san Francisco to Yosemite -no driving ?

[enjibenji]

We stayed 1 night just outside of park and we didn't even scratch the service. This year we have booked 2 nights inside the park and looking forward to exploring abit more. Driving is easier in California IMO but take it easy especially around yosemite np, you have a lot of bendy roads, which actually don't seem bad as your going so slow anyway and everyone else is driving the same. Make sure you drive in the light and be careful of the wildlife (another reason to take it slow). I find the worst bit is the freeways in LA and SF, theres so many lanes. Also I find because you are using gps it sort of makes you more confident. Good luck 😊

[JudyC]

We drove from San Francisco to Yosemite. Once you are out of San Francisco and over the bridge it's pretty easy. DH drove that time and I wouldn't say he is hugely confident driving abroad.
We now have an automatic car ourselves so I think I'd feel more confident to drive in the US myself.
Honestly it's so easy to drive once you train yourself not to keep reaching for the gears 😁

[Rachaelwoolly]

Originally Posted by 400ixl

If you partner is more confident, get them to drive out of the city and them take over and build your confidence where the roads are quieter.

What don't you get on with in an automatic?

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thanks .. sounds like he should be first up !
I think its the coming to a junction bit and the muscle memory processes associated with going down through the gears and not stalling !
I've just thought my Dad has an automatic so maybe I could get some practice in !

[Rachaelwoolly]

Originally Posted by enjibenji

We stayed 1 night just outside of park and we didn't even scratch the service. This year we have booked 2 nights inside the park and looking forward to exploring abit more. Driving is easier in California IMO but take it easy especially around yosemite np, you have a lot of bendy roads, which actually don't seem bad as your going so slow anyway and everyone else is driving the same. Make sure you drive in the light and be careful of the wildlife (another reason to take it slow). I find the worst bit is the freeways in LA and SF, theres so many lanes. Also I find because you are using gps it sort of makes you more confident. Good luck 😊

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I really want to make the most of the time there too enjoy your next trip !

[Rachaelwoolly]

Originally Posted by JudyC

We drove from San Francisco to Yosemite. Once you are out of San Francisco and over the bridge it's pretty easy. DH drove that time and I wouldn't say he is hugely confident driving abroad.
We now have an automatic car ourselves so I think I'd feel more confident to drive in the US myself.
Honestly it's so easy to drive once you train yourself not to keep reaching for the gears 😁

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thanks for the vote of confidence !
I'm sure we can both do it ! :I just need to get my head around the automatic car thing- may be some practice is needed !

[400ixl]

Originally Posted by mobys mum

thanks .. sounds like he should be first up !
I think its the coming to a junction bit and the muscle memory processes associated with going down through the gears and not stalling !
I've just thought my Dad has an automatic so maybe I could get some practice in !

See more...

You will get used to it very quickly, especially if you start outside of the city as there will be fewer junctions.

You will not be alone in pressing an invisible clutch or reaching out for a gear lever so don't worry about that.

Subconsciously you will very quickly stop doing it and it will become natural, probably within an hour or so. Just give a bit of time.

Thankfully the advantage is the car won't stall, so it is not dangerous in the way it could be the other way around.

The one thing I would suggest to start with is if the car has stop start then turn that off to start with. The engine cutting out at a junction (even though it will restart automatically) could cause you to get flustered. So switch it off until you are comfortable.

Go for it, Yosemite has to be seen and as others have suggested a couple of nights so you get a full day and two half days (for travelling).

I can't see any reason you won't be up and going in no time and enjoying the freedom of driving out there.

Another thing to consider is to not have a car in San Fran as you don't need one, but to Uber back out to the airport to collect one where you will have a greater choice of car (suggest an SUV for visibility) and you can get out onto the freeway and out of town quicker.

[Rachaelwoolly]

Originally Posted by 400ixl

You will get used to it very quickly, especially if you start outside of the city as there will be fewer junctions.

You will not be alone in pressing an invisible clutch or reaching out for a gear lever so don't worry about that.

Subconsciously you will very quickly stop doing it and it will become natural, probably within an hour or so. Just give a bit of time.

Thankfully the advantage is the car won't stall, so it is not dangerous in the way it could be the other way around.

The one thing I would suggest to start with is if the car has stop start then turn that off to start with. The engine cutting out at a junction (even though it will restart automatically) could cause you to get flustered. So switch it off until you are comfortable.

Go for it, Yosemite has to be seen and as others have suggested a couple of nights so you get a full day and two half days (for travelling).

I can't see any reason you won't be up and going in no time and enjoying the freedom of driving out there.

Another thing to consider is to not have a car in San Fran as you don't need one, but to Uber back out to the airport to collect one where you will have a greater choice of car (suggest an SUV for visibility) and you can get out onto the freeway and out of town quicker.

See more...

Wow, thanks so much Reassuring and wise
some really great advice there...I agree, think it would be pointless having the car in San Francisco as a pain to park and pay for - Its a good idea to Uber back out to the airport so to avoid the getting out of town bit
Much appreciated

[JudyC]

Honestly after driving an automatic for a while you'll prefer it to a manual. If I've been driving our automatic and then drive my old manual car I sometimes almost stall at the end of our close as forget I need to press the clutch 😂
Maybe you could hire an automatic for a weekend in the UK, or test drive one at a garage 😉

[Supersuzie]

I'm not a nervous driver in the UK and when I was working in the office before lockdown, my daily commute was 50 miles roundtrip of mostly busy motorways. I am, however, not the most confident driver and waited until I was 30 to learn as I was convinced I would be terrible at it (I'm not and I passed first time).

We went to Florida in 2018 and I had every intention of driving but, when push came to shove, I just could not do it. I had a go round the empty car park at Disney Springs early one morning but I hated it and panicked when another car came anywhere near me.

When we went to Vegas and California in 2019, the plan depended on me being able to cover some of the driving as we were covering so many miles it was not fair to let my husband do it all. So I eased myself in on the I-15 and it was so different to Florida. West Coast drivers are so much more chilled out than Florida drivers. I did hundreds of miles, including a lot of twisty mountain roads in Sequoia National Park and I loved it!

This was a long way to say I know how you feel, I've been there and you can do it! Good luck and I hope you have a brilliant trip.

[llamala]

We had 5 days in SF but this included our Dd s wedding( absolutely amazing) so as we did not want to drive in SF, we opted for trips, so did Yosemite, Alcatraz, a boat trip under the bridge and a city movie tour, Which was brilliant, we were on a mini bus with a video showing famous SF movies and then we were there with loads of background information.