We arrived in San Diego from Los Angeles taking the California Amtrak, which was an exciting journey with great views throughout. During our visit, we explored the San Diego parks, coves, beaches, kayaking, and had a relaxing time with good food and the San Diego tourism vibes. Though we did not see the Bio-luminescence effect, my memory of San Diego remains very blue from the blue water, skies, and reflective skyscrapers I saw throughout my stay.

Top Things To Do During A San Diego Road Trip: Itinerary

San Diego is a destination for both tourists and locals alike, with some of the top things to do in California rightly available here. Visitors to San Diego will be able to take part in all sorts of activities that they would not likely find anywhere else- from world-famous zoos and aquariums, stunning beaches with some of the best surfing waves on Earth. Here are five top things visitors should do when visiting San Diego:

• La Jolla Cave
• Windansea Beach
• Old Point Loma
• Old Town San Diego
• Fifth Avenue
• Coronado Ferry Landing
• Kayaking in Coronado

La Jolla Cove

We visited La Jolla Cove on the first day after we freshened up and grabbed some lunch. La Jolla is a posh neighborhood with a very long beach famous for breath-taking sunset views and is a real tourism gem in the United States. It was so relaxing for us to walk around the beach enjoying the weather, especially after my long and hectic week of being on the road.  Considering the beauty of La Jolla, it is no surprise that it is one the top of Trip Advisor’s San Diego Itinerary recommendation lists.

The beach features majestic sea lions along with sea birds. I saw sea lions for the first time here, and they looked as relaxed as if they had just finished a feast and were sleeping it off on the rocks. Their roar sound is special and echoes on the beach.

We spent the entire evening here waiting for the sunset, watching folks enjoying kayaking and surfing as well as the sea lions.

Typically, while we were eagerly waiting for the sunset, clouds came from nowhere and filled the sky. This did not meet my expectations during my trip to San Diego but still was a nice treat for the eyes. Sunset is still a sunset (: wink

After watching the sunset, we left to meet my friends Surabhi and Aneesh for dinner. They were both my classmates during my undergraduate degree in India. I don’t recall the name of the restaurant but I do remember sharing their famous Mango Margarita on Surabhi’s recommendation and that it was situated in the old town.

We started the day by heading to the University of California, San Diego, where my friend Divya studied. I met her during an internship in 2013 and we had not seen each other for 5 years. She was aware of my San Diego vacation, so Divya joined us for this day and we started off by treating ourselves to a giant American Breakfast with pancakes, fruit, omelets, and french toast.

Windansea Beach

We first went to the Windansea beach near La Jolla and had a short walk along the shore, which was very quiet and calm.

Old Point Loma

We then headed to the Point Loma peninsula which has a park that features a lighthouse. We first saw the lighthouse and I found it interesting to see the mock-up of the old facilities arranged for sea travelers. The southern tip of Point Loma has the Cabrillo National monument, which is a spectacular view of the sea and also for the San Diego naval base.

Old Point Loma offers a cliff-top view of the sea and the heavy naval traffic. There is a big USA flag flying here and the brisk sea wind provided a very invigorating stroll.

While we were watching the sea and naval activities, we spotted a submarine approaching in the distance. This was an exciting experience as I had never seen a submarine before. We stayed a very long time watching it very closely. We even saw a whale-watching cruise ship.

After spending some more time here chit-chatting and taking pictures, we reached another cove in Point Loma Park, as part of our San Diego Road Trip.

Old Town San Diego

We drove to the Old Town San Diego to spend our late afternoon there. The old town is a fantastic area for great Mexican food, music, and cute shops. It is worth paying a visit to see the charming specialty shops and enjoy the outdoor vibe at its cafes and restaurants.

After we finished eating here, we wandered around looking at the cute shops before leaving to spend the night in the city.

Live Music Joint in Fifth Avenue

We spent the night on Fifth Avenue which has some really cool places for a night hang out. The famous Tiny Roof pub hosts ‘A Live Music Joint’ with some really cool live music performances that reminded me of a few English pubs. I really enjoyed my time here and was envious of my friends who live in this city.

