California trip question

iamporch

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jun 25, 2012
Trying to plan a possible trip for next summer. Depends on how the situation is but still want to plan as if it would happen. Originally I was wanting to fly into San Francisco and stay for 3 nights (2 full days), and drive down highway 1 including Disneyland and San Diego in our trip. The more I start looking into things though the more I would rather not stay in San Francisco just for various reasons. I would still like to do the Highway 1 drive though and possibly still see San Francisco. Is it silly to fly into San Diego and drive both up and down the coast? We could pick a place to stay both on the way there and back to split the drive and see more stops along the coast. Or should we skip San Francisco all together? Does any of this make sense? We are a family of 6 if that matters.

We live about 3.5 hours from Chicago and have done day trips there in the past. I know each big city is different but we are used to driving in traffic like that and the parking issues that come with areas like this.
 
Do you want to explore San Francisco? If so, fly into there and spend one night resting before exploring during the day and then driving after. SF is a long drive from SD
 
Do you want to explore San Francisco? If so, fly into there and spend one night resting before exploring during the day and then driving after. SF is a long drive from SD
There were only a few things I would like to see in SF. Flying into SF seems to cost more than into SD or LAX for us. And renting a van in SF and dropping off in SD is double than picking up and dropping off in the same spot. I know prices will change but it looks like cost along it would save us about $1500 by not flying int SF. That was part of the reason for me thinking of driving up the coast and back down.
 
I would say it depends on how important seeing SF is to you this trip as to whether it's worth it. It's doable, but a long drive, especially if you hit high traffic times through the major cities. If you have the days to do it and you really want to hit SF go for it, Hwy 1 is gorgeous in areas and plenty of nice places to stay the night. For me personally I would probably opt to stay in southern CA and stick with DL/LA area and SD.
 


There were only a few things I would like to see in SF. Flying into SF seems to cost more than into SD or LAX for us. And renting a van in SF and dropping off in SD is double than picking up and dropping off in the same spot. I know prices will change but it looks like cost along it would save us about $1500 by not flying int SF. That was part of the reason for me thinking of driving up the coast and back down.

ok, what do you want to see? It’s a long drive to and from SF from a Southern California.
 
How many days do you have, and how many days do you want to spend in each city? We've done trips, going from Los Angeles to San Francisco and back. Los Angeles - San Francisco on Hwy 1 can take up to 12 hours, and is really beautiful. You can break that drive up and stop halfway down. The fastest way between the two cities is about 6.5 hours along Hwy 5. So, you can drive up on Hwy 1, and maybe spend the night in Cambria, and stop another in Monterey (another beautiful spot with a great aquarium), and go to San Francisco, then drive back down via Hwy 5, or if you want another beautiful drive, but longer, you can come back via 101.

Knowing a little of your plans can help us give you ideas on where to go and what to see.
 
How many days do you have, and how many days do you want to spend in each city? We've done trips, going from Los Angeles to San Francisco and back. Los Angeles - San Francisco on Hwy 1 can take up to 12 hours, and is really beautiful. You can break that drive up and stop halfway down. The fastest way between the two cities is about 6.5 hours along Hwy 5. So, you can drive up on Hwy 1, and maybe spend the night in Cambria, and stop another in Monterey (another beautiful spot with a great aquarium), and go to San Francisco, then drive back down via Hwy 5, or if you want another beautiful drive, but longer, you can come back via 101.

Knowing a little of your plans can help us give you ideas on where to go and what to see.
Well I am trying to work with 11-12 days total trip but that is flexible if necessary. I was thinking about what you said and doing Highway 1 on the way north and then not on the way back. Mostly because I don't like heights and thinking driving south on that drive would make me too nervous to drive. SF isn't super important to me but the Highway 1 drive is so I figured if I was pretty much there I should try to spend one day there?

My thought was fly into SD and spend a few nights there. Then start north. Maybe stay in Santa Barbara? then continue north and spend 2 nights in Monterey. So sleep in Monterey and then get up and drive to SF for the day and come back to Monterey. Then go from Monterey to Anaheim and spend a few days there.

My other dilemma is late June works best for our summer vacations. I have heard of the fog issues that time of year. I know it is unpredictable but would it ruin our days along the coast? or if it was foggy and we waited for it to lift to do the driving i am worried we might not have enough time to stop and enjoy. I have had several vacations where pretty much worst case scenario has happened so I like to be prepared.
 


My thought was fly into SD and spend a few nights there. Then start north. Maybe stay in Santa Barbara? then continue north and spend 2 nights in Monterey. So sleep in Monterey and then get up and drive to SF for the day and come back to Monterey. Then go from Monterey to Anaheim and spend a few days there.

My other dilemma is late June works best for our summer vacations. I have heard of the fog issues that time of year. I know it is unpredictable but would it ruin our days along the coast? or if it was foggy and we waited for it to lift to do the driving i am worried we might not have enough time to stop and enjoy. I have had several vacations where pretty much worst case scenario has happened so I like to be prepared.
That sounds like a reasonable travel plan. What did you want to see/do in San Francisco? If you don't mind being in the car all day, you can visit for a day from Monterey.

June can have a lot of fog in San Francisco and it can be cold in the Monterey area. If you aren't looking for a beach vacation, I wouldn't worry about it. I've visited Monterey in June a couple times. The fog in San Francisco has only been a problem for me when trying to fly in or out and you won't be doing that. I haven't had severe fog when driving, but the weather will do what it will do so you are smart to be prepared.
 
Another option is fly into LAX and head north via Hwy 1 stopping in Cambria or Pismo Beach, then Monterey or Carmel and SF. Then back south via Hwy 101 stopping at Pismo Beach or Santa Barbara, through to San Diego and finish in LA (or Anaheim for Disneyland) and fly home. Avoids one way rentals that way. You may also be able to fly home from SNA airport near Disneyland.
 

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