California

[Niall Quinn]

I'm heading to LA in a couple of weeks, and was wondering if people here have any specific recommendations on places to visit within driving distance of LA? I'm considering the LA to San Francisco drive, south to San Diego / Mexico, and out to Vegas also, time permitting. I've never visited the state before, so have no idea what opportunity costs choosing one route over another will present.

[bailestil]

Spend as little time as possible in la. Complete dump. Head to san fran via big sur. Head to yoremite. Then go to vegas. Then hit san diego. 

[Puckoon]

San Fran is alot more fun that LA. LA is quite a kip IMHO. South to San Diego is a great spot - lots of nice beaches, weather is great and plenty to look at. Coronado beach is nice.

Yosemite national park is pretty spectacular and If you go as far as vegas - id recommend a trip to see the grand caynon (can be done in a day - even by helicopter.)

In San Fran id take a day out to see alcatraz.

There are some other fun "seaside" towns along the route 101 such as Santa Cruz, Montery and Carmel by the sea (Clint Eastwood is the mayor there).

[magickingdom]

theres a couple of threads on california already niall with very good stuff in them. la-sd is about 125 miles and la-sf is about 500 (if you take the 5 (freeway) youll do it in 6 hours). if you go to sf visit the wine country in napa and calistoga. i stayed in orange county (basically la)last month in courtyard by marriott (714) 5451001 on harbor blvd, its a great hotel if you want a few days to relax - great pool etc and if you book on the net you can pick it up for $80-90 per night. i lived in california for years and love the place..

[The Worker]

Lads heading to San Fran for just over a week at the end of summer, was thinking about taking in san diego for a day or 2 also.

Would the following be feasible, or would i really need more time to do it right?

San Fran- 2/3 days
Travel by car down coast- 2/3 days
san diego- 2/3 days



Also- could people recommend spots that would be ideal to stay over down the coast? Im not fussed on LA, anywhere else with a beach and decent nightlife would be grand.

thanks

[attheraces]

Yeh it's definitely feasible, we did somethin similar across a week and we had a few stops which was very enjoyable. If I were you with 2/3 days I would do the following.
day 1
San Fran - Santa Barbara which takes about 6 hour drive, but it's a pretty nice drive after 3 hours and you go through numerous small towns you could stop in for beach etc. Santa Barbara is a great wee town, lovely beach and pier, it's a very classy spot. You could leave early and be there for main part of day around the beach which is where most of the life is during the day. A day in santa barbara would be suffice.

day2/3
Santa Barbara - Palm Springs, it's in off the coast, about a 3 hour drive but it's a wonderful spot plenty to do do. We did a horse ride through the desert one day and there are a few good golf courses aswell if any of you are into that. There's plenty to do and you could have a good couple of days there.

day3/4
palm springs- san diego it's about a 3 hour drive, you could leave in eveneing get another day in palm springs and stil make san diego by 7 or 8 and enjoy the nightlife.

san diego is a great city, nightlife in it is unbelievable!

[An Gaeilgoir]

Spend as little time as possible in la. Complete dump. Head to san fran via big sur. Head to yoremite. Then go to vegas. Then hit san diego.

Did this trip for the honeymoon a while back it is a great trip, San Diego, San Fran,Monterery, Sallinas, Yosimite park, Gilroy (the garlic capital of the US!!). Brillant trip. Agree totally with ther comments about LA. We stayed for two nights in a friends place in malibu, but couldn't wait to get out of La, dump.

[The Worker]

Cheers for the replies.

I think i will go for it, def wanna go go Santa Barbara and then Palm Springs could be an option.

Can anyone recommend a car hire firm for the west coast? I will need it for 3 days travelling from San Fran to San Diego.

Are there any other places on route that would be great to visit?

[attheraces]

Hertz at San Fran Airport is pretty good that is what we used and is handy to get onto the 101 so you can pop straight onto it. just get BART out from san fran city to airport and sort car hire from there, it saves you driving about the city which can be quite hectic for anyone. booking online you can get discounts by using them comparison sites as well!

[armaghniac]

Before looking at car hire sights, look at consolidators notably holidayautos.com and autoeurope.com, check their best deal and read the small print and that gives you a benchmark to check other sites. A lot of car hire sites price the car without insurance etc, but when you add it all up the rate is much higher, holidayautos include the insurance in their prices.

[Jimmy]

What is the best way to sort out your accomodation? Have you it all organized in advance or would you be better just driving to a city and trying to find somewhere when you get there.

Have always fancied driving up and down california. Wold love to do it.

[Tyrones own]

What is the best way to sort out your accomodation? Have you it all organized in advance or would you be better just driving to a city and trying to find somewhere when you get there.

Have always fancied driving up and down california. Wold love to do it.

Have always wanted to bike down the coast and that
Dream is being realized as I type 

[Eamonnca1]

Before looking at car hire sights, look at consolidators notably holidayautos.com and autoeurope.com, check their best deal and read the small print and that gives you a benchmark to check other sites. A lot of car hire sites price the car without insurance etc, but when you add it all up the rate is much higher, holidayautos include the insurance in their prices.

Good point. Insurance can cost as much as the car hire itself, so be prepared for that. I recently bought insurance through Expedia for a car I was hiring in Ireland.  When I got to Ireland they refused to accept the insurance and I had to get it refunded.  They then took a deposit out of my credit card and gave me a cover note. If you're doing something similar (buying insurance while you book in Ireland) then don't be surprised if they don't accept it either when you get to the states.