Is California overrated as a vacation destination?
Jul 3, 2019, 5:31 pm
#16
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 4,735
If I look at expenses, it came out as $500 per day spent which included just rental car/gas, lodging and food while travelling (airline tickets were bought using miles). Note - it did not include lodging in Bay Area, we stayed with friends. And these expenses were on low side - I used discount codes for car rental, we stayed outside of national parks at motels and 1-2* properties and instead of dining at restaurants, we grabbed food at supermarket deli sections or made sandwiches on our own.
On a recent trip back to the Bay Area, (I am a native San Franciscan currently in East Coast exile) I spent ~$130/day, including lodging, meals, rental car.
So for three people, it was $3000 for 6 days. And this was my second most expensive vacation (per day expenses) after New Zealand. For $3000 you can have 3br villa with pool in Bali for two weeks, breakfast and lunch included and money will be left for activities - you can rent a car with driver for 10h for $30, and food cost fractions of the US prices. The same applies to pretty much anywhere in SEA region.
Now, I get it - you don't have Yosemite, General Sherman Tree anywhere in the world and if you have not seen them, you have to go to California to see/experience them. But the question for me to ask myself after this trip was - does California worth the hassle and money?
Answer to me is - no. There are plenty of places in this world where I have not been and where I can get much better performance/price ratio for my money compared to California.
So my question to the audience is: if you travelled to California for vacation and - this is important - it was not your first time, did you have a feeling that the travel did not generate the return you've expected?
Answer to me is - no. There are plenty of places in this world where I have not been and where I can get much better performance/price ratio for my money compared to California.
So my question to the audience is: if you travelled to California for vacation and - this is important - it was not your first time, did you have a feeling that the travel did not generate the return you've expected?
Jul 4, 2019, 10:16 am
#17
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Location: Over the Bay Bridge, CA
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I've got an AM meeting in San Jose coming up. I am considering spending the night, to avoid a 2+ hour 60 mile drive in the morning. The Four Points is in the $300s.
Plus parking.
Jul 4, 2019, 10:34 pm
#18
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 4,735
It really depends on what conventions or other events might be in the area. There are times when the SFO airport major hotels are in the $600-$700+ range, if available at all. Right now there are nice rooms in SF over the holiday weekend for just over $100. While they may be typically in the $200-300 for the same room, I've seen them at $700+.
I've got an AM meeting in San Jose coming up. I am considering spending the night, to avoid a 2+ hour 60 mile drive in the morning. The Four Points is in the $300s. Plus parking.
I've got an AM meeting in San Jose coming up. I am considering spending the night, to avoid a 2+ hour 60 mile drive in the morning. The Four Points is in the $300s.
Plus parking.Anyhow my point is smart shopping & a little flexibility pays off, especially in the priciest markets.
Jul 5, 2019, 9:47 am
#19
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OP said he paid $250 at Motel 8 (Motel 6?), not a major hotel. With a halfway decent travel website, you can do an area search and drop the price a lot if you're willing to take a shuttle ride. My *** motel was on El Camino, had a free shuttle and cost me $89. If I had insisted on being right next to SFO, it would have been upwards of $150. The ironic thing is my business was in downtown San Jose, but I couldn't find even a dumpy motel near there for under $300. And do you remember when SJC was SFO's cheap cousin? My flight to SFO cost half of what it would have been to SJC.
Anyhow my point is smart shopping & a little flexibility pays off, especially in the priciest markets.
Anyhow my point is smart shopping & a little flexibility pays off, especially in the priciest markets.
Jul 8, 2019, 8:49 am
#20
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It depends on why people are visiting California. Yes it's an expensive destination if all you want to do is sit by a pool in the sun and read a book. It's a disappointing destination if all you want to do is sit on a beach and read a book. Culture is certainly disappointing and, whilst California's topographical diversity is amazing, there are so many more amazing places elsewhere in the world which are significantly cheaper.
However, California is a remarkable place which has largely shaped the modern world, through its movie industry, through Silicon Valley, through hippies in the sixties and through countless other extraordinary ideas and movements. If the reason you want to visit is to understand this amazing place and to breathe in the air that has helped create it, then it's worth every penny.
However, California is a remarkable place which has largely shaped the modern world, through its movie industry, through Silicon Valley, through hippies in the sixties and through countless other extraordinary ideas and movements. If the reason you want to visit is to understand this amazing place and to breathe in the air that has helped create it, then it's worth every penny.
Jul 11, 2019, 5:44 pm
#23
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No such thing as “the average Californian downtown.”
Or, if you have a specific place or places in mind that are “horrific,” you should name it/them. Vague generalizations are useless.
Or, if you have a specific place or places in mind that are “horrific,” you should name it/them. Vague generalizations are useless.
Jul 16, 2019, 11:13 am
#24
formerly known as Tad's Broiled Steaks
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 6,412
San Francisco, Oakland, San Bernardino, Sacramento, San Diego, Salinas...all depressing, vagrant-filled, dirty, and not worth one iota of a return visit. Even Skid Row boosted my spirit more than anything Sacramento had to offer, and that refers to both the latter's "old town" and recent politics.
The beauty of California lies EVERYWHERE else, which includes the non-commercial (CBD) areas of those examples.
Jul 16, 2019, 1:35 pm
#25
Join Date: May 2018
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There are certain places such as Santa Monica Pier, Hollywood Blvd and others that are really overrated and the trappiest of tourist traps.
But then you have a lot of natural cool areas (I really liked Lake Tahoe) and driving around Orange County injected me with lots of positive emotions (not on the highway, obviously). I like the vibe of Newport Beach and Laguna Beach a whole lot, too.
