I have 2 weeks maybe just over, to see as much of California as I can. The main things I want to see are the Redwoods and stay in a cabin in the forest at some point if possible.
California can be spendy but if you are more interested in the nature aspect of it then a budget like you have is fine. The most expensive part of your trip will be traveling and accommodations. If you want to hang out in nature, your best bet is to stay up in Northern California - there are some amazing mountain biking, hiking and camping up there.
For the beaches, travel down south. I love Huntington Beach. It's a little down the line from all the popular ones and it's a really cool little beach town.
Definitely stop into San Francisco - it's worth it. One of my favorite cities in the world.
I've done the drive from Seattle down to South Beach, CA several times and it's amazingly fun.
Good luck!
Christine
Hi. Thanks for the reply. I will prob go to San Fran!
I have yet to get my head around the geography of the place yet so...
Is two weeks enough time to see a fair few places. I would enjoy the drives down the coast etc. Would like to see L.A, would that be possible as well as the red woods?
I just want to get a basic idea so my research isn't from scratch.
Thanks again!
The problem is California is so big, and your time is so limited. If you want to explore some great natural scenery - San Francisco is a great place to base yourself out of. I would consider renting a car for the entire duration of your stay. Car rental is cheap in the States. If you want some of the best natural scenery in the area, the Marin Headlands is awesome. There's a youth hostel there that is really fabulous and the trails are right out the front door. You can also access the trails of Mount Tamalpais State Park. A 30 minute drive from the Headlands is Point Reyes National Seashore - where there is also a youth hostel. Such a bargain, for such an amazing location. The Northern California youth hostels are exceptional. In San Francisco, the Fisherman's Warf hostel is the best deal in town. They even have free parking. Yosemite is one of my favorite National Parks - it's within 3-4 hours of San Francisco.
Here's the deal: it's going to take you 2 weeks just to explore these 4 places. For myself, I would focus on whatever corner of Cali most interests you and see it well, instead of trying to see everything. The cities will suck away your time and money, so I would limit my time there. San Francisco is loaded with fantastic green spaces - it's amazing for such a huge city. There's so much to see and do, you could take a week there alone! That's exactly why I'd limit my city time - it sucks you in and there's so much other great scenery to explore nearby.
Hi and thankyou very much for the info.
I have done a bit of travelling with 2 and 3 friends where we just rough it in hostels, buses etc.
This time I'm goin to America as it'll be with my girlfriend who wouldnt enjoy that side of things, so chose Cali as I presume it'll be a lot less hard work. We usually just book a flight and see what happens with a bit of an itinerary but since im goin with the GF we want it to be a bit more relaxing, so was looking at doing an organised tours..
what are your opinions on these. I have been looking at this one in particular
https://times.rivieratravel.co.uk/index.php/worldwide-tours/tour/california-the-golden-west/
What are your thoughts regarding time/price/and itinerary? And of these sorts of tours in general...?
Any help much appreciated!
Depends on the time of year you are travelling but the Green Tortoise covers a lot of Cali, might be right for your budget, depends on how much your GF likes camping
T
A couple of additional suggestions: you should try to avoid renting a car at the airport because car rentals at the airport are subject to an additional tax of about 20%. If you're flying into San Francisco, the Airport is in a heavily populated suburb of SF and there will be many car rental offices very close to the airport. I had to rent a car last week and Enterprise was by far the least expensive of the major car rental brands. You should maps.google.com the SF airport, then type in Enterprise rent a car in the search box. you'll see that there are several rental offices within a 4 mile radius of the SF airport. Just take a short cab ride to an office not affiliated with the airport and you will save some $$$. If you really want to pinch, you can take the BART (bay area rapid transit) from the airport to one stop north of the airport (San Bruno station) an then just walk or call the Enterprise office 650-873-7413 and they will pick you up from the BART station for FREE! Obviously they can't pick you up directly at the airport otherwise no one would rent at the airport rental location...
I live in the states on the West Coast and I would be happy to answer any questions that I can. I'll send you a private message with my Email address.
-L
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