Another California itinerary question please!

[olimpia]

Hi!
We're planning a fly drive to west USA for beginning of August as follows:
3 nights SFO
2 nights Yosemite
1 night Death Valley
2 nights Las Vegas
2 nights Grand Canyon

And then a big question mark! We want to visit LA and Hollywood and do the theme parks (traveling with DSs aged 8 and 10 years). So where to stay? We would like a beach location not too far from the parks and all of the above. I've been looking at Huntington beach. Any good?
Finally we'll also be traveling with DS3 who will only be 6 months at the time. Is it reckless of us to take him through the desert in August?
TIA!

Have you thought about the Monterey aquarium? It's spectacular. Oh, and if at all possible, get a helicopter ride into the canyon. Wooohooo!! We did a road trip for our honeymoon, although I saw more toilets than I was planning, being twelve wks pregnant at the time and rather ill. wonderful though! We saw a bear mooching about at the side of the road in yosemeti, and humongous elephant seals near Big Sur. Ahhhh. Wel jel, as they say!

Just make sure you are carrying the correct amount of water for going through the desert etc.

How many days are you planning?.

Have you secured accommodation for Yosemite?.

I would rethink both Grand Canyon and Death Valley particularly in August.

You're driving an awful lot in terms of distance as well, CA is a vast state. The distance between Las Vegas and Los Angeles can equate to around 4/5 hours of driving. You do not want to spend a lot of your precious holiday time driving from place to place; also the children could become bored and fractious.

The distance between Las Vegas and Los Angeles is about the same as driving from London to Lake Windermere.

Hi, thanks for the suggestions. We have 3 weeks to spare and we don't mind the driving at all but I'm rethinking the Death Valley and grand Canyon bit because I the heat. Actually that's the bit I was looking forward to the most but I can't risk the baby having a heat stroke. His health is more important!
So this morning I've rethought the plans and was thinking of San Diego, LA + theme parks, Monterey, Yosemite and SFO.
Any thoughts? How long would you spend in each destination?

Death valley will be very very hot, your vehicle will be air conditioned though so it shouldn't be a problem as you won't want to be out of it for long, if you break down though ...
Best time for the Grand canyon is to watch the sunrise - not hot at dawn. If you haven't booked accommodation there and Yosemite, you may be too late.
That is quite a long route; you may find the driving is more tiring than you think as a lot of it is not freeway. We did almost exact same route it when we only had one DD and were exhausted but happy at the end. As to the LA hotel We stayed near the airport so can t help.

X post. Never been to San Diego and apart from theme parks for DCs LA does not appeal. I would happily spend a week in each of LA,for parks; a week in Yosemite and a week in SF. if it wasnt for DCs I would just do the last two. Get welll away from the crowds in the village in Yosemite though.

Where are you flying into? And out of? Will make a big difference to your itinerary if you can fly into LA and out from SF rather than having to double back on yourself to go back to LA at the end. Or the other way round.

I'll second the recommendation of Monterey Bay Aquarium. Awesome. Also Carmel and driving along Big Sur.

Santa Barbara is a lovely town with a good beach.

I wouldn't build in too much travelling really. Maybe play it a bit by ear. Book the busy bits in advance though (eg Yosemite).

We're doing something very similar, also in August. We're flying into SF, then the next day driving out to Yosemite for 2 nights (have booked accommodation already - filling up fast - weekends already full at the place I want to stay, hence going straight there and doing SF at the end of the trip) We're going to do some wandering about hiking and white-water rafting over 3 days. Then we're going to Mammoth Lakes (horse-riding and cycling - apparently you can get the gondola up the mountian and cycle down! Yay!) We'll maybe stay 3 nights as we have friends with a condo there. Then we'll head back to the coast - Monterey/Carmel and drive down the PCH towards LA, taking 2-3 days to stop and wander. Then we have3-4 days in LA (friends there) and will do all the touristy stuff. We then fly back to SF and will spend the last 2-3 days there before flying home.

We ditched the idea of Death Valley and Grand Canyon (have no interest at all in LV) as simply too hot. Both DH and I have been before and although I'd love the kids to see them it's also just too far to travel.

Cannot wait.
Off to do some more research on accommodation/things to do. Need to book the rafting...

Thanks folks! I've booked the WHOLE trip today. Here's it:
Arrive SFO - 4 nights
Yosemite - 2 nights ( there was no more availability)
Monterey - 2 nights
LA (Huntington beach) 7 nights
San Diego 5 nights
Thumbs up?

Have a great time. Ivebdone the first half bof your trip but not the second. Look out for sea otters on the Monterey peninsula, they are the cutest things ever, apart from your own kids asleep. Come back and tell us all about it.

