[One128i]

Two buddies and I are flying to San Jose at the end of August, and we'll be renting a car & driving to L.A. and Vegas for the week. This is my third time in Cali...my two friends have never been before.

Now, I have looked online and have an idea on what to do and see. I want to hear what the locals recommend (beaches, restaurants, sightseeing, nightlife, etc.) in the San Jose/San Francisco and L.A. areas. Here is a brief list I made:

San Francisco/San Jose (2 days)
- Golden Gate Bridge
- Chinatown
- Alcatraz
- Fisherman's Wharf
- Lombard Street

L.A. (2.5 days)
- Beaches (which one??)
- The "nice" part of Hollywood
- Universal Studios
- Little Saigon (I am Viet)

Also, any scenic routes to take between San Jose and L.A.?

BTW, we're 3 single dudes in their low 20's...

[Joonsup]

Union Square is another place you should check out if you have time while in SF. Combine the Chinatown visit with Union Square.

As far as San Jose, I'd skip it. Next town over is Santa Clara where you can check out Santana Row. Restaurants, shops, nice cars parked on the street and a weekly cars and coffee meet saturday mornings in the back parking lot.

Scenic route to take from the Bay to LA is to take the 101 instead of the 5. It'll take longer but it depends on whether you want to see the coast or cows.

[e92LuNaTiC]

My 2 cents on Beaches:

If you wanna do the tourist thing I say hit up Venice Beach, there will be plenty to see that's for sure. If you wanna have a beer in a party environment you can't go wrong with Hermosa Beach or Hungtington Beach. Hope this helps bro

[McMuffin]

I would add the USS Hornet while you're in SF. I would skip SJ, but if you must stop there visit the Winchester Mansion. If you decide to skip SJ maybe you can replace it with NAPA and go wine tasting. Might run in to some foreign college students that didn't go back home for summer break. :

You can take CA 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) all the way down from Santa Cruz to about Pismo/Grover Beach then jump back on to the US 101 to LA. I'm sure one of you has a smart phone or at least a navi to navigate you from SJ over the mountains to Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz would have been nice if you had came while school (UCSC) was in session. Lord knows I enjoyed living there for four years

For Hollywood, just Google top Hollywood bars or something. Ton of stuff will POP up in the "NICE" side of Hollywood.

[edirtaynine]

Originally Posted by Nick@DetailAddict

As far as San Jose, I'd skip it. Next town over is Santa Clara where you can check out Santana Row. Restaurants, shops, nice cars parked on the street and a weekly cars and coffee meet saturday mornings in the back parking lot.

this.

pretty much the only thing to do in the sanjose area. it's either santana row or drive up to the city.

[jvsxn]

I feel like a travel agent but I've taken the liberty of revising your listed itinerary.

San Jose/Santa Clara (1-2 days)

-Improv (perhaps?)
-Clubs (link below)

http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc...San+Jose%2C+CA

-Smoke Eaters Hot wings
-ValleyFair shopping mall
-Santana Row

San Francisco* (1-2 days) starting from lower POIs to higher POIs (more or less)
- Fisherman's Wharf
- Alcatraz
- Golden Gate Bridge
-Union Square
-Ghirardelli chocolate factory
- Lombard Street
- Chinatown
-Japantown

** Choice of freeway would be 101 because the 80-> 880 (via Bay Bridge) can get really bumpy passing through and out of Oakland but the view from Treasure Island is GORGEOUS at night.



L.A. (2.5 days)
- Beaches; When it comes to beaches in SoCal, the ones that stand out to me would be Newport beach and Long Beach but there's also Venice Beach, Santa Monica, and Hermosa. Can't really give you a review since its been ages since I've been down there.
- Universal Studios
- Little Saigon
- Coffee shops (Cafe Lu seems to be extremely popular and a sneak peak of the girls can be found on their Facebook).

As for the scenic routes, there's the State Route 1 which passes through the beautiful Carmel-by-the-Sea and many other cities by the shore.

You'd be surprised at what you might be able to accomplish with some research and planning (:

[darkevo]

I grew up in San Jose, not much there, but ditto on the Smoke Eaters Hot wings, best wings I ever had, and they are huge. May have been better when they were Cluck U, but still the best in CA I've found so far!

Originally Posted by JT_Munkey

I feel like a travel agent but I've taken the liberty of revising your listed itinerary.

