Epic California vacation: Where should we stop?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Five weeks is a very long time in Cali. You have plenty of time to see all. Do not skip LA, Yosemite or Mendocino.

Me again, back for more after reading some recommendations. Just noting that I spent 10 years living all over the state. So some other fun places in/near the bay area.

- Santa Cruz & Monterey (the teens will likely like Santa Cruz more, but the aquarium is in Monterey).
- the Winchester mystery house in San Jose
- San Francisco: muir woods, Alcatez, cable car.

[Anonymous]

5 weeks in CA is wasted opportunity if your kids are old enough for international travel. Since they like cities rather than nature, you can have an easy trip hopping around Europe by train.

I say this as someone who thinks the west coast is the best coast. I’ve done several 10 day road trips in CA, Oregon and WA. I felt no need to turn them into multi week affairs because it’s just a 5-6 hour flight and 3 time zones from DC. I have taken 3-6 week long trips to other continents and was very glad I didn’t squander that kind of vacation time on domestic travel.

[Anonymous]

Used to live in SF (city and Marin).

This sounds crazy, but I would break up your CA trip with a trip to Hawaii in the middle.

CA has the luxury (!) of Hawaii only being 5ish hours away. You could start in Southern California. Fly out of LAX to your Hawaii destination... Fly back to SFO or OAK. Finish your trip with a few days in the Bay Area.
Fly back to DC. Or vice versa-- start in the north, finish in the south.

We are now in the Midwest and I am sad that Hawaii is so far away and $$$ to get to.

[Anonymous]

NP. Lots of great tips here! One thing to add that in all of these spots, I would look into eBike rentals with teens. It’s a fabulous way to see the state and there are usually good rental spots. For instance in LA you can rent a bike to go on the gorgeous beach-front coastal trail, in SF you can bike over the Golden Gate Bridge and then take the ferry back (or bike back). In San Diego you can rent in downtown SD and bike up the coast. In Santa Cruz you can bike along the coast or use the e-assist capability to bike up to UCSC and around the hills. There is a lot of infrastructure for it across the state, and it’s a great way to see things with teens.

Also, I would not skip LA. It has an energy and liveliness that’s hard to replace. There’s just so much to do. I find something new and interesting in LA every time I visit.

[Anonymous]

NP and haven't read all replies, but I live in LA and think that for the right people, LA is fabulous, but for others, I'd skip it.

It's fabulous IF you/your kids are interested in Disneyland/Magic Mountain/Universal Studios, walking to the Hollywood sign, etc. Santa Monica Pier. All that stuff.

If more into animals, then San Diego has the Wild Animal park and the famous huge zoo. Also if anyone likes ships/military stuff.

I like hiking etc and while there are great hikes inside of Los Angeles, sounds like you'll get your hikes in at the national parks. Also, hiking in summer in SoCal is really hot.

Okay IF you go to LA and if you like ancient Greek/Roman stuff, the Getty Villa is great! The Getty Museum is really interesting too.

[Anonymous]

Was just there. Skip LA. Maybe a day. Venice was awful. Santa Monica for a few hours. Malibu beaches are good.
Personally I'd go out to Mammoth and June Mt area. Eastern Sierras and gorgeous. Hit Yosemite and Tahoe

[Anonymous]

5 weeks seems like a really long time. We did a similar trip in 3 weeks. We flew to SF and slowly drove down to LA/SD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:5 weeks in CA is wasted opportunity if your kids are old enough for international travel. Since they like cities rather than nature, you can have an easy trip hopping around Europe by train.

I say this as someone who thinks the west coast is the best coast. I’ve done several 10 day road trips in CA, Oregon and WA. I felt no need to turn them into multi week affairs because it’s just a 5-6 hour flight and 3 time zones from DC. I have taken 3-6 week long trips to other continents and was very glad I didn’t squander that kind of vacation time on domestic travel.

I just wrote we went for 3 weeks. I was ready to go home after 2 weeks.

If I had 5 weeks, I would go to Europe or Asia, not California. California doesn’t seem like a 5 week trip.

[Anonymous]

From East Coast but really did enjoy Los Angeles and San Diego. Loved San Diego Zoo, Getty in LA as well as food scene there, Santa Monica, and Hollywood.

I would add SF and Bay area, and the redwoods up north.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yosemite is amazing! Love the historic hotel Ahwanee. You have to make hotel and park reservations a year in advance. June and May is the best time.

Bay Area. I love San Francisco. The one downside is that the hotels are concentrated in union square and the eastern side where it is getting better but still not what it used to be. Business travel has not come back, tech workers are remote or hybrid and many of the stores have shut down. The western side of the city is amazing. If you can find a nice Airbnb in Inner Richmond, Pacific Heights or the Marina it’s so much nicer. Russian Hill is great the hills are a killer. Sausalito is a really cute town on the Bay just over Golden Gate Bridge.

Just south of the Bay Area is Santa Cruz, Monterey, Carmel and Big Sur. Fantastic area! Beach, nature preserves, redwoods, wetlands etc.

In the LA area you have the Getty, Griffin Observatory and Universal if you want a theme park in the NW area. If you are into Disney, there is Disneyland in Anaheim about 90 minutes east and slightly south. 30 minutes south is Huntington Beach and Newport Beach or go another hour or two NW and you have Joshua Tree.

Santa Monica is fun. Malibu is shockingly beautiful.

The drive along the coast from Santa Monica up to the Bay Area is phenomenal! Highly recommend this. You could split the drive by staying overnight in Santa Barbara or go a little off the route and stay in SLO.

Another California resident here and agree with PP's suggestions. A few more to add: driving up the coast from Los Angeles on Highway 1 I highly recommend Treebones resort south of Big Sur. It's unique and a very California experience. If anyone in your family has an interest in space, try to get into JPL near Pasadena for a free tour, they can be booked a month in advance.

I'm with the chorus saying Los Angeles is a must. Getty, and the Museum Row offerings are great, especially the Academy Museum.

Definitely San Francisco, lots to do and walks around the Berkeley and Stanford campuses are interesting.

I live in Sonoma County and love Bodega Bay and the north coast. Wine tasting is a vibe but of course not for kids. You have lots of opportunities for redwood exploration, but I am partial to Armstrong Woods.

Definitely Tahoe.

[Anonymous]

I think Los Angeles has tons of charm if you look in the right places: lots of beach towns; hikes, the Getty, the Observatory, BH etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm very partial to the Big Sur/Carmel/Monterey area. Breathtakingly beautiful (if the roads are okay).

This times a thousand. I’d kill to go there again.

Any hotel recommendations you like for this area?

[Anonymous]

We did the following:

San Francisco
Yosemite
Sequoia National Park
Death Valley
Las Vegas

[Anonymous]

I agree with the other posters - don’t miss Tahoe. I’d add in some Gold Rush history by hitting some key places in SF and Sutter’s Fort. Also make sure you see some of the CA missions - they’re an important part of state history.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:5 weeks in CA is wasted opportunity if your kids are old enough for international travel. Since they like cities rather than nature, you can have an easy trip hopping around Europe by train.

I say this as someone who thinks the west coast is the best coast. I’ve done several 10 day road trips in CA, Oregon and WA. I felt no need to turn them into multi week affairs because it’s just a 5-6 hour flight and 3 time zones from DC. I have taken 3-6 week long trips to other continents and was very glad I didn’t squander that kind of vacation time on domestic travel.

This.