Portland, OR to L.A. vs. a stop in Vancouver
 

Hello Friends,

This July my 19 yr old daughter and I are planning a trip to Portland, OR (business for me) and afterwards leisure flying possibly to Vancouver and from there to California--ending in Los Angeles. We will have about 8 days for traveling. To keep costs down, would it be advisable to skip Vancover and drive to CA from Portland? Would it be better to drive from Portland, OR to California of fly? I like the idea of seeing the coast and hot spots along the way. If so, what are my options as far as driving routes and must see things between OR and CA and places to stay along the way? I'm really not fond of car rides that are longer than 5 or 6 hours. Your help is appreciated. Thank you.

Jerseygurl

If you don't want to do more than 5-6 hours in the car each day, that will take almost 4 days from Portland to Los Angeles even going the most direct route along the freeways (it's 960 miles approximately).

How about flying Portland to San Francisco? then renting a car and driving to LA from there (a much more reasonable 8-10 hours of incredible scenery along the pacific coast highway).

Assuming you mean Vancouver BC Canada (not Vancouver WA) that's a good 6 hour drive north, the eact opposite direction of going to LA!

Even taking the train from Portland to L.A. (non-stop) will take well over 24 hours. Driving several days, and flying lesss than 3 hours.

I would definately fly from Portland to San Francisco as Suze has suggested then renting a car and driving down the coast (you'll get to see Monterey, San Luis Oblispo, Santa Barbara, etc.) It's a lovely drive and you'll get a nice feel for the coastal route of Calilfornia, which is well worth it.

The drive down the freeway (I've done it Seattle to Los Angeles a couple times) is just not all that scenic from the road. While there is some beautiful country, you don't really see it from the highway. To do a scenic coastal route, all the way Portland to LA, I'd stay you'd need more like a couple weeks or more.

Vancouver, BC is definitely a great spot, but as suze says, it is in the opposite direction of LA. However, if you take the advice of others and decide to fly to California, then the stop in Vancouver might make more sense than if you were driving. If you are interested in doing this, I would check prices on a multi-leg ticket (PDX-Vancouver-SFO). Sometimes the multi-leg trips are not that much more than a single-destination round-trip.

Portland to LA via the coast at six or fewer road hours per day is not hard at all, in fact it's pretty ideal in my book.

First day, out to the coast. Start by going to Cannon Beach, end up that night around Yachats or Newport on the central coast. Maybe 5 hours behind the wheel tops.

Second day, stay on the coast and stop around Gold Beach. That will give you ample time to explore some of the beautiful state parks along the coast, fool around in the Oregon dunes, etc. Maybe 3 1/2 hours with wheels turning.

Third day, cruise through the Redwoods, stopping at several of the main groves, and end up in Ferndale CA (south of Eureka.) Again, ~3 hours not counting stops, of which there will be umpteen.

Fourth day, Ferndale to SF, around 4 1/2 hours on 101. Leave early to avoid afternoon traffic at the Golden Gate.

From SF to LA, you can make it an easy two days, first day SF to San Simeon on the central coast (around 3 1/2 - 4 hours) - don't forget to see the Hearst Castle, then the last day another 4 hours from San Simeon to, say, Santa Monica or Malibu in the LA area.

This is a very leisurely pace through some of the best scenery available in North America.

As far as cost is concerned, the car rental, even with a one-way drop fee, ought to be about the same as two plane tickets; however lodging and food will be cheaper on the road than they would be in LA or SF for the same number of nights, so I'd probably call it a push overall. Of course you're swapping five or six days of city time for the same number of days of country time, so that's a question of priorities for you to judge.

I'm not against Gardyloo's plan, I (obviously) didn't realize those distances could be done with such short driving days. I've only done it with a 2-day blitz straight down the highways. My error above!

Gardyloo has given you an excellent itinerary. The drive from Portland to Los Angeles on Highway 101 and Highway 1 is very scenic and there is a great deal to see along the way.

Places we like to stop include Cannon Beach, Newport, Yachats, Bandon, Brookings, Garberville, Sonoma, Healsburg, San Francisco, Cambria, and Pismo Beach.

The distance following this routing is 1,225 miles and 26 hours behind the wheel, which works out to less than 4 hours a day for seven days.

HTTY