• My trip started in San Francisco and ended in Los Angeles
• 11-hour flight from Heathrow with Virgin Atlantic – solid service in economy, but limited recline.
• Jet lag is real (-8 hours) but it makes early starts easy.
• Picked up a GM hire car at San Francisco airport (~£500 for 8 days); note most hotels charge for parking (often ~$50/night)
• California has great weather but feels pricey (about double London), with visible homelessness and a constant weed smell that can feel unsafe.
• Fuel pumps work differently, requiring staff to help get us going. California fuel (tax + base price) ended up roughly UK-level.
• Travelling on highways down from SF displays many rolling hills and big skies; with temperatures peaking near 28°C (End of September). Noted a lot of US flags and visible patriotism along the route.

San Francisco

Walking in the city is a hike; many streets are steep, and you feel it; so expect calf burn.

We stayed in the Donatello Hotel which had a hybrid indoor–outdoor terrace with sauna and a grooming room (shaving/hair styling), plus free tea, coffee, and biscuits. We decompressed here and had numerous chats with other guests.

As we are brits abroad we stocked up on cereal and milk (interesting that colours flipped vs UK: green=skimmed, blue=semi, red=whole) and were baffled by ‘fresh’ milk lasting a month. Set up evening cuppas in the room – we found with US hotel rooms was that there was always a coffee maker which you can ‘trick’ to just give boiling water.

Activities

Shopping

We skipped the $8 cable cars and went straight to the boutiques to chase the new limited releases we couldn’t find in the UK. Fun browse, quick in-and-out mission once we found what we wanted.

Alcatraz Island Tour (3–4 hours)

Booked a ticket online for the boat trip, then a 10-minute uphill walk to the prison; the audio guide is excellent as you walk through through cells, library, yard, and kitchen. There’s also a museum-like exhibit about the modern US detention system. Check the weather forecast since they warn you to dress warm, but on a hot day this can be unbearable. With the right conditions, there are superb angles back to the city and Golden Gate.

A story by one of the guides: a prisoner slowly collected pieces of a guard’s uniform from laundry deliveries over years and fled, only to be caught mid-bay.

Places of Interest

Golden Gate Bridge Viewpoints (1–2 hours)

Getting up early meant empty, free car parks by upstream beaches, but the bridge sat in thick cloud. We paid a one-way toll (over $10) to try the opposite side but it was still fogged up. Still worth it, even on a foggy day!

Nordstrom – Seven-Level Department Store (15–30 mins)

Huge, quiet, and a bit soulless so we didn’t linger. A quick loop was enough.

Food

Chef Hung’s Chinese, Chinatown

Shake Shack Lunch

Fast, easy reset between errands. Did the job.

Costco Run & Dinner

Boudin’s Bakery at the Pier

San Jose (incl. Cupertino)

The heart of Silicon Valley, streets are clean and safe and there’s a bustling night life near conference centres.

Activities

Apple Park Visitor Centre (60–90 mins)

You can’t enter the ring, but the Visitor Centre is open on Tantau avenue: AR model showing the campus and Steve Jobs Theatre. Also, there’s a small terrace (which is a sun trap). Took photos near the sign on the way out.

The Tech Interactive (1–2 hours)

Geared to school kids; some clever hands-on exhibits, but not essential for adults. Fine if you’re nearby.

Food

Costco Lunch Stop

Hot dog repeat, fast and inexpensive enroute. No complaints.

Donut Breakfast (Rollo’s Donuts)

Night Market-Style Beer Garden

Monterey Bay

We stayed in a classic drive-up motel: park beside your door with outdoor corridors, extremely convenient for loading/unloading. New to us, and we liked the practicality.

Activities

Old Fisherman’s Wharf & Bayfront (2–3 hours)

Strolled the market and small pier; calmer than San Francisco and not too touristy. Watched kayaks and sea life in the bay (otters, storks, and more).

Main Strip

On the main road leading to the pier you will find shops and pubs, where you can also see the nightlife.

