Yosemite Climb

[Cloth-Ears]

Yes but they are flying from LA, so whatever they do they have to get south. The PCH takes most of their time to give it justice. If they were flying home from SFO I'd say, do a bit of mountains ( Yosemite ) and do the coast just as far south as Monterey or Cambria.

 

[sean99]

I agree that it will be difficult to do PCH and Sierra Nevada mountains in a 2 week visit. I think the PCH can be comfortably driven from SF to LA in 3 days, with an overnight in Big Sur and a second overnight in San Luis Obispo (at the Madonna Inn for fun).

On the other hand Yosemite is my favourite National Park: the valley and the Tioga Pass road are stunning. Tough choice.

I'd skip San Diego - it's a long way from LAX and you'll have to drive the round trip. If you skip San Diego you might have time to spend a couple of days in Yosemite (sort out accomodation way in advance for Yosemite) and then do the PCH.

 

[Derek Wright]

+1 for Hearst Castle by San Simeon, make sure that you have pre-booked the tours you wish to take.
See
http://hearstcastle.org/
for all the details.

 

[Cloth-Ears]

Sean he only has 7 days, the other 7 already allocated to the Bay Area. I think you could actually do a good trip covering Sierra Nevada area and the PCH in two weeks, but those plus all the stuff in the Bay Area and around as well wouldn't work.

But 7 days is what there is, so given the fact of exit from LA, allocating all the time to coast makes for a holiday that is a holiday.

I'd say 4 days at least for PCH, and that's before reaching LA. Remember there is Santa Cruz to start with, not to be underestimated in value, before Monterey & Carmel, then the Cambria/ Hearst Castle part, then Santa Barbara, itself a fantastic place. That's a good 4 days.

I'm a frustrated tour operator me. It is what I'd love to do above all else, but I know most of my ideas are not commercial - good but not commercial as saleable tours.

 

[sean99]

Aha, missed the 7 day part. Given that I think a leisurely drive down PCH taking in Santa Cruz, maybe Monterey (I was underwhelmed), Big Sur, Hearst Castle, Santa Barbara and ending with a day or two watching the wildlife at Venice Beach. Fun place for people watching is Venice/Santa Monica.