I think it would be disingenuous to say California as a whole is overrated. There certainly are places to avoid, but then you have travelers who want to see the stars on Hollywood Blvd. And for many international travelers, there isn't anything close by that's an equivalent to Disneyland and Universal Studios. This all aside from the neat natural areas that have already been mentioned.
You guys seem to forget this is a forum full of seasoned travelers and I'm sure your tastes will be different than that of most other tourists and travelers.
The more accurate title for this thread ought to be, "Here's why I think California is overrated," the keyword being I.
But then you have a lot of natural cool areas (I really liked Lake Tahoe) and driving around Orange County injected me with lots of positive emotions (not on the highway, obviously). I like the vibe of Newport Beach and Laguna Beach a whole lot, too.
I think it would be disingenuous to say California as a whole is overrated. There certainly are places to avoid, but then you have travelers who want to see the stars on Hollywood Blvd. And for many international travelers, there isn't anything close by that's an equivalent to Disneyland and Universal Studios. This all aside from the neat natural areas that have already been mentioned.
You guys seem to forget this is a forum full of seasoned travelers and I'm sure your tastes will be different than that of most other tourists and travelers.
The more accurate title for this thread ought to be, "Here's why I think California is overrated," the keyword being I.
Jul 16, 2019, 9:50 pm
#26
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 4,735
Fuel to the fire, your post is.
San Francisco, Oakland, San Bernardino, Sacramento, San Diego, Salinas...all depressing, vagrant-filled, dirty, and not worth one iota of a return visit. Even Skid Row boosted my spirit more than anything Sacramento had to offer, and that refers to both the latter's "old town" and recent politics.
San Francisco, Oakland, San Bernardino, Sacramento, San Diego, Salinas...all depressing, vagrant-filled, dirty, and not worth one iota of a return visit. Even Skid Row boosted my spirit more than anything Sacramento had to offer, and that refers to both the latter's "old town" and recent politics.
While San Francisco is now astronomically overpriced, if you can't find something there worth seeing twice, you are either extraordinarily picky or didn't look very hard.
Jul 17, 2019, 8:48 am
#27
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San Francisco was the first big city vacation I can remember, and that was back when I had the legs of a toddler but was well-conditioned for urban walks. I didn’t find it overrated then or even when visiting it over the years over more recent decades. [I even recall Sacramento fondly, and that’s sacrilege in some quarters. 
] San Diego Zoo was the first major zoo I remember visiting away from home before I was in school; and decades later, the San Diego area is still a vacation destination for me. LA was my first business trip requiring a flight longer than 3 hours. Loved the area for work visits then and vacations too then, but eventually it wore on me and I try to avoid it unless pushed by others to be around for vacation as I despise traffic jams. Would I say California is overrated as a tourist destination? No, I would reserve that moniker for some other places where I would refuse to go again — not because they shouldn’t be visited, but because once was enough for me as a passing tourist. California doesn’t meet the latter mark of once being more than enough.
] San Diego Zoo was the first major zoo I remember visiting away from home before I was in school; and decades later, the San Diego area is still a vacation destination for me. LA was my first business trip requiring a flight longer than 3 hours. Loved the area for work visits then and vacations too then, but eventually it wore on me and I try to avoid it unless pushed by others to be around for vacation as I despise traffic jams. Would I say California is overrated as a tourist destination? No, I would reserve that moniker for some other places where I would refuse to go again — not because they shouldn’t be visited, but because once was enough for me as a passing tourist. California doesn’t meet the latter mark of once being more than enough.
Aug 18, 2019, 5:18 pm
#28
Join Date: Apr 2013
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If someone is coming from overseas to visit California, there are only a few things worth seeing that cannot be replicated elsewhere or that are still a bit unique:
I have a British friend that came to California with friends and they had the choice of SF or LA. They chose LA and they all said it was the worst trip they've ever been on. I can imagine.
- San Francisco is worth seeing once
- Napa/Sonoma if you like wine
- Yosemite if you like the outdoors (though USA is full of national parks)
- San Diego if you like beaches and a more laid back atmosphere.
- One of Palm Springs, Death Valley, Joshua Tree
- Disneyland with kids or if you like Disney
I have a British friend that came to California with friends and they had the choice of SF or LA. They chose LA and they all said it was the worst trip they've ever been on. I can imagine.
Aug 18, 2019, 5:38 pm
#29
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: BNA (Nashville)
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Posts: 6,227
Watching the sun come up in Cottonwood Springs in Joshua Tree, sunset in Manhattan Beach, Camping in the redwoods on the Pacific near the Oregon border, badwater basin, pinto mountains, center of the world monument in Felicity, palm canyon trail in Anzo Borrego, driving west on sunset to the sea, Portuguese Bend in Palos Verdes, seafood shacks in San Pedro, drinks at the hotel del Coronado, brunch at Gladstone’s, hiking in Angeles Forest near Mt Wilson, sitting on a balcony in Echo Park and watching the traffic on the Hollywood Freeway snake by sinuously, driving up US 395 to Bishop and Mono Lake, Big Bear, Italian Bistros in North Beach, redwoods and sequoias, PCH from San Diego to the Oregon Border, Ontario Speedway, watching it snow on San Jacinto while tanning by the pool in Palm Springs.
All that in dozens of trips to California over the years and I still haven’t seen half of it. Overrated? I’d say it’s underrated.
All that in dozens of trips to California over the years and I still haven’t seen half of it. Overrated? I’d say it’s underrated.
Aug 18, 2019, 6:49 pm
#30
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 261
Your British friends must be extremely bad vacation planners if their trip to LA was their worst ever. There is so much variety in a relatively small area. For sure you have to take the traffic into account in your planning, otherwise you will waste a lot of time. I first visited California in 1973, sleeping in my car. I loved it then and have been back many times since, I find it generally to be the best use of my Delta companion ticket, traveling from the east coast. Not overrated at all in my opinion.