Hi All,

I’ve booked flights for a 25 day trip to California (mid-Aug to early Sept) into San Diego and out of San Francisco and wondered what I should consider along the way. We’re a family of five aged 5-13 and so far my rough plans include (all durations approximate but will want to start booking accom)

– 5 days in and around San Diego, probably staying in La Jolla area. Beaches, ships, museums and possibly Legoland. No mad rushing around.

– Out to desert (Anza / Palm Springs, poss Joshua Tree) for a couple of days. Yeah I know it’ll be roasting but I’ve been to Nevada and I really want to experience a bit more of the desert as it really hooked me.

– Over to LA. Not fussed about LA itself but maybe California Science Centre, Santa Monica, then up towards San Fernando area for Six Flags and Universal. Crowd calendars looking like we’ll just miss the big holiday crowds.

– Santa Barbara for a few days. Not looked at the guidebook yet but it sounds like the sort of place we like.

– Morro Bay or San Luis Obispo and then all-dayer along HW1.

– Monterey and Santa Cruz; aquarium, Mystery Spot, boardwalk etc. I worked in SC for a while so bit of a nostalgia trip for me but new to everyone else.

– Out to Yosemite and Mariposa for two or three nights (thoughts??). Probably go big and stay at the Evergreen thanks to previous recommendations on here and there are some discounts in late August so hopefully it indicates things quietening down. Hiking and touring the park and may consider Half Dome lottery for me and the athlete kid.

– 3-4 days in San Francisco for Alcatraz and some of the other stuff. Could go into SF via wine country / Marin / Point Reyes and conscious there may be some less well known stuff in the Central Valley.

It sounds to me like you have it sorted, but you must go to Hot Licks Chilli Store when you are in San Diego and the Science Center is a must even if it’s just to see the Space Shuttle.

When we were there I couldn’t get to Yosemite as it was winter but hopefully we are going back in a couple of years (brother-in-law lives in LA)

Yeah sounds as though you have it sussed.

I drove down the coast road from SF to LA. Stayed in Morro bay which was stunning, saw seal covered beaches and visited Santa Barbara which was beautiful (some good riding in the hills I believe) and Monteray.

All you suggest sounds great.

We’re a family of five aged 5-13

Think you need to be older than 13 to drive in USA.

we did similar last year

flew into LA, and stayed with friends in Newport Beach, which is very pleasant
then up the coast to Santa Barbara, then to Pismo Beach, rather than SLO, Monterey, long drive to Lake Tahoe (our intermediate stop of Yosemite was shut due to smoke). Then back to SF for a few days

Santa Barbara was good, Newport Beach surprisingly nice, and I love Monterey (sitting in the hotel bar watching humpbacks breach was good). Lake Tahoe was lovely, and SF was San Fran

Morro Bay was good for me, as they have a DSRV just lying around. Pfeiffer beach, Avula Beach, Balboa island. All very nice. The whale watching is better at Newport than Monterey http://newportcoastaladventure.com/

it’s all very expensive now.

BTW, hire the biggest people carrier you can and make use of the 2+ lanes on the freeways – they make driving the vast distances a breeze.

We went a few years back, starting in San Fran, then Yosemite, Monterey, Santa Barbara, LA/Hollywood San Diego. Unfortunately didn’t have 25 days though…….you’ll love it.

The age of your youngest is a bit on the low side for many things but I’m sure you’ll work it out. Definitely go the Aquarium and Alcatraz(book well in advance)…and I enjoyed the USS Midway museum in SD.

LA is a traffic choked nightmare, so we went on the tour hop on hop off bus, as we did in SF too. Loved Yosemite, had dinner at Pebble Beach Golf Club over looking the 18th green (but then Im a golfer) even went to the Getty Roman Villa museum in Malibu….that was unexpectedly special.

LA is a traffic choked nightmare

Really? I didn’t think so at all, it was no different to many big cities and infinitely easier to navigate than the centre of London. Granted it’s a big place though so you could have experienced busier parts than I did (we stayed in the Torrance area right by the beach) and drove everywhere from there (ie Disney, San Diego, the science museum, the aquarium etc)

Don’t forget the big end of summer holiday is Labor Day Sept 7th. Everywhere wil be stoked that weekend. Worth considering.

With 25 days its a pity not to get in some of the empty roads in Nevada and come into Yosemite from the east at Lee Vining. I cycled through Yosemite on Labor weekend. Mobbed. But once on the back roads in Nevada it was back to empty desert roads.

