Help me with tourist advice (LA, San Francisco)

[antigoon]

Hey DTF. My dad and I are planning a trip to California. We're gonna fly into San Francisco and then drive down the coast to LA. I know of a few spots I want to hit but I've never been west of Chicago before so my knowledge is pretty limited.

So we need things to do so we can figure out how long to stay in each place. Help a brotha out?

[dongringo]

Depends on what you like to do really. I like the Lonely Planet books because I'm always on a budget and looking for non-touristy things to do. There are other guide books you can look into.

[millahh]

If you're not in a hurry, I highly recommend taking the Pacific Coast Highway for part of the drive.  And for the love of god, get a convertible (and use sunscreen!).

In LA, the Santa Monica Pier is great, Little Tokyo is wonderful....though beyond that, we found LA to be a bit boring.

[antigoon]

If you're not in a hurry, I highly recommend taking the Pacific Coast Highway for part of the drive.  And for the love of god, get a convertible (and use sunscreen!).

Yes, we're planning on it!

[yeshaberto]

I just heard the other day that the 1 in big sur was closed due to mud slides.  may want to check it out to avoid a huge detour.
It sounds like you don't have time to head a few hours east in CA, but if you do, there is endless wonders in the sierra nevadas (yosemite, sequioa, lake tahoe, etc). 
the coastal drive is great, though.  you might want to check out hearst castle while on the coast.

[JayOctavarium]

I just heard the other day that the 1 in big sur was closed due to mud slides.  may want to check it out to avoid a huge detour.
It sounds like you don't have time to head a few hours east in CA, but if you do, there is endless wonders in the sierra nevadas (yosemite, sequioa, lake tahoe, etc). 
the coastal drive is great, though.  you might want to check out hearst castle while on the coast.

these.


And in LA... there really isnt too much... Hollywood is fun... but forgetful

[Sigz]

Stop in Santa Barbara, it's clearly the best place in California. And if you're heading down from San Fransisco you'll go through it anyways.

[XJDenton]

When I was over there, we did Monterey, Yosemite and SF over 5 days. Monterey is worth visiting for the aquarium and theres some decent scenery on the coast.

[El Barto]

The PCH between SF and Monterrey isn't very exciting, but there's a wonderful drive through though the redwoods and nice lake or two via the overland route.  Plan on crashing the night in Monterrey/Carmel before starting the Big Sur leg of the drive South.  The aquarium is certainly worth taking in and you'll eat well.  You'll spend half a day driving 75 miles or so through the Big Sur stopping every mile or two for pictures and scenery.  I'd also try to shoot for a weekday rather than a Saturday or Sunday.  You definitely won't be the only people in a rented mustang making that drive.  Also, bookmark the waterfalls on your GPS.  I hit 3 (the park with the fourth one was closed for some reason).  I've probably still got the coordinates somewhere if you need them.  You can get a California Parks day pass for like $10 or something that'll get you into all of them.

Malibu is certainly pretty cool and Santa Monica is worth checking out.  Like Millah said, LA isn't all that interesting.  Definitely check out the Griffith Observatory.  A great way to spend a couple of hours and see the city from above.  The Aquarium of the Pacific is worth checking out, as well, but it's a bit pricey.  Personally, I'd keep driving onto San Diego.  Beautiful city and the drive there via the PCH is wonderful.  You can drive back to LA via the interstate in no time, so flying back out of LAX wouldn't be a problem.  Also, the zoo really is as good as people say it is. 

[XJDenton]

This was the route we took when we were out there. This was about 3 days of driving total.

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=205941178606302015977.0004a4a73d461fef3fdca&z=8

We also drove down big sur for about an hour or two. The drive from stanford to Monterey is really nice though. There are some good views from quite a few of the parks.

[Ryzee]

Are you going this summer?  If so, go to the beach!  Not sure how far south you're going, but the beaches in south Orange County are very nice, almost white sand/clear water nice.  Newport, Corona Del Mar, Laguna, etc.  Decent waves, hot chicks, can't go wrong!