San Jose/Santa Clara (1-2 days)

-Improv (perhaps?)
-Clubs (link below)

http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc...San+Jose%2C+CA

-Smoke Eaters Hot wings
-ValleyFair shopping mall
-Santana Row

San Francisco* (1-2 days) starting from lower POIs to higher POIs (more or less)
- Fisherman's Wharf
- Alcatraz
- Golden Gate Bridge
-Union Square
-Ghirardelli chocolate factory
- Lombard Street
- Chinatown
-Japantown

** Choice of freeway would be 101 because the 80-> 880 (via Bay Bridge) can get really bumpy passing through and out of Oakland but the view from Treasure Island is GORGEOUS at night.



L.A. (2.5 days)
- Beaches; When it comes to beaches in SoCal, the ones that stand out to me would be Newport beach and Long Beach but there's also Venice Beach, Santa Monica, and Hermosa. Can't really give you a review since its been ages since I've been down there.
- Universal Studios
- Little Saigon
- Coffee shops (Cafe Lu seems to be extremely popular and a sneak peak of the girls can be found on their Facebook).

As for the scenic routes, there's the State Route 1 which passes through the beautiful Carmel-by-the-Sea and many other cities by the shore.

You'd be surprised at what you might be able to accomplish with some research and planning (:

[335 oClock]

get wasted, it works everywhere

[stooken]

Originally Posted by darkevo

I grew up in San Jose, not much there, but ditto on the Smoke Eaters Hot wings, best wings I ever had, and they are huge. May have been better when they were Cluck U, but still the best in CA I've found so far!

I work right down the street. Now I want that for lunch!

[darkevo]

Originally Posted by stooken

I work right down the street. Now I want that for lunch!

yes you need to go! work your way up the heat range!

I always go there when I visit. I have not found a comparable place in Socal yet, it sucks!!

[jvsxn]

Originally Posted by darkevo

yes you need to go! work your way up the heat range!

I always go there when I visit. I have not found a comparable place in Socal yet, it sucks!!

There's always Wingstop if you prefer flavor over everything else. The wings are smoke eaters are pretty big but they lack the varieties of flavors like garlic parmesan (personal favorite). I've manage to keep my cool with the "traditional death" but a heads up for those that are not residents, Tuesday are 50 cent wings!

[One128i]

Thanks for the advice/suggestions everyone.

We will definitely add Santana Row to our list and the Smoke Eater's Hot Wings place! We love wings so it will be a good place to go to. It looks like we can't go wrong with any of the well known beaches in L.A.! Cafe Lu looks hot haha, but will the place be full of dirty 50 year old guys who can't get any?

We won't have time to club in San Jose, but we'll be doing that in Vegas. Any suggestions there?!?! There are a billion places according to what I see online...

I looked up PCH1, but I don't think we'll have time for it. Three cities in a week makes it tough. Our rental won't make it very fun either (probably a Chevy Cobalt or Corolla...). I booked one with Advantage - they had the cheapest rate for people <25 years old.

[jvsxn]

Originally Posted by 2hondas

Thanks for the advice/suggestions everyone.

We will definitely add Santana Row to our list and the Smoke Eater's Hot Wings place! We love wings so it will be a good place to go to. It looks like we can't go wrong with any of the well known beaches in L.A.! Cafe Lu looks hot haha, but will the place be full of dirty 50 year old guys who can't get any?

We won't have time to club in San Jose, but we'll be doing that in Vegas. Any suggestions there?!?! There are a billion places according to what I see online...

I looked up PCH1, but I don't think we'll have time for it. Three cities in a week makes it tough. Our rental won't make it very fun either (probably a Chevy Cobalt or Corolla...). I booked one with Advantage - they had the cheapest rate for people <25 years old.

Well, from the typical coffee shops around here there's a variety of age groups but usually they're around their 20s -- just go for the experience! Lol. I've been in the newer Corollas and those aren't too bad -- they'll get you from point A to point B without you having to worry too much about money for gas.

[One128i]

Originally Posted by JT_Munkey

Well, from the typical coffee shops around here there's a variety of age groups but usually they're around their 20s -- just go for the experience! Lol. I've been in the newer Corollas and those aren't too bad -- they'll get you from point A to point B without you having to worry too much about money for gas.

Haha why not...the strip club I went to in Montreal wasn't bad haha

[stooken]

Originally Posted by 2hondas

We won't have time to club in San Jose, but we'll be doing that in Vegas. Any suggestions there?!?! There are a billion places according to what I see online...

I'm obviously bored since all my morning meetings got cancelled so here you go!

