We have a new update on The Future of the Penny Arcade Forums.

Californiaaaaaaaa, here we coooooommee [West Coast Trip Planning]

minirhyderminirhyder BerlinRegistered User regular
Hello!

My friends and I are planning a California trip late October/early November of this year. We want to stop at a couple of places for a few days at a time, and drive up or down the coast.
We have questions:

1. Is San Francisco to San Diego possible in 7 days? Or is it better to do San Francisco – LA/LA – San Diego?
2. Which direction is best? North to South? South to North?
3. What are the best stopping points between SF and San Diego? Looking to book 2-4 Airbnb's.
4. Attractions and must sees
5. Any other useful information about this undertaking is appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Posts

  • SmrtnikSmrtnik job boli zub Registered User regular
  • So It GoesSo It Goes We keep moving...Registered User regular
    Moving this to help/advice

  • minirhyderminirhyder BerlinRegistered User regular
    Oh my goodness, I totally thought I was in H/A, sorry about that!

  • VishNubVishNub Registered User regular
    minirhyder wrote: »
    Hello!

    My friends and I are planning a California trip late October/early November of this year. We want to stop at a couple of places for a few days at a time, and drive up or down the coast.
    We have questions:

    1. Is San Francisco to San Diego possible in 7 days? Or is it better to do San Francisco – LA/LA – San Diego?
    2. Which direction is best? North to South? South to North?
    3. What are the best stopping points between SF and San Diego? Looking to book 2-4 Airbnb's.
    4. Attractions and must sees
    5. Any other useful information about this undertaking is appreciated.

    Thanks in advance!

    Yes, absolutely possible. What types of things do you like? Nature, cities, touristy stuff, etc...?

    From N to S, one way would be

    Spend a day or two in SF
    Monterey Aquarium is awesome
    Drive down Highway 1 through Big Sur (Though that road was damaged recently, they'll probably have it repaired by then)
    Hearst Castle
    Santa Barbara
    Hit the beach in Malibu/Santa Monica/Venice and do some LA stuff
    Do you want to Disney?
    San Clemente is a nice town/beach area, but pretty much everywhere from Malibu south is a nice beach area.
    San Diego for whatever time you have left

  • kaliyamakaliyama Left to find less-moderated fora Registered User regular
    edited May 2017
    It depends what you want to do. There's a lot to do and see in SF and LA. The coast between is pretty but you lose a lot of time for what I consider to be not much payoff. I would spend 2-3 days in SF and its environs, then fly SF-LA, then D 2 days in LA, then drive to San Diego. But San Diego doesn't offer anything that LA doesn't.

    If you really wanted to drive the coast you could drive SF -> hearst castle -> santa barbara -> LA, and cut san diego entirely.

    kaliyama on
    fwKS7.png?1
  • mtsmts Dr. Robot King Registered User regular
    it would be a shame to not hit some of the national parks in central cali like Yosemite etc. but they are not exactly in the path you are proposing

    camo_sig.png
  • kaliyamakaliyama Left to find less-moderated fora Registered User regular
    yosemite's great but you'd want to just do SF and yosemite at that point.

    fwKS7.png?1
  • chromdomchromdom Who? Where?Registered User regular
    If it were me, I'd probably fly into SFO; it's bigger than SAN and so should have more flight options.
    Spend 2 days there, then drive 101 south -- Hwy 1 is nice and scenic, but not fantastic and imo not really worth being on the road that long.
    So anyway, drive south on 101 for as far as you feel like going. Stop anywhere between Paso Robles and Santa Barbara that looks good. San Luis Obispo is nice, Pismo Beach was the place Bugs Bunny was trying to go to when he took a wrong turn at Albuquerque and is beautiful, and of course Santa Barbara is pretty wonderful. Spend a day at whatever place it was.
    Then on to LA, for all the stuff mentioned above, maybe 2 days.
    Finally, on to San Diego for the last day. Sea World, La Jolla, SD Zoo and Wild Animal Park, etc, etc. It's a great town, lots to do down there.

    Personally, this feels a little full and not very relaxing to me. It's more driving than I'd want to do on vacation, but if I were going to drive CA in a week, that's probably something like what I'd go for.

  • VishNubVishNub Registered User regular
    kaliyama wrote: »
    yosemite's great but you'd want to just do SF and yosemite at that point.

    If you are at all outdoors-y this is worth considering. Yosemite is one of those places that lives up to the hype.