Im so jealous! We are saving for a dream trip to California but it wont be for a few years yet!

Who did you book it with olimpia and how are you travelling between places?

Dunno about olimpia but we're going DIY. Booked flights on internet independently and will do same for carhire and hotels. Much cheaper that way I reckon and we retain control over our itinerary. Am spending a huge amount of time researching stuff on the laptop - it's fun!
Using credit card for bookings, just in case anyone goes bust (and we have good insurance).

We've done exactly that, too, clam

DIY is definitely the way to go to save cash and get exactly what you want regarding where to go and when.

We booked cheapo flights to LAX months ago and have now hired a car to be collected the morning after we arrive.

We have worked out a route for our trip and booked accommodation because we are travelling over a public holiday weekend and have been warned by some lovely mumsnetters that it gets very busy.

As for research on what to see and do while we are there, thank goodness for the internet!

Now we have entered the big countdown... and it's all becoming very exciting!

Does anyone have any tips as to things we must pack for a trip like this? Beach towels, rucksacks, obviously, but although we'll be in hotels and lodges (and staying with friends) much of the time, we will also be eating on the hoof as well. Want to keep luggage to a reasonable minimum, so are basic picnic-type things useful or could we get by?

duck we're going DIY too. I did ask for a couple of quotes but they were outrageous, especially Virgin Holidays!
We're hiring a car to go around. The latest plan is to flight into San Francisco and leave from San Diego with 4 or 5 stops. I'm booking the hotels through Trip Advisor recommendations and phoning the hotels directly if in doubt about anything. I'm booking all the hotels in advance because I want to know that we're staying un good accommodation. I'm putting everything on a credit card and hopefully I should be able to pay it all off before interest accrues with the money that's funding the trip (pay in lieu of DH's mini sabbatical).
I'd be very interested in knowing what to take with us too...

I'd buy things like towels when you get here. Find a walmart and buy cheap bathroom towels and donate them once you are done. You might want to buy a cooler for the car too to hold food and snacks for the journeys. There is not much around Yosemite or in the central valley to buy food.

If it isn't too late to cancel, you might like to use a couple of those days in L.A. actually in Santa Barbara and the area around it (e.g. Solvang). It is much much nicer there than L.A. IMO and a good stopping point between Monterey and L.A and it will give you the chance to do Big Sur if you want.

Driving with a 6 month old might be a complete nightmare, you want to build in plenty of stops and/or travel at night.

You'll have a brilliant time and you'll start saving the second you get home to do the Grand Canyon one day.

DH and I went out to Vegus (which is actually fun in a totally OTT way) and flew out to the Canyon, it is amazing.

However your itinerary is much more suitable for DCs. The drive across the desert was long and any stops very hot, even in late May. We went to the Hoover Dam and the heat in the car park was something else.

Flying to the canyon is expensive, we did the whole trip in very cheap motels to afford it. We booked too late to drive out to the canyon, there is very very little accommodation. The sight seeing flight is very bumpy especially coming back. They use small planes and the heat causes turbulence, I think it would make 8 and 10 year olds feel sick and scared if they had only been on a jumbo.

(I actually like Dad Horse Point in UT a lot better than the Grand Canyon -- but then I also liked Lassen better than Yosemite, so what do I know?!?)

startail I bet the children would be fine with the flight but I would definitely be petrified! I've since discovered that the hotel un Death Valley (furnace creek?) doesnt even have air con! Not a brill idea in August with a baby and over 100 F temperatures!
What's nice about Solvang?

it is a bit touristy, but it is quaint with timbered buildings and is famous for pastries, nice to walk around for an afternoon. Next to it is Los Olivos which has wineries and a lavender farm. Santa Barbara is a pretty place to spend a weekend and have dinner and go to the beach and walk around the shops.

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Furnace Creek does have aircon! We were there in August, it was 114 at 6 o'clock in the eve. I wouldn't want to do it with a baby tbh. Fantastic experience for older ones though. We did most of your route, drove SF to Yosemite then Death Valley, then Vegas. We then rented an RV and drove up to Bryce Canyon in Utah and stayed on a ranch with a pool, horse riding etc. Brilliant holiday. You'll have an amazing time. We bought picnic stuff in Walmart, a cooler etc.

Thank you for the tips!

Thanks olimpia and clam, I know DIY will be the cheapest way to do it, just so nervous as complete novices, visions of mucking it all up! But I do enjoy the planning stage!

Come back and let us know how it all went Olimpia

For example do you hire all the cars before you go? Never hired a car before abroad never mind America (well apart from a spur of the moment thing on Crete years back from a dodgy shop

I take it you need a credit card but how much avaliable credit do you need to cover what they ask for?