First timers, San Fran to LA. Does this sound doable

[sweetemotion]

I would also suggest cutting out Vegas. If it's your first time going, everything will be new to you and you'll want to take the time to enjoy it. I've been to Disneyland 5 times now and spent 4 days there in February and just about did everything I wanted to. There are some really amazing sights along the coast that you might want to take your time to stop and see. McWay falls is beautiful, Julia Pfeiffer Burns beach, Hearst Castle perhaps? There's also a beach full of Elephant Seals that you can stop and see in San Simeon. I found the Monterey Aquarium to be very overrated for the price of a ticket. But whale watching was amazing. We managed to see a pod of Orca's a humpback whale and a Sea Otter in the ocean rather than in an aquarium tank.

I'd probably say another night in Hollywood too? Santa Monica and Malibu are great places to check out. Would avoid Venice, it's disgusting.

What about adding in Long Beach? I've never been but it's supposed to be nice.

[400ixl]

Nothing wrong with Venice Beach, depends on you outlook on life and culture though I guess.

[tocpe321]

Hi
I would probably combine the 3 single coastal nights into one stop half way between San Francisco and LA area. I would then stay somewhere like Redondo Beach / Manhattan Beach for a few nights and leave out the theme parks and Las Vegas. (To be fair I've not been to Disneyland, Las Vegas or California side Universal. I do know that it is good to recharge your batteries for a few nights in each place you stay.)
I would consider going from Redondo area to Joshua Tree National Park area, e.g. 29 Palms for a few nights before San Diego.
I agree San Diego is great and I would want to spend longer there.
We drove from San Diego to LAX on the morning of our flight.

As a rough guide my suggestion would be

3 nights San Francisco
3 nights mid PCH
3 nights Redondo/ Manhattan Beach area
3 nights 29 Palms
5 nights San Diego

Happy planning

[florida girl]

I too would say don’t do so many 1 night stays. Definitely 2 ngts at Monterey and extra nights in San Diego on our first road trip we only did 3 nights which just wasn’t enough (we returned the following year for longer as its such a beautiful place ). We visited Palm Springs to go on the Aerial Tramway which is a must we left LA early and then carried on to SD arriving early evening cutting out the need to stay overnight.

[florida girl]

Originally Posted by tocpe321

Hi
I would probably combine the 3 single coastal nights into one stop half way between San Francisco and LA area. I would then stay somewhere like Redondo Beach / Manhattan Beach for a few nights and leave out the theme parks and Las Vegas. (To be fair I've not been to Disneyland, Las Vegas or California side Universal. I do know that it is good to recharge your batteries for a few nights in each place you stay.)
I would consider going from Redondo area to Joshua Tree National Park area, e.g. 29 Palms for a few nights before San Diego.
I agree San Diego is great and I would want to spend longer there.
We drove from San Diego to LAX on the morning of our flight.

As a rough guide my suggestion would be

3 nights San Francisco
3 nights mid PCH
3 nights Redondo/ Manhattan Beach area
3 nights 29 Palms
5 nights San Diego

Happy planning

See more...

We drove from SD to LAX on the day of our flight we took the coastal road making a few stops along the way it was such a lovely end to our holiday.

[daytonababe]

Far too many hotel changes imo... With 1 night stops you barely get any time at the place your visiting..

Vegas is always a must for us, 3 nights wouldn't be enough..And its a easy if boring drive from LA.. time wise it can be anything from 4-7 hrs (nearer the later more often for us) due to traffic.

Venice Beach I can't see any fascination with..far nice beaches to visit and stay. Long Beach is nice as is Huntingdon beach.

Hollywood is a bit marmite too... We always visit for a few hours but I'd never stay there.

Next year is our 5th time to Disneyland and 2 days is enough, even at Spring Break we've had time to do everything.


As for your last day, We always get the 10pm flight home from LAX and many a time we've driven 360 miles from Phoenix to the airport.