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first trip to cali - want to drive up from LA to SF

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Aharami

Aharami

Lifer
going to visit a friend in SF, but since I've never been to cali before, I want to fly in to SD or LA, rent a convertible and drive up the coast to SF. Looking for some pointers. How long should I allocate for a road trip like this? Will 3 days with 2 overnight stops suffice? What are some places to stop and sight see?

Any general tips are appreciated. Thanks!
 
PCH from LA to SF took me almost 12 hours with stops. There is NOTHING to see along PCH at night. NOTHING. So make sure you are only driving on PCH during the day. Otherwise get your ass on the 101 if possible.

You must drive through Big Sur. You need to stop by the seals near Hearst Castle.

You can conceivably fly into SD drive up to LA or Santa Barbara and crash for one night. Then take PCH to SF and crash for another night... and then take the 5/101 back home.
 
will be taking the PCH since I've heard so much about it. has anyone done a multi-day trip from so-cal to SF via the PCH? If so, where did you stay overnight?
 
Aharami said:
will be taking the PCH since I've heard so much about it. has anyone done a multi-day trip from so-cal to SF via the PCH? If so, where did you stay overnight?
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the area surrounding Hearst Castle is a good spot. We stayed in Goleta just north of Santa Barbara.
 
I actually just did that drive again 1.5 weeks ago - 3 days with 2 overnights is plenty, we did it with just one night at a hotel. On the way up we stayed in Monterey and on the way back to LA we stayed in San Luis Obispo.

On the way up, we stopped by Santa Barbara (beautiful town!) to eat, walk around, and so I could catch the EuroCup finals. We also hit up Paso Robles on the way up, which is nice if you're not going to hit up Napa...it's got a very different feel to it, but the wine is still great. After staying in Monterey one night, we did the 17-mile scenic tour around the city, along with dropping by Carmel. Both are beautiful cities with Carmel being a little more quaint and high-end.

On the way down we hit up Heart Castle and that was amazing. Flat out amazing. Other than that, I can't say San Luis Obispo was good or bad as we got in rather late and only went out to dinner. Slowly made our way back to LA the next day.
 
Yes, take the scenic route/route 1 (I guess they call it PCH) and spend a couple of nights on the way. I think two nights should be more than enough. Spend a night at Santa Barbara and another one around Carmel or San Luis Obispo.

This what I did about 10 years ago. I went the other way around though from SF to LA and only spent one night in the middle. Great fun.
 
LA to SF is a 6 hour boring ass drive of nothing but green fields and cows. SD, OC, and LA are all great places to stop on the way though.
 
I did this drive several times, mixing PCH and 101, LA all the way to Vancouver in a couple of cases. It's not to be missed. Corporate Thug has the driving times right. Some else mentioned going during the day, and why would you do otherwise? The whole point is the scenery.

You can easily do it in one day, but a stopover would make it more leisurely. The only other thing I'll mention is that the PCH can be a frustrating combination of large motor homes and sports cars trying to get around them.
 
I'd personally take the 101 from LA to san luis obispo, you'll still get the coast through santa barbara and most of everything else. From SLO north you can take the 1 through Big Sur and up to santa cruz then cut back over to the main freeways.
 
deadlyapp said:
I'd personally take the 101 from LA to san luis obispo, you'll still get the coast through santa barbara and most of everything else. From SLO north you can take the 1 through Big Sur and up to santa cruz then cut back over to the main freeways.
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That would be my suggestion as well.

As for things to do,
Del Mar Race Course is running through the beginning of September.
There are some good wineries near Santa Maria and SLO.
There is a great BBQ joint in the parking lot of the Days Inn in San Simeon.
Hearst Castle, the seal colony and Historic San Simeon are worth checking out.
The Winchester Mansion (Mystery House) in San Jose is fun, if you don't mind the cheesy tour.
 
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