California holiday
Discussion
Trying to book a holiday in California, but want to fly to San Francisco, but return on a flight from Los Angeles. None of the popular sites seem to let you input it in this way (i.e. your return flight must depart from your arrival point).
Also, two single fares seem v. expensive.
Anyone got any tips on where to look?
Cheers
Also, two single fares seem v. expensive.
Anyone got any tips on where to look?
Cheers
Have done this twice over the years - flew into SF and out from LA (with Virgin) - and yes, Pacific Highway 1 is a joy to behold - if you can rent a car in SF and drop it off at t'other end - you'll have a great 2/3 days (if you go slowish) getting down there - it's about 500 miles from memory.
Big Sur is fantasic ...
LA's not all that though - so why not pop across to Palm Springs - about 100 miles – where the pace of life is a bit slower (and you can walk the streets safely).
Highly recommended ...
Enjoy.
Big Sur is fantasic ...
LA's not all that though - so why not pop across to Palm Springs - about 100 miles – where the pace of life is a bit slower (and you can walk the streets safely).
Highly recommended ...
Enjoy.
Definitely drive PCH! One of the only good roads in this state,(I'm California born and bred
). The truth about california is that there is nothing between San Francisco and LA. Visit both of those places, but don't expect to enjoy the drive between them (unless you stop by Yosemite and a few other national parks) Sacramento is almost entirely not worth visiting. Actually, 60% of Californians either live in the LA area or SF. Between those two cities is mostly dirt and a few farms.
It will be hard to find something not to do in SF. Just get yourself to Alcatraz, and most good things are walking distance from there.
Cruise the wine country while you're at it.
If you really want to go out of your way, drive to lake Tahoe/Reno. trust me, it's worth it.
Visit Hollywood and LA. That's the only way to experience what you Brits probably view California as being. Get down to the OC, visit Huntington and Newport beach. Don't forget to drop by San diego.
As for being safe in LA... Just be smart. Not everyone who lives there gets mugged on a daily basis. It's nowhere near as bad as it's all made out to be (though places like Compton, South Central, and Englewood are kind of bad... I guess I'm just desensitized).
Maybe make some time in the trip for vegas
As a final word of wisdom, keep your mouth shut! That accent will just ask for trouble 
have fun,
dan
). The truth about california is that there is nothing between San Francisco and LA. Visit both of those places, but don't expect to enjoy the drive between them (unless you stop by Yosemite and a few other national parks) Sacramento is almost entirely not worth visiting. Actually, 60% of Californians either live in the LA area or SF. Between those two cities is mostly dirt and a few farms. It will be hard to find something not to do in SF. Just get yourself to Alcatraz, and most good things are walking distance from there.
Cruise the wine country while you're at it.
If you really want to go out of your way, drive to lake Tahoe/Reno. trust me, it's worth it.
Visit Hollywood and LA. That's the only way to experience what you Brits probably view California as being. Get down to the OC, visit Huntington and Newport beach. Don't forget to drop by San diego.
As for being safe in LA... Just be smart. Not everyone who lives there gets mugged on a daily basis. It's nowhere near as bad as it's all made out to be (though places like Compton, South Central, and Englewood are kind of bad... I guess I'm just desensitized).
Maybe make some time in the trip for vegas
As a final word of wisdom, keep your mouth shut! That accent will just ask for trouble
have fun,
dan
"Nothing to do between LA and SF"???!!!??? You must be forgetting some of the most beautiful scenery in the world!!!
Last year we did LA to SF, the year before it was SF down to LA. I guess if you mean man-made entertainment there's not a lot there (other than the already mentioned PCH1). But places like Big Sur, Monterey, Cambria etc are places of extreme natural beauty. Santa Barbara is where I'm going to live when I win the lottery. Hurst Castle is well worth a visit to see an amazing eclectic collection taste! The Peterson (motor) museum, The Getty Museum and Universal are well worth a visit. Don't bother trying to get up to the Hollywood sign though....you can't really get that close. SF is a great city, although not very car friendly. And I bottled out trying to do my "Bulitt" impression as you really do have no idea whats over the brow of the hills Use the cable cars - your legs will thank you! If you can get over to the Grand Canyon (that's one 'eck of a drive from Las Vegas) you'll be glad you did. And take the helicopter ride....one of the greatest memories I'll take to my grave.
