Hey, I have an extra vacation day and was thinking about booking a trip to San Francisco at the end of January. I was wondering if this was a good time to visit weather-wise, or if I should go to the more southern LA/ Long Beach area?

It rains more in San Francisco in winter than it does in southern CA. It's raining today. Of course, whether it will rain on your particular days is completely unknown.

It can be damp and gloomy. Or warmish (relatively speaking) and sunny. Temps generally in the '50's. Don't know where you're traveling from, but if it's Minnesota, you could probably wear a tank top in SF in winter -- you'd think it balmy!

At that time of year, LA/Long Beach is generally in the '60's temp wise, and it's considered the rainy season. We could be having a heat wave as well, with weather in the '80's.

With the weird weather we've had this year, it's hard to predict.

It really depends on what you want to do while you are in SF or in Long Beach. There are plenty of good indoor activities in SF if it rains during your trip.

I would head to San Diego, myself. Not sure what's in Long Beach to see/do, etc. I used to live in Long Beach and have a difficult time seeing it as a tourist destination.

We will be in SF for our 4th Annual Winter Vacation from 1/18 to 1/29. Don't go during that time, it is sure to rain

We had a great time last trip even though it rained most of the time.

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...-francisco.cfm

Thank you for all the feedback, Yeah I'll be traveling from Washington, DC and outside of Oregon I've never been to the west coast. Maybe I'll start in San Fran and work my way down. How long is the drive, because I hear it's around four hours.

4 hours?? From San Francisco to LA is more like 6 if you are on interstate [I5] and even longer if you take the scenic 1 route.

Yup, the fastest I've ever made it from my home just south of SFO to Hollywood is 5 hours 15 minutes.

I-5 at night or early a.m. --am I right sf?

Anyway OP you won't see much of CA coast on I-5. You could take 1 and spend a minimum of 2 days, but it could be iffy in January; mudslides can close parts of 1 in winter. As other have suggested, figure out what it is you want to do. If you are looking for the movie/TV CA beach experience, forget SF.

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As I recall, we left home at 8 a.m. and arrived at 1:15 p.m.. It was definitely a Saturday (and remember, I start out a few minutes farther south).

sf--I do recall making it from SF to West Hollywood one time in a bit over 5 hours, but that was in the wee hours of the morning and we were going very fast.