California

[Van Dammer]

After the excellent advice I was given in here before my New York trip I thought id try you guys again. Considering California for my summer holiday. After having a quick look Southern California seems to be the place to go. My main questions is, is it plausible and sensible to think I can go to LA, San Diego, Orange County, Laguna Beach etc all in a two week period or would I just be spending my holiday on the road? Im not too sure on the distances and I was originally considering trying to whole of California including San Fran in the north but logistically it seems impossible. Any advice?

[The Miz]

I have been to LA and San Diego. They are two so very different Cities, but great in there own ways. LA has the glitz and glamour, the show business history and such like. San Diego (not sure I am spelling that right lol) is way way more quiet. I stayed on Fishermans Wharf and it was very relaxing indeed.

[rockbus]

I travelled from LA to New York in a 2 and a half week period last year and felt like I'd seen loads (I did my travelling by bus overnight though). I'm sure staying within one state you'll be fine. If you're driving, get up early and set off after breakfast, you'll be somewhere else you want to go by lunch I'm sure.

[LCJ]

Went to LA for about four days last year. While it was good to see things like the Hollywood sign up close, go to Universal Studios and visit some of the other near by places, I couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed. The nightlife was almost dead. I struggled to find lively places to go out in. Went out in near by Santa Monica and while it was quite "posh" in comparison to downtown LA, there really wasn't much going on. They have a Six Flags Theme Park in Valencia which is only about half an hour's drive from downtown LA and that was a good laugh (there's some seriously good rollercoasters there). I also wish I had enough time to have fitted in the Warner Brother studio tour. Malibu was also a bit of a let down but it wasn't that hot at the time and not enough bikini clad women on the beach for my liking

 

The general opinion that I've heard from people who've visited California is that San Francisco is a much better place to visit. I haven't been there myself but I could believe it's true. I don't want to put you off LA and you might find you like it more than I did but I just expected it to be better than I found it to be.

[WeeAl]

That's the same way I found it. San Francisco was by far more enjoyable for me. Much more of a 'european' city in regards to how easy it is to get around, whereas in LA you're buggered without a car and even then you'll never be above 15 mph. San Francisco also seems the much more laid back of the two, and looks a hell of a lot nicer. By all means go to both and make up your own mind, as there is still plenty of stuff to do in LA, but if you're going to go to San Diego, LA and San Fran, then go to San Diego first and work your way up the coast that way, finishing off in San Francisco. I didn't get to San Diego last year but have talked to others who have went and it's meant be a lovely place.

[Monkee]

I went from San Francisco to New York in 3 months. Specifically in California though I did San Francisco, LA, then nipped to Vegas and then San Diego. I did it all by Greyhound bus and the journeys weren't too bad actually. Not sure how much you'd see in 2 weeks though, it might be pretty hectic.

 

I was in SF for a week. If you want to go to Alcatraz book it in advance as you usually have to wait 5 days or so to book if you just turn up. I stayed near Fisherman's Wharf in a hostel that used to be an army barracks (LINK). It's got amazing views of the Golden Gate Bridge on the left and Alcatraz on the right. There are lots of other things to see and do while you're there but for the main stuff I'd say maybe 3 days minimum.

 

I was also in LA for a week. I stayed in a hotel on the east side of Hollywood Blvd but I can't for the life of me remember what it was called but I think it was near Normandie Ave. It was within walking distance of the Kodak Theatre and the Chinese Theatre and all that though. We were originally going to stay in another hotel that was closer to the hills but found that you can't really walk to anywhere from there. There are a lot of entertainment-based museums and stuff which were great. You should also see about getting some free tickets to TV shows if you can. We ended up going to see Hollywood Squares being filmed and saw Henry Winkler, Jeffrey Tambor, Ellen DeGeneres, Martin Mull and Joan Rivers as well as some others. You should also do a tour of the stars' homes - cheesy but very cool. And, depending on times, you could always do Universal Studios and Disneyland as well. I'd say, again, maybe 3 days minimum depending on exactly how much you want to do there.

 

I'll skip Vegas as it's not California and there have been other threads about it.

 

I was in San Diego for 4 days (I think). There's not a massive amount to do there and I can't remember exactly how I filled all the days! I remember going to San Diego zoo which was brilliant as I'd never seen pandas before and they were really cute. But you also have Sea World as well but we didn't go. You can take a day trip to Mexico from San Diego too if you want. I have no idea why I can't remember much about San Diego so I can't really advise about it, sorry!

 

I reckon you could see a lot in 2 weeks if you really plan it all out so good luck with it! Post pictures when you get back

 

 

EDIT: Quick note about transport - I found that the transport in San Francisco was crap. You couldn't really walk from place to place and the buses all go from where no-one lives to where no-one wants to go. Good luck with that! In LA you could walk from place to place and they have a fairly decent metro system too. It was a lot easier to get buses to where you wanted to go to as well. No problems with LA at all.

[JLM]

I stayed in Orange County for a couple of weeks. My Aunt lives there, the lucky git. Most of the main attractions have been covered, so I'll just add that I'd strongly recommend the day trip to Tijuana from San Diego that Monkee mentioned. It's a bit touristy, but you still need to go and experience the cultural and economic divide because it smacks you right in the face. Also painted donkeys and Mexican Burger King.

[Chest Rockwell]

If you're going to be travelling a bunch definitely get a car. The landscape is fucking beautiful around those parts. We drove from San Francisco to Yosemite (and then on to other places) and some of the scenery is truly breathtaking. Oh, and I can't recommend the national parks enough, if that's your kind of thing. Did a bunch of hiking around there, and the swimming. Damn! Those lakes were like swimming in bottled water... So fresh!

[tiger_rick]

Nearly. I saved up to go in 2000 but had a row with my fogies and put it down as a deposit on a flat!

 

Will go down on my list of biggest regrets if I never make it there.

[mikey]

I also endorse the national parks. Yosemite is one of the high points of my life and I long to go back.

[Van Dammer]

Excellent stuff. Im sort of weighing up to go this year or to wait until later next year when I wont have to pay the young drivers surcharge to the rental companies as getting a car seems vital.

 

Im thinking id be happy seeing LA, San Diego and Anaheim, mainly spending my time on beaches and visiting a few theme parks whilst squeazing in a few national parks and San Diego Zoo in between as well as a bit of shopping. It seems like theres plenty to fo just in the south to fill up 2 weeks and to be honest San Francisco has never appealed to me a great deal.