Around midnight we called it a day as Andriani and I had to check out of the Airbnb early the next day as it was our last day and we had a booking for Kayaking at Coronado.

Coronado Ferry Landing

Coronado Island is a pretty amazing location which is a must-visit in San Diego, filled with many specialty shops, water sports activities, and restaurants. It has a backdrop of a spectacular view of the sea, the harbor, and the skyscrapers of San Diego. Coronado Island and San Diego city are connected by a bridge that is 200 feet high allowing for even large aircraft carriers to pass underneath. So, I started filling in my Coronado activities list and was so excited.

While we were walking around, we met with a group of girls who were singing and dancing. I approached them and requested to dance with them, much to the embarrassment of Andriani, and they were kind to agree. I at least thought those girls were really cool and definitely enjoyed the experience of joining them to dance.

Kayaking in Coronado

We went to the tour company we booked Kayaking with. It was our first time and we were assigned a guide to instruct us. We started with our full energy chanting “Left”,  “Right” to helps us row the kayak in the right order, while listening to the guide explain the history of Coronado and San Diego. Things got real when we were in the middle of the sea, far away from Coronado beach. There were fierce waves demanding a heavy workout to come back. Our guide was a young guy who had traveled a lot in South America and shared his travel stories with us throughout our venture, which was very entertaining.

Once we made it back, we spend the rest of our time in Coronado visiting shops in the city and having a delicious Greek lunch in a cute downtown restaurant. Andriani, who has a Greek origin, did not approve of the Moussaka we ate, but I thought it was good Not a bad ending for our San Diego vacation. San Diego is perfect for a weekend getaway as well with many fun things to do such as camping at the beach.

A Silly Weed Giveaway Adventure

While we were chilling and we had just a few hours before we flew back to the UK, Andriani remembered that we were still carrying the weed we bought in Los Angeles (Blog story here). As we couldn’t fly with it, the obvious answer was to throw it in the bin. However, as we know weed is very precious for some people, it felt wasteful to throw it away (says someone who is constantly scolded for wasting food as I can never finish my meal), we came up with this brilliant idea of gifting it to our kayaking guide.

We went back to the shop and asked to speak with our guide who was away but was called upon our request. When he came, we proceeded to have the most awkward conversation ever. We asked him if he smoked to which he hesitantly responded yes and naturally asked why. We told him we had some weed but we couldn’t fly with it and wanted to give it to someone.  He blushed and agreed to take it but first I demanded that he show me his ID so that I could verify his age. He went back to the shop to find his ID, while Andriani tried to contain her laughter. At this point, we also had other shopkeepers from the nearby shops getting curious about our conversation watching us. When he returned, I verified his ID and handed over the goods. He was also laughing and stated it was one of the most awkward encounters he ever had too. Oh well, we hope he had a good time with it

Leaving San Diego and the USA

It was time for us to leave and end our amazing San Diego vacation and while driving to the airport, we captured the massive blue bridge that connects the city with Coronado.

The San Diego vibe was so good and it was the perfect end to my ten-day-long road trip. With the fine weather, amazing food, and ultimate beach experience, San Diego definitely qualifies to be “America’s Finest City”.

Other USA South West Road Trips

• USA South West Road Trip from Arizona to California covers the itinerary of a two week road trip in South West, USA.
• The Arizona Road Trip from Phoenix to Sedona & Grand Canyon covers the major attractions in Arizona around Sedona and Grand Canyon.
• The Nevada Road Trip to Las Vegas and Hoover Dam covers the most scenic routes in Nevada apart from Las Vegas.
• Los Angeles Road Trip part covers the journey from Las Vegas to Los Angeles vacation and its main attractions.
• San Diego Road Trip blog covers our adventures in San Diego for three days. 

Pin the San Diego Road Trip for Planning Your Trip

Los Angeles Vacation : Overview

This epic Los Angeles road trip itinerary which is the third instalment of a USA South West road trip from Arizona to California via Nevada. During our visit, we explored the LA life visiting some beaches, Hollywood staples and had my ultimate La La Land experience gazing at the Californian sky at night from Mount Hollywood.

