self-drive tour
 

<BR>4 years ago we made a self-drive tour in Florida and it was one of our best vacations.This summer in Septembre we plan to do it in California..Any tips welcome..<BR><BR>How many days do we need?Any hotels...<BR>Any restaurants....<BR><BR>Thanks everyone

you are way too vague here. you need to tell us what you are interested in seeing and who you will be traveling with. just a couple is a lot different from a family with kids.

just a couple...As I am living far from<BR>USA I'm not sure what to see <BR><BR>San Fr,Los Ang.,San Diego.,Las Vegas(?).,Yosemite..etcI.f possible to see everywhere..but we have 2 weeks time.<BR>In florida our favorites were Key West and Naples.We didn'like Miami very much<BR>and even Orlando...There was a moment in Key West I'll never forget,we were having drinks on the beach listening to 'wonderful tonight'watching the sunset...<BR>Is this info enough or '' waste of time'' to read

lets see, for a trip to CA i would recommend...<BR><BR>go to yosemite and sequoia national parks. i think yosemite is the best park here and sequoia is really interesting with the giant trees. as for big cities, i think you should go to san fran. and san diego for sure. you may not like los angeles too much, but some of the surrounding areas can be nice, like santa monica and orange county. i would also recommend going to napa valley, great place for a couple. when traveling from northern california to the southern part, don't take the I-5. take the 101 freeway which goes along the coast. its a longer trip but a lot prettier. there are also some nice cities to stop and see while traveling along the coast, like santa barbara....and you will want to stop in and see a couple of the missions. if you have never been here before and won't be back for a while, and its something you may like...spend a day at disneyland (that is if you didn't go to disneyworld in florida). and yes, i do recommend a trip out to vegas. its about a 4 hr drive from LA, but you will have a great time i am sure. i would say hit the national parks first, at least 2 days for yosemite and 1 or 2 for sequoia. then go to san fran. and spend a couple of days up there for the city and the surrounding area like napa. then give yourself 2 days to drive down to the LA area so you can stop along the way. otherwise its about a 6-7 hr straight drive. then spend a few days in the los angeles/orange county area. then go down to san diego, maybe 1 to 2 days there. then drive up to las vegas, maybe stopping in death valley on the way if you are interested. spend maybe 2 days in vegas and then fly home. that should fill up about 2 weeks.

Thanks for all information..<BR><BR>Do you think September is a good time?<BR>Where do we have to start from LA or SAn Fransisco?<BR>

In one week I visited Yosemite, Sequoia, KIngs CAnyon National Parks and Joshua Tree National MOnument. Since you have two weeks you could visit LA, San Diego and San Francisco and the parks mentioned above. I would start and end the trip in San Franciscom and would visit in this order: Yosemite, Sequoia/Kings CAnyon, Joshua Tree, San Diego. LA and back to SF. If you decide to include Las Vegas it could be SF, Yosemite, Death Valley. Las VEgas, San Diego, LA and SF.

you don't have to start from anywhere...but if you follow what i had laid out for you, then its best to fly into like sacramento to rent a car and go to the national parks to the south and then head out to the coast to san fran and the work your way south along the coast to LA and san diego. september should be nice. it will be cooling down a little, so it may be in the 70's. and you won't have to worry about rain because it will be too early still.

banu's idea isn't too bad, but i think you could give joshua tree a miss.

I think it would make more sense to start your trip in southern California(fly into Los Angeles or San Diego) and end it in northern California(flying out of San Jose(www.sjc.org) since it is not plaqued with the delays that San Francisco has). You should start in the southern most city of San Diego and from there go up to Los Angeles and from LA take 101 up to Santa Barbara. From there take the 101 north to highway 1. The Central Coast from Big Sur up to Monterey is spectacular. Along the way you should stop in San Simeon to tour Hearst Castle(www.hearst-castle.org). Be sure to make reservations for Hearst Castle. In Monterey(www.monterey.com) don't miss 17 Mile Drive, Monterey Bay Aquarium, and the many great seafood restaurants at Fisherman's Wharf. Carmel(www.carmelbythesea.com) is a very quaint town close to Monterey with lots of cafes and shops. From Monterey You could head north on highway 1 and 17 north into San Jose for a city atmosphere(www.sanjose.org). San Jose has many great restaurants, especially downtown, as well as museums and performing arts. Some of the more notable museums are the Tech Museum(www.thetech.org), the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum(www.rosicrucian.org), and the History Museums in Kelley Park(www.historysanjose.org). From there Yosemite(www.yosemitepark.com) is about a 5 hr. drive. Be sure to make reservations for Yosemite in advance. From Yosemite I would then visit the Napa/SF area. <BR><BR>I would plan on at least 2 weeks.