14 day west coast (From San Fran to LA)

hi all,

ive got a few questions here and need some help in planning our road trip.

Me and my friends (5 of us, 20s and 21s) will be stepping into San fran soil on 19th July noon. we will be leaving for home (singapore) on 2nd Aug midnight(3rd aug 0000hr).

We are planning a driving trip for about 11 days.

San Fran - 19th %26amp; 20th July.

21st morning leave San Fran for San Jose/Santa Cruz.

San jose/Santa Cruz - 21st July

22nd morning leave for Big Sur

Big Sur - 22nd July

23rd morning leave for Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara - 23rd July

24th morning leave for OC

OC - 24th July

25th morning leave for Anaheim(disneyland)

Anaheim(disneyland) - 25th July

26th July leave for Las Vegas

Las Vegas Outlet Mall - 26th July

27th July go to Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon - 27th July

Las Vegas Strip - 27th Night

28th morning leave for LA

LA downtown - 28th %26amp; 29th

LA outlet mall - 30th

Is our schedule feasible? Is there a better plan for us to see the coast yet go to LV %26amp; Grand Canyon? Are our stops for the small towns sufficient? Is the plan too packed, should we space it out further?

Our flight only leave on the 2nd so we in fact have more days off. what do you suggest that we can do? Sightseeing, beaches, towns, shopping, architecture is something we favour. any suggestions on what to do at the small towns as well?

We will have 5 luggages with us throughout the trip and we intend to rent a 7 seater SUV. Is that feasible?

Any advice/suggestion greatly appreciated! thank youuu!!

14 day west coast (From San Fran to LA)

Hi

A full size 5-seater SUV will do but have you thought about restrictions re. your age?

You are underestimating distances. It%26#39;s 5 hours from Las Vegas to GCNP and it%26#39;s 8-9 hours from GCNP to Los Angeles plus your time to see GC.

Maybe try this:

7/19: Arrive SF. You%26#39;ll need several hours for immigration. p/u luggage. p/u rental car (or maybe visit SF without a car). And you%26#39;re jet lagged. Don%26#39;t expect to see much first day.

7/20: San Francisco

7/21: San Francisco. At least 2 days to explore SF. 1 day certainly will be too short imo.

7/22: Drive to Santa Cruz for a visit and drive to Monterey.

7/23: See Monterey Aquarium. see Carmel, Point Lobos SR. Big Sur and drive to Cambria for the night.

7/24: See Hearst Castle and drive to Santa Barbara.

7/25: From Santa Barbara to Las Vegas

7/26: Las Vegas (no gambling under the age of 21)

7/27: Las Vegas-Grand Canyon NP. If you start early you can visit this great NP in the afternoon. But it will be hard to get accomodation. Try www.grandcanyonlodges.com or try lodging in Tusayan just south of the park.

7/28: The very long drive to Los Angeles

7/29-8/2: OC, LA and Anaheim.

You%26#39;ve mentioned only 11 days but is seems more like 14 days.

Tet

14 day west coast (From San Fran to LA)

hey tet! thanks for your suggestions!

we did think of age restructions but what ive known is that we will have a underage surcharge thats all. ive rented a 7 seater SUV from budget without problems :)

for SF, we do not intend to have a car. we intend to start renting the car the day we leave SF.

do you know how long is the drive from SF-Santa Cruz-Montery-Big Sur-Cambria-Santa Barbara-LV?

at Grand Canyon we intend to visit the Sky walk.. how long is the drive from LV to the GC skywalk?

from LA to OC %26amp; Anaheim, is there available public transport or we have to rent a car? We are thinking of renting the car for the entire trip that needed to be visited by driving at one go instead of splitting up the rental into 2 occasions.

Don%26#39;t miss spending some time in Carmel, you may want to inquire about the Tor House tour, it%26#39;s a cool house with a tower where poet Robinson Jeffers lived, I think the tours are about an hour and a half for $7/pp. Looks like a great trip! :)

I suggest that you keep your car for the entire trip. Getting around in LA/OC area on public transport is difficult.

If you have nothing on the agenda in San Jose, then skip San Jose (I live in San Jose)and drive the down coast from San Francisco to Santa Cruz to Monterey to Carmel to Big Sur. One of the most beautiful drives in California. Carmel has a nice shopping area - not outlets. If you have the time, south of Carmel is Point Lobos State Park. Take a couple of hours to hike around and take photos.

But now that you mention shopping - we do have the Great Mall in Milpitas. Outlet shopping including Saks Off Fifth and Last Call Neiman Marcas.

For high scale shopping, there is Santana Row and Westfield%26#39;s Valley Fair. And then from San Jose to Monterey (you%26#39;ll have to skip Santa Cruz), there%26#39;s the Gilroy Premium outlets.

Mmmm...shopping or sightseeing.

Your plans are fine as is. Note: The only thing you might want to cosnider is what you want to do in the Santa Cruz/San Jose area. If you want to do Great America, Wichester Mystery House, Mystery Spot, Santa Cruz Boardwalk, oceans, etc. probably ok. If you don%26#39;t have anything specific you want to see in the San Jose area, then I would skip San Jose and just concentrate on Santa Cruz/Monterey area instead.

You need to check the Grand Canyon Forum for comments on the Sky Walk. It is actually at Grand Canyon West, not the National Park, %26amp; is very expensive. You also have to drive in on dirt roads, which you shouldn%26#39;t do with a rental car. How much time have you allowed for the GC?

This is the link to a debate about the Grand Canyon / Skywalk:

…tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g45963-i10-k20266…

Hi, we are thinking of doing the same itinerary. May I know how much is the surcharge for dropping off your car in LA? What about the hotels? Appreciate if you could share with me. Thanks a lot!

hey ChristmasSJ,

we have decided to skip san jose and just concentrate on santa cruz and monterey area. thanks for that suggestion. we realised there is nothing we wanna do in san jose. we realy like scenic views and beaches so we gonna do the beach route ;) we are into shopping but the cheaper ones like outlet malls and unique stuffs suit us better than expensive shopping brands. unless that shopping area has a certain kind of feel to it that we should experience we will not go down the upscale shopping route. thanks for you ideas ;)

hey ellenwillow,

our highlight of GC was supposed to be the skywalk. do you suggest anything else we can do for GC? we planned about 3-4hrs in GC itself. suggestions on what to do if we are encouraged to skip the skywalk please. thanks!

regarding parking charges, is it expensive to keep the car for 3 more days in LA for us to drive to OC and Anaheim? also doesnt hotel charge alot for parking cars overnight? please advise us on the car. thanks!

Where are you staying in the LA area? If you%26#39;re going to Disneyland in Anaheim, drive yourselves there. Most hotels/motels there do not charge for parking. Same for most lodging in the LA area.

For the LA area, most lodging around LA international airport have free parking. You will need your car to get around LA. Everything is very spread out. You don%26#39;t want to mess around with public transportation. You%26#39;ll want to go to Hollywood. Or do a studio tour. Colleges? There%26#39;s UCLA and Westwood. Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive. Thinking about Universal Studios? Don%26#39;t miss Venice Beach - just to walk around and people watch. There are lots of people biking, roller-blading, and playing volleyball. Lots of street vendors. You can even watch the body builders at work or should I say at play. You can bike or roller blade from Venice Beach all the way down to Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, and Redondo Beach. Or drive, but you guys are in your 20%26#39;s - so you can follow the bike path down along the beaches.

Just suggestions because I%26#39;m not clear about your itinerary and where you%26#39;re dropping off your car or what your rental contract is.

zits