We drove ~300 miles non-stop from Las Vegas to LA on Highway I-15S which I think was the most difficult drive during the trip to California, especially when getting closer to LA. There was very heavy traffic and restless drivers switching lanes often without warning, which felt like a video game where you only get one life. If you don’t feel like driving yourself, you can find some cheap bus tickets from Las Vegas to Los Angeles on Wanderu and let someone else do the driving.

While I was in LA, the traffic reminded me of the opening song of La La Land, Another day of sun, showcasing bored drivers dancing in a LA traffic jam. It was very obvious why Los Angeles is one of the best places to visit in USA judging from the first look and vibe.

7 Unique Things to do during a Los Angeles Vacation

Los Angeles has so much that you could do, so don’t forget to include some of these top ten things on your itinerary during your Los Angeles vacation. Some of the unique attractions in LA include:

1. Beaches: Los Angeles has some great beaches to relax and explore. The first place I would recommend to visit is LA is the Venice Beach boardwalk. On a sunny day, this place can be so beautiful with all of its bright colours and people walking to their destination. Enjoy some seafood at one of the restaurants that line up along the beach side or take in some entertainment from street performers on Santa Monica pier!
2. Universal Studios: If you love theme parks, you may want to check out Universal Studios Hollywood which features famous attractions such as King Kong 360-degree Experience and Water world. These attractions are not only great for children, but also fun for adults!
3. Museums: With more than 400 different museums located within city limits, Los Angeles offers something for everyone when it comes to sightseeing. Museums range from art galleries such as LACMA and MOCA to space exploration centres like NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
4. Rodeo Drive: For those who love shopping then Rodeo Drive is the perfect place to go with its luxury brands lining up store front after store front. Or if diamonds are what sparkle in your eye, there is no better location than Beverly Hills’ famed jewellery district known as “The Block”.
5. Art Galleries: LACMA & MOCA, both art galleries offer their own special exhibits that can range from modern art pieces to space exploration technology.
6. Disneyland/Disney California Adventure: If you are a disney fan or not, these theme parks are just so fun filled for anyone.
7. JPL Space Exploration Museum: If space exploration is what intrigues you then this may be one of your favourite spots during your stay – it features everything from Mars rovers to space expeditions all within city limits!
8. Griffith Observatory: Located atop Mount Hollywood, this observatory offers one of the most breath-taking views in Los Angeles as well as a planetarium, exhibition hall and educational resources for all.
9. Hollywood Wax Museum: Here you can take your family to see some of Hollywood’s biggest stars – such as Marilyn Monroe or Leonardo DiCaprio – right before your eyes!

Los Angeles Road Trip Itinerary

So ready for some adventure in Los Angeles? Here are some ideas for your first time Los Angeles road trip itinerary, based on our first road trip here:

• Explore Venice City & Beach
• Santa Monica Pier
• Hollywood Walk of Fame
• Beverly Hills
• Hollywood Sign Board
• Griffith Observatory
• Universal Studios

Venice City Beach

If you’re looking for some adventure, head on over to Venice Beach! You can’t really say you have been to LA without visiting this historic beach town. Venice Beach is an artistic hub and a mecca for all things summer. To get there, take the 10 freeway going South. It’s about a 20 minute drive from downtown LA. Park near the pier and walk up the boardwalk to the street.

Venice is a neighbourhood with residential and commercial areas next to a beautiful beach and gains its name probably from the residential complexes being connected by canals resembling the Italian Venice.

The Venice beach vibe is too good with folks and families all around enjoying activities such as cycling, running, skateboarding, BIRD-ing and you will also come across surfers, artists, performers, etc. I envied a few folks who were reading books in hammocks tied around the palm trees.

The public Art Walls of Venice are definitely worth a visit during your California vacations, they showcase stunning street art, not just on the walls themselves but also on nearby trees. We met and spoke with some artists busy painting while we were there and found some had travelled from around the world to paint on these walls. Graffiti artists are one of my favourite people on the planet, just like musicians, they can put out a lot of their thoughts so loudly via their paintings. Respect!

