A couple of friends and I are going to be in the US for the WCG Grand Final, afterwards we plan on hiring a car and taking the coastal road from LA to San Francisco. I had a couple of questions for people familiar with California or anyone who has done the drive before.
We would all like to fly out of SF on the 10-11th. We are leaving LA later in the afternoon on the 4th.
Doing some research, it seems the drive can be anywhere between 8-12 hours depending on how lead footed you are.
Is there anyway of making the drive last 2-3 days, are there enough justified stops along the way?
Alternatively do you guys have any suggestions, essentially we have a car and 6 days to use and would like to spend a couple of days in SF.
If you take the 1 Highway (Pacific Coast Highway/PCH) It is mostly a scenic route and not used outside of main cities. Alternatively you could take the 99 or the 5. The 5 is the fastest and most direct route, with less sights. 1 is the opposite.
As far as making it take longer, I dunno. Stop at random beaches and party.
On July 30 2010 22:17 CharlieMurphy wrote: If you take the 1 Highway (Pacific Coast Highway/PCH) It is mostly a scenic route and not used outside of main cities. Alternatively you could take the 99 or the 5. The 5 is the fastest and most direct route, with less sights. 1 is the opposite.
As far as making it take longer, I dunno. Stop at random beaches and party.
I second Highway 1. It's an absolutely gorgeous, coastal, winding road that will take you the entire way. According to google maps, it's ~10 hours worth of driving. You could definitely split this up into two days by finding a campsite along the way.
I usually make the direct LA-SF drive (which is like 6 hours), but it's not the most exciting drive in the world. Farmland, farmland, and farmland. With that being said, I've also made the coastal trip drive a few times spread out over several days, and I'd definitely recommend it. There are very few drives in the world as gorgeous as the CA-1 Central Coast drive. Plus, there really isn't 5 days worth of "tourist stuff" to do in SF, so take your time. Here are the two variants I've done:
Keep in mind I camped at most of the places I stayed at overnight. Highlights: Malibu coastal area, Santa Barbara (beach town, college), Santa Maria + nearby vineyards, San Luis Obispo (Nice college town), Morro Bay (beautiful coastal town), Big Sur (park, hikes, waterfalls), Monterey, Santa Cruz, Half Moon Bay.
PM me if you want more details. I also live in SF so if you want to meet up, let me know.
I think I-5 is the fastest at liek 6 hours, but it has no view it's just 75 mph speed limit basically nothing but a two lane road all the way up to SFO, and most people go like 85-90 there so you'll get there faster. I haven't gone on the coastal route but I imagine it much slower but much prettier.
If you get to SFO come hang out with some SC peeps!
If you want to spend more than one day on the drive from LA to SF, definitely take Highway 1 (PCH).
Highlights: Malibu coastal area, Santa Barbara (beach town, college), Santa Maria + nearby vineyards, San Luis Obispo (Nice college town), Morro Bay (beautiful coastal town), Big Sur (park, hikes, waterfalls), Monterey, Santa Cruz, Half Moon Bay.
In addition to those places, check out Solvang (small Danish? town), Hearst Castle is a good visit, and the 17-mile drive at Pebble Beach has some beautiful rocky coastline.
PM me if you want more details, I've done the drive many times.
Keep in mind I camped at most of the places I stayed at overnight. Highlights: Malibu coastal area, Santa Barbara (beach town, college), Santa Maria + nearby vineyards, San Luis Obispo (Nice college town), Morro Bay (beautiful coastal town), Big Sur (park, hikes, waterfalls), Monterey, Santa Cruz, Half Moon Bay.
PM me if you want more details. I also live in SF so if you want to meet up, let me know.
I fully endorse the 2nd map, however I'd switch Santa Maria with either Santa Barbara or San Luis Obispo/Morro Bay, and they're both full of young college students to help you/socialize. Big Sur is famous around the world for the scenery there.
My girlfriend is Australian, so I've had lots of interactions with Australians visiting LA and many of them make this drive.
