Q for the California members! (or any UK'ers who've been)

S

senwar

Active member
 sheffield
After some assistance from across the pond!

Looking at booking a trip over that side of the world next September. Just after info on places to go, sites to see etc.

Am looking at flying into LAX, having a week in LA, then driving up to San Fran. Have looked at the Holiday Inn Select @ La Mirada. Anyone know of this hotel, its location, etc. Is it OK? Looking at Holiday Inns due to my club membership with them you see. Not bothered about a beach location, so inland is fine. Failing that, any other recommendations.

Also, looking at the maps, San Fran seems about 6/7 hours away. That about right? Any tips for there? Again, looked at Holiday Inn's (fishermans warf). Any good? Is a car OK to use in SF, i.e. is it easy to get around by car? Is a week a good length of time to stay, or would say 5 days be better?

Any other hotel tips would be appreciated, plus other locations? Have looked at Long & Newport beach, San Diego & Ventura.

Have looked at the usual things to do such as Alcatraz in SF and Disney in LA, but any other tips?

Thanks in anticiaption
Paul
 
Definitely drive up Highway 1 from LA to SF. Plan on that taking you an entire day. Maybe two days if you like the scenery and take it slow, and stop to enjoy the beautiful coast.

Stop in Carmel. (wonderful "downtown", and beautiful coastal areas)
Stop and take a walk at Point Lobos (if you like coastal parks. Especially wonderful during a storm: huge crashing waves)
Drive 17-mile Drive in Monterey. (huge, expensive homes on the coast, warning it is a "toll road" for the tourists)
Visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium (if you like the fishes when they aren't sushi)

San Francisco:
- Fisherman's Wharf is a tourist trap, but is an ok point to find tours.
- Get a boat ride out to Alcatraz, or a just a 1-hour tour by boat around the SF bay.
- Visit the Golden Gate bridge vista point.
- Parking can be tough in SF. But you can (and should) drive around the city, especially to drive the steep hills.

North of SF:
- Drive up to Muir Woods, and to the top of Mt. Tamalpias (great views south to San Fran)
- Drive up the Coast highway 1 to Bodega Bay.
- Wine country (Napa, Sonoma, etc.)
 
The thing about LA is that it's so spread out that you can end up spending most of your time just getting from one place to another; traffic has become murderous. My advice is to stay on the west or south sides, near the beach. La Mirada isn't convenient for anything you want to do and the neighborhood isn't great. The LA Basin is technically a desert so you'll not see much green away from the coast. Go to Marina del Rey for brunch; Venice Beach to see the oddest assortment of humanity, from freaks to yuppies, body builders to perfect bodies (there used to be a guy there who juggled running chainsaws); Malibu; Palos Verdes Peninsula for the view. Want culture? J. Paul Getty Museum in West LA, a masterpiece; numerous music and dramatic arts venues; the Hollywood Bowl has world class live, outdoor entertainment. Give some thought to Catalina Island. It had terrible fires there a few years ago and might not yet be worthwhile.

On the way up to SF, go via Santa Barbara and then visit Hearst Castle further north. Stop at Andersens Pea Soup restaurant in Buellton (seriously good soup!); take your time along Big Sur (no choice anyway with the traffic), the views are mag.

Agree with the comments on SF. So diff from LA and IMO 100 times better. People will actually dress up to go out to dinner!

Drive down Lombard Street, the crookedest street in town. Sure, it's touristy, but take a cable car ride and see some of the streets Bullitt chased the bad guys on.
 
Some great info here thank you. Definitely whetting the appetite.

Airhead - your comments re: the La Mirada actually mirror a couple of reviews on tripadvisor, so I think I'll skip that one then.

Its a minefield looking to be honest.

Have now seen a nice place at Pacifica, just south of SF. Is this a nice location - close enough to drive into SF, but is there enough to do around there?

Wish I had more than 2 weeks to be honest!
 
I have to second everything Louv and Rosie say. I love Monterey/Carmel/Pacific Grove. Santa Cruz, not so much, but I love it north of here too. The drive along the coast down by Big Sur has some incredible scenery!
 
Thanks again

The hotel we've found in Pacifica is the Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites and gets decent(ish) reviews where I've read. Like it as can select a King suite Ocean view for a decent price.

Anyone know of this hotel?

You know when looking makes you want to go NOW and not have to wait nearly a year! Aagh! :D
 
and of course, we'll need notice of when you're going to be in the area so that we could possibly arrange some driving. Just up the coast from me and mostly west from Rosie!
 
Sounds good to me Yal!

Looking at being over end Sept-mid October. Just another question I have (sorry for all the Q's!)

We think we've settled on a place in San Francisco & are just debating the LA side of things. We've decided to rent an apartment via VRBO.com instead of paying the extortionate hotel prices. Anyone used VRBO before?

The SF apartment is on Geary Boulevard & 25th. Looks a bit away from the main drag but that doesn't bother me - at least the main bit is easily accessible by the looks of things. Any tips/info on this part of town?

Then, for our 2nd week, I've found 2 properties I like - one in Santa Monica which appears to be close enough for the kind of things we want to do. However, the other one is in Palm Springs, which I appreciate is quite away from the areas of LA we're interested in going to. However, I do like the look of it, and I don't mind the 2 hour drive each way or so.

So, as I say, any info on the SF area, and also any tips on which is the best place of the 2 to go in Santa Monica & Palm Springs?

Thanks again for all your assistance
 
Palm Springs is great...i've heard people talk about it for years, and finally stopped there 3 years ago. I loved it. Its nice and warm too. Rooms are on the expensive side though. But I wouldn't mind going back in the spring time again.

Yal, a drive sounds great. I've been exploring more north on Hwy 1, Pacifica on down lately, but have gone north into Golden Gate Park as well. Nice either direction.
 
Thanks Rosie. Think we've settled on Santa Monica now. With us only being there for a week we feel we need to be a bit closer to the things we want to do.

So just debating on apartments in SM now.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom