What to Do in California for 7 Days: The Golden State Without Going Broke or Insane

Your “What to Do in California for 7 Days” Blueprint (Or: How to Avoid Being Found Mumbling at a Rest Stop)

California devours unprepared tourists like a great white shark with an all-you-can-eat buffet ticket. Without a proper game plan, what to do in California for 7 days quickly devolves into crying in rental car agencies and overpaying for mediocre clam chowder in sourdough bowls. This carefully calibrated itinerary maximizes experiences while minimizing psychological damage and financial ruin.

Days 1-2: Navigating the Los Angeles Labyrinth

Los Angeles sprawls across 500 square miles of traffic-clogged concrete, which explains why locals measure distance in minutes rather than miles. Begin your exploration in Venice Beach, but only during morning hours (8-11am) when the bodybuilders, skateboarders, and street performers create a vibrant atmosphere. By afternoon, the charm dissipates faster than California’s water reserves during a drought, and the area becomes notably sketchy after dark.

Parking in LA requires the patience of a Buddhist monk and approximately $20 per day. Rideshares make infinitely more sense here – even locals avoid driving whenever possible. For accommodations, skip the overpriced tourist zones and look to Silver Lake or Culver City, where $150-180 per night gets you something that doesn’t require tetanus shots after check-in.

Grand Central Market downtown offers culinary salvation with Salvadorian pupusas for $5 that will make you question why anyone pays $18 for avocado toast in Venice. For your cultural fix, The Broad museum (free with reservation) and the Getty (free admission, $20 parking) deliver world-class art without world-class price tags. Celebrity sightings occur most reliably at Whole Foods in West Hollywood, where stars shop in workout clothes looking perpetually annoyed at being recognized while buying $15 cold-pressed juice.

End your second day at Griffith Observatory around sunset rather than midday. Temperatures drop from a sweltering 85F to a pleasant 65F, the golden hour light makes everyone look like they’ve been professionally photographed, and the gradual illumination of the city’s eight million lights below creates the rare LA moment that actually exceeds Instagram expectations.

Days 3-4: The Central Coast and San Francisco Ballet

The Pacific Coast Highway’s reputation for breathtaking beauty is entirely deserved, though no one mentions the tour buses disgorging hundreds of selfie-stick wielding tourists at every official viewpoint. Skip these human traffic jams and instead pull over at unmarked turnouts around miles 58, 92, and 107, where the views remain unobstructed by someone’s extensive Instagram husband photoshoot.

Santa Barbara makes an ideal lunch stop—but only lunch. Breakfast finds the city’s parking impossibly congested with local commuters, while dinner coincides with the evening rush hour. Between 1-3pm, however, you’ll find reasonable parking and can stroll the charming Spanish colonial architecture without developing rage issues. The Public Market offers superior dining options to the tourist-trap waterfront restaurants charging $28 for mediocre calamari.

San Francisco demands careful navigation, particularly if you’re driving a manual transmission. The city’s 40+ hills—some approaching 40-degree angles—have caused countless rental car clutches to die spectacular deaths. Skip Fisherman’s Wharf, which smells perpetually of sea lion excrement and overpriced sourdough, and instead explore North Beach (Italian heritage) or the Mission (incredible murals and taquerias where $15 feeds two people handsomely).

Accommodation strategies for San Francisco require creativity given the average $230/night hotel rooms. Look to neighborhoods like Noe Valley or the Richmond District, where prices drop by $75-100 per night, and public transportation connects easily to tourist areas. Pack layers regardless of season—Mark Twain’s quip about summer in San Francisco being the coldest winter he ever experienced remains accurate as fog rolls in and temperatures plummet from 75F to 55F in twenty minutes flat.

Alcatraz justifies both its reputation and $41 ticket price—book weeks in advance or face disappointment. Meanwhile, a walk across the Golden Gate Bridge costs nothing but delivers million-dollar views, provided you can actually see it through San Francisco’s notorious summer fog. The truly savvy visitor knows that the city looks most magnificent from the Marin Headlands lookout just across the bridge, where parking is free and the panoramas are incomparable.