The Venice Beach Boardwalk is a one-mile street market that runs parallel to the beach and has lots of many funky shops and street performances by free-spirited people. While you enjoy all the weird and wonderful creative activities, you can also try a wide variety of food here. We were aware that in California marijuana is legal so when we saw the underground based marijuana shops, we decided to go try that too. If you are feeling adventurous, you need your passport to get hold of one.

Santa Monica Pier

Head on over to Santa Monica Pier for an iconic LA experience. The pier is a great place to take in the beauty of Southern California, and get some fresh ocean air! You can sit at one of the many restaurants, snack bar or ice cream shop that line the boardwalk. There are also carnival games and other amusements such as “The Revenge from Mars” arcade game you can play (even if you’re not into video games)!

Santa Monica Pier is very charming with lots of fun activities and parks making it a great place for a family day out. We strolled around for around two hours enjoying some live music, street shopping and even watching some scuba divers in the blue sea.

To reach Santa Mo in LA, take the 101 or 110 freeway going West. The pier will be on your left as you reach Pacific Coast Highway, just before Lawry’s Restaurant.

Hollywood Walk of Fame

We headed towards Hollywood Boulevard to see the Hollywood Walk of Fame first – one f the main destinations during a trip to Los Angeles This street has brass stars of all the famous celebrities engraved on them. We followed the star lane and managed to spot one name which we all recognized as the star of the American guitarist, Jimi Hendrix. 

Rodeo Drive & Beverly Hills

Next, it was time to head towards the famous Beverly Hills which is a popular hunting ground for celebrity spotting as many famous celebrities live nearby. We have all watched many of those videos of celebrities shopping around here, so we wanted to make sure we saw this place. Of course, we had no intentions of scrutinizing people’s faces or quizzing anyone if they had seen any celebrities around

Sunset Boulevard

While we were strolling around, we were approached by many tourism agents who were offering to take us for a ride and offering their vacation packages to show us some celebrity houses. We were not going to pay the price for the guide but got intrigued and decided to take the Google approach to hunt celebrity homes. We read an article about a boy in Sunset Boulevard who sold maps containing the location of all the celebrity homes in the area and we became determined to obtain one for ourselves. We set off focused on hunting the celebrity map boy and almost forgot about hunting for the celebrity houses themselves. Throughout our searching we didn’t manage to spot anyone on the streets and found the majority of houses had huge gates that blocked any views, so after almost an hour we conceded defeat and decided to go check out the Hollywood sign instead since we at least knew where that was.

Hollywood Sign Board

We were pretty convinced that Hollywood board wouldn’t be anything pretty but for the sake of ritual we needed to check it off our list of California road trip ideas, as couldn’t say we’d been to LA but not seen the famous board itself. We drove as far as we could up the hill and discovered that to get to the sign itself required a long hike but after our unsuccessful celebrity hunting we didn’t have the energy left for this and decided the view from the Griffith Observatory in Mount Hollywood would be good enough for us.  

I captured a LA traffic from the top of the Hill when it again reminded me of the La La Land song, Another Day of Sun, and the lyrics.

“Climb these hills,
I’m reaching for the heights,
And chasing all the lights that shine,
And when they let you down,
You’ll get up off the ground,
‘Cause morning rolls around,
And it’s another day of the sun”

Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek
Music Composer, Lyricist

It was sooo…… relieving to get a picture with the Hollywood board from the Griffith Observatory before the sunsets. 

Griffith Observatory

Griffith Observatory is a public astronomy site also located on Mount Hollywood and gives one of the best views of the LA basin. The observatory makes a perfect location for either a romantic or geeky day out, or both, with a variety of attractions including a planetarium, geeky shops, cafes, and a public telescope to gaze at the Californian sky. It is a heaven for science lovers and when I saw Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s books in the stores, I just wanted to sit there and read them all maybe another time!