  • schussschuss Registered User regular
    What do you like to do/want to get out of the trip?
    Personally, I'd do 2-3 days in SF (1 day tourist stuff like alcatraz, exploratorium, lombard etc.), 1 morning in GG Park then good food/drink the night away, then maybe 1 day doing other fun adult stuff (SF is an adult playground). Then a bunch of time in Yosemite, winding through Napa on your way there or back.
    Carmel/coast is cool to look at, but ultimately I wouldn't do much around there unless you mountain bike (Santa Cruz/Monterey area), surf or want a romantic time.
    LA and SoCal are sort of their own animal, with different options there around the endless area that is LA, as well as other natural stuff near there like Joshua Tree/Mojave etc.

  • KPCKPC Registered User regular
    edited May 2017
    Go to In-N-Out. Drive across the Golden Gate Bridge. Drive through the redwoods in Big Sur. Stop at the visitor's center of Hearst Castle. Try to catch a view of elephant seals. Have lunch in Santa Barbara. Stroll through Santa Monica. Take a bike ride down the bike path from Manhattan to Redondo Beach. Catch a concert at Hollywood Bowl/Walt Disney Concert Hall/Staples Center/any venue, really. Hike Runyon Canyon/any hiking route. Go to Disneyland, or Downtown Disney if you don't want to spend the cash. Eat Chinese food and have some boba in the San Gabriel Valley. Go to the San Diego Zoo.

    Travel notes:

    In LA and the surrounding regions: avoid the 405 freeway. Traffic hours are early in the morning (6am) until about 10/11am, and again from about 2/3pm to 6/7pm. Parking can be a pain; make sure you read/parse the parking signs carefully. The coldest it gets is about ~40 degrees at night. The coast is about 10 degrees cooler than downtown. The valleys are 10 degrees hotter.

    KPC on
  • ASimPersonASimPerson And they will tremble again at the sound of our silence.Registered User regular
    Unfortunately two large chunks of Highway 1 are closed right now due to the extensive slide damage, including a new slide last weekend.

    https://goo.gl/maps/AEBhp9nSJ122

    Because of how otherwise isolated the Central Coast is, I would think Big Sur would be a bit out of your way, and getting to Heart Castle can only really be done from the South right now. You could definitely still do the latter and/or, but you'll need to prioritize what it is you want to see as they will involve backtracking right now.

    If you still want to stop between the SF Bay Area and LA, then 101 is wholly preferable to I-5. You could probably fly into SF, spend a couple days here, then drive down to Monterey either down 1 through Santa Cruz or through the South Bay on 101. From there, you could drive to the LA area on 101 as previously described.

  • Giggles_FunsworthGiggles_Funsworth Blight on Discourse Bay Area SprawlRegistered User regular
    You'll generally save money and time flying into/out of SJO or OAK if the flights work out. SJO in particular there's almost never delays because of weather which is nice.

  • minirhyderminirhyder BerlinRegistered User regular
    Thanks for the tips so far, all!

    As far as what we're looking to get out of the trip, is mostly a relax/unwind kind of deal. We're all from NYC and really we just want to go away for a week and see some beaches, live in a more relaxed environment, partake in legal pot, see the coast. So we're looking for cities/towns to stop at that are near a beach, have good food to eat, maybe a brewery. Two of the people in the group are gay guys, so they'll want to check out some gay bars as well.

  • KPCKPC Registered User regular
    Places to consider staying in:

    Malibu
    Santa Monica
    Redondo Beach
    Palos Verdes
    San Pedro
    Newport Beach
    La Jolla
    Downtown San Diego

  • mtsmts Dr. Robot King Registered User regular
    edited May 2017
    you could always fly into sacramento then hit napa first, then bay area

    otherwise I would agree with schuss, but we are similar in our activity enjoyment

    mts on
    camo_sig.png
  • fightinfilipinofightinfilipino Angry as Hell #BLMRegistered User regular
    mts wrote: »
    you could always fly into sacramento then hit napa first, then bay area

    otherwise I would agree with schuss, but we are similar in our activity enjoyment

    i'd argue for Sonoma as a good "Napa-without-the-pretentiousness-or-cost" option.

    ffNewSig.png
    steam | Dokkan: 868846562
  • mtsmts Dr. Robot King Registered User regular
    I lump Sonoma and Napa together as part of Napa Valley. It is like kleenex

    camo_sig.png
  • dispatch.odispatch.o Registered User regular
    There are so many places to just hang out and waste a day in San Francisco and the Bay Area in general.

