California must be travelled by car — very significant distances, limited public transport outside San Francisco and BART (Bay Area metro).
Car rental essential from arrival at LAX (Los Angeles), SFO (San Francisco), SAN (San Diego), OAK (Oakland) or SJC (San Jose) — $50-100/day for compact, $80-150 for SUV (useful for Yosemite). All agencies (Hertz, Sixt, Enterprise, Alamo, Budget, National). Book via Auto Europe, RentalCars.com or directly. Full LDW/CDW insurance (+$60-80) recommended. French licence valid 3 months, credit card for deposit ($300-500). Drive minimum 21 (under-25 surcharge $25-29/day for 21-24).
Useful distances: LA-SF 620 km (6h via I-5 or 8-10h via Highway 1 Big Sur), LA-San Diego 200 km (2-3h by traffic), LA-Las Vegas 430 km (4-4h30), LA-Grand Canyon 800 km (8h), SF-Yosemite 320 km (4h), SF-Lake Tahoe 320 km (4h), SF-Napa Valley 90 km (1h30), SF-Monterey 200 km (2h30). LA traffic: highways saturated 7-10am and 4-8pm, 1h trip possible for 20 km — anticipate. California highways: 70 mph (113 km/h), frequent radar surveillance, rare tolls.
Domestic flights: Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, American, United for LA-SF (1h15 flight, $80-200), LA-Las Vegas (1h, $100-250), SF-LA (1h15, $80-200), LA-San Diego (35 min, $100-180 — car more efficient). For short California distances, car remains more practical than plane given transfers.
San Francisco has one of California's best public transport systems. Muni (subway + bus + trams + cable cars), $2.75 per ride, $5 per cable car. BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) regional metro to Oakland, Berkeley, SFO airport ($10 from SF centre). Caltrain to Silicon Valley (Palo Alto, San José). Ferry for Sausalito (from Ferry Building, $14 return) and Alcatraz ($45 from Pier 33). Uber/Lyft available everywhere ($5-30 by distance). Very walkable and bikeable city (bike rental $30-50/day, provided you avoid steep hills).
Los Angeles has public transport (LA Metro) considerably expanded recently but still limited for tourists. Metro Rail (6 lines, E lines to Santa Monica useful), $1.75/ride. Otherwise, car or Uber/Lyft. Bike not recommended (highways, distances).
San Diego: Trolley tram (3 lines), MTS buses, ferry to Coronado ($3). Car useful for La Jolla and Coronado.
Main airports: Los Angeles LAX (4th busiest worldwide, Bradley International terminal, flat-rate taxis $70-90 to Santa Monica/West Hollywood or Uber $30-60), San Francisco SFO (BART direct $10 to downtown 30 min, taxi $60-80, Uber $40-70), San Diego SAN (taxi $25 to downtown).
Read also
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