Explore California by car and train.

The US state of California is very large, so traveling from one city to another requires air or train travel. Even by train or car, it can sometimes take an entire day to reach your destination.

Journey to San Francisco

We flew from Los Angeles to San Francisco (USA). The journey from our home to Los Angeles airport, though only 20 km, took 40 minutes, with increasingly heavy traffic as we got closer. Tuan Tran, a former student in the US, said that due to Thanksgiving, there was a large influx of domestic travelers.

Tourists visit the famous Golden Bridge, a cable-stayed bridge in San Francisco, USA.

However, domestic flights in the US are generally punctual, barring any unusual weather events. On this small plane, there were only about 100 passengers, and the flight to San Francisco airport took 1 hour and 15 minutes.

After getting off the plane, we took the free tram that runs around the airport.

San Francisco Airport is vast and located right by the sea. Without this subway line, you'd undoubtedly have to walk for hours just to reach the gate.

The road from San Francisco to Sacramento is very narrow in many sections, with swamps on both sides.

Here, we easily rented a car to get around and explore the city; all we needed to do was present our US-issued driver's license and pay with our card. Within 10 minutes, we had a car and were able to drive ourselves around San Francisco.

The first place we visited in this city, of course, was the Golden Bridge, a world- famous cable-stayed bridge spanning San Francisco Bay, famous not only in the US but also internationally.

However, it takes almost 35 minutes by car to get from the airport to the Golden Gate Bridge (also known as the Red Bridge by Vietnamese Americans), even though it's only 17 km, and you have to drive through San Mateo County to get there.

The road from the airport to the Golden Bridge is steep, winding, and heavily congested with traffic.

Tunnel through the mountain to visit the Golden Bridge in San Francisco.

First-time visitors to San Francisco will enjoy admiring the very unusual and unique architecture lining the streets.

The houses were square-shaped, built close together, with designs we had never seen before.

Tuan Tran stated that this is a characteristic European architectural style, dating back hundreds of years in the city, so calling San Francisco a city of ancient architecture is not wrong. It is also the headquarters of many world-renowned technology corporations such as Facebook and Google.

Unique architectural styles of houses lining the streets in San Francisco.

However, it's only when you visit the Golden Bridge that you truly appreciate the city's uniqueness. The Golden Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge spanning San Francisco Bay and connecting to a mountain.

The bridge is nearly 1,300m long and 227m high, with two main colors: yellow and red, reminiscent of chocolate.

The bridge was constructed starting in 1930 and completed in 1937. It has now become a symbol of San Francisco and the United States due to its unique architecture and is considered a wonder of the world.

Along the San Francisco Peninsula, there are many spots where tourists can check in and take photos to commemorate their vacation with family and friends.

Tourists enjoy the view of the Golden Bridge from various viewpoints on the San Francisco Peninsula.

However, we only found a parking spot at the third location because the Golden Bridge photo spot is always crowded. The colder the weather, and the more fog blankets the bridge, the more tourists come to take pictures.

The Golden Bridge has dedicated lanes for bicycles and pedestrians on both sides. Visitors can rent bicycles (for just $10) and cycle or walk the entire length of this unique bridge to explore it.

Tourists walk on either side of the pedestrian and bicycle lanes on the Golden Bridge in San Francisco.

At the check-in points, tourists can also see white yachts leisurely gliding across the sea.

Tuan Tran said that these were yachts rented by tourists to explore San Francisco Bay, which, of course, cost quite a lot of money.

Tourists explore San Francisco Bay by cruise ship.

Take a train from Sacramento to Los Angeles.

Leaving San Francisco, travelers journey by car to Sacramento (the capital of California), approximately 175 km from San Francisco. Although not far, the road to Sacramento is quite narrow, with many sections having only two lanes, resulting in slow-moving traffic. Cars must travel along California Highway 37, passing through San Pablo Bay, then onto Highway 80, traversing the mountains of Fairfield and Davis, before finally reaching Sacramento.

The train station in downtown Sacramento.

The car traveled along winding roads, bordered by villages with unique architecture and unusual colors. There were also stretches of road passing through swamps, uninhabited areas, and lakes along the way that resembled agricultural fields.

We arrived in Sacramento after more than two hours by car, but it's also a city with terrible traffic, especially during the early morning rush hour. Exploring Sacramento was also very interesting.

Passengers traveling by car from the downtown Sacramento station to the new Stockton station can board the train.

There are many shopping centers and Costco outlets here, such as Capitol Park, State Railroad Museum, and Old Sacramento, giving visitors plenty of choices.

Upon returning to Los Angeles, Tuan Tran chose to travel by train because there were no more plane tickets available. From Sacramento train station, we had to drive to Stockton train station, which took an hour, as there were no trains with tickets available in Sacramento that day.

From Stockton pier, the train took us to another pier in Bakersfield, a journey of over six hours.

The train journey from Stockton station to Bakersfield station takes almost 6 hours.

The train journey from Stockton station to Bakersfield is quite long. It passes through vast agricultural fields. On either side of the tracks are apple and grape orchards, but at this time of year the leaves are yellow and withered; it's not fruiting season.

The train passed through vast, flat areas of land being plowed in preparation for the planting season.

The train from Stockton to Bakersfield was very clean and comfortable.

Tuan Tran stated that this is the main agricultural region of California, supplying not only grapes and apples but also other agricultural products to the entire United States, and also for export.

The train arrived at Bakersfield station, and we transferred to another bus to travel to Los Angeles, a journey that took over two hours.

Traveling around California's cities by car and train takes a lot of time, but it's a lot of fun.

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