    I'll second flying in to Oakland. You can also snag BART and get into the city. I'd probably go to Jack London Square for the first night and check out Yoshi's. Then take the ferry into San Francisco the following day and stick to public transportation.

  • Giggles_FunsworthGiggles_Funsworth Blight on Discourse Bay Area SprawlRegistered User regular
    Uh, legal pot probably isn't happening for you in California unless you wait until next year. You can do it, you can possess it, you can grow it, but you can't buy it without a medical card until Jan. 1, 2018.

    http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/california-weed/article113420578.html

    Also I don't think a trip down the Pacific Coast Highway is in your future:

    http://time.com/4791816/big-sur-landslide-california-state-route-1/

    5f2n3jtry34l.jpg

  • dispatch.odispatch.o Registered User regular
    If you drive 101 for like half an hour you're good to go. It's like route 66. It's famous and romanticized, but it's just a road. In the case of 101 a semi terrifying inefficient road.

  • Giggles_FunsworthGiggles_Funsworth Blight on Discourse Bay Area SprawlRegistered User regular
    edited May 2017
    dispatch.o wrote: »
    If you drive 101 for like half an hour you're good to go. It's like route 66. It's famous and romanticized, but it's just a road. In the case of 101 a semi terrifying inefficient road.

    1. 101 is a main artery. Except when they are the same. But mostly they are different.

    Giggles_Funsworth on
  • dispatch.odispatch.o Registered User regular
    Right. Right. I'm way up north now. It's 101 all the way to Fort Bragg from this direction. Still counts. 1 is awful. Pick a spot between two major cities where you can get over to a decent highway. I think we did south of SF to Monterey Bay when my mom decided she wanted to do it before abandoning the idea.

  • ArmorocArmoroc Registered User regular
    edited May 2017
    If you are into guided tours, history, architecture, and scenery then Hearst Castle is a must. You can spend half a day there and then visit some of the iconic beach cities down the way to San Diego. I'm from San Diego and I took the trip to the castle. It was a long drive, but the scenes were wonderful going up (I believe it was mostly on the 1, but zig zagged in and out of it for a simpler drive).

    In LA, a cool place to visit besides the usual are the tar pits and the museums in the immediate area. Watch out for some nasty smells, but I found it to be worth it because of how cool and dangerous nature can be.

    Armoroc on
  • schussschuss Registered User regular
    mts wrote: »
    you could always fly into sacramento then hit napa first, then bay area

    otherwise I would agree with schuss, but we are similar in our activity enjoyment

    i'd argue for Sonoma as a good "Napa-without-the-pretentiousness-or-cost" option.

    I was using Napa in the general sense as you're correct.

    Based on your description I'd do the following:
    1. Make sure the trip coincides with the first friday of the month - this is important, as that's when you should roll to Oakland and do the art murmur. Seriously great art, drinks in the street and a generally chill vibe. I would also say don't stay out too late as part of this, as hey, Oakland can still be rough around the edges (my info is ~4 years old on this, so take it with a grain of salt)
    2. Spend 2-3 days doing the SF thing as described above. Get an AirBNB somewhere around Duboce park - you'll have easy access to Mission, Castro, Haight, Divis corridor, Hayes Valley and the BART and Muni. If you can't find fun things to eat and drink there, you are truly lost. PS go to Nopalito.
    3. Do a lazy wine day or two in Napa/Sonoma. Get a wine driver or limo and just enjoy yourself. Wine drivers generally have ins at most of the wineries, so I recommend that as you'll be able to pivot your plan easier. My personal faves - Cuvaison, Gloria Ferrer (only if it's a nice day, they have the best deck and bubbly), Benziger (spring for the partners tour, you get crazy amounts of pours and it's fascinating).
    4. Spend at least one afternoon/night in Sausalito area. Eat at Le Garage or Bocce and hang out. Ideally this will be when SF is socked in with fog, because you need that sun.
    5. I'd still recommend at least a day or two in Yosemite if you can swing it. It's that cool.
    6. Alternatively, hit Mt. Tam for a sunset and Muir Beach/Pt Reyes for some close-to-the-city nature.
    7. Do at least one afternoon picnic on a nice day in Crissy Field and Alamo Square park (think full house).
    8. Other fun things - get a res at Chez Panisse, drink at Dogwood and Plum Bar in Oakland (RIP Stags), drink at the Hayes Valley beer garden, get a coffee at blue bottle, Alcatraz (100% worth it), Off the Grid (if one is running somewhere, food truck thing), see a band at the Independent on Divisadero (great venue) or even better - the Greek in Berkeley.