We hired a Mustang both times. A great cruisin' car well suited to the looooooooooooooooong straight roads. And fuel is soooooooooooooooooooo cheap, despite what our American friends may think. £15 worth of fuel will easily fill the tank of a Mustang.
As you can guess, I could go on and on and on. The only thing stopping us returning every year is our 8 week old daughter
However, to answer the original question (there was one, wasn't there?) we booked through Trailfinders. Fly American Airlines if you can (much better leg room and service). Last year we flew BA.
I really wanna go back and watching the likes of the OC on TV don't help
Last year we did LA to SF, the year before it was SF down to LA. I guess if you mean man-made entertainment there's not a lot there (other than the already mentioned PCH1). But places like Big Sur, Monterey, Cambria etc are places of extreme natural beauty. Santa Barbara is where I'm going to live when I win the lottery. Hurst Castle is well worth a visit to see an amazing eclectic collection taste! The Peterson (motor) museum, The Getty Museum and Universal are well worth a visit. Don't bother trying to get up to the Hollywood sign though....you can't really get that close. SF is a great city, although not very car friendly. And I bottled out trying to do my "Bulitt" impression as you really do have no idea whats over the brow of the hills
Use the cable cars - your legs will thank you! If you can get over to the Grand Canyon (that's one 'eck of a drive from Las Vegas) you'll be glad you did. And take the helicopter ride....one of the greatest memories I'll take to my grave. We hired a Mustang both times. A great cruisin' car well suited to the looooooooooooooooong straight roads. And fuel is soooooooooooooooooooo cheap, despite what our American friends may think. £15 worth of fuel will easily fill the tank of a Mustang.
As you can guess, I could go on and on and on. The only thing stopping us returning every year is our 8 week old daughter
However, to answer the original question (there was one, wasn't there?) we booked through Trailfinders. Fly American Airlines if you can (much better leg room and service). Last year we flew BA.
I really wanna go back and watching the likes of the OC on TV don't help
: said:
but why miss out on Pacific Highway 1, its well worth driving up it from LA to San Francisco.
I did the 100 miles up to Monterey last October on Highway 1 and hated it!
It was very slow, very foggy (never saw the sea once), very cold and also the road was out at one point and we spent 20 minutes queuing at the traffic lights!
Definately do San Francisco.
Wouldn't worry too much about LA apart from what was mentioned about the beaches
. Definately agree about what was said for avoiding Compton 
(I used to do a bit of work down there and stayed in a 'nice' hotel in that area).
Head down to San Diego, the only other city apart
from SF that I would really bother to go to
If you have time, head east to Tahoe and Yosemite. Even Death Valley, fascinating place.
Avoid American Airlines
, I much prefer to use Continental or KLM
.
If you arrive in LA by plane be prepared for a long wait through immigration. It used to take me about two hours to get through and collect my bags
(that was before 9/11), it's probably worse now. SF might be the same but I never flew there from UK.
We had a Camaro convertible for cruisin' when we went sightseeing. Or an F350 when it was work.
Wouldn't worry too much about LA apart from what was mentioned about the beaches
. Definately agree about what was said for avoiding Compton (I used to do a bit of work down there and stayed in a 'nice' hotel in that area). Head down to San Diego, the only other city apart
from SF that I would really bother to go to
If you have time, head east to Tahoe and Yosemite. Even Death Valley, fascinating place.
Avoid American Airlines
, I much prefer to use Continental or KLM. If you arrive in LA by plane be prepared for a long wait through immigration. It used to take me about two hours to get through and collect my bags
(that was before 9/11), it's probably worse now. SF might be the same but I never flew there from UK. We had a Camaro convertible for cruisin' when we went sightseeing. Or an F350 when it was work.