Some general tips:
- If you're from NSW or VIC you're not going to be impressed with California's beaches when it comes to spending at day at them. The weather is cooler than you're used to, the water is way colder. The water is also choppier than any beach you'd go to swim at but the waves are weaker than one you'd surf at.
- You'll find the drive very beautiful and worth doing, but don't try to stretch it out. Much more rewarding to head inland for wine country and or hiking through redwoods. Optimal places for that will mostly depend on your budget for accommodations.
- Don't do any big shopping in LA. The route you're taking is full of people looking to break into rental cars for camera equipment because so many tourists drive it and photograph it. Two groups of my gf's friends had this happen to them, lost not just electronics but also records and clothes they bought in LA. Do your shopping in SF and never leave your cameras in your car, hide laptops as best you can.
- If you haven't been to LA before spend at least a day doing some tourist stuff (not sure how much time you'll have during wcg itself). The Getty museum alone is worth spending a day it if you are at all into art. Avoid hollywood movie stuff unless you are wayyyyy into it. Also check if there are any bands you like playing, you can see music acts in LA for $10-$15 that you'd pay $40+ to see in Australia, and a lot of stuff that very rarely tours Australia.
Go through the desert and take 395 up towards Reno. Incredible mountain scenery you won't see in australia. One of the most dramatic in the states. You can either take tioga pass (really great mountain pass) or drive through lake tahoe (great alpine lake) to return to SF. A lot of possible stops/hikes along the way too.
Seriously? In the state with the highest point and lowest point in continental US? In the state with the tallest (redwood), biggest (sequoia), and oldest (bristlecone pine) trees in the world? We also have arguably the best coastline in the US too.
On July 31 2010 01:16 mucker wrote: Also check if there are any bands you like playing, you can see music acts in LA for $10-$15 that you'd pay $40+ to see in Australia, and a lot of stuff that very rarely tours Australia.
Not to blog-hijack, but I just moved to long beach and I've been wondering what the best way is to find out about shows in the area. I used to live in Boston and all the show listings were compiled into one free paper - is there anything like that in LA?
OP, I second the Getty Museum - I was not super into the art collection they had, but the museum itself is an awesome work of architecture and gardens and such, you should check it out.
I-5 is the fastest, you can get there in like 6 hours if you wanted, but the sites are boring, do everyone a favor and take the PCH, you wont regret it, and you'll still get down in 7.5-8 hours tops
On July 31 2010 01:16 mucker wrote: Also check if there are any bands you like playing, you can see music acts in LA for $10-$15 that you'd pay $40+ to see in Australia, and a lot of stuff that very rarely tours Australia.
Not to blog-hijack, but I just moved to long beach and I've been wondering what the best way is to find out about shows in the area. I used to live in Boston and all the show listings were compiled into one free paper - is there anything like that in LA?
LA Weekly is a good place to start for all events, including music. They break it down by type and by region, you'll find a lot of stuff there you wouldn't otherwise. Pretty much every venue has a mailing list, I sign up at every new venue I go to to get heads ups on things. Most of the time you'll end up going back to 4-5 same places that regularly have the kind of music you like.
One of the best resources is last.fm. Make an account and start scrobbling you listens, set you location to LA and it will recommend shows based on your listening habits. That's how I usually find out about stuff I'd miss otherwise.
On July 31 2010 02:15 mucker wrote: One of the best resources is last.fm. Make an account and start scrobbling you listens, set you location to LA and it will recommend shows based on your listening habits. That's how I usually find out about stuff I'd miss otherwise.
Oh, I had last.fm but didn't know about this, thanks! Yay, Boris and Red Sparowes next month!
It only takes me like 8 hours. And usually it's because of the fucking retarded traffic in L.A. But once you get to frisco, hit up Haight Ashbury. That place is hella sick. Oh and if you want to party, hit me up and we'll go to the beach or something. I'm always down to show people a good time here.
I highly recommend against taking the 5 if you want to see crap. The 5 is essentially ~260 miles of ugly (I say 260 because at least towards the end--or the start in your case since you're going northbound-- you go through the mountains and pass by that Pyramid Lake whatnot).
Take it from someone who drives from the Bay Area to Orange County around thrice a year.
EPT