  • ASimPersonASimPerson And they will tremble again at the sound of our silence.Registered User regular
    You'll generally save money and time flying into/out of SJO or OAK if the flights work out. SJO in particular there's almost never delays because of weather which is nice.

    I assume you meant SJC because SJO is in Costa Rica :)

  • PailryderPailryder Registered User regular
    others have covered some of the coolest stuff but i'd definitely say don't skip the redwoods either north or south, just hit one of those areas
    Monterrey aquarium is such a lovely place to see.
    just enjoy all the fresh fruits/veggies you can and maybe see what festivals are going on in california when you are going to be there. like The Garlic Festival in Gilroy (on your way south from San Fran to LA)
    2017 Gilroy Garlic Festival will begin on
    Friday, July 28

  • BillyIdleBillyIdle What does "katana" mean? It means "Japanese sword."Registered User regular
    I would say if you're into bustling night life, the arts district in LA is really fun and I recommend checking out The 82 barcade.

    PSN: BillyIdle_
  • NiryaNirya Registered User regular
    LA Stuff:
    - The Tar Pits/LACMA/Petersen Museum are all really cool, especially the Tar Pits for nature stuff and the Petersen if you like cars/want to see a bunch of movie cars.
    - I really like the Getty Museum, which is pretty cheap, but they also have the Getty Villa in Malibu which is extremely beautiful but needs a prior reservation which the main museum doesn't require.
    - UCLA is a super-pretty campus that you've probably seen in at least a few movies, and Westwood is a rather hip area. To the west is Santa Monica with the famous pier (which isn't that great tbh) and the shopping nearby (which is very good). To the east is Beverly Hills, with Rodeo Drive, the Grove, the Farmer's Market, and other stuff. If you want to see rich/famous people, this is probably your best spot to do it.
    - Hollywood is a bit further east, and it's fine, if not very touristy.
    - If you want to do theme parks, the two real obvious ones are Disneyland and Universal Studios. The west-coast Universal has the backlot tour which is really cool and you get to see a bunch of famous movie sets, and they have Potter stuff now so you can see that. If you want to do a studio tour but don't want to pay for theme park admission, I've heard the Warner Brothers tour is pretty good as well. It's located in Burbank, and you can see other studios such as the Disney studio in the area as well.
    - The beaches are all varying degrees of nice. Venice is very touristy and kinda grimy, but it's definitely an experience. Orange County has some really nice beaches (Huntington Beach, Newport, Bolsa Chica) but they're a bit out of the way comparatively.
    - Disneyland is the crown jewel of the SoCal theme parks, and for good reason. The park is relatively smaller compared to Disney World but is full of history. By the time you go, the Rivers of America will be reopened, as will the new Guardians of the Galaxy ride (that opens this weekend). If you're going to Disneyland, check which day you go, because your trip might bump up against one of the Halloween parties where they close the park early. The parks are still small enough that you can realistically get a park hopper and do everything with good planning, but expect this to be a full-day thing (where as with Universal you can realistically be done by late afternoon and have time to do other things in the area like City Walk).
    - There are two other major theme parks in the area: Knotts Berry Farm and Six Flags Magic Mountain. Six Flags is the west-coast equivalent of Cedar Point in Ohio, and is one of the big roller-coaster meccas in the country, featuring over 20 (I believe) coasters in the park itself. Knotts is interesting in that it predated Disneyland by a few months and can lay claim to being the world's first theme park, but the big thing Knotts is known for is bringing boysenberries to the world, which you can (thankfully) get outside the park without having to go in.
    - One side note: your trip will probably coincide with the end of the Halloween season, which means Universal, Knotts, Six Flags, and the Queen Mary (a pretty cool tour if you're into potentially haunted things) will all be holding various haunted attractions. If you're interested in those, you have options. Universal tends to be the most expensive, and goes the most for realism, but it also has access to horror properties the others don't have. Knotts started the trend and their event tends to be really good, leaning more on the campy side, and is relatively cheap by comparison. The Queen Mary experience tends to split the difference, but also gets to take advantage of the haunted ship for some really cool stuff.
    - If you like sports, you'll be right in the middle of football season, and next year LA will have the Rams, Chargers, UCLA, and USC all playing. For views, nothing can beat sunset at the Rose Bowl, which you might want to see anyway because the Arroyo Seco is gorgeous.
    - For some "off the beaten path" stuff, there's Palos Verdes. The views at sunset looking out on the ocean here are beautiful, and the area is rather nice, though there isn't much to do.
    - Check out the Griffith Observatory, which provides some great panoramic views of LA (and one of the better night-time views in the city). Nearby is the Hollywood Sign, which you can hike to (or rather, hike near).
    - Food stuff! The nice thing about LA is that there's a ton of good food options, depending on what you're in the mood for. My personal recommendations include Hae Jang Chon in Koreatown for KBBQ, The Apple Pan in LA for a burger (don't forget to get some apple pie), and of course, hit up some of the more famous chains like In-n-Out, Tommies (get the chili and make sure you see the Shack logo), and the Hat (pastrami everything).
    - Oh, maybe check out a mission while on the trip? I did find that a good amount of the mission tours do a decent job of explaining why the mission system was fucked up and screwed over the natives, and they're rather important to the colonization of California.
    - On your way to San Diego, stop by Dana Point and San Juan Capistrano. They're just off the 5 Freeway and offer some pristine views.

