Diego although the SF to LA bit was the longest.

It was such a great journey down PCH1 that we spent far more time doing it than we thought. There were just so many places that took our eye and our time, all of them mentioned here. We're glad we took our time and stayed in Monterey, Cambria, Carmel amongst other places and saw Cannery Row/aquarium, Heart Castle, 17 mile drive etc. Our leisurely schedule allowed us to stop off many times to watch the whale migration and the hundreds of seals at various points along the way, plus we had the benefit of some very relaxing lunch breaks.

Don't spoil it by trying to pack too much in!