4 day trip between LA -> SF, Need your help!!! (need more input!)

[Zeze]

Coming April, GF and I are going to a friend's wedding in LA.

Then we rent a car, get out of LA and enjoy everything on the way to SF, leave from SF airport. I have a rough idea of what to do. Any MUST-SEE sights/to dos?

Day 1: Get out of LA, check out Malibu? I hear there are lots of beautiful wineries.

Day 2: ??? I heard great things about Monterey.

Day 3: ??? Arrive to SF, do SF stuff

Day 4: Do SF stuff, depart.

 

[uclaLabrat]

You guys might like solvang, or hearst castle, or just stopping by san luis obispo or pismo beach on the way up. Try to stay on PCH for most of the drive from santa barbara north if you can, it's a pretty awesome drive.

 

[Zeze]

You guys might like solvang, or hearst castle, or just stopping by san luis obispo or pismo beach on the way up. Try to stay on PCH for most of the drive from santa barbara north if you can, it's a pretty awesome drive.

These are awesome! Keep 'em coming. What you write here, I could be visiting it!

 

[Pliablemoose]

One of the best drives in the US IMHO, just stop randomly on the beaches, keep the GF happy by hitting Hearst Castle, that will kill a half or a full day.

 

[Markbnj]

You can't go wrong heading up 101 and peeling off onto 1 every chance you get. Upside: amazing views of some of the most dramatically beautiful coastline in the world. Downside: there's a zillion motorhomes, and my advice is don't try passing on 1. It's about a five hour drive from LA to San Jose on I-5, if I recall correctly, so if you want to fill more than one day you'll need to explore. Personally I like to head north out of L.A. on... 33 I think, through Ojai, and then head north through the Priest valley. Take that to 166 and then head over to 101, or take it all the way north to 198 and do the same. That route hits some gorgeous country and avoids the PCH north of LA.

 

[drebo]

Yeah, taking 1 from LA to SF will easily triple the length of time it takes to do it normally.

That said, it's a pretty highway. There are some neat places along the way. Solvang is a strange place, but definitely worth a visit to kill most of a day. Monterey Bay Aquarium is worth a visit, too. There's shopping in both places, and lots of beaches all up and down there. If you like the smell of rotting seaweed, you could stop at one of the Monterey beaches and see the kelp and otters. Can't really swim in these beaches, but it's interesting anyway.

In SF, you could see a show depending on what's playing. Fisherman's Warf is worth a visit during the day time.

 

[JS80]

Eww you're wasting a whole day traveling. Go to wedding, check out LA, then fly to SF, and enjoy SF. Or just stick to LA.

 

[Zeze]

Eww you're wasting a whole day traveling. Go to wedding, check out LA, then fly to SF, and enjoy SF. Or just stick to LA.

Being a NYC dweller, GF and I miss driving. And what better way than the perfectly beautiful coastlines of Cali?

 

[JS80]

Being a NYC dweller, GF and I miss driving. And what better way than the perfectly beautiful coastlines of Cali?

It's overrated. I promise you there is really nothing worthwhile in between LA and SF other than wine tasting (which requires a lot more than a drive through) or restaurants like French Laundry (which requires you to be a baller).

The car rental will cost you more than flights for both of you, with a high probability of you getting ticketed at a tourist speed trap. If you're into the shit our Korean dads made us experience when we were kids, then I guess you can do Hearst Castle or some other shit like that. But what you'll most likely experience is lots of traffic and regret.

 

[uclaLabrat]

Being a NYC dweller, GF and I miss driving. And what better way than the perfectly beautiful coastlines of Cali?

You'll never want to come back. The weather there is going to make even today in the city seem shitty. You'll be like "I can have this ALL the time? WTF is wrong with me?"

 

[Zeze]

It's overrated. I promise you there is really nothing worthwhile in between LA and SF other than wine tasting (which requires a lot more than a drive through) or restaurants like French Laundry (which requires you to be a baller).

The car rental will cost you more than flights for both of you, with a high probability of you getting ticketed at a tourist speed trap. If you're into the shit our Korean dads made us experience when we were kids, then I guess you can do Hearst Castle or some other shit like that. But what you'll most likely experience is lots of traffic and regret.

Thanks for the tip.

I have driven the PCH from LA -> SF before (mere 2 yrs ago) and it was fucking beautiful. There's no traffic there, just crazy ass beautiful winding roads.

Do that castle shit, GF loves wineries (not me), visit Monterey, then spend majority of the time in SF. That's good enough for us, unless there's more to be found between LA & SF.

 

[Craig234]

Hearst castle is a great spot, but since you mention wineries, the main area is 'wine country' towards Napa, and there is a actually a European style castle towards the top of napa valley with its own wine tasting that's good. There's also a 'Napa Valley Train' with an elegant ride in the valley and gourmet meal:

http://winetrain.com/

I'd say it's tricky to 'do' SF well - one tip, Golden Gate Park - it has a great science museum with a Planeterium/indoor rain forest/amazing aquarium; and another museum for Art that's one of the more visited in the US, the De Young. And it's a beautiful park as well.

