First Trip to California Tips Please

[KarenG]

Originally Posted by delcarpediem

hmm, i think its gunna be ok im risking the drives it will work out, its part of the fun and experience

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You've had lots of good advice from people that have stayed and visited the places you say you want to go. Everyone is advising you to reconsider. If you are determined not to, I'd suggest rethinking it as a holiday to Palm Springs instead of a holiday to California.

I've been to California a few times and Palm Springs wouldn't even make my top 10.

[daytonababe]

Originally Posted by delcarpediem

hmm, i think its gunna be ok im risking the drives it will work out, its part of the fun and experience

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Well you won’t be ok and they won’t work out . I don’t know a single person who would recommend doing what you suggest ..

I’ve spent a fair bit of time in and around La and driven a lot and the traffic is worse than you can imagine

If you want to do a lot of stuff in LA then basing yourself in Palm Springs is ridiculous to be blunt

The amazing house you’ve booked will barely be used because you will be setting off at 4am and not getting back till very late evening .

[landandword17]

Daytonababe is correct. You will only see the house for enough time to sleep and shower.

So, you need to reevaluate and plan a Palm Springs centered trip. You could see Joshua Tree National Park and do maybe 1 day trip to San Diego and one long day to Universal. Then spend the rest of your time in Palm Springs and enjoying the house you've booked. Not sure what time of year this is. If it's Nov-May Palm Springs will be lovely and warm and you will be able to spend lots of time outdoors. If it's summer it will be very, very hot and you'll need to do any outdoor activities before 11am and after 6pm.

[Twilight Nerd]

Sorry but I too would not recommend basing yourself in Palm Springs. As everyone else has advised it is not just a 2 hour drive traffic is very heavy.

[delcarpediem]

Thanks for all your advice it’s appreciated, I understand where you’re all coming from totally about traffic etc...
I had this kind of plan in my head.
Fly to LAX
Stay overnight and do universal all day, maybe a few other Hollywood sights then drive to cathedral city.
Then spend a few days chilling and then head over to San Diego zoo and sea world.
Then try a few beaches like Laguna, Malibu, Huntington etc... then rest of time just relaxing in Palm Springs.

[landandword17]

So the house you rented is in Cathedral City is that right? And when you say head over to San Diego and try a few beaches do you mean stay in SD and then stay in a beach town or do you still mean day trips? Laguna to Malibu is a 3 hour drive without traffic. The PCH is a car park at car park from around 4pm - 7pm with commuters (did 5 miles in 90 minutes last year). Not to keep harping on at you but the distances and the volume of traffic have to be seen to be believed. It makes Orlando look like a sleepy village in comparison.

Staying in Hollywood or Burbank and doing Universal and Hollywood together is a good idea.

[cornishfrogboy]

I am very much with Daytonababe and the others on this one. Never underestimate either the size of Southern California or the horrific difficulties of travelling by road around LA. I have driven the whole way from Mobile Alabama to KW and then up as far as Daytona. I have never encountered any traffic remotely like that in the LA area. The I4 at rush hour is a doddle in comparison.

We visited at Easter and drove the relatively standard San Francisco, Monterey, 6 Flags, Disney, San Diego, Long Beach, Santa Monica route and most certainly found that multi accommodations and pre positioning was the way to do it.

The I5 in particular, was absolutely horrendously congested at peak times.

I suggest that you read my review 'California N to South at Easter' and also those of many others in order that you may consider a realistic plan.

Like you, we are very experienced Florida visitors who fancied a change. We all agreed that this California vacation was by a country mile, the best US trip to date. The planning is very much worth it. Just be aware that driving in Southern California can be like wading through glue.

[JudyC]

Originally Posted by delcarpediem

hmm, i think its gunna be ok im risking the drives it will work out, its part of the fun and experience

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If your idea of sitting in a giant car park is fun that's great. Don't take notice of Google maps driving times, it really will take much longer than you expect.
On there other hand you could visit places closer to Palm Springs , national parks like Joshua Tree are much more scenic and interesting than the freeways.
My brother lives in San Diego but sets off work at 6am to avoid the worst traffic on his way to work at Carlsbad. Otherwise his 35 mile trip would take 2 hours instead of 40 minutes. You're talking about driving treble that and back in a day.

[KarenG]

Agree Judy, if OP is set on Palm Springs (though I don't really understand why) the best way forward is to visit areas most convenient to there.

OP you are certainly correct to not head straight to Palm Springs on landing at LAX. Traffic, jetlag and a long drive would not be an ideal combination.

[Aims]

Hi delcarpedium I have to backup the advice that has been given you regarding your plans. Take this from a California resident who drives regularly in this kind of traffic- you do not want to do this everyday, trust me. It is an experience, true, but fun is not a word that comes to my mind lol. After a couple of days of stop and go traffic, combined with the antics of our many (unfortunately) dough-head drivers in California, you will be sick to death of the daily long drives. It's just such a long haul to come to California from the UK, just to spend so much of your holiday in the car. You will get so much more valuable time at the places you want to see if you broke up your stay in a few different places closer to the action.



I get where you are coming from about wanting a relaxing place to stay, but unless you are really wanting to see Joshua Tree National Park there is really nothing much going on in Palm Springs to make it worth the drive to everywhere else. It's kind of known to us locals as a retirement community...it's convenient though if you wanted to explore some desert areas. You could easily skip staying there and opt for spending some time in San Diego, which is my neck of the woods. San Diego is a larger city than Palm Springs, but it has retained a very laid-back atmosphere and you can easily take things at a relaxing pace here. Not to mention we have some very nice beaches you can chill out at, just minutes from the Zoo and Sea World.



You could still work in a couple of days in Palm Springs, if you really want to spend some time there. I don't know how long your holiday will be, but I'd suggest flying into LAX as you are talking about, then spending 2-3 days in LA seeing Universal, some Hollywood/LA sights and perhaps a beach day. Then, drive to Palm Springs and spend 2 or 3 days there and visit things in that area, such as Joshua Tree and the Palm Springs aerial tram is worth doing. After that, you could spend however many days you have left in San Diego covering the Zoo, Sea World and get a couple of beach days in, as well... then, drive back to LA to get your flight home. There are a lot of nice places to stay in each location, if you do a little searching. I would suggest checking out some trip reports from people who have gone to those places you are interested in to see where they stayed. If you are set only on having a rental villa, then Google a website called VRBO or, of course, Airbnb. They will all have reviews to help you decide on a nice place.



Good luck on planning your first west coast trip! I have a San Diego trip planning thread pinned to the top of this forum if you are looking for any more ideas of what to do there.