we're going on a road trip! maybe... (San Diego, San Francisco: fit in, coupons)

[thespykidinseattle]

my partner and I want to book our two-year anniversary trip to California in May.

We were thinking of spending a week there. Here's what I thought we should do... are we overdoing it?

I plan on landing in San Diego, and taking a week long trip up the coast into San Francisco. One thing we both wanna hit is Disneyland (overrated for some, but we're huge Disney fans).

We also wanna hit Santa Barbra, and other coastal cities.

We'll be renting a car and staying in cheap (but safe) places.


Any recommendations?

[RosieSD]

Are you planning to rent the car in San Diego and drop it off in San Francisco, or will you return it back to San Diego?

If you're planning a one way rental, have you already looked into the surcharges involved with one way rentals? If you haven't already done that, get that quote first as the added cost might put a crimp on your trip budget.

If you're planning to pick up and return to San Diego, you *may* need to add a couple more days in your time schedule to double back to San Diego from San Francisco, depending on what you plan to see and do on your trip. You could easily spend 2-3 days in both San Francisco and San Diego, and Disneyland will require at least a full day to do right.

So, if you only have a week and Disneyland is a "must do", you might want to consider flying into San Diego or LA (check airfares) and then doing a road trip around southern California, with a couple of nights based near Disneyland. You could definitely fit in Santa Barbara as well. Or, alternately, you may want to focus on Northern California for this trip, and do a loop from San Francisco over to Yosemite National Park or up to the Redwoods for a few days.

My other recommendation: the California Tourism Board and each of the cities you mention have excellent websites with great information. They are great for figuring out what interests you and where you want to spend your time.

Start with this site from the California Tourism Commission , which outlines various road trips in California. You're describing the "Highway One Classic" trip, but the other road trips on the site may give you additional ideas, especially if you decide to arrive and return via the same airport. http://www.visitcalifornia.com/region/road-trips

And, here's the San Diego Visitor's website; be sure to check out the "offers" link for discount coupons for local attractions in San Diego. http://www.sandiego.org