Day 5: Wine Country Indulgence (Or Yosemite Majesty)

Day five presents the classic California conundrum—wine tasting or natural splendor? For those planning what to do in California for 7 days, this decision hinges on personal preference and physical stamina after four days of ambitious exploration.

Wine country visitors face the Napa versus Sonoma decision. Napa dazzles with recognizable names and Martha Stewart-worthy tasting rooms, but charges accordingly—tasting fees range from $50-85 per winery. Neighboring Sonoma delivers equally impressive wines in more relaxed settings with fees between $25-45. Transportation consideration is crucial: designated driver services charge approximately $45/hour, while rideshares become increasingly scarce the more remote (and typically charming) the wineries.

The insider move: seek smaller family wineries offering free tastings with bottle purchases. Dry Creek Valley’s Preston Farm and Winery or Healdsburg’s Portalupi provide experiences matching their famous neighbors at half the price. Accommodation-wise, skip Napa proper (starting at $350/night) for Sonoma County’s Guerneville or Healdsburg, where $180-250 gets you charming lodgings without requiring a second mortgage.

Alternatively, Yosemite beckons with its granite majesty. The $35 vehicle entrance fee grants access to a natural cathedral that makes even the most dedicated atheists feel spiritual stirrings. Summer sees 20,000+ daily visitors, so arrive before 8am or face parking nightmares. The Valley Loop provides the greatest hits (Half Dome, El Capitan, Yosemite Falls) in a manageable 2-3 hours, while Glacier Point offers the money shot panorama with significantly fewer crowds.

Accommodation within the park books solid six months in advance, but the towns of Mariposa and Oakhurst offer reasonable alternatives at $150-200/night. The early wake-up pays dividends—dawn in Yosemite Valley, with mist rising off meadows and first light striking massive granite faces, delivers the rare natural experience that surpasses even the most hyperbolic travel brochure descriptions.

Days 6-7: Southern Salvation in San Diego

Traveling from northern to southern California presents another critical decision. Flying (1 hour, approximately $120-180) saves precious vacation time compared to driving (8 hours minimum, usually closer to 10 with traffic and necessary sanity breaks). Those persevering by car should take Interstate 5—less scenic than coastal Highway 1 but 3 hours faster, a trade-off most gladly make by this point in their California odyssey.

San Diego rewards weary travelers with a tempo deliberately engineered to be 30% slower than the rest of California. Skip tourist-saturated Gaslamp Quarter for North Park’s craft breweries or Little Italy’s superior dining scene. Beach-wise, La Jolla offers postcard scenery with sea caves and seals, Ocean Beach delivers authentic local vibes without pretense, and Coronado provides family-friendly expanses of golden sand beneath the iconic red-roofed Hotel del Coronado (worth visiting even if its $450+/night rooms exceed your budget).

San Diego delivers the Mexican food reality check that many California visitors desperately need. Skip Old Town’s tourist traps for Barrio Logan’s authentic taquerias where $12 buys enough street tacos to induce a food coma. Las Cuatro Milpas serves tortillas handmade daily and pork in a chile sauce so transcendent it’s caused vegetarians to question their life choices.

Accommodation in San Diego offers blessed relief from northern California prices, with comfortable options in Mission Hills or Hillcrest ranging from $150-200/night. End your California adventure with sunset at Sunset Cliffs Natural Park, where the Pacific swallows the sun in a display of orange and pink brilliance that causes even jaded locals to pause their conversations and reach for their phones.

This meticulously crafted blueprint for what to do in California for 7 days strikes the delicate balance between seeing California’s greatest hits and maintaining sufficient physical and mental energy to actually enjoy them. By your final day, you’ll have traversed approximately 800 miles and experienced more climatic and cultural diversity than most countries contain in their entirety.