Help plan my drive between San Diego to San Francisco

[avash]

I've got a wedding in SF that I am planning to attend (been there once before). Haven't been to other parts of CA. Traveling with a friend.

What I've decided so far:
Fly Detroit (DTW) > San Diego (SAN) on either Monday 6/15 PM or Tuesday 6/16 (anytime).
Spend 2-3 days in and around SD, then drive up to SF.
Stop by notable places along the way.
Have to arrive in SF by Friday late late late, wedding is on Saturday.
Spend a couple of days in and around SF.
Fly back from SF (SFO) to Detroit Tuesday 6/23 or Wednesday 6/24.

I'm googling and speaking to people to figure out what I should check out but here's some of the things I'm most likely going to check out:
SD: The Zoo, 59 mile scenic drive, Coronado, still looking up things, not sure about Seaworld (time dependent).
Along the way: Stop by LA, Hollywood, Hwy 1, take in the sights along the way! Stop by anything that looks interesting.
SF: Been to downtown before, so will spend some time there but thinking of going to Napa unless I hit a couple of nice wineries on my drive up.

Would appreciate any feedback, advice, tips. Will have GPS and maps. Will stay at random motels along the way depending on where we are when it's time to call it a night. Will get a rental car.

Will not be hitting clubs but definitely looking for good food, good atmosphere, live music, people, nature, scenery. Don't want to cram too many things in, want to make it a nice leisure (but not meaningless) trip!

 

[HappyPuppy]

Take Highway 1. You won't regret it.

 

[Barfo]

Cliffs?

 

[avash]

Originally posted by: HappyPuppy
Take Highway 1. You won't regret it.

Which sections of Hwy 1 should I definitely not miss? I'm finding tons of guides but it's a lot to digest!

(Hwy 1 is something I ABSOLUTELY want to do, metro Detroit roads do nothing for me, wish I could take my RX7 on the trip though)

 

[seemingly random]

Get on the road north of sd so that the ocean is on your left.
Drive for a while.
Drive some more.
Keep driving.
Sick of driving yet? You're about a quarter of the way there.
Keep driving.
...
...
...
When you see a humungous bridge, you're there.

 

[Farang]

Highway 1 to Point Magu.. I did that on bicycle and it was beautiful (LA - Santa Barbara)

 

[JulesMaximus]

Take the 5...or better yet fly.

Nevermind, I see that you've never been here before. Definitely take the coastal route and leave yourself a good 2 days to do it this way. It takes anywhere from 6-8 hours to drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco trying to get there as fast as possible...add another hour minimum if you're leaving from San Diego. If you take the coast it will easily take you twice that and then some if you stop to look at all the incredible scenery.

 

[Sukhoi]

Hearst Castle!

If you want to stop at beaches and such (along with Hearst Castle) on the way I would suggest doing it as a 1.5 day trip. Leave Thursday morning, and drive to maybe Cambria. That's close to the Hearst Castle so you could do it Friday morning. I have stayed at the Bluebird Inn in Cambria, and it was a decent place especially for the price compared to other lodging in the area. Up by Monterey the Point Lobos State Reserve is a pretty nice place for some short hikes, but there are also a ton of other great parks on the coast.

Also there is a lot of wine stuff around Paso Robles and that area if you want something different than Napa.

 

[guyver01]

(1)Turn left out of San Diego onto I5-North.
(2)Continue for 500 miles
(3)Turn left into San Francisco
(4)PROFIT!!

 

[rockyct]

Originally posted by: guyver01
(1)Turn left out of San Diego onto I5-North.
(2)Continue for 500 miles
(3)Turn left into San Francisco
(4)PROFIT!!

lol, I guess that would be the drive to get people from out of state to never want to come back to California.

Anyway, if you're leaving San Diego, I'd drive the 5 until the 101 splits off in LA (however, traffic would be insane depending on the time of day, but downtown LA is kind of cool to drive through). Take the 101 up to San Luis Obispo then from there take the 1 all the way up along the coast. Hearst Castle in San Simeon is a pretty cool visit if you have time. There are plenty of cool places to stop along that drive including some California missions. Highway 101 is essentially the old trail between the missions.

 

[MotionMan]

Hearst Castle is a must.

If you can swing it, cut over to the 5 to go to Harris Ranch for a meal. Try to make it lunch so that when you leave to drive north, it is day time and you can see the scenery on the east side of the freeway. Also, when you leave Harris Ranch, roll your windows down as you watch the scenery.

