Congratulations :-)

Since you have plenty of time, I'd suggest purchasing a couple of guidebooks on CA to give you lots of ideas of what to see and do.

You are talking about a trip of at least 5,000 miles, as distances here are long!

As far as whether to start in Seattle? This will depend upon airline prices and what you want to see. The Oregon and northern CA coasts are amongst the most beautiful places anywhere in the world, and will have lovely cool weather in August. You might try reading the Moon Handbook of the Oregon coast.

LV will be fiercely hot, as it is far inland in the NV desert.

August is a very busy tourist time anywhere, so yes, you would be well advised to make your hotel bookings ahead.

As you do some initial research and begin to have a better idea of your actual itinerary, do post back with specific questions and you'll get lots of help.

Thanks for tips! will post as we look at details!

We also spent our honeymoon touring around California and then returned for another trip with our baby boy last year coz we loved it so much:

San Francisco (we flew into SFO), you could easily spend 5 days here visiting Alcatraz, cycling over Golden Gate Bridge to Sausolito, Golden Gate Park, Fisherman's Wharf and Peir 39 as well as soaking up the atmosphere in the City around Union Square, Market Street. You must eat in the Cheesecake Factory at the top of Macy's overlooking Union Square- amazing food and amazing views.

We then drove down Highway 1 to Pebble Beach/ Carmel area, which is worth a look but would only need 1 day or night.

We then continued down Big Sur, which has fantastic views, but take travel sickness tablets as it is very twisty!!! We also found it to be overcast for the majority of the journey. Hearst Castle (just off the Big Sur is worth a look on your way past).

Santa Barbara was our next stop and I would really recommend spending some time there. It's an absolutely stunning town with the main street, State Street, full of shops, restaurants and bars. This was one of the most relaxing parts of our trip and we just lazed about the beach and ate out at all the lovely restaurants. It's quite Spanishy looking with fairy lights in all the trees lining the street.

After that we moved on to LA where we stayed in Santa Monica. We found this a good base for exploring the city by day (must do Universal Studios, the Disney Parks, Rodeo Drive, Hollywood, Star Tour, Venice Beach etc) then at night has a street called Third Street Promenade where all the restaurants, bars and shops are to be found. This is really lively at night with street performers and has a great atmosphere.You could easily spend a week in LA alone!!

Further down the coast you will pass through some gorgeous towns like Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and Laguna Beach which are also worth a look around to soak up the sights and the atmosphere.

We then headed to San Diego. We stayed in La Jolla on the outskirts of the city, which was lovely- again lovely restaurants and bars as well as little boutiques and art galleries- perfect for a wander about in the evening. We spent 4 days in San Diego- visiting Seaworld, the Zoo, Balboa Park, The Gaslamp district and Seaport Village.

The final stop for us was Las Vegas, although we flew there rather than driving through Death Valley. We absolutley loved Vegas. You could spend the entire time just walking through the Hotles and Casinos taking in the sights- there's things to see in all of them like the Fountains at the Bellagio, Volcano and dolphins and tigers at the Mirage, the lions at the MGM Grand the pirate show at Treasure Island and countless other things!!! We have stayed in The Luxor and Excalibur which were great, but agreed that MGM Grand probably looks like the best for a young couple.Obviously you need to take in some shows while in Vegas and you can't help but shop!!!

I hope you enjoy yourselves as much as we did!!

Wow! sounds brill thank you for sharing! we have stayed at MGM 3 times before and it is amazing!

thanks again!

First maybe tell us if you want to start Seattle, Portland or San Francisco. You easily can spend 4 weeks in WA and OR alone and besides the coastal drives many National Parks like Olympic, Mount Rainier, Lassen, Crater Lake,Redwood, Yosemite, Sequoia/Kings Canyon, Death Valley, Joshua Tree etc. and awesome places like Columbia River Gorge, eastern Oregon and Mt.St.Helens. If this were my honeymoon (yikes, we are snowbirders now-lol-) I would try to see more places than just the coast but time....

Tet

For someone visiting from outside the US, I highly recommend at least one day in Big Sur. It's a 90 mile stretch of coast in California between Carmel and Cambria where the Santa Lucia mountains ascend directly out of the ocean. It's one of the most scenic areas in the US, if not the world, and unlike any other place in this country. People come from all over the world to see it.

Big Sur is about a 3 hour drive south of San Francisco. This goList might give you some more ideas.

tripadvisor.com/GoListDetail-i14592-Big_Sur_…