[Ktmdude]

I'm planning on going to California for at least month this summer, I would take a plane to Los Angeles and I'll see what I'll do from then on. I would like to have a list of some things I should definitely do, so I don't just waste my time in the US. I plan on renting a car and going on a road trip after I've seen LA.

What should I definitely visit in Los Angeles?
In how many days can you see LA? Ideally, I would want to stay no longer than a week. I know most of the obvious things like Hollywood, Rodeo drive, Santa Monica beach etc. But what are some of the hidden gems of LA? So far, I'm planning to visit the usual places any tourist would visit in LA. What's nightlife like?

What should I see in the surroundings of LA?
I would love to ride the snake (Mulholland drive) on a motorcycle. I would like to see Malibu.

Other places in California worth visiting?
Other cities like San Francisco are something I would like to visit, maybe stay a night or two. Is it worth to visit Vegas? I will be accompanied by my girlfriend and she's not 21 yet. But after LA, the focus of my trip will be road tripping I just don't know where yet. I want to see some American nature and culture as it's my first time going to the US.

What food should I try?
I'm looking forward to try many of your fast food chains that we don't have in Europe, obviously. What should I order at restaurants, any restaurants I should go to?

Where should I rent a car? How expensive will it be?
Should I rent a car for visiting LA as well or can I take the metro/bus? When I'm done visiting LA I want to start my road trip and end it there as well. I imagine the road trip would take 3 weeks at least.

Thanks in advance for reading through my long post

[FriedPiston]

LA, or SoCal in general is known more for good restaurant options, nice weather all year round, upscale parties, 24/7 traffic, but unfortunately, the place doesn't have much to offer when it comes to tourist attractions.

I'd recommend flying to SF instead, spend a day or two exploring the local attractions, then drive down to LA via the scenic route from Highway 1 S to 101 S.

It's okay to spend a day or two in Vegas with your significant other, which is only a 3.5-4-hour drive with no traffic. Your SO doesn't have to be 21 to enjoy what the town has to offer. As long as she doesn't look very young, and acts like she knows what she's doing, then she may even sit next to you while you play slots. I highly recommend going to at least one Cirque Du Soleil show, like KA or Mystere; O is quite overrated IMHO.

Hope you have a safe and memorable trip!

[Brownd3max]

ktmdude- How much time are you allowing in Kali? As a former resident of Socal (for 57yrs), there is so many things to see depending on what interests YOU! You can do a "car-enthusiast" focused trip, or a "Hollywood/celebrity" type trip, or a "scenic vistas" trip (hwy 1), or a "desert-to mountains-to sea"whirlwind car trip. I say ideally, it could take a month, which I actually did last year, being retired helps, and I included the Grand Canyon & Death Valley. Wonderful trip!

[P1]

As a fellow Belgian, my first trip to the US was in 1996. Flew into San Francisco and drove down to LA and saw everything on the way.

[lsturbointeg]

Seriously, take a trip out to Las Vegas while you're at it. From San Diego it's only like a 5 hr drive

[dreamingat30fps]

Yosemite is pretty nice

[Monster335]

Make sure you stop at the Hearst Castle

[Dang3r]

Hence Im also into at summertime into LA (coming from San Diego) I read somewhere, that most places right from the 405 are almost places to avoid from Gardena up to Culver City...is that true?

[Ktmdude]

Originally Posted by P1et

As a fellow Belgian, my first trip to the US was in 1996. Flew into San Francisco and drove down to LA and saw everything on the way.

What did you think of the trip? Was it worth it?

[Ktmdude]

Originally Posted by nars3000

LA, or SoCal in general is known more for good restaurant options, nice weather all year round, upscale parties, 24/7 traffic, but unfortunately, the place doesn't have much to offer when it comes to tourist attractions.

I'd recommend flying to SF instead, spend a day or two exploring the local attractions, then drive down to LA via the scenic route from Highway 1 S to 101 S.