Trust me.

MotionMan

 

[Paladin]

In San Diego:
The zoo is great, but I prefer Sea World. The zoo is definitely more 'famous' though.
I'd check La Jolla too. hit the cove, walk around, then maybe head over to La Jolla shores for some beach action.
Not sure of your age, but Pacific Beach night life is the college age bar crawl scene. Downtown Gas Lamp is a little nicer, tons of bars/ nightclubs/ music joints.
Midway Museum - Aircraft Carrier turned into a museum on San Diego bay. hit up the waterfront around there -> down to Sea Port Village.

Drive up:
Stop in Hollywood a little, see some of the walk of fame, maybe hit up Universal Studios
Head up the 101 to Santa Barbara, lunch maybe there?
101 to San Luis Obispo > Paso Robles : wine tasting? Spend the night? then onto San Simeon to Heart Castle (must stop)
Take the 1 up through Monterey Bay / Carmel

San Fran is right up from there.
Napa for some wine tasting. Fishermans Wharf.....

 

[wwswimming]

when you're done in San Diego, 5 north to LA, then 101 north in Ventura.

about a 5 hour drive from San Diego to Pismo Beach, good place to stop for the night.

you can camp on the beach or stay at a motel.

then, if you want, you can take highway 1 north to stay along the coast, then maybe spend the second night in Carmel/ Monterey, check out the 17 mile drive, say hi to Clint Eastwood, ask him if he feels lucky (he was the Mayor), etc.

then once you're on 1 in Santa Cruz you have a choice between going back to 101 (highway 17) & driving through Silicon Valley to get to San Fran, or staying on 1 & being near the ocean.

if you time your drive times you can almost completely avoid rush-hour
traffic jams.

 

[Dr. Detroit]

Go to the Mt. Griffith Observatory in LA. Overlooks downtown LA and the Hollywood sign.

Have Chili Cheese Fries or there Chili Tamale at Tommy's.

Grab a IN-N-Out Double Double with Animal Style fries

 

[AccruedExpenditure]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Take the 5...or better yet fly.

Nevermind, I see that you've never been here before. Definitely take the coastal route and leave yourself a good 2 days to do it this way. It takes anywhere from 6-8 hours to drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco trying to get there as fast as possible...add another hour minimum if you're leaving from San Diego. If you take the coast it will easily take you twice that and then some if you stop to look at all the incredible scenery.

It takes 4 hours to drive from LA to SF
-AE

 

[her209]

Originally posted by: AccruedExpenditure

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Take the 5...or better yet fly.

Nevermind, I see that you've never been here before. Definitely take the coastal route and leave yourself a good 2 days to do it this way. It takes anywhere from 6-8 hours to drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco trying to get there as fast as possible...add another hour minimum if you're leaving from San Diego. If you take the coast it will easily take you twice that and then some if you stop to look at all the incredible scenery.

It takes 4 hours to drive from LA to SF
-AE

Uh no.

 

[soulcougher73]

Originally posted by: AccruedExpenditure

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Take the 5...or better yet fly.

Nevermind, I see that you've never been here before. Definitely take the coastal route and leave yourself a good 2 days to do it this way. It takes anywhere from 6-8 hours to drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco trying to get there as fast as possible...add another hour minimum if you're leaving from San Diego. If you take the coast it will easily take you twice that and then some if you stop to look at all the incredible scenery.

It takes 4 hours to drive from LA to SF
-AE

Takes longer than that. I used to drive SD to SF and back a lot. Usually was about 9 hours average up Higway 5 (the boring route).

 

[Stojakapimp]

In SD, the zoo, Wild Animal Park, and Seaworld are always fun. Seaworld is more expensive, but if you've never been there before then I guess it's worth it.

You can also walk around Balboa Park, hit up the Gaslamp, or just go chill in one of the beach towns, like La Jolla, Coronado, Pacific Beach, Ocean Beach, etc...

What kind of you food do you like? Since you're coming from out of state, I highly recommend you get some Mexican food. And if you like BBQ, then I recommend Phil's BBQ

 

[Ns1]

I'm hitting up the Falafel Drive in on my way to SF

Falafel Drive-In? - more info »
2301 Stevens Creek Blvd, San Jose, CA? - (408) 294-7886?
Rated 4.2 out of 5.0 69 reviews - Write a review
"This place is great and conveniently located in downtown San Jose near the mall. ...

