Three days of LA is enough
I hand over cars in Los Angeles and then hear how the trip went. The couples who come back happy did almost the same thing every time: they kept the city short and left.
Not seven days of LA. Three. The city is the opening, not the trip.
That is the whole argument, and the rest of this is how to spend those three days so the fourth one is worth waking up for.
Day 1: the sunset is the point
Hollywood Boulevard, two hours, done. The Walk of Fame is smaller, louder and more crowded than the photos suggest. Go early, get the picture, move on. Budget half a day and you will spend it in a crowd.
Beverly Hills, midday. Twenty to thirty minutes from Hollywood depending on traffic. Rodeo Drive is a backdrop, not a shopping trip. Beverly Gardens with the sign is a few minutes away and much calmer.
⚠ The parking thing I tell every guest: with the rooftop tent up, a Model Y clears about 6 feet 6 inches. Half the garages in Beverly Hills and Hollywood will not take it. Street parking or open lots in those neighborhoods. I give you the exact height at handover.
Griffith Observatory at sunset. This is the actual reason to have a car instead of a tour ticket. Best view in the city, skyline to the Pacific, and sunset does not happen when a coach schedules it.
What to know: closed Mondays. Admission is free, including the telescopes. Parking is paid and enforced. Come well before sunset, because the upper lots fill first and everyone else parks down the hill and walks. Bring a jacket, the hillside drops fast after dark.
Day 2: the coast, and the first quiet night
Santa Monica Pier in the morning. The "End of the Trail" sign is here and it is the emotional photo for a lot of people. Small correction: the historic terminus is actually inland at Lincoln and Olympic. Minutes apart, and far emptier. Go to both.
Highway 1 north after that. Thirty to forty-five minutes to the beaches past Malibu, and traffic matters more than distance. El Matador is the famous one: rock arches, cliffs, a steep staircase down. Unbeatable for photos, often too full to relax. The beaches on either side are quieter and nearly as good.
Point Dume further north gets you up on the headland. Whales in winter and spring if you are lucky.
The first night outside is where this stops being a city break. Coastal campgrounds start north of Malibu, 30 to 45 minutes out. They sell out weeks ahead in summer, so book, and have a backup further north.
⚠ Sleeping in the car is prohibited in Santa Monica and most of greater LA, and it is enforced. Drive to a real campground. How free overnight parking works legally outside the cities is in the boondocking rules.
Day 3: pick a direction
After two days you have seen enough of LA to place it. Now the trip actually starts, and there are three real options.
- North on the Pacific Coast Highway. Santa Barbara, then Big Sur. Cliffs, whales, morning fog. The classic, and the prettiest. Runs through Big Sur and is planned out as the Pacific Coast tour.
- East to the desert. Joshua Tree is two to three hours out and the complete opposite of the coast. Silence, heat, and stars with no light pollution. If you only have a week and want contrast, go here.
- Route 66 backwards. From Santa Monica inland. Unusual but perfectly good, and the full run is in the Route 66 guide.
Which one suits you is broken down under honeymoon and couples road trips.
What it costs against what it replaces
A Model Y camping package starts at $119 a day. The rooftop tent version is $216, including gear, insurance and Supercharging. All rates on the pricing page.
Compare that to a hotel in greater LA plus a rental car plus booked tours. The gap is usually smaller than people expect, and you get nights in places a hotel cannot put you.
Three things I tell every couple
- Keep day one short. After a long flight, the coast road into low sun is not romantic, it is squinting. The campsite is not going anywhere.
- Book the coastal sites now. California coastal campgrounds sell out weeks ahead all summer. Spontaneity does not work on this stretch.
- Leave one evening with nothing planned. The night people write to me about afterwards is never the Hollywood sign. It is the one where nothing was scheduled.
How pickup works
Handover is at our hub in the LA area. Not an airport counter, a real 30 minute walkthrough of the tent, Camp Mode and the route app, with someone who has driven the roads you are about to drive. Transfers from LAX on request. Details under Tesla rental from Los Angeles.
We do not run tours and we are not affiliated with anyone who does. This is written for driving it yourself, the way we drive it.
A honeymoon should not read like a schedule being worked through. Three days of city is plenty. The rest is yours.