Advice for our first trip to the US

Duckers

Hey there!
Looking for advice on travelling the west coast of the States in either the spring or autumn time.
The plan so far is to go for approximately two weeks, just need help with where and what to do!
What we would like to do is go to San Francisco for a few days and after that possibly travel north towards Portland and Seattle.
So, any suggestions on where exactly to go? How long to stay in places? What are the must see places and things to do?
Also, any recommendations travel wise.... would it be worth travelling while over there by train/bus or just stick with renting a car for the duration? And also what are the flights getting over there like price/time wise?
Trying to find a happy medium between packing in as much in as possible and just relaxing and enjoying it all!
As you can guess, nothing is set in stone yet except for going San Fran, all suggestions are welcome!
Thanks!

ProudDUB

Have a look through the posts on the last few pages. There are quite a few threads from people asking roughly the same kind of questions about west coast road trips.

sawdoubters

hire a car,buy flights long in advance,try skyscanner but its starting to be less usefull,budget car rental should be good



http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g1-i12567-k5781117-West_Coast_USA_Road_Trip-Road_Trips.html


http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-westcoastspots-pg,0,7431081.photogallery#axzz2rH3Vsyxs



http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1960900

InTheTrees

I would plan on renting a car. There is a train between Seattle/SF but really unless you're doing the full LA to Seattle with a cabin, you'd be better driving. (Because the most scenic parts are SF to LA).

If you're going as far north as Seattle I'd tend to recommend the early autumn rather than spring as it will be wet in the spring. Weather stays nice in Seattle into about late September. Spring is still nice though in the Pacific Northwest.

seanman is me

Great time to go weather wise. April, May,September, October are the sunniest months in San Francisco!!

San Francisco is expensive, so book accom early . If you are comfortable with airbnb, check that out. Some amazing places for great value.

Things I would do if back in san francisco. Bike the bridge again, pick the sunniest day possible! Go to dolores park and relax, the views are amazing!
Go to golden gate park! Eat as much as possible in the little italy area, so nice.
Also eat as much ice cream as possible! Its so good.

If you have car, a MUST for me would be go to top of Twin Peaks and Berkeley hills on a clear night, the views are magical! Very nice at daytime too.
Get to the mission, castro and haight ashbury too! Very unique places!

Re renting a car, the insurance is the killer. Try sort your own comp cover here in ireland or online. You will save that way. Plus watch out for miles quotas, some of the cheaper rates have limited miles allowances.

Highway 1 is supposed to be amazing, worth doing a few days of that.
If you have time, I would HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND visting Lake Tahoe, about 5hrs north of San Francisco. Its simply amazing and great fun!


If you are a wine lover, you have to vist the vineyards too. Can be pricey but worth looking into.

Lastly embrace the people of San Francisco, they make it what it is!!!!

InTheTrees

With two weeks there are a lot of choices. You can drive Seattle to SF in two days on the freeway, That gives you an idea of a baseline time. And actually the freeway (Interstate 5) from northern california into southern oregon through the mountains is very pretty.

Or you could start in Vancouver (an amazing city), ferry through the puget sound to Seattle, then drive down to SF.

InTheTrees

seanman is me wrote: »

If you have car, a MUST for me would be go to top of Twin Peaks and Berkeley hills on a clear night, the views are magical!

I love Twin Peaks at night. There's also the Marin headlands, just over the gg bridge. Spectacular postcard views of the city and the bridge. Avoid foggy days though.

https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=37.827019,-122.498229&spn=0.003326,0.006137&t=m&z=18&layer=c&cbll=37.827019,-122.49925&panoid=qGqcEN_it2Fme0WuZLhjjQ&cbp=12,120.78,,0,3.95

tricky D

InTheTrees wrote: »

I love Twin Peaks at night. There's also the Marin headlands, just over the gg bridge. Spectacular postcard views of the city and the bridge. Avoid foggy days though.

https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=37.827019,-122.498229&spn=0.003326,0.006137&t=m&z=18&layer=c&cbll=37.827019,-122.49925&panoid=qGqcEN_it2Fme0WuZLhjjQ&cbp=12,120.78,,0,3.95

Also a mile west of that area of the map is the Nike Missile Base which is worth a look. Doesn't look too spectacular, but the end of the 45 min tour is worth it imo. Limited tour times though so check website for further info. Tour was free when I did it. http://www.nps.gov/goga/nike-missile-site.htm Try to get the tour from the veteran for extra authenticity.

dr.kenneth noisewater

Alcatraz and a cycle across Golden gate bridge are great! You could probably do both in a day.

iusedtoknow

I live in SF, so tend to just go to work, go home and go to the mission. However the views from twin peaks are great, especially when the fog rolls in in the afternoon.

Alcatraz is great fun, but try and book on to the night tour as it is quieter and a lot creepier (as they say here.."hella creepy")

Mission has great mexican food and is one of the last spanish districts in the city, slowly being gentrified but still keeping its character. Berkeley over on the east bay is a nice laid back college town with great food, and if we didn't already have a place in SF, is where we would be living.

As for the rest of your trip. Rent a car. The coast of California is stunning. highway 1 south to LA is incredible, Highway1 north has so much as well. My favorite day trip from the city is up to Point Reyes lighthouse and the town of Point Reyes Station.
Further north towards the OR border is really pretty as well

Duckers

Only managing to get a look at this now, been busy with work etc... Anyway, Thanks guys for all the advice/help, delighted to get a response!
Seems like we can fit one heck of a lot of stuff in, can't wait to start planning properly now! Definitely a lot to think about already!
Thanks again!

tricky D

2 more weird, little and quick things to see:

The camera obscura at Cliff House - $3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camera_Obscura_%28San_Francisco,_California%29
Wave Organ at Golgen Gate Yacht Club. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave_Organ

Novella

The Oregon coast is beautiful so definitely worth driving along. I've just done it myself in the last few days. I recommend Newport as a coastal town for stopping in because there is quite a lot to see and do there. Also, Crater Lake is one of the most stunning places I have ever seen if you wanted to detour from the coast a little in OR.

Flight prices are probably going to be between €550 and €800. I flew here two weeks ago and return tomorrow and my return flights were €570, which I thought was good. I have seen them a lot more expensive. The shortest travel time I had between Dublin and Portland was 13 hours. It took 19 hours this time, with a stopover in Chicago. I imagine SF would be similar.

Personally I prefer a stopover in the US because you get to do Customs in Dublin so I avoid stops in London, Amsterdam etc., but that's entirely up to you.

San Fran is a wonderful city as we'll so you'll have a great time!