Plan a route with something for all…
Route: San Francisco, Monterey, Pebble Beach Golf, 17-mile drive, Carmel, Big Sur, Nepenthe, Santa Barbara, LA, Las Vegas
Make the most of San Francisco. If you only have a few days, you can easily take in scenic neighbourhoods such as Twin Peaks, Haight-Ashbury and Tenderloin as well as Golden Gate Park, Pier 39, Fisherman’s Warf and the Ghirardelli Ice Cream Emporium.
Book tickets for Alcatraz before you go. On our first trip we didn’t do this and during our short stopover in San Fran, we missed out. We didn’t make the same mistake again second time around and it was a fantastic experience. It was a perfect example where an audio guide with headphones worked brilliantly. You must book and go to Alcatraz.
Drive and enjoy it. Once in your hire car, make sure you drive across The Golden Gate Bridge, take the iconic photos then spend some time in the magical Sausalito.
Making a music playlist that reflects your journey is a wonderful, joyful complement to your trip. As well as the well-known Let’s Go to San Francisco and I left my heart in San Francisco there are plenty of tracks associated with this incredible city. The Band Train are from here and many of their songs mention aspects of the area. You MUST include the classic Ventura Highway by America because you’ll be driving along it towards the end of your trip.
The ultimate road trip lunch break. The best place to eat with the most wonderful Pacific view on the whole trip is at Nepenthe, a restaurant on Big Sur cliffside with a perfect view of the rolling coastline heading south.
Shrewd budgeting. We used Miles Morgan Travel to book our accommodation and help plan the trips and they were magnificent. We gave them our budget and they organized our car hire and booked great value out of town motels, spending more on accommodation in big cities. Over a couple of USA Road trips, we stayed in fantastic hotels in central San Francisco, LA, Vegas and New York. This meant we were at the centre of everything with no hassle travelling in and out. Despite our tight budget we even managed to stay at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in LA.
Save the best till last. SF to LA was a stunning drive full of amazing twists and turns interspersed with breathtaking coastal views and our playlist perfectly timed with crocodiles in the air as we drove along Ventura Highway??? as w . However, the best drive was the early morning run out of LA into the desert and disappearing into the wilderness. It’s hard to explain the magical feeling of isolation coupled with the anticipation of the crazy city awaiting us.