Thanks for all the info people have provided in responses to my thread “Driving from San Francisco to LA”.

Based on the valuable info provided we have come up with the following itinerary, and would very much appreciate any comments, must sees, pros & cons of hotels & locations, etc. etc.

It is clear that two weeks is hardly enough time, so inevitably there have had to be some compromises. We intend to travel in July, and will be picking up an SUV on day 4 for a trip to Muir Woods to drive over the GG bridge and see the redwoods. We will then have the vehicle for the rest of the trip. Would love to have hired a convertible ( I drive a soft top BMW at home) but realistically, we would never get all our luggage in it. How easy and how expensive will it be to park around LA, Malibu, Long Beach, Santa Monica, Hollywood etc?

Friday Day 1 SF Canancellor Hotel, Union Square
Saturday Day 2 SF Canancellor Hotel, Union Square
Sunday Day 3 SF Canancellor Hotel, Union Square
Monday Day 4 SF Canancellor Hotel, Union Square
Tuesday Day 5 Monteray - Hotel Suggestions please
Wednesday Day 6 Yosemite Yosemite View Lodge or Yosemite Lodge
Thursday Day 7 Yosemite Yosemite View Lodge or Yosemite Lodge
Friday Day 8 Carmel Best Western Carmel Mission
Saturday Day 9 SLO Spyglass Inn
Sunday Day 10 Santa Barbara Best Western Encina Lodge & Suites
Monday Day 11 LA Best Western Hollywood Hills Hotel
Tuesday Day 12 LA Best Western Hollywood Hills Hotel
Wednesday Day 13 LA Best Western Hollywood Hills Hotel
Thursday Day 14 LA Best Western Hollywood Hills Hotel
Friday Day 15 LA Best Western Hollywood Hills Hotel
Saturday Day 16 Back to UK


Thanks in advance

Peter
UK

Looks like a pretty good itinerary. One thing doesn't quite make sense to me though. You are going from SF to Monterey, then to Yosemite, then to Carmel, which is basically next to Monterey, so you will do some back tracking. Logistically, it would make more sense to head straight from SF to Yosemite, and then to the Monterey area.

Canancellor hotel? Or Chancellor?

Sorry if you meant it as a joke and I didn't get it.

The itinerary isn't bad (however, I agree with J_Correa-- avoid backtracking), except maybe for the hotel/location choice in the LA area. I'm not a fan of hotels just off of freeways, and that Best Western is right north of the Hollywood Freeway. It's central, but you're quite far from the coast (door-to-door to my office in Santa Monica: 28 km, or 17 miles). It's a basic motel with a good coffee shop. You're a healthy walk to anything of interest in Hollywood (a thorough Hollywood tour only fills one day-- studio tours are another few hours), and a drive to everywhere else. Did you look at the Best Western Sunset Plaza in West Hollywood-- a much more fun location? Or the BW Ocean View in Santa Monica-- right by the Santa Monica Pier? Or any number of other hotels in somewhat more desirable locations. What's your lodging budget?

Parking depends on the city. Street parking is metered in downtown areas, while residential areas may have permit-only side streets (and you WILL be ticketed, so watch out for signs!)-- or free parking. If you're going to a beach, just pay for a space in a public parking lot. You'll be glad you did.

I would do two nights in Monterey or Carmel not one night in each. Then down to SLO after Yosemite. I would take 2 nights in Santa Barbara because I love to relax there, but there is more fun stuff to do around LA I suppose. I don't care for the Hollywood Hills location especially for 5 nights...Holiday Inn on Highland or Best Western Hollywood Plaza are better because you can at least walk to attractions/theatres and the subway to Universal or downtown. Days Inn Sunset Blvd is also better. And with the hot summer weather you might want to me more on the west side of L.A. at that time of year, maybe the Bayview Hotel in Santa Monica would fit your budget, or the Days Inn near Santa Monica.

And I think you would prefer something closer to the ocean in a beach town like Santa Barbara. Some of these hotels might fall in your price range: Days Inn; Tropicana Inn; The Eagle Inn; The Mason Beach Inn.

This is most helpfull, as nothing is yet booked there is no problem in changing things around, and the hotel in Santa Barbara is already going to be altered.

LA is proving to be the most difficult place to decide where to stay. As what we wish to see (all the touristy things except Disney) covers such a wide area, and never having visited there before, it is so difficult to decide where to be based. Additional thoughts and suggestions on this aspect would be appreciated.

Peter
UK

The Best Western Beach Resort Monterey is a good place to stay just outside Monteray. Its right on the beach and you can walk along the beach into Monterey (great at sunset) in about 20 mins. We are doing a similar trip in August, but we have stopped at the above hotel before and stopping there again this year.
Hope you have a great time

Hi. A friend and I just did a similar SF to LA itinerary in the spring, with the exception on Yosemite and the Redwoods. I honestly didn't find the Monterey/ Carmel are to be worth more than a few hours. We did 17 mile drive and got some great scenic photos, but frankly thought a drive through the area is sufficient unless you want to visit the aquarium or something more family oriented. We stopped for lunch in Carmel, but headed on down to San Luis Obispo for dinner, which gave us more time to visit wineries in Santa Barbara the next day. Just a thought.