From Joshua Tree up to Vegas for a night, see Zion National Park the next day then head across Nevada. Naybe stop at Tonapah if you want remote desert scenery. But I appreciate that sort of loop may not fit in with everything on the agenda in California.

You seem to have it well sorted.
San Diego is awesome, the Gas Lamp area the part I know best and it’s great. Go to All Saint Tropez Bistro for banging coffee and food.
I’d avoid LA completely, I dislike the place with a real passion. Saying that, i did see Diana Ross at the Hollywood Bowl which was very cool.
San Fran is also great, I find it’s a brilliant city to just wander around. If you Book Alcatraz then do it at a time when you go the boat over in daylight and back at night, gives you a great view of the bay.

Thanks so far all – some great suggestions. We’ll be home before / on Labor Day weekend so no issues there. I’d prefer to hit the desert proper and did consider Vegas / Death Valley / Tioga but I think it’s a big ask for the kids although I’d be happy to take them to Vegas (but not Blackpool ;-))

Trip sounds fantastic. At pretty much this precise moment last year we were setting off heading south on PCH from Los Altos heading down to LA. My 7 and year old loved the whole road trip, highlights for her were all in LA rather than SF, she particularly enjoyed cycling in Santa Monica/Venice and Hollywood, seeing the sign and boulevard. My 3 year old just remembers Disneyland.

If possible I would try and take 2 days to drive PCH as there are lots of great beaches etc to stop off on route and Monterey to Santa Cruz could depending on traffic be a long day in the car for younger children.

I would try and avoid driving in LA during rush hour, as someone who has live din London for nearly 30 years I presumed LA traffic couldn’t be any worse, oh how wrong I was. Took 4 hours from Santa Monica to Anaheim, same trip outside of rush hour took an hour.

Definitely worth exploring north of SF if you have the time.

Enjoy.

Napa, Marin, Mulholland Drive, Venice Beach, Malibu, Carmel.

JP

Santa Barbara, find the Night Lizard Brewing Co. and drink lots of excellent beer then buy a t-shirt.

Really good for the whole ‘No, love, you go shopping, I’ll just sit in here and wait for you’ kind of thing.

Oh, yes… The homeless thing in San Francisco is worth reading about and preparing yourself for.

Looks a good plan to me. Did a mini version of that last Feb with my kids… Sadly only 8 days. They loved the La Brea tar pits in LA, and the Griffiths observatory is a pretty awesome way to see the city & Hollywood sign. If you have any aging skateboarder type roots then Dogtown coffee in Santa Monica is great – excellent breakfast burritos too!

Another vote for approaching Yosemite via Tioga pass. Didn’t get to do that with the kids as it was snowed in, but did on a previous trip and it’s awesome. There’s a great picnic area just over the top where you can see for miles and plenty of spots for the kids to play.

We stayed in pismo beach on the scenic drive and the sunrise over the beach and watching the surfers from the pier was a highlight – as were the immense & delicious cinnamon rolls from Old West.

Guess you’ve got most of it covered but, Santa Barbara – we went horse riding at sunset along the beach / in the ocean – I’m not a horse rider, and had no interest in doing it, it was something my wife wanted to do…but trust me, so memorable, way cooler than it sounds!

Sounds good and 25 days is a good amount of time that you (particularly the kids) won’t feel like they are couped up in the car the whole time. Road trips that look great for adults can be boring as hell for the kids!

It is a really tough decision between the Pacific Coast Route between LA and Monterey (e.g. Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Big Sur) or going inland east of the Sierra Nevada, detouring up Onion Valley and Lake Sabrina for stunning mountains and entering Yosemite over Tioga Pass.

In Anza-Borrega there are slot canyons that are easy to access (as long as there is zero rain forecast). Joshua Tree NP is nice for kids to run around the different rock outcrops. Joshua Tree is a quirky (in a good way) place to stay. Palm Springs is very Disney-America to me (low-rise sprawl of shops and restaurants to take your money). The Indian Canyons are really cool if you have spent days in the desert, but if you have been in ‘civilisation’ with air-con and water-on-tap for the preceding days, I am not sure you really get it. But the cable car up San Jacinto is good.

+1 for going to an observatory (Griffith for city views, particularly at night, or Mt Wilson for big views).