Even if you have time to club in San Jose, I would BEG you not to. I live here and the scene is a crap hole. Considering the amount of time you have to SF/SJ, I would spend most if in SF. Tons of things to eat and see (most have been mentioned).
- Ike's is an awesome sandwich spot. Try to skip the lunch hours because the wait can get ridiculous (1+ hr).
- Waterbar has a great $1 oyster happy hour daily from 11am-6pm with amazing views of the Bay Bridge.
- If time permits, I would drive up to Twin Peaks for a panoramic view of SF.

If you really want Smoke Eaters and Santana Row (outdoor shopping area - Hollywood of San Jose ), I would just do it right when you get into San Jose airport or right before you start heading down to LA. You can get through that in a few hours.
- Pizza Antica is probably my favorite spot to eat in Santana Row. It's your thin crust pizza done very well. I usually order #8 (Spicy Calabrese Sausage, Onions, Peppers and Parsley). A large can be split between you 3.
- Yard House opened not too long ago that has a bunch of different kinds of beers on tap
- Sino and Straits provide some nice eye candy if you want to chill on overpriced drinks. Don't bother with the fake Asian food.

While in the Little Saigon area, you HAVE TO grab some grilled pork (nem nuong) at Brodards. Boiling Crab is an option if you like crawfish. Just eat all the Vietnamese food in that area until your stomach is content. Cafe shops, I don't care for but wouldn't hurt to pop in for a $4 coffee and check out the girls for a bit.

As far as Vegas, Marquee is the hot nightclub right now. Then you have XS and Tao. I'm not a fan of the others. If you're there for during the weekend, you NEED check out the daytime pool parties (Encore Beach Club, Wet Republic, Marquee and etc). Skip Rehab, that's gotten pretty ghetto. Just be prepared to spend money here (drinks, club cover charge, eating and more drinks). I would grab some bottles to stash in your hotel room. Which hotel are you staying at?
- Trick to get a room upgrade: Fold a $20 bill and put it under your ID and credit card. When asked for your ID and credit card during check in, hand it all over and ask if they have any "complimentary upgrades". Be nice, chat it up and tell them it's your first time in Vegas and all that good stuff. I've gotten penthouse suites this way. You might just get moved to a remodeled room. You might get a suite. Who knows. If you arrive on a busy weekend and they have nothing, they typically give you back your money. If not, oh well, it's Vegas.
- RA Sushi at the Fashion Mall (on the Vegas strip as well) has a happy hour from 3PM-6PM (double check the time again. Been a while since I last went). Some $5 sushi plates and $5 for house sake AND beer. I think those were the prices? It was dirt cheap though.
- Rio Hotel has a seafood buffet. I think it's around $30/person.
- Inside the Venetian Hotel (where club Tao is at), there is Grand Lux Cafe which is another Cheesecake Factory

[AndyzDad]

Originally Posted by JT_Munkey

I feel like a travel agent but I've taken the liberty of revising your listed itinerary.

San Jose/Santa Clara (1-2 days)

-Improv (perhaps?)
-Clubs (link below)

http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc...San+Jose%2C+CA

-Smoke Eaters Hot wings
-ValleyFair shopping mall
-Santana Row

San Francisco* (1-2 days) starting from lower POIs to higher POIs (more or less)
- Fisherman's Wharf
- Alcatraz
- Golden Gate Bridge
-Union Square
-Ghirardelli chocolate factory
- Lombard Street
- Chinatown
-Japantown

** Choice of freeway would be 101 because the 80-> 880 (via Bay Bridge) can get really bumpy passing through and out of Oakland but the view from Treasure Island is GORGEOUS at night.



L.A. (2.5 days)
- Beaches; When it comes to beaches in SoCal, the ones that stand out to me would be Newport beach and Long Beach but there's also Venice Beach, Santa Monica, and Hermosa. Can't really give you a review since its been ages since I've been down there.
- Universal Studios
- Little Saigon
- Coffee shops (Cafe Lu seems to be extremely popular and a sneak peak of the girls can be found on their Facebook).

As for the scenic routes, there's the State Route 1 which passes through the beautiful Carmel-by-the-Sea and many other cities by the shore.

You'd be surprised at what you might be able to accomplish with some research and planning (:

Well said! Just to add to the State Route 1 / 101 drive from SF to LA, if time's not an issue, then you should stop by and visit the Hearst Castle in San Simeon on the Central coast if you're into sight-seeing.. it's well worth it, however, since you all are in the early 20's, I'm not too sure..

PS I'm from Windsor originally.