ahh.. hahaha.. but still sounds like a good idea to rent a bike too.. but once cross over to north side, wont be feasible to have the bike with us, else cannot walk ard n go into shops easily?
Driving from LA to San Francisco
- Thread starter enkindel
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ahh.. hahaha.. but still sounds like a good idea to rent a bike too.. but once cross over to north side, wont be feasible to have the bike with us, else cannot walk ard n go into shops easily?
By morning I mean before 10am. You will be going against the incoming traffic going to the city. Although, the bridge at 7am is beautiful.
By morning I mean before 10am. You will be going against the incoming traffic going to the city. Although, the bridge at 7am is beautiful.
woah... this is taken by u?? nice! this is on the south part? i like seeing REAL photos taken by one of us! for this, we'd gladly wake up at 5.30 and throt our way there...
Actually, that was taken on the NORTH side, just after the bridge at the free parking lot I was telling you about.
This was taken from the South side (The San Francisco city side)
This was taken from the South side (The San Francisco city side)
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Probably, it would not be necessary to drive in SF itself as public transport are pretty convenient. Legs can probably bring you around. Or another option would be to buy a ticket which allows you to transport yourself around in their famous "cable car" and/or bus (http://www.sfcablecar.com/riders.html) Get the passport on the first day and be done with it! :thumbsup:
Its a nice place. Monterey Bay / 17 mile drive and Carmel are beautiful places. I took a bus trip when I was there in May. Pretty worth it and save me from the driving.
Parking is problematic in SF itself as there are MANY slopes and parallel parking for most of them except in the "multi storey car park".
Miss that place (especially chinatown food! which is tasty since I have not tasted Singapore's food for a while.......). Need to find time to drive up the scenic route to SF. Am currently in San Diego though and it will take quite some time to do the drive up!
Advise, bring/buy moisturizers and Sun block. The weather is dry over here and the sun is "hurtful" even though it will seem mild. In December, it might be cold in SF, so prepare warm clothings for the little ones especially.
Good luck and enjoy the California Tour!
Its a nice place. Monterey Bay / 17 mile drive and Carmel are beautiful places. I took a bus trip when I was there in May. Pretty worth it and save me from the driving.
Parking is problematic in SF itself as there are MANY slopes and parallel parking for most of them except in the "multi storey car park".
Miss that place (especially chinatown food! which is tasty since I have not tasted Singapore's food for a while.......). Need to find time to drive up the scenic route to SF. Am currently in San Diego though and it will take quite some time to do the drive up!
Advise, bring/buy moisturizers and Sun block. The weather is dry over here and the sun is "hurtful" even though it will seem mild. In December, it might be cold in SF, so prepare warm clothings for the little ones especially.
Good luck and enjoy the California Tour!
yah i was actually thinking of taking public transport within SF itself... and renting a car to get frm one city to another to enjoy the scenic route along the way... currently thinking of SF - LV - LA.. and yosemite and grand canyon in between if possible... same route as TS, just opposite direction...
thanks for the tip on the moisturizer and sunblock! hahaha i nv leave home without that.. is chinatown in SF worth going? i mean, like the food there really nice compared to sg's?
SF Chinatown is a tourist trap, its crowded and messy. Good for photos but myself I don't go to Chinatown for the Chinese food 
Parking is horrible (forget street parking, you will be fighting with delivery trucks)
If you decide to use a car while in SF, I will give a couple of pointer for car park. If you travel as family, it will probably cost the same with using bus. You can get the tourist unlimited rides which probably will saved you some money http://www.sfmta.com/cms/mfares/passports.htm
Parking is horrible (forget street parking, you will be fighting with delivery trucks)If you decide to use a car while in SF, I will give a couple of pointer for car park. If you travel as family, it will probably cost the same with using bus. You can get the tourist unlimited rides which probably will saved you some money http://www.sfmta.com/cms/mfares/passports.htm
SF Chinatown is a tourist trap, its crowded and messy. Good for photos but myself I don't go to Chinatown for the Chinese food
If you decide to use a car while in SF, I will give a couple of pointer for car park. If you travel as family, it will probably cost the same with using bus. You can get the tourist unlimited rides which probably will saved you some money http://www.sfmta.com/cms/mfares/passports.htm
hmm, so meaning shd just go to SF chinatown to look see take some photos n poof? only me and hubbs travelling there, so using bus will be cheaper?
