Packing list for Los Angeles and San Francisco
Two cities, one bag, two climates: Los Angeles at 82°F (28°C) in a dry heat and San Francisco at 55°F (13°C) under fog the same July evening. Layers over a coat, shoes for the hills, a daypack that never stays in the car, and one card that pays for everything.
On a phone with Waystop installed, the button adds the list to your trip as a bag you can tick off. Otherwise copy it and paste it into Waystop’s Chat with “add this to my packing list”.
Checked October 10, 2026.
Tick things off as you go and this browser will remember. Changed your mind?
0 of 18 packed
Clothes
0/5Bags and sun
0/5Money and plugs
0/4Documents and tech
0/4What the weather is like
Los Angeles: highs around 82°F (28°C) in July and August, lows near 64°F (18°C), almost no rain from May to October; on a hot day the Valley runs up to 68°F (20°C) hotter than the coast, and the coast has gray mornings in May and June. San Francisco: a July high of about 70°F (21°C) and a low of 55°F (13°C), September the warmest month at 72°F (22°C), January around 57°F (14°C) by day and 46°F (8°C) at night. Rain in both cities falls from November to April.
- A heavy coatSan Francisco in January is around 57°F (14°C) by day, and a fleece under a shell beats a coat you then carry through Los Angeles.
- Real hiking bootsGriffith Park and Runyon Canyon are dirt trails with no technical terrain, and trail shoes handle them.
- A voltage converterPhone and camera chargers already run on 120 V. Leave the hair dryer and use the hotel's.
- A hoodie or fleece on arrival in San FranciscoThe shops at Fisherman's Wharf sell them to everyone who packed for California. A thrift shop in the Mission or the Haight sells the same for a fraction.
- Breakfast and road snacks from Trader Joe'sFor the 7 a.m. start and the drive to Malibu or down Highway 1; the hotel sells the same for several times the price.
- A cheap phone mount for the rental carTarget and Walmart sell one for about $10, and the map has to be at eye level on Highway 1.
Worth knowing
- Pack for San Francisco and strip down for Los Angeles. The city that surprises people is the cold one: the fog burns off by late morning most summer days and rolls back in around four, so the layer rides in the bag all day.
- Leave nothing in a parked car, not even in the trunk. Rental desks in San Francisco say the same thing; a smashed window costs a day of the trip and the deductible.
- Tap a contactless card or phone on Muni, BART and LA Metro and skip the transit cards; transfers are free for two hours on Metro. Ask Waystop's Chat to group each Los Angeles day by area, so you know which stops need the car and which are a Metro ride.
Trips to pack this for
Never leave the charger in the hotel again.
Waystop keeps a list for each bag and each person. On the morning you change hotels it walks you through a quick pack-up check, and Chat can suggest items to add when you ask what to bring.