Dont even know where to start

[samx57]

Hi everyone

Since we aren't planning on going back to Florida until 2021 for the anniversary, I was thinking of planning a California trip and maybe combining it with going somewhere else.

I have no clue where to even begin so any tips or advice is appreciated such as:
How long we would need at Disney?
Other places to visit?
Where we could combine this with?
Best time to go?

Thanks so much

[red cuillen]

How long have you got- it's a big state, do you like driving !
Do you have children, if so how old?

Disney, can be done in 2-3 days, but we like Disney, so spent 5 days there.

You'll have to read through trip reports, there are plenty, some, like mine just dealt with the coastal trip from San F to LA - via Joshua Tree. Other deal with Vegas, and Yosemite, and Death Valley, and San Diego, then further afield to the Grand Canyon, and Monument Valley, you get the idea!
Internal flights are good, as is flying in to one airport, and out of another, doesn't seem to cost extra. It would be impossible to sum up a trip to the UK to visitor, but that's how big California is!
It is hot hot hot in the desert, and very hot in summer! Can be cool on the coast, wetter to the north, but anywhere can get winter storms which sometimes affect road travel inland.
So get reading California trip reports

[samx57]

Thank you for your reply. No kids just me and my partner.

Was thinking of doing 4 days in Vegas and 6 in Los Angeles.

[miked1e]

Would highly recommend San Fran and Yosemite also...

If you like driving... drive it. Great way to see this unbelievably beautiful state.

Good starting point is trip reports... get some ideas of places you want to see. Make a list of must dos and how you can fit that in to the time you have.

We stayed 4 nights in Disney... this was enough to do everything we wanted to. You can do in 2-3 days... but 4 nights gave us time to do in a chilled way.

I have a trip report called suitcase and a dream which was 16 nights round trip. Happy to give some help if you have any as.

[Bozza]

We felt the same, and I posted a "help" thread on here not long before we went with nothing booked. This is what we ultimately did, although some of this wasn't booked until we were there as we decided what to do as we went along...

Day1: Flew to SFO, picked up a car and drove down to Palo Alto (Silicon Valley) and stayed in a hotel there.

Day 2: Went to the Googleplex and then Apple Park. Drove to Santa Cruz (we intended to stop for lunch and a few rides but the traffic was crazy and it took forever to crawl into town and we didn't have time so we carried on to Monterey, where we had a whale watching tour booked for the evening, which was fantastic. Night in Monterey hotel.

Day 3: Monterey Bay Aquarium (excellent) and general mooch about the wharf area of Monterey. Night in same Monterey hotel.

Day 4: Down the Pacific Coast Highway, stopping where we fancied including the elephant seals. Continued to Solvang (lovely little Danish town) - stayed for the night here.

Day 5: Drove to Santa Barbara - spent a few hours there and had lunch before back in the car to LA. Night (first of 5) in a hotel in Glendale. Friend picked up up and took us to Santa Monica to go to the beach and get our feet wet in the Pacific and onto the pier to take in the vibe and do a few rides. Night in LA Hotel (1st of 5).

Day 6 - 9: LA sights. A friend took us out one day to see lots of unusual and quirky stuff, we went to Universal Studios one day, we went to the California Science Centre (to see the shuttle) one day, and Griffith Observatory/Hollywood sights one day. Nights in LA hotel.

Day 10-14: Drove to Disneyland Hotel, dropping off hire car at Paradise Pier. We had 5 day tickets for Disneyland, as we wanted to do it at a relaxed pace and see everything. We did 3 full days and 2 half days at either end. Nights at Disneyland Hotel.

Day 15-16: Uber to Hermosa Beach where a friend lives. Stayed with him for 2 nights, chilling a bit.

Day 17-20: Flew from Long Beach to SFO, Uber to our hotel near Union Square. Saw the SFO sights including Alcatraz, hired a car on a whim one day and went over the GG Bridge to Muir Woods and Sausalito etc.

Day 21: flew home.

It all felt very nicely paced but there's so much more to see in nearly every place as well as venturing away from the coast.

[samx57]

Wow that all sounds amazing.

Will defo check out some trip reports.
What sort of time of year would you suggest to go?

[miked1e]

Originally Posted by samx57

Wow that all sounds amazing.

Will deep check out some trio reports.
What sort of time of year would you suggest to go?

See more...

We went July/August... we are stuck to school holidays as DW is a teacher.

Can recommend this time although very hot... and weather is strange in San Fran as summer months the fog rolls in so gets quite cold.

[jocat]

I found it quite daunting planning our California road trip for last summer, but reading as many trip reports as I could really helped with deciding where we wanted to visit. We’d never considered Yosemite until I read trippies about it, but it soon became a ‘must do’ and was one of our favourite parts of the trip.

If you’re feeling worried about any aspect, ask away. There will always be somebody who can help and offer advice.

[Bozza]

Originally Posted by miked1e

We went July/August... we are stuck to school holidays as DW is a teacher.

Can recommend this time although very hot... and weather is strange in San Fran as summer months the fog rolls in so gets quite cold.

See more...

Similar for us - last 3 weeks of August and we stick to school Summer holidays.

LA was very hot and sticky - I'd say no different to our numerous visits to Orlando at the same time of year.

SF was genuinely chilly at times and beautifully warm at others.

[samx57]

So my thinking is to do 3 days in Las Vegas then hire a car and drive to Zions, Horseshoe Bend and Grand Canyon over 2 days. Then drive to LA potentially going through Death Valley?
Then spend 7 days in LA. Taking 2 days to do Disney,1 day at Universal and sight seeing an trying to relax the rest.

Then I will probably do SF separate on a different trip with Yosemite.

Thoughts on this?

Also what sort of amount would you think would be required for spending money?