Cali Trip

hi,

I want to plan a 5 day excursion for dh's bday in Cali.

I would like to fly into LA and drive up the coast and end up at Napa Valley and spend hopefully a day there touring and fly home out of san francisco.

Do you think this is possible? OR should we maybe just concentrate one one area of cali?

If we had our way, we would love to do LA-Malibu, drive up coast through santa barbara, maybe tour alcatraz, go to san fran and tour a bit then spend friday night into sun in napa.

What do you think

Thanks!
oh- and we only have 5 full days..

Re: Cali Trip

It's doable. You'll be on the move constantly and will spend a lot of time in the car. There's so much to see that you may feel like you're just breezing through.

Here's what I would do:
Day 1 - Arrive LA and drive to Malibu, then Santa Barbara (book this hotel waaaaaaaay in advance)
Day 2 - Drive up coast to Monterrey and stop at Big Sur and Carmel along the way (we stayed at a v. nice and v. reasonable Best Western that was on the beach in Monterrey that I'd definitely recommend)
Day 3 - Drive to SF and tour city
Day 4 - Drive to Napa and back to SF
Day 5 - More time in SF and fly home.

Message edited 8/4/2007 9:03:39 AM.

Re: Cali Trip

I cant comment about LA, and if it will be enough time, but I can say my DH and I did SF& Napa in 5 full days, and it was the perfect amount of time. 2 full days SF & 3 full days Napa.

By adding LA into the mix, you might feel a bit rushed.

Re: Cali Trip

Personally, I would choose either southern or northern California for a trip. 5 days wouldn't be enough for me to do all of that. As another poster said, I think you will be in the car an awful lot. I think you could easily spend 5 days in SF/Napa alone.

Re: Cali Trip

That's going to be a TON of driving! I would either do Northern Cali or Southern and stick to that. I LOVE Southern Cali. You could do San Diego to LA?

Re: Cali Trip

We stayed in Hermosa Beach which is I believe South of LA. We were able to do the tourist thing in LA, we drove down to San Diego (beautiful). Like others said, since you only have 5 days, I'd focus more so on either Northern or Southern California.

I love Cali. Can't wait to go back.

Re: Cali Trip

Absolutely possible...I went from LA, to San Diego, back up to Santa Barbara, to Monterey, then to San Francisco all in 6 1/2 days (with two days dedicated to a wedding in Santa Barbara). 1,269 miles on the rental convertible by the end of the trip :) Stayed over in San Diego (Coronado Island), Santa Barbara, Monterey (Pebble Beach Lodge), and in San Fran. Have fun!!!

Re: Cali Trip

I think it's possible, but it would be a LOT of driving and not a lot of seeing. In Sept. we did our honeymoon trip starting in northern CA and ending up in San Diego over 2 1/2 weeks. My favorite part was northern CA- Napa & Sonoma were wonderful Carmel was also an adorable town. There is a lot to see so if you do end up doing the whole trip you would be wise to make a list of "must-sees" so you don't miss anything.

Re: Cali Trip

i think i'm leaning toward northern cali- so flying into san fran or something like that and doing the wine tours and what not..

So what sites should we see with 5 days figuring 2 of them in Napa.

thanks!

Re: Cali Trip