Nothing can destroy a fun filled road trip easier than spending 80% of it driving to your destination. Your stressed from the long driving, your nerves are shot & everyone is now grumpy. What a way to start a vacation!

easy cures:

• the week before
  Pack & do laundry, shop for trip; plan your route online & off. Nothing beats old fashioned paper good maps!
• leave early
  Plan for a 'night before' departure if possible & stay in a cheap hotel along the way.
• best planning tip
  The easiest way to solve this problem is a quick visit to a simple-to-use web site called MapQuest, but whatever you do: DO NOT RELY ON MAPQUEST ALONE. If you hit the road with only a one page print out from Mapquest, without carrying any other types of regional maps you may be in for a sad route, as noted from the couple who cruised through Julian CA on Xmas Eve looking for Interstate 10.

rule of thumb:
For every 2 hrs of driving time, Stay a minimum of one overnight!

This means if you are traveling from San Diego to Big Bear, on average it will take about 2-3 hours drive -which means one single night of camping is not unheard of.

But if you are planning to visit Mammoth from Los Angeles, it's a 7 hour drive & you better be spending at least 2 nights there to get your vested time's worth.

California is a tall state & driving North-South routes can be deceiving.
sample: San Diego to Yosemite is 8 hours worth of travel time.
And Los Angeles to Shasta is a whopping 12 hours drive.

varied routes: If you are planning a multiple stop trip or even trying to get an exact route down, MapQuest may make you enter in several smaller towns along the way to get an accurate or preferred highway. And if ya got plenty of time to take the BackRoads we highly recommend a California Benchmark Map.

MapQuest factors in some gas stops, possible traffic jams & granny style 55 mph. If you are a lead foot, you may find yourself getting to your destination a bit quicker, but all factors aside MapQuest is a valuable tool for judging distance on travel times. Cal Trans repairs & lane closures are not considered.

HWY INFO:
800-427-7623
All hours of the night & day you can find the California Dept. of Transportation (Cal Trans) closing roads & freeways. Just for peace of mind: Call ahead, especially on mountain routes & snowy winter conditions.

city traffic jams:
Such is life in the big city! Welcome to California hell traffic. Large urban areas such as Los Angeles, San Diego & San Francisco Bay area traffic is difficult to judge, so a visit various web sites a few days in advance to check traffic patterns of local commuters. Plus check out the Traffic Page for tips on easing your weekend get-a-way.

Overnight 'on the way' stops can be found anywhere & if the weather is decent you can always pitch a tent. Good overnight stops heading northbound from SoCal include:

Coastal Route -
Hwy. 101: Cheap hotels & coast rarely go together, but these are your best bets - Ventura, Carpinteria, Goleta, Santa Maria & as far north as San Luis Obispo.
campers - should try any of the State Beaches along the Santa Barbara coastline or a Los Padres National Forest Map. Free campgrounds are hidden well behind Solvang & Santa Maria

Central Valley -
Interstate 5: Central Valley Buttonwillow, Kettleman City or Coalinga hotels
Hwy. 99: Bakersfield thru Tulare - cheap hotels abundant along this route.
campers - Not too many camping options in the Central Valley, except an RV park every now & then. Try a Los Padres National Forest Map or Sequoia Map for a multitude of small campgrounds.

Mojave/ Eastern Sierra -
Hwy 395: Randsburg Cottage Hotel; Olancha's Ranch Inn; Lone Pine's Trails Inn
campers - should try Inyo National Forest Map or the Red Rock State Park

Shop for your travel & outdoor gear online, instead of wasting time driving around town all week trying to find that perfect item:

http://totalescape.com/gear

• California Road Maps
• National Forest Maps
• Wilderness Maps
• Special Area Maps
• GPS Units
• Mapping Topo Software
  

LA