HELENE’S TRIP TO NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
14 NIGHTS/7 STOPS
Mountains, volcanoes and the Pacific Coast!
Helene created a beautiful 15-day family road trip with 7 stops for her husband, their twin boys Edouard and Cedric, and their daughter Julie. Grandparents, Jacques and Françoise, also joined the trip. The purpose of this trip was to discover natural parks and the wild coast of California while going a little of the beaten path. They wanted to experience the natural beauty of the mountains and beaches and hike in the magnificent surroundings without the crowd. They ended with a city trip in San Francisco and Carmel. Location and comfort were key when they selected the lodging for this family road trip, where they stayed an average of two nights per location. In 15 days, they drove a total of 2,225 km and spent 28 hours on the roads. They travelled in the early summer: June-July.Their budget for the whole trip was around $ 2350 per person for 14 nights (excluded food and activities).
14 nights & 7 stops
$
2225 km
from June to October
road trip & nature discovery
Photo ©helenedwds
ABOUT HELENE: Hélène is from Belgium. She has three children, two twin boys and a daughter. Her passions include hiking in nature and observing wildlife and scenic landscapes. However, Helen is not a fan of camping and avoids this activity during her travels.Hélène always plans her own trips, spending hours on the Internet and in travel guides trying to find destinations off the beaten path. She prefers traveling in remote locations.
WHAT HELENE LOVED ABOUT THIS TRIP
Mount Shasta & Lassen Volcanic Park
Lake Tahoe
Mix of nature and city
NEW YORK – SAN FRANCISCO
5 hours – direct flight
$550 per person
RENTAL CARS
2225 km in 15 days/14 nights
28 hours on the road – 7 stops
AVERAGE BUDGET PER PERSON
$2350 / pp for 14 nights all included
$1500 /pp for 14 nights (without breakfast)
$200 /pp for rental car & taxis
$550 /pp
SAN FRANCISCO AIRPORT 
YOSEMITE NP 
LAKE TAHOE TO
LASSEN VOLCANIC NP 
MOUNT SHASTA 
FORT BRAGG 
SAN FRANCISCO TO
GOOD TO KNOW
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We chose to spend most of our nights in rentals, it is cheaper than hotels, you have more space and you can cook (and eat healthier!). VRBO is, from our point of view, the best website for vacation rentals.
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End of June was the perfect time to go to Yosemite, it’s not too crowded. It is sometimes a little too early for Lassen Volcanic Park as there still can be a lot of snow (we couldn’t do some of our planned hikes because of it), but on the other hand it was great to see all this snow.
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It can be very foggy in San Francisco and on the Northern Californian coast in the summer…
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Mount Shasta is mind-blowing, if we had to do this trip again, we would stay there at least 3 or 4 nights. We might have skipped Monterey.
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Be aware of the wildlife and especially the bears in the parks.
