I'm from New York and I'm planning an 11 day trip to California with my girlfriend.

Here's some information about my trip:

Age - We are both in our 20's
Dates - Mid August
Airfare - NYC to Ontario, CA
Renting a car for the whole trip

Here's my Mapquest of the whole trip:
http://mapq.st/jGWiga


1. First of all is this trip doable in 11 days? I love driving but I don't want to be rushing all the time.

2. I've been told I should go from South to North to enjoy the scenic roads from SF to LA. Should I re-route my trip to Yosemite first instead of last? Is it that much of a difference?

3. What would you add or delete from this trip? (11 day-trip)


2 Day in San Diego (within the area)
4 Days in Los Angeles (within the area)
3 Days in San Francisco (within the area)
1-2 Days for Yosemite (Is Yosemite worth it?.. I could always take highway 1 back down to LA which is suppose to be a beautiful drive.)

Any feedback, suggestions, comments are truly appreciated!

Thanks!

with regard to the PCH drive, death valley, and/or yosemite, I'd rank them like this:
1. PCH
4. Yosemite
11. Death Valley

You can do a lot on the PCH in 2 days - hit up santa barbara wine country (don't skip Paso Robles either), pismo beach, hearst castle, big sur, carmel & monterey. Yosemite would be nice, but its gonna be a little out of your way if you're mostly visiting coastal areas.

1. In-N-Out


LOL

SkiP death valley

Unless you REALLY like rocks, skip death valley, its super boring and there's weird people there! Lol

yosemite is a must!

in SF, check out golden gate park and the academy of science and/or de young museum if you're into museums.

not sure if your into wine, but there are TONS of winemakers in CA. Napa isnt too far from SF.

Also, its a little stretch but could be done, check out Lake Tahoe

If you like the wine idea, as you go down the coast from SF to LA there are wineries in the Santa Barbara area which is really beautiful. Message G-Ticket (Lisa) for more info.

+100000 for skip Death Valley and make sure to go to Yosemite.

+1 on skippin death valley

Thanks for the feedback! Keep it coming!

I've edited my initial post and eliminated Death Valley... I'm still on the fence about Yosemite...

I've added all the points stated to my list..

My girlfriend is big on wine and we're planning to visit napa valley and santa barbara!

In and Out is in our list as well!... lol

Just to give up an update...

We've decided to not visit Yosemite, partially because it's out of the way and we'd prefer to spend more time on the PCH.

I've updated our mapquest trip.

http://mapq.st/juGHDS

We're currently planning the details and what to see... I'll update with a more detailed description for those who are also planning a California trip!

If you are planning any wine tasting you HAVE to stop in Paso Robles. There are some amazing wineries there, we have over 147 wineries in San Luis Obispo County. Google Paso Robles Wineries and you'll find some that will more than likely be familiar to you.

Santa Barbara County has some good wineries, but from my personal experience and the opinion of my friends, the wines are better in Paso. The warmer weather in Paso creates more sugar in the grapes and wines are overall better tasting.

I've been tasting in both areas and if time were an issue I would stop at Fess Parker in Santa Barbara, Cambria Winery in Santa Maria, hit Letittia Winery off the 101 North on my way to the Paso Robles area wineries.

Just a suggestion

Thanks for the great suggestion.. This will definitely help us out since my girlfriend is big on wines!

No problem, if either one of you have any questions or need some info just let me know.

Skip death valley and go to Napa instead. You can go wine tasting there and then stay at morongo resort and casino for the night.

Yosemite isnt that much of a detour. and its definitely a plcae you must visit. If you like hikes, rivers, waterfalls, nature. Im actually going again in 2 weeks!!