Quite a lot of Santa Monica / Point Mugu / Los Padres forests burnt heavily a few years ago, so worth looking for up-to-date recommendations if you want to do any mountain trails. The forest above Santa Barbara is worth spending a day driving up through and hiking around imo as they are far quieter than trails around LA or SF. If you want to just sit on a beach then Malibu or Santa Barbara are great. Do take notice when travelling through the National and State Forests all the way along your route for forest fire information.

Definitely do Monterey for the whales and sea otters and hire kayaks / canoes around Moss Landing / Elkhorn Slough.

Also Yosemite is really fantastic for views while having plenty of shorter trails for younger kids. You need to book accommodation well ahead.

Other option re: Tioga is Yosemite first, then Tioga Pass. Stop at Bodie (Ghost town) then head up to Lake Tahoe.

Lake Tahoe is a really great spot too. (Tahoe City area, not the South.) Rim trail is genuinely staggering.

We stayed at the thecottageinn.com lodges. Lovely small set-up for food, water stuff and cycling.

Probably one of my favourite bits of several trips.

Not so keen on the big parks unless you’ve got something specific to do there. They are awesome but so are the crowds.

Out of the parks Sequoia remains my favourite.

Not yet made DV though

Napa is nice. We did wine and cycle. And stayed in Calistoga. Twice.

Calistoga Springs IIRC. That was expensive.

Las Vegas is a short hop on the plane and might be worth a day or so wandering the strip. \then hire a car and go out to the Grand Canyon maybe? You can rent something overnight there.

But yeah, LA is entirely missable.

Other option re: Tioga is Yosemite first, then Tioga Pass. Stop at Bodie (Ghost town) then head up to Lake Tahoe.

Hadn’t thought of that one. Nice.

LA will happen in some capacity because we’re going up the PCH, Santa Barbara has appeal and we have kids who will love Six Flags and Universal, so deffo keen on hearing about the LA attractions we shouldn’t miss like Observatory, Tar Pits, Sci Center etc. Some cracking advice coming in! Beach horse riding for non horse riders sounds ace.

Ventura and Ojai are worth a visit if you get time both have the Topa Topa brewery that do great beers.

Last year for our honeymoon we started in San Francisco for a few days then drove down the Santa Cruz (stopped in the Santa Cruz bike shop). Then on to Pismo beach via Monterey did pebble beach which was a nice drive. Then stayed in Ventura as my best friend from school lives there which became a base for 10 days for trips into Santa Barbara and LA. Also great surfing around the Ventura area.

If driving the coast Rd north from LA to SF don’t forget the elephant seals. They are only a few yards down from the roadside fence at the colony near Cambria/Hearst Castle. Looks like August is one of the quieter times but will stil be some there.

https://www.elephantseal.org/calendar.htm#august

We did this last year but the other way round, starting in SF and driving to SD over 2.5weeks. A great trip with some super highs and not many lows (mainly stuck in traffic in places). The time in Monterey (epically good whale watching day) and the Redwoods in Marin were my favourites but staying in a beachside Airbnb in Malibu would probably be the rest of the families favourite.

I guess you all know but the exchange rate does make the US pricy at the moment. Especially eating out.

I’m looking at doing something similar with the family in a couple of years, sounds brilliant. For everyone who has done this, who did you book it with?

Thanks.

who did you book it with

Trailfinders

Actually cheaper than doing it ourselves.

Same again this year; trailfinders, booking an Exodus holiday, cheaper than booking Exodus ourselves.
bonkers really

Thanks, I’ll have a look at trailfinders 🙂

Yeah we found Trailfinders to be excellent two years ago when planning a trip to Australia – we got 4 x flights (outward with a short break in Dubai, back with a similar short break in HK) for <£4k and I couldn’t get to within £1,000 of that using Skyscanner etc.

Also something that worked well for us was booking restaurants in all the places you are staying in. Certainly the first night anyway. I checked TA reviews to ensure we had something nice organized, which meant we weren’t worrying about where we would eat and struggle to get in anywhere decent.

I pretty much drew up an entire itinerary and mostly stuck to it. The night we stayed in Hollywood, I’d booked a restaurant on the beach, but although it was only ten miles away, it would have taken 3 hrs to get there! 😳

Needless to say we stayed local that night!

I wouldn’t go to Vegas. Unless you like gambling or big shows, it’s rubbish.
I liked LA, Santa Monica/ venice beach are interesting

Vegas is worth a look there’s much more than Casinos.

Some very good riding actually.