Food

McDonald’s Lunch

Receipts have codes for BOGOF on Quarter Pounders if you fill out a survey. The dips looked and felt like paint which was questionable!

Indian Dinner + Alvarado Street Brewery Cocktails

Los Angeles

Our motel was three blocks away from the Hollywood Walk of fame. The motel featured an underground car park with rooms on corridors overlooking a courtyard pool. Friendly reception and an easy base for exploring.

Activities

NHL Game: LA Kings vs Anaheim Ducks (3 hours)

Metro ride (~50 mins) to the arena and straight into a loud, fun night. Great snapshot of US sports culture.

Universal Studios Hollywood (Full day)

Simpsons Area (45–60 mins)

Springfield was brought to life: Krusty Burger, Kwik-E-Mart, Moe’s, Duff Beer were functional as respective establishments. You can even get yourself a duff beer and an enormous Homer donut! As you walk round this area there are various fibre-glass sculptures of characters, again great for photographs.

Studio Tram Tour (90–120 mins)

I think this is the highlight of the theme park. They are scheduled for every hour. You are driven round in a golf-cart like multi-car tram with approximately 30 other people around studio sets, sometimes which are filming. One minute you’re in a city block like Chicago, another minute in a suburb and another in a plane crash site!

Special effects sequences:

• Jurassic park – A dark room with 3D screens either side while footage of dinosaurs fight close up and the tram rocks side to side.
• Die hard – tram enters mock-up subway station where vehicles and trains move and crash, including spontaneous combustion, followed by a flood. (this was the coolest!)
• New Mexico – outside rain followed by a flood coming out of buildings.
• Fast and furious – 3D screens and either side in a dark room while footage of a fast and furious chase occurs, tram moves back and forth to simulate motion as if you’re in the movie.

Harry Potter

You feel like you’re in the harry potter universe here, it’s just great to walkaround all the shops themed as if you’re in it!

Other Areas & Shows (30–60 mins)

Transformers/Minions corners and roaming characters (I found Scooby-Doo). Frequent ‘theatre’ demonstrations show how animals and effects are used on set.

Rides & Tips (2–3 hours)

• Jurassic park – water ride with outside dinosaur ‘enclosures’ followed by an inside section where dinosaur jump-scares. Ending with a big splash drop.
• Mummy – near-pitch black indoor rollercoaster. Quite fast and cool on a hot day!
• Transformers – move round different rooms in cart with 3d screens. Special lift and drop effects. Very immersive and 3D. This failed and I got stuck for around 10 minutes near the end.
• Simpsons ride – 3D screen in one room with shaking effects of the car
• Hogwarts – like transformers, but you’re hanging in a brace. You move round different rooms, first showing Hogwarts and then playing a game of quidditch, all with wind, water, lift and drop effects!

With all these rides you can save time going alone in a single-rider queue where available.

Hollywood Sign via Griffith Observatory (60–90 mins)

You can’t get right to the letters, but the nearby observatory has short-term free parking and solid angles of the sign and downtown. Quick, efficient photo stop.

Places of Interest

Beverly Hills Sign & Rodeo Drive (60–90 mins)

Venice Beach, Muscle Beach & Pier (2–3 hours)

$5 all-day parking (cash); the distance to the pier was deceptive, so our ‘short’ walk became ~30 minutes each way. Grabbed drinks on the pier, then endured rush hour (1 hour for 12 miles) and detoured down side streets for a possible glimpse of a celebrity.

Hollywood Walk of Fame & TCL Chinese Theatre (45–75 mins)

Very disappointing and overrated. Stars in the pavement and nice forecourt slabs (time capsule of different films), but overall felt dirty and a bit unsafe. Lots of duplicate souvenir shops made our time here brief. Popped into Hard Rock for the customary T-shirts.

SoFi Stadium Photo Stop (10–20 mins)

Quick pull-over on way to the airport run for a photo. In-and-out.

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Overall an amazing experience in California, but equally expensive!