Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet California Trips (Regional Travel Guide)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'm a native Californian, and have lived in the state for, er, several decades. I was hoping this book would offer people wanting to visit California some ideas for good itineraries, even if they would need a more detailed guidebook on the area chosen to plan a trip.

Unfortunately, no. Perhaps the first clue should have been on the cover, where it says "68 themed itineraries". Too many of the trips are thematic rather than realistic trips. The worst are in the first section, called "Iconic Trips". Here there are such absurdities as "trips" that list beaches or surf spots along long stretches of the coast. A literary trip has four locations in the LA area, a long drive up the coast, then eleven more around the bay area. A culinary tour has two stops in the LA area, a long drive through the central valley, then ten stops in the bay area. Perhaps the worst is "A Burrito Odyssey", which hits five burrito joints in San Francisco, five in Los Angeles, and three in San Diego, with many hours on the I5 in between. Surely no one would ever make such a trip?

Where time is the theme, there are "48 hours" trips for San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego. As I know the latter two much better, I'll assess those trips as pinball passes through the cities, hitting some obvious tourist spots, and a lot of places that leave me thinking "huh?".

Some themes are cutesy, such as "Yosemite Aquatic". It's aquatic because some of the features are waterfalls and lakes, you see. (If you are planning a trip to Yosemite--and if you've never been there, you should be--buy a real guide to the area. It's one of the most spectacular on earth, and the trip deserves some good planning.) Their trip to Santa Barbara wine country references the movie "Sideways" of course. I visit the area often, and would offer very different recommendations than this guidebook.

Each "trip" description averages five pages or so, including a one or two page summary of things to do, places to eat, and places to stay. The information is minimal, and not what you would expect from a good guidebook. Because I didn't find information that was just wrong I'll give this book two stars rather than one, but it may be the least useful guidebook to California I've seen.

If Lonely Planet's aim is to take you to the road less traveled, you'll be disappointed to find many well-worn paths leading to some of California's most obvious stops, with some perplexing omissions.

I have lived all over California: northern, southern, inland, coastal, and was surprised to find a sometimes superficial, anecdotal coverage of areas I'm familiar with. Case in point is the section on SoCal surfing. There is so much (too much) information out there re: classic surf spots, some of which are better known than others. But to tell a surfer that a "must" stop is Surfrider Beach in Malibu is like telling a tourist in Paris not to miss the Eiffel Tower. I know this book doesn't aim to be an exhaustive tome of all things California, but there is so pitifully little good surfing information here, it's rather useless. San Diego is sick with surf spots, yet the only mention goes to Black's Beach.

One of the many themed trips in the book is the "Burrito Odyssey." a pathetic sampling of 13 random restaurants in San Francisco, LA and San Diego. That's right- in the entire state, they choose three major cities and leave it to a couple of bloggers to reveal their favorites. I've had some of my best burritos in some of the smallest California towns, agricultural towns where migrant farm workers shell out a few bucks for homemade tortillas stuffed with heavenly spiced meat, beans and rice.

This book tries to do too much and tells too little. Its many authors may be the reason behind the convoluted assemblage of information. I got the feeling that no one at LP really knew what this book was supposed to be about. This is the second LP book I've gotten that seems just too random and superficial to be of any real help. Their best books are on single countries, where there is time to delve into the logistics, the culture, the food and the people.

The Lonely Planets California Trips book includes 68 themed itineraries and 1147 places to see. In my 30 years as an adult living in San Francisco, I have not seen all 1147 places. Indeed, there are some of which I'd never heard -- even places in San Francisco --, and others about which I learned new things.

The maps are useful for providing general ideas of the relative location of sites mentioned. I wouldn't use them to drive, however. And many of the "themed itineraries" are totally unrealistic as itineraries, cobbling together a southern California and a northern California itinnerary (which means a map of the state).

Throwing up so many oddities, the compilers have passed over what I consider some of the most major places, including the Getty Villa in Malibu, the Los Angeles County Art Museum, the Asian Art Museum (next to the San Francisco Public Library) and Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco, Pinnacles National Monument, the Beach Chalet (SF) the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena (which is mentioned in a Pasadena day trip paragraph), and the Huntington Library in San Marino (no indexed, but in a grab-bag of "Astronauts, Hotrods & Cowpokes"). Or arboretums in Arcadia, Claremont, Davis (UCD), Fullerton, and San Francisco (the last is mentioned in a paragraph on Golden Gate Park on the Highway One itinerary).

