San Fran to LA recommendations and indicative costs please

[Bankholnightmare]

Looking at potentially flying to San Fran and driving to LA for a 2 week summer break. 2 adults and a teen. First look at flights circa £2k, car around 1.3k. Not planned timing’s or hotel but thinking is it reasonable to budget say £150 accommodation per night? Has anyone done the route and could you help with plans/costs? Ideally wanted to leave car at LA airport but is that a thing? Also if you have dome it did you do it independently or via an agent? Thanks for any help in advance

I think it’s quite varied. SF is obv big city vibes, with Alcatraz, Fisherman's Wharf, Chinatown, cable cars, shopping etc.
Then you would move on to Santa Cruz and head to the boardwalk with all the funfair rides & the beach.
Monterey has a cool aquarium, fisherman’s wharf, cannery row, and is close to Pebble Beach if you are into golf. There is also a great drive called the 17 mile drive that snakes along the coast & through some lovely forested areas. Big Sur is beachy again.
SLO had a cracking downtown area with lovely boutique shops & good restaurants, and you can swing by the iconic Madonna Inn. Or go to Pismo and you could do ATV riding or some more water activities.
Solvang is a little danish town filled with windmills and danish bakeries. It also has an emu farm nearby!
LA again has the big city thing going on, with all the famous sights like walk of fake, Hollywood sign, Chinese theatre, Beverly Hills. You could also go to Universal and Warner Bros. Or head to Santa Monica beach.

We did Seattle - LA recently, the stretch between SF and LA was lovely - we stayed off the coast for this stretch because the PCH was shut at Big Sur and we didn't want to spend hrs driving down to turn around and go back. I was gutted about this but actually the route we took slightly more inland was still beautiful, and by the time we got to Santa Barbara we were on the coast again.
We stopped in Monterey for one night, didn't see much of it as we just crashed for one night, and then between Monterey and LA we stopped at Pismo Beach for lunch. Great place to stop, very surfy and laid back.
As others have mentioned, you do have to be mindful of the drug and homeless issues in LA and San Fran, but to be honest every US city I've been to in the last 5 hrs has had these problems. Despite the poverty and the "zombies" walking the streets we were still able to enjoy ourselves and never felt at risk.
If you have time and a car, I totally recommend trying to get out on the road for a day north of SF to see the Redwood forest - this area was absolutely stunning and was one of the highlights of our trip. But if you don't find the time for that, Muir Woods just a few miles of SF is beautiful too, although not quite as dramatic and vast as the Redwoods.

We did LA to San Francisco with two teenage boys last summer, prices for fairly basic hotels were astronomical…500 dollars per night! Book as far in advance as possible to get the best deals, boys LOVED LA, we stayed near Universal Studios (walking distance to In ‘n’ Out burger, their fave) drove the Pacific highway, agree that Hearst Castle, elephant seals, Santa Barbara and Monterey were must-sees … but eating out and hotels were so expensive 😫

Will look at budget and thats fine to up, especially in the cities. Trying to baseline it a bit then spends on top to get an idea. Heard the same about the cities, agree you can get that in all cities but would want to defo spend more on hotels there. Will need to try and do some hotel research for stops if we’re doing it and book in advance, no point paying extra if we can avoid it.

@Bankholnightmare
Be a bit careful. Solvang is a tourist town. It really is utterly twee. I’d spend longer in Santa Barbara. Go to the mission. Much nicer altogether.

do you really want Las Vegas? We found it hot and grubby. Couldn’t wait to leave. It’s really a pointless destination if you are doing California which has SO much to offer. Two weeks is fine. So many people rush, rush, rush. Take your time. Lie on a beach. Go for a walk. Explore a bit. Have lunch at Nepenthe.

I think your budget is low for motels. Don’t forget if you don’t book a package, you are not ABTA covered.