LAX or SFO?
 

Hi everyone. Would like to plan a trip to California from Aug 11 - Aug 18..one week. While I would love to try and explore all that CA has to offer, I know I won't have enough time. I'm debating whether to do Los Angeles - San Diego - Palm Springs OR San Francisco -Yosemite - Monterey. Any suggestions?? This would be my first trip to CA and I am not sure which of the above two itineraries would be better. Also, not sure if Monterey OR Palm Springs should even be included considering I'll only be there one week. If you have any suggestions, please let me know. THANK YOU!

Hi Michelle:

A couple of things for you to consider:

Palm Springs in August will be VERY HOT!

Yosemite is a bit far for a one week trip to Northern California.

What are your interests? Will you have kids? Parents? along. What are the ages of the people travelling? Suggestions on where to go will depend on the mix in your family and the ages. E.g., if kids, then Southern California. If parents, then Northern California.

Please give us a few more details and we can help you more! :)

hmmm, tough call. i'm an East Coaster planning my first Cali trip too. we're flying into LAX and out of SFO, but we'll be shortchanging ourselves a bit on this trip. my itinerary is in another post if you click my name or this link:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...=8&start=0
that will show you one way to try to see both, but i'll admit you're smarter for trying to choose one or the other.

good luck and have fun!

Hello...nope, no kids or parents on this trip. Just me and my boyfriend..ages 30 and 35. While he's more interested in city sights, I am much more interested in nature sights :) How far is Yosemite from San Francisco? Perhaps I can either do San Francisco and Yosemite? OR Los Angeles and San Diego? Not sure of distances? or if I'm planning this too late. What are the chances of me being able to book anything in/near Yosemite? Thanks again :)

Some practicalities here -- as already mentioned Palm Springs and anywhere else in the desert will be MUCH TOO HOT for an Aug visit so you can safely delete that bit.

And it is MUCH too late to be looking for accomodation in/near Yosemite for mid Aug.

So now your plans are very simplified -- San Diego/LA or SF/the coast/Monterey.

A week is plenty of time to do either of those. But if you decide to do SF/Carmel/Monterey/Big Sur - you need to book your room as soon as possible.

Oh - to clarify - you need to book right away if you want to stay in Carmel or Big Sur

Yosemite is about 4 hours from SF if you don't hit traffic. As others have said though, August is the high season in Yosemite, so getting lodging in or close to the park would be extremely difficult. Really the only way would be if you are lucky enough to catch a cancellation.

SF and Monterey is a good choice for a week's vacation. You could do a few days in each. They are only a couple hours apart, but there is definitely a lot to see in between, so you could make a day of the trip between the two areas.

Just a note to tlf18: It's California, not "Cali". Calling California "Cali" is like calling New York "Yorkie". It's also San Francisco not"Frisco". LA doesn't care as long as it doesn't include the Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles.

thanks Curious. it's called quick abbreviating when posting on an internet message board.
hope you can get over it sometime soon...

Not to pile on tlf18 -- but heck, why not :)

As has already been noted on other threads, they are from the East Coast, and have not taken their trip yet. Seldom a great idea to take itinerary advice from folks who have never been to where they are recommending.

yea, i didn't really make any recommendations, just was offering Michele a glimpse at my itinerary, and even acknowledged that it's probably far from the best plan.

anyone else wanna nitpick me over some random bullshit?

If you wanted to go in the ocean, only So. California has water temps warm enough. With only a week, though, I'd suggest San Francisco; it is a compact city and easy to get around. Then you'd have time for Monterey/Carmel, which is close and very scenic area and coastline. That will easily occupy a week. As others have said, Yosemite is a haul and jam-packed. In S.F., if you stay in the Union Square area, you can walk, streetcar, or cable car to nearly everything. In Carmel, a very charming and romantic B&B is Vagabond's House, from which you can walk the town and to the beach, which is spectacular (just seldom swimmable).
And in Carmel, a wonderful, romantic restaurant is Casanova. Carmel is one of the most attractive unspoiled small towns anywhere. Former artists' colony, no high rises, houses aren't even numbered, no McDonalds even allowed.

tlf18, with all due respect, you need to know the lingo when planning a trip. Please do not insult the locals by trying to be cute and abbreviate city names. If you were going to Baghdad would you call it Baggie?

Not sure if the traffic in the SFO area is as bad in the LAX area, but after just spending 2 weeks in the LA area, 10 days of which were planned, the other 4 days spent trying to just get a flight out of LAX. (Spent all day Wenesday, Wednesday night at LAX & then Thursday at Orange County airport trying to get a flight out. Gave up on Friday to just relax, & finally got a flight out of LAX on Saturday. The security line at terminal #1 looked very long when we got there, but suprisingly only took 1/2 hour to get thru.) If traffic is a deciding factor my want to look more towards the SFO area. The traffic just seams to get more congested each time I go to LA.

By the way, for some real culture with some added spice, try vacationing in Detroit. Sorry, that'd be Detti for tlf18....

great point, rjp99. my mistake really.

speaking of vactioning in Baghdad, i hear Detroit is nice this time of year!

tfl18- you're new around here, aren't you? posting little gems like: <anyone else wanna nitpick me over some random bullshit?> is not the way you want to be remembered if you ever do seek help here.

And it's true, people don't call California "Cali" or San Francisco "Frisco"... standard abbreviations like CA or SF or LA are what is typical on the net.

Your "East Coast" attitude is showing!

For Michele, I'd probably chose northern California since you'll be traveling in August (and skip Yosemite) but stay along the coast or maybe add Napa Valley.