I can vouch for the accuracy of the literary pilgrimages included. I find the Hitchcock itinerary misleading in confusing the hotel in which Scotty in "Vertigo" received Madeleine from the sinister one in which she was staying (that has been torn down). I find it strange that La Taqueria is included in the "48 Hours in San Francisco," but not in the Burrito tour, and that Can-Cun, the perennial reader's choice burrito purveyor is not. And even more the identification of the burrito thoroughfare being 24th Street (from Mission to Potrero) rather than the Mission/Valencia corridor from 16th to 24th streets. (My current favorite is La Paz, a Mexican/Salvadorean restaurant, across from SFGH on Potrero just south of 22nd street.) El Farolito? Not a contender in my view!

The style is breezy, trying to sound hip. The index is not entirely reliable. (I looked at "art galleries" for the museums that shocked me by not having entries, and did not find them there, either. Ditto in "public parks and gardens" for the missing arboreta.)

CALIFORNIA TRIPS is a good source of ideas, but not a practical guidebook like the Lonely Planet guides to Southeast Asian countries that I have used. And there is little detail even on the places that do receive capsule descriptions.

This is a great idea for a book to really help us plan what we love to do - travel to new places. The book tried to organize trips by number of days you have available and by themes to help with the trip plan which is the hardest thing to do. However, the same idea was much better executed for some other states than for California, given it's size and diversity. For California, this guide barely skims the surface and does not really seem to give the deep insights found in some other lonely planet guides.

For the real enthusiast the information is too meager - whether you're a surfer dude wanting to catch some waves or a celeb hunter headed to LA. The trips also try to cover too much ground and lose the local charm and flavor found in suggestions from other Lonely Planet guides. This book is rather like having a planned 3-course (or 7-course!) meal chosen by someone rather than being able to pick a-la-carte after you've been given a description of the dishes available. This guide takes you to a planned trip rather than listing tourist attractions plus local favorites, so that you can plan your own. There may be some good suggestions here, but given that all of us like different things you will want to use another guide to create the best trip for your family.

I am the head of a regional sports car club in the Southern California area. While our club is not very active recently, we do have over 300 members. I have planned, organized and participated in a number of drives or "runs" over the years in California and beyond.

When I plan a run, I'm looking for a number of different things. Mostly, they involve routes that are scenic, have a limited number of interesting stops, somewhere to eat along the way, and ideally twisty roads, although the twisties may not be for everyone.

An example of a run that I did was to start in Morro Bay, head north to see the Elephant Seals, east on a very cool, twisty backcountry road to a winery near San Luis Obispo for wine tasting and lunch, north again to Hearst Castle along another interesting and scenic road, and then back to Morro Bay.

These runs are just too cutesy and in my opinion not very realistic. Others mentioned the burrito odyssey, which I thought was ridiculous. I'd rather do a fun run through Encinitas (for example) with a stop for lunch at Juanitas (great carnitas) while continuing on the way to somewhere else that's not too distant.

I personally like tall trees, scenic overlooks, and majestic waterfalls but I could give a damn about bookstores that fall along the route of my drive, but maybe I'm in the minority.

Another drive entitled "Seeing Stars" starts at L.A. International Airport because perhaps, somehow you might see a celebrity at the airport whilst driving past it. Give me a break.

The book is not bad per se, but I don't think that it's especially good either. It could have been a lot more, in my opinion.

While it does have some interesting itinerary ideas, I have to agree with the other reviewers - California is too big and the attractions are too spread out. You'll spend more time driving then sightseeing - and that's the last thing I want to do. Even the itinerary for a small area like the Gold Rush towns just can't be done in a few days, let alone a week. There's always more to see.

I would decide what area of California you want to visit, do your research online or via other travel guides and then take a look in this one for additional travel ideas. Just my two cents.

It's small enough to slip easily into a backpack or your purse, there's a few color pics at the front, the maps are so-so, but they do give attraction information including addresses, phone numbers and website addresses.

Being from California, I was curious to see how accurate some of the remarks were. The one's for area are right on. In fact, the areas they suggest visiting are the ones we regularly visit and take our guests. I look forward to finding more amazing finds in our backyard.

Lonely Planet's `California Trips' offers 68 themed itineraries and 1,147 local places to see. And, if California isn't enough, side trips to Nevada and Mexico are also offered. Trips range from two to seven days and information is also provided on traveling with children and/or pets.

