New York, San Fran, La

[cupraglasgow]

Looking for any advice or must see locations flying to NY 1 week then on to San Fran 4 nights and driving from there to LA we have 4 days to do this in. Had a look on google maps but dont know which route to take coast or through all the towns, any suggestions would be good.

Been to NY before so done most of the usual sites, not been to San Fran or driven much in the states.

Cheers

[davepoth]

New York - get out to Coney Island, just ride the Subway to the end of the line. It's a lovely beach. Also Grant's Tomb is fun.

San Francisco, do Alcatraz, The Bridge, ride the cable cars, go to Fisherman's Wharf, up to Haight-Ashbury to laugh at hipsters, and pretend to be Steve McQueen in the Hyundai you rented.

Take California Route 1 (the coast road) down to LA, you won't regret it. When in LA make sure to go to the state park where the rock formation they filmed every alien planet for "Star Trek" on is.

[Highrisedrifter]

I highly recommend the Pacific Coast Highway between SF and LA. Boy is it pretty.

[greygoose]

Highrisedrifter said:

I highly recommend the Pacific Coast Highway between SF and LA. Boy is it pretty.

+1
Carmel is a lovely town to stop at on the way and near 17 mile drive if you want some views and see how the other half live.

San Francisco, go over the Bridge to Sausalito, it's a nice little town with fantastic views of the city and Bay. Alcatraz is a great experience, may be best to book tickets in advance though.

[MaxMX5]

from experience you really need to book for a trip to Alcatraz before you leave. Its not uncommon to have to wait a week before you can get a space once there. And also go on the cable cars, great fun holding on the side, especially if you can get up the front.

[andrew311]

Been to SF twice and never needed to pre-book places. If you have kids staying around Fisherman's Wharf is a better option than say Umion Square. I love San Francisco one of my favorite cities in the world. A day trip into the wine country (Napa or Sonoma) is a must if that sort of thing interests you, plenty of day trips leaving from SF.

Personally I think a week in NY is too long if you've been before but mainly because it's expensive and would rather see something new I hadn'y seen before-i.e. extend your time in CA and see Yosemite, or take your time driving down Highway 1 to LA staying in places like Monterey Bay, Big Sur, Cambria etc.

I wouldn't stay in LA proper, some of the costal towns are much nicer and give easy access into the city for the main sights. I like Santa Monica.

Some pics:



San Francisco



Sonoma Valley



Entering Yosemite



El Capitan- Yosemite Valley

Santa Monica



Highway 1 near Big Sur



Elephant Seals outside Cambria



Whale watching at Monterey

[cupraglasgow]

thanks for the advice and pics Andrew311