Travelling between San Francisco and Vancouver this Summer, couple of questions?

Question

1. If I hire a car in SF will I be restricted to only driving it in the US only?
2. Any recommendations for stops on the way, I am already planning on stopping at MANY Redwood forests, Crater Lake
3. Any clean reasonably priced hotels that you would recommend en route?
4. Finally(!) would a local driving instructor be willing to sit in with me whilst I got used to hire car and driving on the wrong side of the road?

Answer 1

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Welcome to California!!! I've lived here all my life.

1) Each car rental company has different rules, so you will have to check with the company you want to use - their website will tell you. Generally, a company in San Francisco will not advertise about taking the car into Canada, but one near the border (like Washington) will do so. I've rented cars in Washington state and in New York state, and both of them allowed me to take the car into Canada. You just need to check. Look for companies that allow unlimited mileage. There are many good car rental companies. My favorite is Hertz, but it is also one of the most expensive. I've rented from Enterprise, Budget and Dollar, and have had excellent experiences with all of them.

2) What you can see on a trip to Canada will depend on the route you take. From San Francisco, you can follow Highway 1, Highway 101, or Highway 5. These are the routes from west to east, and Highway 1 is very slow, but follows the coast. Highway 5 is the quickest, but it is not as scenic as the other two. I assume you are following Highway 1, since you mention the redwoods. If this is the case, there are so many little hamlets along the way, and it will depend on how many hours you want to drive. Mendocino is a well known place for its beauty, and if you follow Highway 1, you will at least want to stop here. (I am much more familiar with the highway from San Francisco south to Los Angeles, which has many small cities that are delights to visit.) You can use www,yahoo.com, then select Maps, and put in your A (start) and B(destination) cities to determine how far they are apart. This will help you build your daily itinerary. Highway 101 also has nice cities, but they are not on the coast. And highway 1 joins 101 about halfway to the Oregon border.

On the other hand, you mention Crater Lake, which is inland, so I'm not sure how you want to travel. I would like to tell you that Portland Oregon is a lovely city, and the Columbia River gorge east of Portland is an incredibly beautiful place to travel. I also loved Seattle (spent a week in each of these cities). If you are in Vancouver, maybe you have time to visit Victoria, which is a charming place.

3) The best way to get ideas about hotels (and car rental companies too) is www.expedia.com. You can put in your requirements (dates, destination, etc.) and find everything you need to know. I want to advise the following however: a) The ratings for hotels on expedia, or any other site, are not reliable. I always check every hotel I'm interested in on www.tripadvisor.com. I have even checked out my hotels in Europe and I am never disappointed. I highly recommend this site for verifying the quality of a hotel before booking. b) I never book on Expedia, although they have great prices, because I have found that the price to book through the hotel website is usually almost the same. If I have a problem with my reservation (need a change), it's so much simpler to deal directly with the hotel. Sometimes Expedia's policies are restrictive, such as no refunds, longer cancellation periods than from the hotel directly, etc. This is not just expedia - all the online travel sites are like this. That's why I only use them for information.

4) I have never heard of such a thing, but I can certainly understand your concerns. When I was driving in England a few years ago, I'm lucky I didn't have an accident. Driving on the other side of the road is unnerving, and those roundabouts didn't help me either! I did a quick search and found a company with very good reviews in San Francisco. I'm sure you could email and ask:
Ann's Driving School
650 Delancey Steet Apt 307
(at Brannan St)
San Francisco, CA 94107
[phone]
www.fearlessdriver.com

I hope you have a wonderful time in our state, that you take home great memories, and that you come back again!