Road trip in California

[Wanttobesittinginahotbath]

Hi just looking for some advice and top tips. I’m planning on doing a road trip around California in 2023 with DH and DS who will be 10. Are there any definite highlights or no nos that I need to do/avoid? Need to keep our DS occupied otherwise he will just sit in the car all day with his iPad and not take in any surroundings so looking for lots of stops etc. Also what’s the best time of year etc. Don’t want deathly hot but then again don’t want it to be just mild. We usually go on an all inclusive holiday in the Caribbean so this will be a bit of a change for us but excited for the adventures that could lie ahead

Thanks in advance for your tips x

My dad & I did this road trip when I was fifteen or so (a long time ago now! 🤣). We went from Los Angeles to Palm Springs (half a day or so) & overnighted there. Then we went on to the Grand Canyon in Arizona, had a few days there, then into Nevada over the Hoover Dam. Had a day or two in Las Vegas, then back into California up the Big Sur coast. Took in Sequoia National Forest for the giant redwoods, Hearst Castle on the coast & Carmel, the town where Clint Eastwood was mayor. We finished up with three or four days in San Francisco & flew home from there. I think it took us between ten & fourteen days.

Dh and I did this for our honeymoon and it was amazing. We did it in September which wasn't massively hot but not sure if this is an option with school holidays. We went for 3 weeks. We had 4 nights in San Francisco-lots to see like Alcatraz, Fisherman's Wharf, Golden Gate Bridge. You can get around by tram or get a hop on hop off bus ticket for a couple of days. Then picked up car and did Napa valley wine region (maybe skip with a 10 year old!) Then across to Yosemite which I'd definitely recommend- beautiful views lots of walks and activities to explore. Then we went back to the coast- Big Sur area is particularly gorgeous and can do lots of stops at national parks- one ticket was valid for all, stopped overnight at Monteray (aquarium), Cambria (Hearst Castle,) Santa Barbara (lovely beach) and Santa Monica (,pier, fairground). Then to LA- which may or may interest him- you can do film tours, houses of the stars and lots of museums like the tar pits and of course Disneyland if he's not too old (I'm definitely not). Then did 4 nights in San Diego- lots he'd maybe like there- zoo, wildlife Park, Legoland etc. Hoping to take ds back when he's a bit older- it was my favorite holiday ever!

Thanks @PsychoSyd and @Vanillaradio for the replies.

Definitely think we’ll add in the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas. And the Big Sur is the one thing I have to do.

I’d love to do Nappa but no it’s probably not suitable for a ten year old. Have to do that another time when he’s older! I’ll definitely look into San Diego as I didn’t realise there was so much to do there

Which beaches would you recommend? I’d probably want a day or two at the end of the holiday to just chill out and either go to the beach or stay in a nice hotel with a pool etc

I do like to plan and research everything before I go so I’m going to pick up some guides very soon.

I second san francisco and yosemite, just outside yosemite we found a place called bodie which is an old mining town that was abandoned after the gold rush, its exactly as it was with school, shops and houses all still full of stuff, really fascinating.

We were going to do something like this with our children, then aged 10 and 14, but in the end decided on doing Disney at Anaheim, for 10 days, then a week in San Diego. We did book to go and stay in Palm Springs, but changed that as there didn’t seem to be a lot to do for children there. Although we stayed in Anaheim, we went to various places from there each day. If you do go, you are better off booking places for 3/4 days each.

Definitely think we’ll add in the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas

That is a lot of driving.

DH and I did a California road trip in 1986 and started off in LA before driving inland. We visited Calico ghost town, drove up through Death Valley, drove through Yosemite, visited Lake Tahoe, stayed in San Francisco for a few days, drove back down to LA, stopping off and San Luis Obispo, ate a meal in the Madonna Inn, visited Disneyland and Universal studios in LA, then drove inland to Palm Springs for a couple of days before finishing off in San Diego.

We went for three weeks - the last twoo weeks of July and the first week of August. Weather wise Death Valley and Palm Springs were roasting, San Francisco was chilly, and everywhere else was lovely summer weather.

The only low points of the holiday were a sleepless night of aftershocks from an earthquake in Bishop, running into a deer in Yosemite, and South Lake Tahoe City which was tacky and seedy.

We are doing this in 2023 with our sons. We plan on hiring an RV for some of it. We aren't planning Grand Canyon or Vegas, we've done those separately (without the kids) that is a huge amount of driving on top of California, it's at least 4 hours to Vegas then another 4ish to GC.

I'm not sure if we'll have time to get to San Fran as that's north of the state and there's a lot we want to see to the south and middle of the state, but haven't properly planned the route yet.

Ha, we also did a roadtrip for our honeymoon in September, are you my DH Vanillaradio?!!

We also did 3 weeks, and spent time in San Francisco which was fab as pp's have said, then drove to yosemitie, through death valley, then to area 13 and the extraterrestrial highway, around thd grand canyon, past horseshoe bend (google it, it honestly does look like that in real life) , the metero crater, the hoover dam, and then finished in Vegas. There are loads of family friendly stuff to do there, the cirque shows are astounding!

