All this time without travelling is getting on my nerves. That’s probably why I’m writing about California today: One of the most sought after destinations in the entire world. In this seven day itinerary, you’ll explore the tall buildings of Los Angeles, the piers at San Francisco, and a whole bucket of gold more.
Day 1:
- Fly to Los Angeles- and rent a car
- Check in to your hotel, in Venice, which is my favorite area to stay in LA: Budget- Samesun Venice Beach– A great budget choice on the Venice Beach Boardwalk. Mid Range: Air Venice On the Beach – A great hotel right on Venice Beach with incredible views of the beach and the ocean. There are also many outdoor activities that you can try here. Luxury: Venice Suites– Brightly painted hotel with some rooms having amazing ocean and beach views, and some having city views. You also get an equipped kitchen in your hotel room.
- After checking in to your hotel, you can relax for a couple hours, possibly at the beach, possibly at the hotel room
- Soon, though, you should get lunch at the Great White Restaurant
- Then, visit Venice Beach and relax. You can also rent a paddle board and paddle in the sea.
- By the time you leave Venice Beach, It’ll be the early evening. You can just relax for the rest of the day and visit some of the famous places in Venice, like the LA Louver, a museum of modern art, the Venice Sign, a big lit up sign with the city name on it, and see some of the public art, like the Giant Binoculars and the Touch of Venice.
- Have dinner at The Rose Venice
Day 2:
- Eat breakfast at your hotel or at any of the many cafes in Venice
- Drive down Sunset Boulevard or Wilshire Boulevard: Sunset famous for its 22 mile stretch (You don’t need to drive all of it) that passes through renowned places like Beverly Hills and UCLA, and because it ends in Malibu, the perfect spot for the beach. Wilshire, not as famous is known for its buildings, that have many architectural styles and shows you the new and old sides of Los Angeles.
- Then, visit the Getty Center, the most valuable art collection center in all of LA. The place is huge, and you’ll enjoy looking through all the artwork. You’ll finish by 1 or 2.
- After that, have a (bit late)lunch at really wherever you want. There are so many restaurants in LA that we’re not even going to specify one to go to for lunch.
- Go to the Los Angeles Zoo. Now, that might not sound interesting, but this zoo has an incredible amount of species: over 250! Animal lover or not, you’ll have fun here.
- Visit Griffith Park (which is actually where the LA Zoo is), an extremely famous park in LA. You can do hikes, look out to the city, and you can look out from Griffith Observatory
- Griffith Observatory is an observatory with a planetarium, telescopes, and great views out to the city. Watch the sunset here: it’s wonderful.
- Then visit the TCL Chinese Theater, where you can watch a movie. The TCL has celebrity footsteps all over it, which is one of the reasons so many people go there.
- Have dinner at Providence and return to your hotel
Day 3:
- Visit the Hollywood sign: I’m sure you’ve heard of it, but it’s a famous landmark of the word Hollywood on a mountain. It’s been there for almost a hundred years.
- Then, for the rest of the day choose between Universal Studios Hollywood and Disneyland. If you have young kids, maybe you’d want to go to Disneyland more, while if you enjoy movies and shows like Jurassic Park and Harry Potter you could go to Universal Studios
- If you aren’t an amusement parks person, visit the Dolby Theater, home of the Academy Awards, watch a game at the Staples Center, the famous basketball arena (if there is one that day), and visit Madame Tussaud’s Hollywood, a wax museum.
- You can also visit Malibu and relax at the beach there.
- Have dinner at RockSugar Southeast Asian Kitchen
Day 4:
- Take a flight to San Francisco
- Then, stay at one of my favorite hotels in San Francisco, the InterContinental Hotel San Francisco.
- It’ll be about 11 when you arrive, so just explore the hotel, rest, and then have lunch at Zero Zero, an Italian Restaurant
- Then, do a top tourist choice: riding cable cars. The cable cars were a form of transport some time ago, but once cars became more popular, people were going to get rid of the cable cars. But since tourists seemed to have ample interest in them, the city kept them going.
- Visit Golden Gate Park and Golden Gate Bridge, which is one of the things San Francisco is most famous for.
- As it’s getting dark, stop st Pier 39, the most famous pier in San Francisco, where you can have dinner at Chart House
- Then you can return to the hotel
Day 5:
- Visit Alcatraz Island- an island famous for its history as a high security prison. Now, it is one of the top sights in San Francisco and a great historical place.
- by the time you leave, it’ll be about lunchtime, so have it at the Buena Vista
- Visit the Ghiradelli Center, where you can sample ice creams, chocolate, and other sweet treats.
- Then, explore the rest of Fisherman’s Wharf, which is a famous fishing area where you are right now.
- You can also visit Madame Tussaud’s San Francisco, but considering you already did that in LA, maybe you don’t want to
- Also visit the Palace of Fine Arts, which is a artsy, theatrical, and historical experience.
- Have dinner and watch the sunset at a famous Oceanside restaurant, Cliff House.
Day 6:
- Drive down to Monterey, where you can visit the Aquarium, Del Monte Beach, and the Old Fisherman’s Wharf.
- You can stay there for lunch at Ambrosia India Bistro Monterey
- Then continue driving to Alisomar State Beach, and then to Carmel-By-the-Sea. Over here, you can visit the super-famous Carmel Beach, the Carmel Mission, which is one of the most historical places in California, and Lone Cypress, a cliffside landmark.
- Drive back to San Francisco and relax. You can do whatever you feel like, or you don’t need to do anything at all.
- (Note: if you are more interested in technology than beaches and the ocean, visit Silicon Valley instead, and tour the campuses of Facebook, Google, Apple, and more.)
Day 7:
- Depart from San Francisco- and California!
Did you like this itinerary? I, personally, think that this itinerary gives you the best of California, north and south. Make sure to share your thoughts in the comments!
Voyage with us!
(Also, a thank you to Travel Caffeine for great advice about what to do in LA.)
Voyage the World 