California Itinerary (Should I Skip Yosemite)???

Hi,

I am going to California for two weeks in September with my husband, my two year old son and my parents. Here is my itinerary. I need help especially for September 7th.

September 1st - Arrive in San Francisco in the morning. Take the evening tour of Alcrataz, see Fisherman%26#39;s Wharf.

September 2nd: - Go to Muir woods and Sausalito

September 3rd: Go to Monterey, see the aquarium, 17 mile drive, fisherman%26#39;s wharf, carmel, cannery row and drive back to SFO in the night. ( If we skip Yosemite, we can spend this day in SFO)

September 4th: Lombard Street, golden gate park,

September 5th: Drive to Yosemite and stay at the Ahwahnee

September 6th: Yosemite:

September 7th: Leave Yosemite and Arrive in Los Angeles. I am planning to take Highway 1 all the way to Los Angeles. Since I will be coming from Yosemite, I will have to go to a point below San Simeon and then catch Highway 1. This will take at least 10 hours but I thought it would be worth it. What do you think? The other option is to skip highway 1 and take another route to L.A which may only take 6 hours. Because of this, I was thinking, should I skip Yosemite and just go to Monterey on the 5th and spend two nights there and then on the 7th drive to L.A. This way we can also go to Santa Cruz, Point Lobos etc... But then highway 1 is so scenic. My question is:

1) Should I ship Yosemite all together

2) Is highway 1 more scenic from San Simeon to L.A then from San Francisco to Monterey Area. Am I missing on something really good if I do not take highway 1 from Yosemite to L.A?

3) If I skip Yosemite, will the scenery be all the same. Will I get bored of hopping from one city to the other? Monterey, Santa Cruz etc...

September 8th: L.A

September 9th: L.A and then go to Anaheim in the night.

September 10: Disneyland

September 11th: Disneyland and then drive to San Diego in the night.

September 12th: San Diego

September 13th: San Diego

September 14th: SAn diego

September 15th: Fly back to D.C

Please advise because if I need to skip Yosemite I have to cancel my reservations at the Ahwahnee this week.

Thanks very much in advance

Shazia

California Itinerary (Should I Skip Yosemite)???

Just my two cents:

1. DO NOT skip Yosemite.

2. Hwy 1 is most scenic from Carmel (big sur) to San Simeon. That is the area you want to be sure to take it.

3. Having grown up in Monterey, I can tell you that if you plan on going from S.F. to Monterey, seeing the aqauarium, fisherman%26#39;s wharf, 17 mile drive, cannery row, etc. etc., and you plan on doing this in ONE day, you%26#39;re going to be running at a lightening pace. Personally, I would skip Muir woods and sausalito and spend more time in Monterey and Carmel. You can probably fit Sausalito into one of your S.F. days.

4. If I were you, I would do it like this:

Sept 1-3 San Francisco

Sept. 4-5 Yosemite

Sept. 6-7 Monterey, Carmel

Sept. 8-11 L.A. Disneyland

Sept. 12-15 San Diego, home.

Either way, you are in for ALOT of driving. Im not sure people always understand how far these distances are, but be prepared for alot of car time. You have a great vacation planned, enjoy!

California Itinerary (Should I Skip Yosemite)???

We are doing a similar itinerary to you but in reverse. We arrive in the US on 2 Sept and head straight to San Diego for 6 nights, then 4 nights San Francisco, 2 nights Yosemite at Ahwahnee, 1 night back in San Francisco, 6 nights Disneyland and ending with 3 nights in Beverly Hills.

I asked the same question on the San Francisco forum when planning our itinerary. We questioned whether we should just spend 2 more nights in San Francisco and skip Yosemite, particulary given the time we will be spending getting there and returning to San Francisco.

I was given an overwhelming NO, DO NOT SKIP YOSEMITE, under any circumstances - so we have left it in. Hope this helps.

Thanks nmclennan to your reply. I am definitely keeping Yosemite after getting all the suggestions. Hope you have a wonderful time in California.

Shazia

Hi,

You must not miss Yosemite! The Ahwahnee is a wonderful hotel, but its a hotel; I reccomend you stay in a cabin in the woods, you can reserve one that can accomodate the whole family. (Its probably cheaper than two rooms at the Ahwahnee anyway) Check out ';The Redwoods at Yosemite'; on the Yosemite website. It will be an experience you will never forget.

Have a great vacation,

TB.

Dublin,Ireland.

Muir Woods is lovely, but you can see big redwood trees in Yosemite also.

Do not skip Yosemite! It is a natural wonder of the world. It is awesome! And stick your toes in the Merced River!!!

the bees