Yes to the ghost towns, we went to rholyte at dusk and it was like something out a movie. I loved the extraterrestrial highway, its just very quirky and we did the drive up to the 'real' gate of area 51. Not sure how real it all is, but its a fun trip. Theres also a clown motel if you are into that sort of thing, its fun in a creepy way. DH refused to stay there!

We did a 3 week road trip with two kids, 10 and 14. It was fabulous but hectic and often hours in the car. We flew into San Fran and out of LA, we stayed a few days in SF, did Alcatraz etc. then onto Yosemite for a few days, did stops in Monterey for whale watching and the aquarium, Santa Monica for a bit of downtime and the pier, Carmel, drove the Big Sur, stayed at Pebble Beach and did the 17 Mile, 2 days in Disney, La for the Hollywood sign, universal studios etc. Malibu, then drove to Grand Canyon National park and did the helicopter tour of the grand canyon, hoover dam and then spent the last two nights in Vegas. It would have been easier to fly direct home from Vegas but for some reason we didn't and had to drive back to LA.

If you are planning any stays in the National Parks, you should reserve at least 12 months in advance.

Road trip there was one of my best holidays, maybe the best. Went in 2008 for 10 days, started in San Francisco, then Nappa valley, on to Yosemite, then stayed in a charming little town called Bishop, then on to Death Valley, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, Sedona, then on to San Diego and finally LA. It was amazing and I hope to do it again some day, maybe when kids a bit older and will go for longer, we drove a lot, more time would have been nice, but it was fun seeing all that amazing big open country in the car too.

We also took a little detour to Route 66.

I love San Francisco! I’d love to live there if I could ever afford it. San Diego is gorgeous too. Yosemite is not as good as Yellowstone in my opinion, there’s not a lot of visible wildlife. Las Vegas is an experience! Santa Monica is lovely, but Los Angeles is a bit of a disappointment.

We did San Fran for a few days and went to Alcatraz, highly recommend. The cable cars also fun and there’s lots to do.

We drove to yosemite and stayed in a ski resort (it’s quite cheap in the summer months) but lovely and had lots of nature walks. Watch out it’s still quite chilly in May / June time, we needed coats.

Drove to Las Vegas and stayed a few days. It was more than enough to see a show, walk the strip have a few meals etc. Instead of driving to the Grand Canyon we took a helicopter tour from Las Vegas and would definitely recommend.

Then drove to LA and stayed a bit longer so we could lounge by the pool, go to Disney / universal etc.

I dream of doing this.
Op there are also amazing threads in travel section on this.

People who have done it, is the drive safe? Are the roads good, or tight and windy and scary?

• how much did people spend on this trip? 10 grand enough??

Thank you all so much for the tips. I’m going to get my notebook out and start planning. I’m excited already for 2023!

No one thinks it’s too much for a ten year old do they?

Has anyone ever done any white water rafting or canoeing in any of the parks?

I didn’t realise there was a travel section. Do you think I should get this moved to get more traffic? The more ideas for me the better

@Puttingouthefirewithgasoline most roads are pretty safe and very straight. There were a few going from Yosemite to Las Vegas (across Death Valley) that were very windy and definitely got the hairs on the back of my neck up! The lack of petrol stations was also a bit of shock, from memory it was over 100miles to the next petrol station so that’s a good tip to make sure you have a enough gas between stations!

@Puttingouthefirewithgasoline Our cost was definitely less than 10 grand probably closer to 5-6k but that was two adults

I think I'm the only person who finds Sqn Francisco a big fat, grubby disappointment! Been twice and each time felt overcharged and underwhealmed. That said, Berkley is fun to wander around. I would say LA if you research neighbourhoods is a far more satisfying experience - proper grit and diversity. Been 30 years since I visited but a friend who lives there raves about Japan and Korea Town
I found Yosemite too crowded. National Parks are brilliant but not when everyone is funnelled down the same tight valley. Yellowstone was excellent tho. The desert National Parks are brilliant. Book accommodation in the parks nice and early - I recommend tented accommodation for the excitement of being close to bears!

Op ld keep thread here but also Google check out travel section on this.

Thank you Mrs Darwin

Santa Barbara & Carmel by the Sea - both gorgeous, and such a welcome, peaceful contrast from SF & LA.

We did this with our kids, very memorable trip. My top tip was look on google maps for your route and add in some stuff to do en en route. We spotted a zip lining place just off the road we'd be on, and emailed them to book that for a stop off, was ace!
Also look at things offered by the hotels eg we had a torchlight hike and campfire in Yosemite. The aquarium at Monterey bay was the best I've ever seen.

San Diego. We were lucky and stayed at the Del - the hotel del Coronado, where Some Like it Hot was filmed. Cocktails
On the Deck are a must. Kids welcome