Lonely Planet California's Best Trips

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• Publisher: Lonely Planet
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9781786572264
• eBook ISBN: 9781786572066

Lonely Planet: The world's leading travel guide publisher Whether exploring your own backyard or somewhere new, discover the freedom of the open road with Lonely Planet California's Best Trips. Featuring 35 amazing road trips, from 2-day escapes to 2-week adventures, you can drive along the breezy, wildlife-rich Pacific Coast or stroll through ancient groves of Sequoia in Yosemite National, all with your trusted travel companion. Jump in the car, turn up the tunes, and hit the road! Inside Lonely Planet California's Best Trips: Lavish color and gorgeous photography throughout Itineraries and planning advice to pick the right tailored routes for your needs and interests Get around easily - 80 easy-to-read, full-color route maps, detailed directions Insider tips to get around like a local, avoid trouble spots and be safe on the road - local driving rules, parking, toll roads Essential info at your fingertips - hours of operation, phone numbers, websites, prices Honest reviews for all budgets - eating, sleeping, sight-seeing, hidden gems that most guidebooks miss Useful features - including Stretch Your Legs, Detours, Link Your Trip Covers Napa Valley, Death Valley, Disneyland, Orange County Beaches, and more The Perfect Choice: Lonely Planet California's Best Trips is perfect for exploring California in the classic American way - by road trip! Looking for road trip ideas for a particular California region? Check out Lonely Planet Pacific Coast Highway Road Trips or San Francisco Bay Area & Wine Country Road Trips for regional road trip ideas. Planning a Californian trip sans a car? Lonely Planet California, our most comprehensive guide to California, is perfect for exploring both top sights and lesser-known gems. About Lonely Planet: Since 1973, Lonely Planet has become the world's leading travel media company with guidebooks to every destination, an award-winning website, mobile and digital travel products, and a dedicated traveller community. Lonely Planet covers must-see spots but also enables curious travellers to get off beaten paths to understand more of the culture of the places in which they find themselves. The world awaits! Lonely Planet guides have won the TripAdvisor Traveler's Choice Award in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016. 'Lonely Planet. It's on everyone's bookshelves, it's in every traveller's hands. It's on mobile phones. It's on the Internet. It's everywhere, and it's telling entire generations of people how to travel the world.' - Fairfax Media 'Lonely Planet guides are, quite simply, like no other.' - New York Times eBook Features: (Best viewed on tablet devices and smartphones) Downloadable PDF and offline maps prevent roaming and data charges Effortlessly navigate and jump between maps and reviews Add notes to personalise your guidebook experience Seamlessly flip between pages Bookmarks and speedy search capabilities get you to key pages in a flash Embedded links to recommendations' websites Zoom-in maps and images Inbuil

CALIFORNIA’S GREATEST HITS & LAS VEGAS

Like a top-10 playlist, this epic road trip hits the all-time greats of the Golden State (and some fascinating in-between spots), ultimately stopping in glitzy Las Vegas, Nevada.

TRIP HIGHLIGHTS

12–15 DAYS

1600 miles / 2575km

GREAT FOR…

BEST TIME TO GO

June to September for sunny days and snow-free mountain roads.

ESSENTIAL PHOTO

Waterfalls and iconic peaks from Tunnel View in Yosemite Valley.

BEST FOR FOOD & DRINK

Napa Valley wineries and star chefs’ tables.

Santa Monica Colorful homes by the beach
JEAN-PIERRE LESCOURRET / GETTY IMAGES ©

California’s Greatest Hits & Las Vegas

California is a big place, so seeing its most famous places all in one trip could mean resigning yourself to driving dead-boring multi-lane freeways for hours on end. But you don’t have to do that. Instead, this epic drive takes scenic state highways and local back roads to connect the dots, with a minimum of mind-numbing empty miles between San Francisco, Yosemite National Park, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

Top of Chapter

TRIP HIGHLIGHT

1 San Francisco

In two action-packed days, explore Golden Gate Park (www.golden-gate-park.com; Stanyan St to Great Hwy;

;

5, 7, 18, 21, 28, 29, 33, 44,

N), spy on sea lions lolling around Pier 39 (www.pier39.com; Beach St & the Embarcadero, Pier 39;

;

15, 37, 49, F) at Fisherman’s Wharf and saunter (click here) through the streets of busy Chinatown to the Italian sidewalk cafes of North Beach. Feast on an overstuffed burrito in the Mission District after wandering its mural-splashed alleys. Queue up at Powell and Market Sts for a ride on a bell-clanging cable car (fare $7) and then cruise to the infamous prison island of Alcatraz (

Alcatraz Cruises 415-981-7625; www.nps.gov/alcatraz; day tours adult/child/family $33/21/100, night tours adult/child $40/24;

call center 8am-7pm, ferries depart Pier 33 half-hourly 8:45am-3:50pm, night tours 5:55pm & 6:30pm;

) out in the bay. Book Alcatraz tickets online at least two weeks ahead. At the foot of Market St, indulge your inner epicure at the Ferry Building (

415-...

Table of contents

• Cover
• How to Use This eBook
• Contents
• Welcome to California
• California Highlights
• If You Like…
• Need to Know
• City Guide
• California Classic Trips
• 1 California’s Greatest Hits & Las Vegas
• 2 Pacific Coast Highways
• 3 Mission Trail
• Northern California
• Central California
• Southern California
• California Driving Guide
• California Travel Guide
• Behind the Scenes
• Index
• Our Writers