    t70pctuqq2uv.png
    3DS: 2981-5304-3227
  • Bliss 101Bliss 101 Registered User regular
    edited May 2017
    If you head to the Napa/Sonoma area, you can check out some spectacular views along the coast north of SF. If that's something you might enjoy and the weather is good, drive to Point Reyes National Seashore. There are some hiking trails of varying lengths there, and you can easily spend an entire day there if nature and scenic views are your thing, but the place is breathtaking enough to be worth the drive even for a short visit to check out the scenery and the lighthouse. There's also a short trail near the visitor center where you can conveniently straddle the San Andreas fault line and stand on two different tectonic plates at once.

    Bliss 101 on
    MSL59.jpg
  • StraygatsbyStraygatsby Registered User regular
    7 days isn't much for all 3 cities and the great stuff in between, especially if you decide to commit to big ticket days like Disneyland or the San Diego Zoo or Monterey Aquarium (bring your Star Trek 4 quotes!).

    If I were to go back to visit the old haunts and was shooting for maximum chill, I'd spend a day in San Francisco walking Fisherman's Wharf/North Beach/Chinatown enjoying the amazing food and drink then head south for some redwoods on the way down to Santa Barbara (beaches and beer) and Santa Cruz (boardwalk and probably more beer). Try and ride the 1 from there into LA and make a beachhead at Venice/Santa Monica (passing through and waving to Malibu which is beautiful but otherwise soulless and empty of anything to do). The Napa/Sonoma suggestions were great, too. Depending on the size of your party, go rent a party van and join all the bachelorette parties wooing their way up and down the vineyard routes - it's beautiful and fun and reasonably inexpensive.

    You're from NYC, so, as an ex-New Yorker who lived in LA for 5 years, I can assure you that you won't be missing anything if you choose not to venture any further east into LA from Santa Monica. It's a lovely city that has added some amazing stuff in the last decade, but I don't think it'll be worth the headache or traffic for you unless you have a specific hankerin' like Hollywood or Universal or seeing real, live west coast hipsters (when I was there it was Eagle Rock, so who knows where the newest cool sprawl is now). This, however, is an age-old stereotype of New Yorkers who come to LA and act all uppity, and is unfair to LA (sometimes....maybe....not really). =P

    The San Diego Zoo and beaches are pretty nice, and the town is pretty, but the city itself doesn't have much of a vibe. It's fairly bland and has much more of a Navy/Frat/Business Bro feel than you'd think being so close to the border. There's always the option to pop across to Tijuana, but it's really just trinket markets, knock off viagra, cheap modelo, and perilous ceviche choices. It's like visiting Bourbon Street but not going anywhere else in New Orleans: you'll have fun but you're doing yourself a disservice.



  • CarpyCarpy Registered User regular
    San Diego has Balboa Park which is pretty fun. There's a bunch of museums, a neat arboretum, walking paths, fountains, etc. It's right next to the San Diego Zoo.

Sign In or Register to comment.