[Dr. DTVT]

You can be the second DTF member to eat at lonestar's restaurant.

[yeshaberto]

this thread inspired me to take a day off and head up the coast.  got to cambria and hwy 1 is still closed.  got routed through hwy 46 (WOW!) and then up 101 and ended up going through a detour thru a military base (WOW - think lombard street for 26 miles, surrounded by streams, pines and beautiful mountains and rocks).  anyways, did the quick hike at pfeiffer state park (a friend told me about it a few years ago), and it is quite a hike to a waterfall and blue lagoon cove. 
anyways, check to see if hwy 1 is opened back up, other than that - DO IT!!!!

[TempusVox]

In San Fran see the Golden Gate, walk the Wharf, and go to Alcatraz. All worth the time. Also, if you get a chance, catch a Giants game, but go during the day. At night you'll freeze your ass off. Sit in the upper deck, first base side--best view. Also you must head to Muir woods to check out the redwoods, and while there drive on down to Stinson beach. Very cool place. Can do this on the same day you go to the GG bridge (you have to cross it to get to Muir anyway).

There is a really cool bookstore there called Chronicle Books. They publish a ton of really cool and obscure titles there. I've done three book signings there (at the Metreon location), and every time I've been there I spend more than 500.00 buying books and having them shipped home. I LOVE this place. My idea of the perfect bookstore, and they are always very good to me. A truly awesome experience.

I'll post some LA stuff later.

[El Barto]

this thread inspired me to take a day off and head up the coast.  got to cambria and hwy 1 is still closed.  got routed through hwy 46 (WOW!) and then up 101 and ended up going through a detour thru a military base (WOW - think lombard street for 26 miles, surrounded by streams, pines and beautiful mountains and rocks).  anyways, did the quick hike at pfeiffer state park (a friend told me about it a few years ago), and it is quite a hike to a waterfall and blue lagoon cove. 
anyways, check to see if hwy 1 is opened back up, other than that - DO IT!!!!

Wow.  46 to 101 and then presumably back to hwy 1 is a monumental detour.  How much of 1 is closed and why, and what'd you take to get back to 1 from the detour?   Also, did you just take in McWay falls, or did you do the long hike into the woods for Pheiffer Falls?

And if you're not already familiar with it, Salmon Creek Falls is probably the best of them.  Unlike McWay, you can hike right up to it, and it's not real crowded, either.  You'll do a bit of climbing over large rocks, but it's absolutely worth it. 

[yeshaberto]

this thread inspired me to take a day off and head up the coast.  got to cambria and hwy 1 is still closed.  got routed through hwy 46 (WOW!) and then up 101 and ended up going through a detour thru a military base (WOW - think lombard street for 26 miles, surrounded by streams, pines and beautiful mountains and rocks).  anyways, did the quick hike at pfeiffer state park (a friend told me about it a few years ago), and it is quite a hike to a waterfall and blue lagoon cove. 
anyways, check to see if hwy 1 is opened back up, other than that - DO IT!!!!

Wow.  46 to 101 and then presumably back to hwy 1 is a monumental detour.  How much of 1 is closed and why, and what'd you take to get back to 1 from the detour?   Also, did you just take in McWay falls, or did you do the long hike into the woods for Pheiffer Falls?

And if you're not already familiar with it, Salmon Creek Falls is probably the best of them.  Unlike McWay, you can hike right up to it, and it's not real crowded, either.  You'll do a bit of climbing over large rocks, but it's absolutely worth it. 


nice pic...it was a monumental detour.  I think just one bridge is closed.  there were three other bridges that were also wiped out by the mudslides but they had one lane open.  I took county rd 18, to 14 to 22 (through a military base), which was the only way to get to big sur other than thru monterey.  I am spending the night in monterey tonight though.  awesome trek, altogether