 

[DainBramaged]

Big Sur, Carmel, Monterey, and Santa Cruz should all be on your list to see.

 

[Ns1]

Originally posted by: rockyct

Originally posted by: guyver01
(1)Turn left out of San Diego onto I5-North.
(2)Continue for 500 miles
(3)Turn left into San Francisco
(4)PROFIT!!

lol, I guess that would be the drive to get people from out of state to never want to come back to California.

Anyway, if you're leaving San Diego, I'd drive the 5 until the 101 splits off in LA (however, traffic would be insane depending on the time of day, but downtown LA is kind of cool to drive through). Take the 101 up to San Luis Obispo then from there take the 1 all the way up along the coast. Hearst Castle in San Simeon is a pretty cool visit if you have time. There are plenty of cool places to stop along that drive including some California missions. Highway 101 is essentially the old trail between the missions.

You won't pass through downtown if you're taking 5 -> 101 (at least not the cool parts of downtown)

 

[AccruedExpenditure]

Originally posted by: soulcougher73

Originally posted by: AccruedExpenditure

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Take the 5...or better yet fly.

Nevermind, I see that you've never been here before. Definitely take the coastal route and leave yourself a good 2 days to do it this way. It takes anywhere from 6-8 hours to drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco trying to get there as fast as possible...add another hour minimum if you're leaving from San Diego. If you take the coast it will easily take you twice that and then some if you stop to look at all the incredible scenery.

It takes 4 hours to drive from LA to SF
-AE

Takes longer than that. I used to drive SD to SF and back a lot. Usually was about 9 hours average up Higway 5 (the boring route).

It takes me about 7:30 to go from SD to SF
-AE

 

[Sukhoi]

Originally posted by: MotionMan
Hearst Castle is a must.

If you can swing it, cut over to the 5 to go to Harris Ranch for a meal. Try to make it lunch so that when you leave to drive north, it is day time and you can see the scenery on the east side of the freeway. Also, when you leave Harris Ranch, roll your windows down as you watch the scenery.

Trust me.

MotionMan

lol, um, don't roll down the windows.

And Harris Ranch isn't special enough to make a detour all the way over to I-5 IMHO.

 

[avash]

Originally posted by: Stojakapimp
What kind of you food do you like? Since you're coming from out of state, I highly recommend you get some Mexican food. And if you like BBQ, then I recommend Phil's BBQ

I'm hoping to hit a good Malaysian restaurant somewhere ... I know, weird but I'm originally from Malaysia and Michigan sucks when it comes to food selection. Love bbq, love spicy, love almost everything 🙂



Appreciate all the comments and please keep them coming, I'm going to book my tickets tomorrow after work and then start planning the trip in more detail (driving route, places to stop by, places to eat).

 

[thepd7]

Originally posted by: HappyPuppy
Take Highway 1. You won't regret it.

This.

Originally posted by: barfo
Cliffs?

You will find them on Highway 1.

Originally posted by: avash

Originally posted by: HappyPuppy
Take Highway 1. You won't regret it.

Which sections of Hwy 1 should I definitely not miss? I'm finding tons of guides but it's a lot to digest!

(Hwy 1 is something I ABSOLUTELY want to do, metro Detroit roads do nothing for me, wish I could take my RX7 on the trip though)

Originally posted by: rockyct

Originally posted by: guyver01
(1)Turn left out of San Diego onto I5-North.
(2)Continue for 500 miles
(3)Turn left into San Francisco
(4)PROFIT!!

lol, I guess that would be the drive to get people from out of state to never want to come back to California.

Anyway, if you're leaving San Diego, I'd drive the 5 until the 101 splits off in LA (however, traffic would be insane depending on the time of day, but downtown LA is kind of cool to drive through). Take the 101 up to San Luis Obispo then from there take the 1 all the way up along the coast. Hearst Castle in San Simeon is a pretty cool visit if you have time. There are plenty of cool places to stop along that drive including some California missions. Highway 101 is essentially the old trail between the missions.

This. 1 from LA to San Luis Obispo is not very eventful. From there to Monterrey and SF it's INCREDIBLE.

You could always go visit hzl_eyed_grl in Pismo Beach!

From SD to SF Pismo Beach is a perfect place to stop for the night, you do NOT want to be driving this all at once, you will be tired of driving by the time you get to the most beautiful part. I recommend leaving Thursday and stopping in Pismo Beach thursday night then spending some time in Monterrey Bay (aquarium, cannery row) Friday then getting in Friday night.