One of the main attractions here was the Pieces of Sky exhibition,  which displays actual meteorite pieces that had been excavated across the US. I found it so exciting to see these pieces that had originated far out in the solar system and fell to Earth many years ago.

Overall the Griffith Observatory was my favorite landmark in LA, and it gave me the ultimate La La Land experience. The sunset and city views from here were so magical and dreamy. I walked around many times and was constantly reminded of the La La Land movie poster. 

Other USA South West Road Trips

• USA South West Road Trip from Arizona to California covers the itinerary of a two week road trip in South West, USA.
• The Arizona Road Trip from Phoenix to Sedona & Grand Canyon covers the major attractions in Arizona around Sedona and Grand Canyon.
• The Nevada Road Trip to Las Vegas and Hoover Dam covers the most scenic routes in Nevada apart from Las Vegas.
• San Diego Road Trip blog covers our adventures in San Diego for three days.

Pin This Trip for Future Reference

If you would like some help with road trip planning itself or wonder how to plan a long road trip like this, here are some of our top travel tips and guides:

• Ultimate Road trip Planner Guide
• Road Trip Accessories
• Road Trip Packing List

USA South West Coast Road Trip Itinerary: Overview

This road trip itinerary was planned to cover fewer but major highlights along the route, focusing on scenic routes and national parks in Arizona and Nevada and then adding more time for relaxation in California with less driving. It was also done this way to make sure we have room for spontaneous explorations than with a heavily packed itinerary to catch until the end. We thoroughly enjoyed this style and the itinerary was a good mix of multiple experiences. Read on!

Journey Details:

The road trip started in Phoenix exploring Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona state, Las Vegas, and Hoover Dam in Nevada state and ended in Los Angeles and San Diego in California.  This is one of the longest road trips that I have driven myself, covering some of the major US Highways 17, 40, 93, and 66. All road trip parts are written as exclusive blogs linked in the end and per destination for those interested in the overall journey.

Road Trip Duration

We spent our days as in the itinerary we followed covered in the blog, but I would recommend adjusting days based on what attracts you more. In the table, you will find a rough recommendation for the number of days and top destinations to cover along the route. In the individual itinerary planning, I will highlight other destinations and reroutes to take for your itinerary customization, some of which are still on my bucket list. Below is my recommendation for the 10-15 days planning. I wished I had more time in Arizona than we could afford to in our ten days trip, so I have made this into a two weeks road trip itinerary.

Arizona to California Road Trip Map: Downloadable Map of Route Taken

Our journey started in Phoenix and ended in San Diego as shown in the route below that is downloadable. You could also start this journey from somewhere in California.

Arizona to California Road Trip: Arizona

Arizona Road Trip Stops

Below is a list of major bucket list items to cover in Arizona Road Trip:

• Phoenix: Capital city of Arizona with an international airport
• Sedona Red Rock State Park : A red rock heaven, stunning natural beauty and best for hiking
• Grand Canyon National Park: A natural landscape wonder and great for hiking
• Kaibab National Forest: Good for wildlife tour
• Coconino National Forest: Arizonian forest experience
• Drive Across US Highway 66: The American road trip dream route

If you have more time, you could also do a trip from Phoenix to Saguaro National Park, which is the ultimate cacti desert of Arizona. Similarly, you could add Monument valley to the Northwest as well as both lower antelope canyon and upper antelope canyon as well as Horseshoe bend for an ultimate Arizona road trip.

Arizona Unique Experiences

• Hot Air Balloon Adventure in Phoenix
• ATV Tour in the Sonoran Desert
• Grand Canyon with Helicopter

Day 1 – Phoenix

We arrived in Phoenix around late afternoon, where we started this road trip across South West of America from Arizona to California. The evening drive from the Phoenix Airport to the hotel was already pretty exciting with sights of mountains and huge trucks on the wide American highways. Phoenix is one of the largest cities in Arizona, one of the desert states in America especially known for the Grand Canyons, and is sprinkled with national parks, forests, and large varieties of mountains. 