The guide seems to attempt to offer a new, edgier approach to travel advice, and I would assume that the target audience is the 20-35 age range. It's most effective if viewed as a weekend/short trip guide for Californians; it's not detailed enough to serve as the sole guide for out of state visitors. But it can be a good starting place for planning a brief visit to the Golden State.

Thematic trips - iconic trips, route oriented trips, food and wine lovers trips, outdoor trips, history and culture based trips, offbeat activities, trips for urbanites, and day trips within two hours of San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego - are provided. This was, for me, an effective method of organization, and the strong point of the guide.

Small maps outlining individual trips are included in the chapters, but these are at best a general guide and wouldn't be adequate for a traveler new to the area. Driving times and directions are often included.

And in what I assume is an attempt to liven things up a bit, local `experts and celebrities' such as David Keene, Jennifer Godwin, and Douglas Fir offer tips. [I did recognize Alice Waters' name among the celebrities, but I have no idea who these people are. Nor do I care.] On this vein of attempting to offer something a little different, regional music playlists are provided, as well as family-friendly and pet-friendly listings. A `Green Index' of the most environmentally friendly options ends the book.

When I carefully read the suggestions for the areas I'm familiar with, they weren't bad. The ideas here are good, but definitely not all inclusive. They verge on superficial. But [and it's hard not to type this in all caps], this is not a travel guide meant to stand alone for the traveler unfamiliar with the area. There's just not enough real concrete information; too much time is wasted on being 'different.' By all means read `California Trips' and get some good starting points, then buy a good thorough travel guide, and a good map, and have a great trip.

It's not a bad book. It's just not an especially good one.

This book just tried to cover too much material, and as a result did not do justice to most of it. It is disjointed, difficult to follow and simply not that useful. If you followed the directions for most of the tours you would spend a disproportionate amount of your vacation time in your car. Decidedly not kid friendly.

I lived in the California beach cities and was surprised by how little attention was given to some of the more interesting spots to visit (how could they miss the Getty?) or any tips that would really make your trip more enjoyable (like where to rent a boogie board and good quick meals (the iconic In and Out) or how to avoid rush hour (which starts about 3 to 4 pm in LA).

I know Lonely Plant has a reputation for guidebooks for those who like the more offbeat rather than typical "tourist" type attractions, but this book is so chaotic, even those who prefer a laid back attitude toward planning will be confused. And the information given is so scant that you do not have that many choices of say, where to eat, in a given area.

If for some reason you relish the idea of spending most of your vacation behind the wheel (and much of it in stop and go traffic) then this may be the book for you. Otherwise, look elsewhere.

Born on the East Coast and currently living in the Midwest, I haven't had the pleasure of seeing the West Coast, yet. Consequently, one of the top items on my bucket list is to see the Redwoods in California. Since my son just moved to LA in January, I decided this might be the year that I finally make the trip!

My goal was to fly out to northern California and then drive down the coast to visit my son in LA. Then, I got this book, California Trips from Lonely Planet! Wow! I had no idea there was so much to do in California!

What I like about this book is that the trips are arranged by themes. For example, there is a 4-5 day trip that takes you to the best beaches in California, a 4-day trip to 21 historic missions, a 2-3 day trip through Steinbeck country, and a 4-day trip to dine on Ethnic foods!

Each of the 68 trips include information on how long the trip should take, best time to go, what to see there, where to eat, where to stay, and links to additional information. For example, the Redwoods & Radicals tour includes a visit to a 14,000 acre forest of trees over 1000 years old and 300 ft tall; dining suggestions at organic or home cooking cafés; a drive through the Avenue of the Giants - 32 miles of the biggest tree ever; a tour of a lumber company museum; and a look at the hippie culture!

Around LA, there are several different themed trips. There is one that can take you to where the celebrities hang out, a 2-day trip through TV land; a 2-day trip through Southern California's mountains and deserts; a trip down Route 66; and a 5-6 day trip through theme parks. This is just a few of them. I could spend weeks just in LA!

I love this guide because it's fun! It's presents similar information as other travel guides, but the themed organization makes it easier to find the places and activities that interest me. If I want to learn about American authors, I can go on a literary trip. If I want to learn about volcanos or earthquakes, there are trips for that! There's even a trip for Hitchcock fans!

My biggest problem now? My son is visiting and is threatening to take book back with him to LA! I might have to buy another copy!