If you are really worried about driving in Yosemite during winter, which you should be. You can consider booking a one-day tour. I did the same thing in January this year and had a good experience with this company. I just left my rental car parked in my motel in San Francisco for a day. I booked the Yosemite National Park & Giant Sequoias One-Day tour online from w w w . e x t r a n o m i c a l . c o m. Just take note some roads are closed during winter. The tour takes a different route during winter compared to other seasons. According to the driver, the same roads that are closed will affect all vehicles.
2 years ago, when in Las Vegas in March. I went with another company on a one day tour as well covering Hoover Dam & the Grand Canyon. Also, a good experience and I was glad I did not drive because it was a long distance to drive and it started to snow closer to the Grand Canyon. I was lucky to get the Grand Canyon 30mins ahead to take some good shots before heavy snow started to fall and covered the Grand Canyon in thick fog.
I still have both itineraries in Microsoft Word. If you are interested, let me know.
2 years ago, when in Las Vegas in March. I went with another company on a one day tour as well covering Hoover Dam & the Grand Canyon. Also, a good experience and I was glad I did not drive because it was a long distance to drive and it started to snow closer to the Grand Canyon. I was lucky to get the Grand Canyon 30mins ahead to take some good shots before heavy snow started to fall and covered the Grand Canyon in thick fog.
I still have both itineraries in Microsoft Word. If you are interested, let me know.
snowing in grand canyon in march???
yes im interested in the itinerary! thanks! pls email me
thanks a mil.
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Yes, I haven't find a worthwhile chinese food in Chinatown SF, but that just might be me...
Btw, SF chinatown is 3 blocks away from downtown Union Square so you can just walk there during shopping trip.
wads at union sq? i read abt gilroy.. seems like a must go, but slightly outta the way.
edit: ooh wow LOTS of shopping ard the union sq area.. ;p
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Yes, center of the city.
Since you are going to LA area, might be more worthwhile going to Barstow instead of Gilroy.
barstow stuff cheaper than gilroy? if it is, its gd, cus LA is the last leg of our journey, no need to lug so many things around. hahah...
any recommendations for cheap n safe accomodation in SF, LA and Vegas? casually checked some B&B in LA, omfg its $120/night at least!
Well I assumed you are planning to go to Gilroy for the branded good factory outlets, Barstow has better brands than gilroy in general the last time I was there.
oh well yes of cus... ;p;p;p
better brands as in? the more well known ones?
oh yes, one very impt qn, do we have to pay tax in LA, LV or SF? i think different cities/states have different amount of taxes...
Some other locations for views of the golden gate
From SF:
Baker Beach
Lincoln Park Golf course (one of the holes the course is along the cliff overlooking the bridge)
China Beach
Fort Point
Crissy Field
From Marin County (North of the bridge):
Vista point ight after crossing the golden gate bridge
Alexander Ave, go up the mountain to Battery Point (best view of GG bridge)
Remember to visit the following in SF also... less known:
Sutro Baths @ the west end of Geary Street
Cliff house which is near by...
Ocean beach which is also near by.
And there is this large old windmill there near the beach.
And if you cross the golden gate, don't come back right away, go visit Sausalito, a very beautiful coastal town (one of the most expensive places to live in USA). have dinner there, walk the quaint streets. Very romantic.
Also if you have more time, go visit tiburon... totally beautiful....
I can go on and on and on... but maybe one day we have coffee with kreigster, we can talk more about usa. And invite your hubby along too... will be fun.
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Gilroy is much better than Barstow now I think.
yes, there's sales tax. depends on the different counties. Last time I was there, it varies between 7.75% (sacremento area) to 8.25% in most of rest of California. Some states are sales tax free (Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon)
And you need to tip after settling your bill in sit down restaurants with service. Good restaurants tip around double the tax. If just so so, just tip 10%. If you are pissed. Don't tip. But don't go back there again.
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Thanks for the reply londonray!
I guess its a practical and safe idea to do Highway 1 southerly from SF to LA. I almost forgot that we'll be driving on the right side of the road.
How fast can i reach SF via Interstate-5 considering normal speed and road conditions? I guess I-5 is a straightforward route, quite monotonous....hence the suggestion on stocking up on coffee and music.
Kinda ruling out yosemite as a side trip and possibly go to Muir Woods instead. thanks for the advices!
My fastest record... LA to San Jose via I-5, 152 and 101. 4 hours 15 mins. San Jose to San Francisco is another 40 mins with no jam. Speeding away of course. :bsmilie: I think we hit 130 mph one time on I-5...
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