It's okay to spend a day or two in Vegas with your significant other, which is only a 3.5-4-hour drive with no traffic. Your SO doesn't have to be 21 to enjoy what the town has to offer. As long as she doesn't look very young, and acts like she knows what she's doing, then she may even sit next to you while you play slots. I highly recommend going to at least one Cirque Du Soleil show, like KA or Mystere; O is quite overrated IMHO.

Hope you have a safe and memorable trip!

I did some research and almost everyone does indeed recommend to drive south instead of north. Thanks for your reply! As for tourist attractions, that doesn't really matter to me. I think I'll enjoy seeing some small towns more than seeing the big cities, add a few national parcs and I'll definitely have a good time.

[Ktmdude]

Originally Posted by Brownd3max

ktmdude- How much time are you allowing in Kali? As a former resident of Socal (for 57yrs), there is so many things to see depending on what interests YOU! You can do a "car-enthusiast" focused trip, or a "Hollywood/celebrity" type trip, or a "scenic vistas" trip (hwy 1), or a "desert-to mountains-to sea"whirlwind car trip. I say ideally, it could take a month, which I actually did last year, being retired helps, and I included the Grand Canyon & Death Valley. Wonderful trip!

https://travels.kilroy.be/vervoer/ro...ika/californie
(it's in Dutch but you'll get the basic idea)

I will probably go with this company to help me with the road trip. Some of my friends have done kilroy roadtrips before and were happy about them. I plan on doing the road trip first (which will take 2-3 weeks according to them) and staying an extra week in LA at a hotel. So my trip will be 4 weeks long in total.

I could stay a few weeks longer, but I'd rather go back to work so I can afford another vacation (maybe to the US again if I enjoy it) next year.

[Maynard]

Definitely hit route 1, and stop to visit the redwoods, and Laguna Seca and rest of the Monterey Peninsula. If you have more time, Grand Canyon and Yellowstone are truly out of this world (but if you are really into Vegas, this may not be what you are looking for). You can probably find some 'lifestyles of the rich and famous' type bed and breakfast stops too, if you want to do the infinity pool by the ocean, etc.

[jgoens]

What time of the year are you coming? CA has so much to offer in terms of nature, nightlife, drives, tourist attractions and so forth. Socal has great beaches to visit including the entertaining venice beach. San Diego is worth a visit as well. As mentioned, if you can make it all the way to the Grand Canyon it is something you have never seen before.

Norcal, where I am is a vacation in itself. Monterrey is nice and you might want to add in Santa Cruz and Santa barbara and you will get in some of our lazy beach town culture. I am from the wine country which is a worldwide tourist attraction, but being with someone under 21 might have difficulties in really enjoying the wineries.

Not sure if you are into amusement parks but we have lots of them here. San Francisco, you probably have researched..basically good for a couple days. Once again while we have decent weather most of the time, when you are coming can make a difference in where you go. Feel free to ask any questions as I have lived in CA my whole life.

[GoRomeo]

Yeah drive south all the way and lets go down to TJ.. in Mexico!! Best clubs and tacos in the world...oh..and the Latin chicks of course...

[BimmerAg]

In L.A. I'd definitely recommend visiting the Petersen Automotive Museum. So many interesting cars! For nature-related activities near L.A. I'd recommend Joshua Tree national park. If you're interested in something a little more intense, I also went to Bear Mountain ski resort and rented a mountain bike to ride down the trails. Your girlfriend may not enjoy it (my wife didn't) since the trails are very fast and very rough, but I thought it was fun!

[eluded]

What is your total time that you will be in California? That will dictate your itinerary.

San Diego is just a two hours south and five hours away is Vegas. Vegas is awesome. If you have time to go to San Francisco you can drive up 101/PCH to get there.

Good luck. I will be in your country in a few months. Cheers.

[Ktmdude]

Originally Posted by eluded

What is your total time that you will be in California? That will dictate your itinerary.

San Diego is just a two hours south and five hours away is Vegas. Vegas is awesome. If you have time to go to San Francisco you can drive up 101/PCH to get there.

