Fun places to shop in San Francisco: Ambiance boutique in the Haight Ashbury area, Amoeba Records also in Haight-Ashbury, the Gunne Sacks-Jessica McClintock factory outlet in South San Francisco, Macy's Union Square (for their cookware dept in the basement, they often have local chefs' cooking demos), Sanrio Hello Kitty store off Union Square (it has gobbled my pocket money for the past 20 yrs).
<em>edited by Apricot on 22/05/2013</em>
My husband and I are doing this trip in June isA. We're starting in Vegas (walk along the strip, see a show), then drive to the Grand Canyon and stay overnight. Drive back to Vegas and stay overnight. Fly to LA, from what I'm reading they say the city is so over-rated. We're thinking of staying in West Hollywood for just one night. Is there anything not to miss here? We're going to skip Santa Monica/Malibu and drive to Santa Barbara on the way to SF. We also plan to stop in Cambria and Carmel/Monterey for the night. I can't wait to drive along the coast. I'm just worried it'll be foggy and we won't see much of the beautiful view.
Adding the Grand Canyon will mean an entirely different thing so if the OP wants to do it, then best to spend at least 2 days and 1 night there; and cut time from LA for it.
I think Tripadvisor will be a bit too overwhelming given the amoun t of potential sights there and the OP may get information overload
My recommendation will be to get a color guide book for California; Fodors or DK Eyewitness or Frommers Day by Day (my favorite). Go through the pictures and see what are the best things she likes.
I've done San Francisco and Vegas in one trip before and its totally doable - must see the following:
San Francisco: Fisherman's Wharf, Chinatown, ride cable cars (all over city), Ghirardelli's chocolate factory
Las Vegas: plan for tons of time on the strip and use the monorail, saves on walking! must see Paris, the Venetian, MGM Grand, Luxor, Caesar's, Bellagio, only to name a few - if you've never been, these are more than just casinos or hotels, its like a full on experience
Lots of places to see ; 16/7 days would be more than enough
Its not exactly feasible to drive to LA "via" LV, as Vegas is a bit out of the way and to reach it from SF you would generally come to within 20 miles of LA, so you can do it either way.
Must sees can include:
The drive from SF to Big Sur
Yosemite (can be done as a 1 night trip from SF)
Sequioa and Kings Canyon (when going from SF to LA/LV)
I would try to go to San Diego for 2 days from LA.
A rough itinerary can be
SF Days 1-2
Yosemite 3-4
Drive to Big Sur 5
Sequioa/Kings Canyon/Drive to LA 6,7
LA 8.9
Las Vegas, 10,11
LA 12
San Diego 13,14
LA 15,16
I would really like to plan a trip starting in San Francisco to enjoy all the sights there and drive to Los Angeles via Las Vegas. Can anybody suggest places to visit that shouldn't be missed in these area's and I would be very grateful for any hotels recommendations. Ideally the holiday will be for 16 / 17 days. My children are really excited about this holiday so any tips or advice would be very much appreciated! Many thanks
<em>edited by sunflower65 on 20/05/2013</em>