Going north is great - Muir Woods and Sausilto are right across the Golden Gate with a bunch of nice 'small towns' and even better, perhaps, coastal views.

I don't recommend Fisherman's Warf, 'tourist trap', but there is the Ferry Building with dozens of gourmet shops that's nice and relatives I took loved it. For an idea, it has two stores just for oilve oil... also plenty of good food from Scharfenberger's chocolate to Gelato to cooking stores to a Farmer's market three mornings, on the water.

Of course there's too much gourmet dining to talk about, but places like Boulevard and One Market near the Ferry Building are great.

There's even a 'scenic 49 mile drive' that starts at City Hall if you just want to see a lot of neat places.

China Town is one of the biggest outside China, North Beach for Italian.

Not sure you would want to see a play when you have New York for that.

Just for a taste of California, pun intended, you might like to check out a Trader Joe's of dozens in California, unique food for good prices.

There's a Cirque Du Solei show that might still be going in April in San Jose called Totem.

 

[SSSnail]

Whatever you do, plan on driving up (or down) the 101 all the way up (or down) from LA > SF, or SF > LA. It's a trip that if given the opportunity, everyone should make once in their lifetimes. Bring camera.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Don't take the 5 up to SF. All you'll see is empty hills.

 

[Zeze]

There has to be more stuff between SF/LA besides Hearst Castle and Monterey. Anyone else?

 

[Pliablemoose]

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...Pacific_Coast_Highway_Route_1-California.html

http://www.pacific-coast-highway-travel.com/index.html

 

[skim milk]

There has to be more stuff between SF/LA besides Hearst Castle and Monterey. Anyone else?

Get breakfast at this place More Than Waffles.
I saw it on TV so I went and it was really damn good. At least get the waffles with all the fruits on it.

 

[Zeze]

Anything else? How about half-day hiking of sort?

 

[brianmanahan]

http://frenchlaundry.com/

holy crap

they charge 1500$ for some glasses of wine

and 270$ per person to eat

 

[MetalMat]

Louisiana?

 

[Drako]

Stop at Point Lobos for some hiking, then Carmel, then Monterey. Maybe do 17-mile drive and hit Pebble Beach for some golf if you want to spend some money

 

[DanFungus]

Beaches galore all up/down the coast. If you're going through San Luis Obispo on Thursday evening (6-9pm), they close down the main street for Farmer's Market with food, music, etc. Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. Paso Robles has a huge density of vineyards/wineries. There are sand dunes in Oceano (Pismo Beach) that you can drive out onto or rent ATVs at. You'll go from the 1 in LA to the 101 eventually (however you decide to leave LA), take the 101 up to Santa Barbara, then I'd recommend taking the 154 to Solvang like someone else mentioned. It is a weird, but fun place to spend an hour or two. There's a good fudge shop there too. You'll get back to the 101 again a little bit north and then reconnect with the 1 in San Luis Obispo. Santa Cruz is another quirky town, and they have a beach boardwalk with rides, an arcade, pool halls, etc. right next to the beach. /walloftext

 

[NutBucket]

It's overrated. I promise you there is really nothing worthwhile in between LA and SF other than wine tasting (which requires a lot more than a drive through) or restaurants like French Laundry (which requires you to be a baller).

The car rental will cost you more than flights for both of you, with a high probability of you getting ticketed at a tourist speed trap. If you're into the shit our Korean dads made us experience when we were kids, then I guess you can do Hearst Castle or some other shit like that. But what you'll most likely experience is lots of traffic and regret.

Damn, bitter much?

I'm happy spending the day driving Highway 1 because its so nice. The stuff along the way is just gravy. I will say Hearst Castle is nice but if you're on a limited schedule I'd probably skip it.

 

[davmat787]

Zeze, there is a Pea Soup Anderson's in Buelton right by Solvang. :awe:

You do like Split Pea Soup right? No? Anyway, Anderson's is a place my parents made me go to when we toured California to see all the places they lived and liked to do before "the kids came".

Of course, your GF might break up with you if you take her out for split pea soup too.

 

[Fern]

There has to be more stuff between SF/LA besides Hearst Castle and Monterey. Anyone else?

I liked Big Sur. Could hike around etc. There was a lodge there I liked to visit, but it's so long ago I cannot remember the name.

But otherwise, Monterey (Carmel, pebble Beach etc) is good.

When I'm doing a drive trip like this I personally don't like to get hung on a schedule etc. Having a couple of spots that are pretty much a 'must see' is fine, but I like to explore and just be able to stop when I see something interesting. Having too much a schedule hinders that, for me anyway.

'Worst' case you get into SF a little early. But heck, there's a lot of great stuff there anyway. You really can't lose IMO.

Fern