Good luck. I will be in your country in a few months. Cheers.

I will be road tripping for 3 weeks and stay 1 more week in LA probably.

And nice, vacation or business? If it's a vacation I recommend visiting Ghent for a day or two (it's like Bruges but a little smaller, a lot of medieval buildings and good beers). You should definitely rent a boat, you'll see things you can't see from the streets (possible with a guide if you prefer). Every city in Belgium is pretty easy to reach by train, it only takes about 4 hours to cross the country.

[Ktmdude]

Originally Posted by GoRomeo

Yeah drive south all the way and lets go down to TJ.. in Mexico!! Best clubs and tacos in the world...oh..and the Latin chicks of course...

I don't think my girlfriend wil be happy with the last one! Is it easy to cross the US/Mexican border though? Also, it's probably not allowed with a rental car is it?

[Ktmdude]

Originally Posted by jgoens

What time of the year are you coming? CA has so much to offer in terms of nature, nightlife, drives, tourist attractions and so forth. Socal has great beaches to visit including the entertaining venice beach. San Diego is worth a visit as well. As mentioned, if you can make it all the way to the Grand Canyon it is something you have never seen before.

Norcal, where I am is a vacation in itself. Monterrey is nice and you might want to add in Santa Cruz and Santa barbara and you will get in some of our lazy beach town culture. I am from the wine country which is a worldwide tourist attraction, but being with someone under 21 might have difficulties in really enjoying the wineries.

Not sure if you are into amusement parks but we have lots of them here. San Francisco, you probably have researched..basically good for a couple days. Once again while we have decent weather most of the time, when you are coming can make a difference in where you go. Feel free to ask any questions as I have lived in CA my whole life.

I will be there in July. I didn't really think about this, but will my girlfriend be allowed in bars, clubs etc.? She has no problem drinking no alcohol for a month, but it might take some of the fun away if we can't go out. Maybe we should wait another year if that's the case.

Grand canyon and Death Valley are included in the kilroy roadtrip I linked above. I'm looking forward to visiting them!

Some of the questions I might have: Are people in general friendly/helpfull in CA? Are there places where it gets cold, should we take some thicker clothes with us? We'll probably rent a camper van, is it allowed/recommended to park on the streets and sleep there or should we search a camping place if possible?

[jgoens]

Originally Posted by Ktmdude

I will be there in July. I didn't really think about this, but will my girlfriend be allowed in bars, clubs etc.? She has no problem drinking no alcohol for a month, but it might take some of the fun away if we can't go out. Maybe we should wait another year if that's the case.

Grand canyon and Death Valley are included in the kilroy roadtrip I linked above. I'm looking forward to visiting them!

Some of the questions I might have: Are people in general friendly/helpfull in CA? Are there places where it gets cold, should we take some thicker clothes with us? We'll probably rent a camper van, is it allowed/recommended to park on the streets and sleep there or should we search a camping place if possible?

Most bars and clubs will be difficult for her to get into unless she has a fake id (which I'm not advocating but is what many under age people do).

July is a great time to be here especially if you are here the 4th and can hit a celebration. This time of year in the North can have slightly chilly mornings and then warm up. You will not need a jacket only sweatshirt. Typical Bay area summer weather will have fog in the morning and be around mid 60 degree and then 80's by the afternoon.

As for camping, there are many options and it depends on where. You can't just park downtown San Francisco for the night...but there are plenty of places you will be fine. For example: if someone just pulled up in my neighborhood and slept for the night, no one would really no or care. If the Van was there for a few days it might get attention.

People here are friendly and helpful--we are a diverse state and very tolerant.

Glad you have Grand Canyon on the list.

[are0lies]

Find pictures of the places people are telling you about so you can determine for yourself if they are worth it to you. As for TJ; nothing is worth the return trip of at least 3 - 4 hours of the return to cross the border. Don't forget the GPS.

[dougt.ah3]

I'd spend my time in San Fran, South OC and San Diego and of course Yosemite and Death Valley. LA to me is a s**thole.