Top Things To do in Phoenix

• Explore the Botanical Garden
• Phoenix Art Museum
• Phoenix Zoo
• Checkout the Hall of Flame Fire Museum
• Hike Camelback mountain
• Goldfield Ghost town
• Scottsdale Old Town

Day 2 – Phoenix to Sedona

We drove from Phoenix towards Grand Canyon and spend the majority of the day exploring Sedona red rocks. I would recommend spending one more day here to go on the hikes. There are some nice outdoorsy staycation sites here to explore including some popular retreats in Sedona.

READ: Road Trip to Sedona & Grand Canyon, Arizona

Top Things To do in Sedona

1. Hike Chapel of Holy Cross
2. Pink Jeep Tour (very good if you have time, takes 2 hours)
3. Cathedral Rock
4. Oak Creek Canyon
5. Devil’s Bridge Trail

The red rock city is a stunner, which is so unique and leaves you breathless. It really reminded me of ancient temples in India and even made me think of the pyramids of Egypt in a funny way. The red rocks look like a big piece of architecture from a far sight.

Sedona Unique Experiences

• Broken Arrow Pink Jeep Tour: Most popular recommendation from all travellers in the community
• Stargazing in Sedona: Mostly recommended by locals
• Sedona Grand Canyon Sunset Tour: Most romantic option

Day 3 – Sedona to Grand Canyon

Sedona to Grand Canyon is an easy drive with some stunning views when you approach the grand canyon national park south rim. You need to get a national park entrance pass to go inside here and as expected there was a long queue.

Entry Ticket: 35$/vehicle, 20$/individual.

All information to find a pass is here.

READ: Road Trip to Sedona & Grand Canyon, Arizona

Top Tips for Grand Canyon

• Plan a hike based on how much time you have at hand
• Don’t miss the sun rise and sunset here. There are specific points and hikes for best sunrise and sunset views that you could plan accordingly. Just turning up to the canyon wont give you the experience you are looking for.
• Checkout Kaibab Forest if you are into wildlife photography

Grand Canyon Unique Guided Experiences

• Grand Canyon Helicopter Tour : A very popular one
• Grand Canyon Tour with Skywalk : The skywalk is pretty unique
• Grand Canyon Pink Jeep Tour : Most highly recommended by travel community

Arizona to California Road Trip: Nevada

Nevada Road Trip Stops

A few major bucket list items to cover in Nevada a Road Trip include:

• Hoover Dam
• Las Vegas
• Lake Meade

Other top itinerary items to add to your list include exploring the Red Rock Canyon, Death Valley National Park, and Valley of Fire State Park.

Day 4 & 5 – Grand Canyon to Las Vegas

We drove along the US Highway 66, across Hoover Dam to Las Vegas, via Boulder City. Nevada is really underrated in my opinion as the drive along this route is scenic and enjoyable. The border between Arizona and Nevada is cut by the Colorado River and the lakes and river views in this area are spectacular. The signboard that welcomes you to Nevada is a great road tripper experience to get to that roadside landmark.

When you are approaching Vegas,  the view of the city is captivating when you suddenly see a grand city with tall buildings appear on the horizon far away,  in contrast to the mountainous side views from the road. Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to capture a nice picture of our approach.

Top Things to Do in Las Vegas

• Casino hopping (The Mirage, Luxor Hotel, MGM Grand)
• Watch the fountains of Bellagio
• Stroll around the Las Vegas Strip
• Watch a live show
• Strip club – (go for it if you fancy )

Las Vegas Budget Friendly Activities

• Las Vegas Night Bus Tour : Perfect to enjoy the city lights and vibe in Vegas
• Las Vegas Roller in the Strip : Perfect for a great view

Day 6 – Las Vegas to Hoover Dam & Lake Meade

We drove back to Hoover Dam from Vegas via Bounder city via Lake Meade on this day, and this is the best day trip for those who visit Las Vegas that offers such a fantastic scenic route to drive on.

Top tip: Hire a fancy car at least for this route and thank me later!