When in LA don't miss visiting the Getty Centre art museum. It's got a prime spot in the Hollywood hills and they have money to burn, so it's very nicely done out. You can also spend a couple of hours with a cheesy 'Houses of the Stars' map and go and admire Bintney Spears' front gate, or Winona Ryder's lawn.
Thanks for the advice and tips.
I think you're right, apache. Is a fortnight long enough? Depends on how many miles you want to do. I thought of booking a couple of nights in each of the main cities (incl. Las Vegas) and using motels for the rest.
Internal flights would be expensive i guess. The idea of hiring a Mustang appeals though!
I think you're right, apache. Is a fortnight long enough? Depends on how many miles you want to do. I thought of booking a couple of nights in each of the main cities (incl. Las Vegas) and using motels for the rest.
Internal flights would be expensive i guess. The idea of hiring a Mustang appeals though!
Give yourself at least one overnight stop on PCH. It is hard to comfortably do it in a day.
If you are doing Vegas also then you could do a circle-ish kind of trip.
For example, SF to LA. Down to San Diego for a couple of days. Back up past LA and on to Vegas (thru Death Valley maybe). From Vegas, back on to the California side and go up the east side of the Sierras past Mammoth and up to Tahoe or cross the Tioga Pass into Yosemite (Route 120 IIRC). It was closed when I tried but it crosses the mountains at 9945 feet.
From either Yosemite or Tahoe it's a fairly easy drive back to SF.
It's quite a lot for two weeks but when we did it we started in LA but skipped staying there as I don't really like it and went straight to Diego. Then north on PCH and went the opposite way round.
That would cancel the need for different airports maybe...
If you are doing Vegas also then you could do a circle-ish kind of trip.
For example, SF to LA. Down to San Diego for a couple of days. Back up past LA and on to Vegas (thru Death Valley maybe). From Vegas, back on to the California side and go up the east side of the Sierras past Mammoth and up to Tahoe or cross the Tioga Pass into Yosemite (Route 120 IIRC). It was closed when I tried but it crosses the mountains at 9945 feet.
From either Yosemite or Tahoe it's a fairly easy drive back to SF.
It's quite a lot for two weeks but when we did it we started in LA but skipped staying there as I don't really like it and went straight to Diego. Then north on PCH and went the opposite way round.
That would cancel the need for different airports maybe...
I booked flights with Virgin - phone them up to get the best price. Flew into SFO and then out of LAX.
I didn't do the PCH but opted for the inland route:-
San Fran
Yosemite
Bishop
Death Valley
Las Vegas
Hoover Dam
Lake Mead
Grand Canyon
Flagstaff
Palm Springs
San Diego
Finished in LA
Managed it all in 2 weeks.
Great shopping centre between Palm Springs and LA called the Dessert Hills Centre.
I didn't do the PCH but opted for the inland route:-
San Fran
Yosemite
Bishop
Death Valley
Las Vegas
Hoover Dam
Lake Mead
Grand Canyon
Flagstaff
Palm Springs
San Diego
Finished in LA
Managed it all in 2 weeks.
Great shopping centre between Palm Springs and LA called the Dessert Hills Centre.
chris312 said:
Trying to book a holiday in California, but want to fly to San Francisco, but return on a flight from Los Angeles. None of the popular sites seem to let you input it in this way (i.e. your return flight must depart from your arrival point).
Also, two single fares seem v. expensive.
Anyone got any tips on where to look?
Cheers
Try Expedia - multi trip.
chris312 said:
Internal flights would be expensive i guess. The idea of hiring a Mustang appeals though!
Lax - Las is about £70 each (depending on when you go-avoid Fri - Mon) Loads of shuttles to get you to hotels. The drive is OK, but scenery wears off after a while. And it`s heavily patrolled by speedcops.
Steve
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