San Fran - San Diego or San Diego to San Fran??

I am plaaning a road trip between San Diego and San Fransisco. Which is the best city to start from? It will be from 15 - 30 November.

Does anyone have any %26#39;off the beaten track%26#39; idea%26#39;s of something different to do?

Where are the best places to stay - on a budget - but not too dodgy!

Thanks

San Fran - San Diego or San Diego to San Fran??

I like the north to south option because it then you are on the ocean side of the road and have better views. Also, on 2 lane roads like Hwy 1 through Big Sur, the turn outs are easier to get to.

November is the beginning of the rainy season, so be prepared for some inclement weather during the trip. That time of year can be crystal clear and gorgeous or it can be really stormy. Chances are you will have some of both over your 2 week trip. If you can, build some slack into your trip so that you can adjust if needed - for example if a big storm comes in the day you plan to drive through Big Sur, it would be nice to be able to wait a day or two - that sort of thing.

As for off the beaten track sorts of things - what are your interests?

San Fran - San Diego or San Diego to San Fran??

Thanks for the advice...I thought I%26#39;d prefer to go from North to South, so you have made my mind up for me!

We like all kinds of things...music, sport, anything that is a bit different. Being from England, I suppose there are a lot of things over there that are completely different from here.

Is November %26#39;out of season%26#39;? Will there still be things to do, even though its winter? I thought it was still warm there at that time of year.

We have 2 weeks either side of the 1st week in December, as we are meeting friends in Las Vegas for a week. I opted for the week before assuming that it would be better weather....will there be much difference?

Thanks

In November you have a better chance of good weather than in December, so I would keep the plan as it is. We don%26#39;t have extreme weather here though. It rarely freezes (occasionally overnight with morning frost), but winters are cool and rainy. It doesn%26#39;t rain the whole winter - there are plenty of breaks in between. Lows are generally in the high 30s through low 50s (F) and highs in the 50s and 60s.

Winter is definitely the slow season along the coast, but things are still open. It just isn%26#39;t as crowded. People visit here year round. There are a few places, like the Boardwalk in Santa Cruz that will be closed (not many people want to ride rollercoasters in the rain) but for the most part, things will be open.

For things to do, be sure to visit one of our missions. I like the mission at San Juan Bautista because in addition to the mission they have rebuilt the old town square. It will give you some good info about California history. Carmel Mission is good too.

Don%26#39;t miss the redwood forests - I recommend Big Basin in the Santa Cruz mountains, but there are plenty of choices.

If you like wine, there are lots of wineries to visit - Napa, Sonoma, Santa Cruz mountains, Carmel Valley, Santa Ynez valley, Temecula... Basically whatever your itinerary, you will be able to fit in some wineries without much of a detour.

Monterey and Carmel are great - esspecially the Monterey Bay Aquarium. If you have read John Steinbeck, much of his books were set in the central coast.

Of course Big Sur coast is a must see - for a quirky place to stay, check out Deetjen%26#39;s.

Thanks so much for your information, its been a great help and we will certainly be checking out Deetjens...sounds great. Thanks

I%26#39;d suggest 2 variations on November Moon%26#39;s itinerary. Plan to go south along hwy 1 all the way from SF. For your redwood fix, I%26#39;d suggest going into Butano Redwoods park instead of Big Basin. Big Basin is hard to drive into, while Butano park is close to the coast at Pescadero.

And in Big Sur I%26#39;d suggest staying at the Lucia Lodge instead of funky Deetjens, which is right on the road but not on the water. Lucia has great views from your room and good food too.

Perhaps you could visit some of the restored spanish missions, which gave their names to many of the coastal cities.

Sometimes in November it happens that the warmest spot in the continental US is along the Central California coast. The closer you get to december the more likely you will hit our wet season.

Thanks for that....its a great help. I dont really want to stray to far from the road but I want to see different and unusual things.

I am thinking that the ebst way around is to start from San Fran, as it will hopefully be warmer the further we go down south and as we are getting nearer to December towards the end of our trip, we should be OK.

Thanks

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