READ: Road Trip from Las Vegas to Hoover Dam

Top Things to Do around Hoover Dam

• Take the Lake Meade route
• Explore art and mural in Boulder City
• Stroll around the serene Hoover Dam and try your photography skills

Hoover Dam Tours from Las Vegas

Some highly rated tours from Las Vegas to Hoover Dam are:

• Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam and Route 66 Guided Tour from Las Vegas

Hoover Dam to California via Boulder City

We drove from Hoover Dam to Los Angeles California by taking a small break in Boulder City. We drove in the evening time to reach Los Angeles during the night time, so this was just a highway drive with not much sightseeing.

Arizona to California Road Trip: California

California Road Trip Stops

We covered two major bucket list cities during the Road Trip California time:

• Los Angeles
• San Diego

If you have time, you could also try to hit Lake Tahoe as well as the Joshua Tree National Park around this area. Another hidden gem is Lake Havasu which is top of my bucket list for our next visit.

For those of you not been to San Francisco, I would recommend adding the city in in and do the PCH- the famous Pacific Coast Highway Route and visit the Redwood National Park where you can see the tallest trees in the world. I plan to go back and do this another time when I visit Cali, as it is undoubtedly one of the best things to do in California for a road trip lover.

Day 7,8 – Los Angeles Road Trip

We spent two days in Los Angeles which is good enough to see the majority of LA attractions, but you can add more days to enjoy the beaches and the vibe here for longer.

Top Things to Do in Los Angeles

• Venice Beach
• Santa Monica Pier (Sunset)
• Hollywood
• Walk of Fame
• Griffith Observatory (Sunset)
• Mural hunting (Venice)
• Disneyland Park
• Museum of Art

READ: Los Angeles Road Trip Itinerary

Griffith observatory is my personal favourite in LA. You get here via Hollywood and you can see the Hollywood sign landmark from here. The sunset view is perfect at LA LA Land moment and the observatory is absolutely worth it. This is one of the most romantic places I have been to ever.

Los Angeles Unique Experiences

• Beverly Hills and Hollywood Helicopter Ride
• Celebrity Homes and Hollywood Tour

Day 9 – Los Angeles to San Diego taking Amtrak Train

From Los Angeles to San Diego, we took the most popular Amtrak train journey along the coast in California. We added this break in our drive to have some time to relax and we picked up our rental car in San Diego for road tripping in San Diego.

Days 10,11 – San Diego Road Trip

San Diego was the most relaxed leg of the road trip, it being the last place as well as an epicenter of one of the best beaches in California. We enjoyed beach hopping here, including kayaking, while we also enjoyed the city. San Diego’s old town is great and there are some cool bohemian-themed shops here that are very vibrant. La Jolla was my favourite most beach. Don’t forget to walk around here to see some of the best houses in San Diego.

Top Things to Do in San Diego

• La Jolla
• Sea World San Diego
• Old Town San Diego
• San Diego Zoo

READ: San Diego Road Trip Itinerary for Three Days

San Diego Unique Experiences

• Whale and Dolphin Watching Cruise
• San Diego Jet Boat Thrill Ride

Day 12 – Coronado Islands

On our last day, we spent a relaxed day at the Coronado islands which is a short drive from San Diego and one of the coolest places to hang out. We particularly enjoyed kayaking here at the San Diego bay.

Top Things to Do in Coronado Islands

• Water sports
• Take a tour of the island
• Hotel del Coronado
• Coronado beach is perfect for pets

You could take a Segway tour from San Diego to Coronado, which is highly recommended to see the islands.

USA South West Road Trip from Phoenix: Journey in Parts

For the detailed itinerary of all these top bucket list destinations that can be covered in this road trip, below are the exclusive blogs of all parts of the journey. 

• The Arizona Road Trip from Phoenix to Sedona & Grand Canyon covers the major attractions in Arizona around Sedona and Grand Canyon.
• The Nevada Road Trip to Las Vegas and Hoover Dam covers the most scenic routes in Nevada apart from Las Vegas.
• Los Angeles Road Trip part covers the journey from Las Vegas to Los Angeles vacation and its main attractions.
• San Diego Road Trip blog covers our adventures in San Diego for three days. 

Pin the road trip itinerary for future reference