Leonora

My family of 3 hopes to tour CA. We'll most likely be flying from DC. We'll start in SF and drive to LA or vice versa--is there an advantage of starting one place over the other. We'll spend about 8 days. Please suggest itineraries, hotels, tips. I'd like to beat the $995 cost of the 9 day Caravan tour that includes Yosemite and some meals.

trippinkpj

What time of year is this? Actually, the 9 day Caravan tour may be a good deal. If you do this on your own and this is in Summer or Fall, try to do your coastal nights Sun - Thursday. Makes a big difference price wise. San Francisco and LA (if not in a beach town), should be okay on the weekends. I think I would avoid Fri and Sat nights in Yosemite/ adjacent towns.

lovelyliezl

I just want to let you know that I read there are a lot of brushfires/wildfires up in the bay area (Northern Cali) right now. I heard it is effecting the Monterey area... and Big Sur.. not sure where else. But, you should read on that before you go. Good luck with your trip

traveldawg

We live on the Monterey Peninsula. Smoke in the air, but no fire damage on the peninsula as yet.

If you are driving from SF to LA, or vice versa, consider that you will be on the coastal side of the beach route down HWY 1 if you go north to south. If you drive south to north your car will be on the inside lane. Just a consideration for good views.

I do not know if 8 days is really enough. You need about 3 or 4 to enjoy SF. You could then drive to the Monterey Peninsula and take about the same time in that area and go home. Trying to fit LA in on the same 8 day time slot is going to be a lot of driving.

BarbAnn

The price for the Caravan tour is at least $995 per person plus air. You can definately do the land portion on your own for less than $3000. Do you want to visit all the places that the Caravan tour visits? Eight days is REALLY fast to visit that much. You will spend most of your time driving.

I know from your other posts, that you want to go to the wine country. There is also a wonderful winery area in central California north of Santa Barabara. Do you have to visit LA or Yosemite? What is on you MUST DO list? Can you extend your stay a few days? What are your interests?

Let us know what your MUST DO list is and we can suggest itineraries. Once a draft itinerary is developed, we can suggest motels/hotels, restaurants, etc.

Shanghainese

The $995 price is only for shoulder season April and end of October, and it doesn't included taxes. The itinerary is very rushed with lots of time on the bus and no flexibility.

Leonora

We are now considering a change. Flying into Seattle to give aging MIL a chance to see her siblings then driving to SF.
I see that Seattle to SF is a 12 hour drive, so where would be a good place to stop in between and maybe spend a night?
I think with this itinerary, I would want to see wine country in between Seattle and SF, and then spend 3-4 days in SF?
Nobody is gung ho about Yosemite, so I guess that's out.

BarbAnn

Seattle to San Francisco via I-5/505/80 takes about 12 hours if you put the pedal to the metal. None of those Interstates go along the Oregon or California coast. Personally, if I flew to Seattle, I would do a week loop through part of Washington and Oregon ending in Portland. There is a lot to see in both states. My family spent 5 days going up the CA. and Oregon coast from Sacramento to Portland. There is a lot to see and do. Five days was a bit rushed.

Even travelling along I 5, Oregon deserves more time. The wine country of Oregon is the Willamette Valley...west and south of Portland. Near Grants Pass you can jet boat on the Rogue River.

Once you cross the border on I-5 into California, you pass by Lake Shasta (and Mt. Shasta) and then there is not much to see until you cruise into San Fransico about five hours later. The coastal route takes a LOT more time, but is so beautiful and you can see the Redwoods. You could drive I-5 to Grants Pass then 199 to 101 past the coast at Arcata/Eureka. If you want to see more coastline, take 1 to about Little River and then 126 to Hopland and back on 101. South of Hopland you start into the Napa/Sonoma/Mendocino wine country. You can take 101 all the way into San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge.

suz24

It takes us about 2 hours of drive time to get from SF Bay area to Portland by I-5, and then another 3 to Seattle, or more if we get to Seattle at rush hour.

If you do that route and are looking for a place to find a basic hotel on your way south, eugene or medford are good places to stop in Oregon, and either Red Bluff or Redding are workable in far northern California

One thing we did do on our way through that part of California was do a tour of Shasta Dam at the south end of Shasta Lake. It was pretty cool in a big industrial monolith kind of way (and this is coming froman environmentalist!) . My kids thought it was cool, too. The exit off I-5 is about 8 mi. north of Redding. Here is the link
http://www.shastalake.com/shastadam/

dmlove

It takes us about 2 hours of drive time to get from SF Bay area to Portland by I-5, and then another 3 to Seattle, or more if we get to Seattle at rush hour.


At 317 MPH? (It's actually about a 10 hour drive)