If you really want to do southern California then skip the desert (Palm Springs) and again stick to the coast (i.e. San Diego, Los Angeles, maybe Santa Barbara).

People often underestimate what a BIG state California is, and one week is a short time, especially if you spend too much of it driving in your car (a worthy passtime in the state, don't get me wrong -LOL).

hi Suze, and thanks for the tip. i was only repsonding to some CA people who felt compelled to nit-pick me on stuff that doesn't matter and has nothing to do with Michele's thread. the irony is that caught that un-called-for flack from the supposedly more laid back west coast folks who allegedly dont have attitudes.

personally, i dont care, i'm just tryin to have a little fun, and if people gimme a little crap, that's okay, just be prepared for me to throw some back.

it's all in good fun, i hope. i just thought it was odd to be taken to task for my choice of abbreviations on an internet message board!

and your "east coast attitude" comment was a hasty generalization, and just as bad as any of my snide remarks.

can we all hug and sing Koom-ba Ya now?

If you want city and nature, San Francisco should be your goal. Yosemite is a destination in itself, so I'd not plan on going there, but there's plenty of nature just outside of San Francisco. Muir Woods and Mount Tam are just over the Golden Gate, and to the south there's tons of parks along the coast and up in the hills among redwoods (mostly second growth, not as big as at Muir Woods, but still pretty tall). There's also Point Reyes, and the Russian River valley, all easy day trips from SF with lots to see on the way (unlike the trip to Yosemite, which has nothing to see until you get to the park itself, just about). Point Lobos is just south of Carmel, a long day trip but worth seeing if you do go to Monterey or Carmel for a day or two.

If you only have a week and want both city and nature, San Francisco with trips (by car) to Mount Tam and/or south along either highway One (by the ocean) or Hwy 35 (along the ridgetops high above, lots of trees and some great views of bay and ocean). But you shouldn't plan on ocean swimming or lying on the beach. Chilly fog is common along the N. Calif. coast. If it's just too foggy for words, you could head inland to Mt. Diablo, the highest peak in the coast ranges around the SF Bay.

Oh, and you will be fined twenty-five dollars if you utter the word "Frisco" within the city limits. By order of the Emperor:

"Whoever after due and proper warning shall be heard to utter the abominable word 'Frisco,' which has no linguistic or other warrant, shall be deemed guilty of a High Misdemeanor."

tlf- Naw, my 'east coast attitude' crack was not even an insult. having lived on & loved both coasts I have experience & while it is somewhat of a generalization, people do have different styles.

I don't think it was about internet abbreviations but more they were worried you'd arrive and say the word "Cali" out loud and get laughed at ;-)

I also don't think that's how ya spell that campfire song name either but...

tlf18: My point is and was simply that you have NEVER been to California and yet insist on giving advice on what/how to see it. You would have a bit more credibility if you at least waited until you had actually been here - OK.

It would be like me giving advice about road trips in Alaska. Never been there and don't have a clue. Well - you don't have a clue about what is and isn't possible out here.

On another thread after 15 plus Californians tried to explain that the OP's plan was basically insane/impossible, you said - no, here is how we are going to do just what you want to do.

I didn't knock you because of any vocabulary "bullshit" (nice language BTW), but because you keep giving silly advice . . . . .

"Kum-bay-ya" like the old song "Come By Here"

cali is good enough for LL, it's good enough for me.....

Have fun in Cali and Frisco tlf18....

suze - fair enough. i never say "cali" outloud, and not sure why i even typed the abbreviation. and dont think i've used "frisco."

janis - first of all, go re-read my first post in this thread. i openly admit that my own plan isn't great, and even agree that michele is smart to be looking to chose one or the other. and, in the other thread you refer to, i said, "sorry i cant offer you much help, other than giving an example of one way to TRY to see most of it."

how does that qualify as "insisting on giving advice"?? as someone else pointed out, i am new here. so i was posting on other California threads, trying to be a member of the community and not just some stranger selfishly looking to come here and grab all the answers and leave. my reward for attempting to mix in with the fine people of this message board? having you knock me for giving "silly advice." sorry for sharing my itinerary. sorry for offering other visitors to California a mere mention of one person's attempt to see as much of California as we can in one week.

This is a travel site after all, perhaps you need to get some fresh air.

Hi, Michele!

To get back to your original question -

southern California really doesn't offer any "big city" adventures for your boy friend, whereas San Francisco is a great walking city for everyone.

You've gotten some good advice here - in-between all the crossfire between the East Coasters and West Coasters, or is that the easties and the westies? :) This sure is a lively forum!

I'd suggest Northern California as well. SF for your boyfriend - and for you. Lots of great dining and good sights to walk to: Coit Tower is quite a hike, and Lombard Street - the crookedest street in the world - can be another hilly adventure.

For nature, I'd suggest, as others before, a trip to Muir Woods. You can hike as little or as much in Muir Woods as you would like.

Then take another day to go down to Monterey/Carmel. Carmel is a charming little town, which will please your boyfriend's "city" urges. For yourself, don't miss Point Lobos - one of the most scenic spots in that whole area. Another hike as much or as little as you wish place. Just be sure the sun is shining when you go to gorgeous Point Lobos.

If you overnight in the Monterey/Pacific Grove/Carmel area, you can even go down to Big Sur and hike around any number of places there.

Back in San Francisco: take the ferry to Angel Island and hike up to Mount Livermore for a panoramic view of the entire Bay Area. Take the ferry back to Sausalito and wander around another charming small town. Then take the ferry back from Sausalito to San Francisco.

Have a great trip! :)