How to drive across California
How I did it: I hired the car, purchased an annual insurance excess policy and borrowed a GPS. I also familiarised myself with some of the routes as some were liable to road closures. This journey involved driving through deserts and snowfall so I hired a small SUV from Thrifty with snow tires so I prepared in case of an eventuality of snow - which did happen on 8th April in Yosemite valley.
I prebooked hotels in advance and checked what their parking arrangements were.
Lessons & tips: Hire a good SUV with snow tires in case of extreme weather.
Bring plenty of water.
Take out an annual insurance excess policy.
Have a plan in advance and make sure somebody knows where you are going. Verify whether or not hotels etc have parking facilities, especially in cities.
Don't take chances on a rental car. Use reliable valet parking lots and don't leave belongings visible in the car to entice thieves.
For those like me used to driving a manual transmission on the left
hand side of the road, focus on other traffic, watch your lane
positioning and look ahead for the next intersection. Familiarize
yourself with basic rules such as permission to turn right on a red,
intersection etiquiette and local driving habits.
Keep small change in case you need to call for assistance and also for toll bridge fees etc
Have a cellular phone just in case of emergency
Have a good idea of the route or paper map to supplement GPS as it doesn't always know of road closures or poor conditions
Make sure you have plenty of gas when driving in deserts and national parks as sometimes there is a 30 mile plus gap between service stations.
Resources: Google Maps
Trip Advisor
National Park Service
http://www.carhire-excess-insurance.com/
Use the California transport website to check on road conditions at http://www.dot.ca.gov/cgi-bin/roads.cgi
https://www.cartrawler.com/blue1/ offers excellent prepaid rates which include basic CDW/LDW insurance.
