West Coast California Road trip - tips?

Vanilla

Vanilla

Vanilla

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18 Oct 2002
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I know lots of people have done west coast road trips so always good to get some local knowledge. I'm soon to fly out to the USA for a short road trip. There will be three of us, two of us doing the driving.

The general itinerary is:

25th April - Land at LAX and immediately head to Santa Monica to chill and relax after the flight.
26th April - Head to Santa Barbara for more of the same
27th April - 3rd May (7 days) ?????
4th May - Arrive Vegas
5th - 13th May - Stay in Vegas (long because I have a conference, so can't change dates.

We plan on 1100 miles of driving (20 hours according to Google) driving the route shown below.

2usc3ye.jpg


So we have mapped out a rote but we may be missing things you think are absolutely critical to see. What do you feel we need to see? Was there anywhere you were disappointed with?
 
You appear to not be driving down the coast?

I've been here twice now, enjoyed it both times.

What hire car too, that is important!
 
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I'd consider taking the coast road up to San Francisco, rather than the highway route you've shown. It will be longer, but it's much prettier and less boring than the highway. Just a thought.

I'd also recommend stopping off at Monterey (south of San Fran), I really liked it when I stayed there for a night. If you're into outdoorsy stuff, I'd go kayaking in the sea while you're there - good fun.
 
I like the look of those big chargers, will be suited to the journey I think.
Hoover dam gets a reccomendation from me. As does the coast route, I appreciate routes can change on the fly so be prepared to go with it :)
 
As you drive through san louis abispo, I recommend you check out the old mission there for a bit of historical fun (if you enjoy that sort of thing).

San Francisco is definately worth a few days of touristy stuff (do the boat tour) and walking up and down very steep hills.

And definately take the coast road past big sur, it's all foresty and hills one side and ocean on the other. Beautiful twisty road :) Having done both the slab and the coast road, I can say the slab is boring as hell. Just check for landslides before you set off because there are very few ways to detour around them without hours of backtracking.

When you arrive in Santa Monica, perhaps celebrate the start of the holiday and overcome your jet lag with a few drinks on the pier, which has become a very "happening" place.
 
plenty to do in san francisco went there in 99' , i would reccomend a drive across the golden gate bridge and a tour of Alcatraz , loads of stuff to do in and around the city.
 
I took the same route as you've planned from Sacremento to South Lake Tahoe when I was out there in 2002. If the weather is good the scenery is stunning.

There isn't a huge amount to do around that area other than the scenery but it's worth the trip up there.
 
Have a look at the big thread I did in Motors.

Your route is missing:

a) Pacific Coast Highway
b) At the top, go through Yosemite National Park, don't go all the way around the top BUT check Tioga Pass is open first because if it isnt its a massive detour

Otherwise looks good.

The Charger is crap, btw :p
 
When you're heading South on US 395, I recommend staying 1 night in Lee Vining.
Then you can visit Bodie Ghost Town and Mono Lake.
The road into Yosemite will be closed at that time of year, although I would have recommended that if it had been open.

In LV, I'd recommend a tour of the Bone Yard at the Neon Museum.
In SF, cross the GGB and head towards the Marin Headlands for great views of the Bridge.
Baker Beach is good too.

In Death Valley, Zabriskie Point is good for sunset/rise and you could also visit The Racetrack and all the other hotspots.


(See my site for photos).
 
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