San Fran to vegas trip of a lifetime with a toddler, desperate for advice

[Nipo]

Hi

I have just booked our dream holiday and after reading loads of posts and recommendations I'm feeling slightly frazzled and would love some advice..

We fly in to San Fran on 26th April and out of vegas on the 11th may. I was thinking it would be a quite time post spring break, however it appears that its one of the best times to visit Yosemite national park....

I was thinking the following, based on research and reading forums

26/27 - Maker hotel San Fran (we have been here before)
28 - motel?
29/30 - evergreen lodge or Tenaya lodge
1- motel en route
2 -monterey
3 -monterey
4/5 - anaheim disney
6/7 - san diego
8 - motel en route
9/10/11 - vegas - mgm grand or venetian

Is this crazy in terms of driving?
Can i risk not booking hotels for every night with a toddler?
Is it a massive loss not doing the grand canyon?
Am i missing out not staying in yosemite national park vs just outside and do i need to book now as now panicked won't get a room if leave it later?

I was going to book my vegas hotel with the smarter vegas link

any advice would be so greatly appreciated...

thank you so much

I wasn't going to reply to this as I didn't drive between those places but as no one else has replied, it might need a bump anyway!

um, re driving, from what I know your San Fran to Monterey route seems fine.

I would always book motels though, that's just me. I couldn't bear the idea of having nowhere to stay in case of anything being fully booked and you have a toddler.

speaking of which...I love Vegas but we did notice quite a few bored toddlers. It could be that there's stuff for kids which we didn't notice but I remember thinking it an odd choice. You will have your buggy I presume, but you will walk very long distances just to get from A to B in the hotels, as they direct you through the casinos. Then keep in mind you will see big promotional trailers advertising prostitutes etc.

The Grand Canyon is wonderful. But if you think you will ever go back, then don't worry - I went to Vegas once on a similar trip (combining different places) and because I only had 2 days in Vegas I didn't do the GC but did it the next time. So you could do it next time when DC older and more likely to enjoy it?

I'd pick the Venetian over the Grand myself but i wasn't well off enough to stay at either, sadly!

Do you need to stop over for the night of the 28th? I would go straight from San Francisco to Yosemite in one day. It is a four hour journey which you could break somewhere along the way. The roads in California are good, we've always found driving easier than home for long journeys.

If it were me I would not do the Las Vegas part (but you have probably booked your flight back from there). It is quite a marmite place, we did not like it at all, but many people do. What are you planning to do there if not the Grand Canyon ?

If you are not too fussy and you are planning to stop in reasonable sized places I think you will be fine not booking. We book in high summer when we have children with us but in the past we have trusted to luck and its been fine.

OP you have Universal Studios on your LA list I hope?

Your toddler will love the Bellagio fountains and Cesar's Palace roof paintings!

wow...thank you, this is all great. Ive thought that about vegas but my husband really wanted to go and the flights are booked now.

Def going to take the advice and go straight to Yosemite vs stopping on route. I also hear there is a sea world as well as universal studios so think i may look at staying in anaheim a little longer too now.

madamdeathstare thanks for all the links can't wait to check them all out, I'm super excited...hopefully i can get a deal at the venetian nearer the time as currently way too expensive to book now

OK just come back from a similar route. We drove straight from San Fran to Yosemite. To be honest didn't see anywhere worth stopping on the way and journey fine so would go straight there. We stayed in the park but didn't really feel it was worth the expense and next time would stay out. Also the journey to Monteray is fine so don't think you need the motel on the 1st but I would stop off between Monteray and Disney especially if you are doing the Big Sur as it is a slow road. San Diego is fab for young children I would increase my time there. Also agree Vegas is not ideal for young children but there would be enough there to keep them entertained for a couple of days . You will have a fab time

Great ...so i now have...Gosh i wish i had a week longer theres so much more i want to pack in

26-28 San Fran
29-30 - Tenaya lodge just outside Yosemite
1-2 - Monterey - looking at Monterey tides, although currently saying no rooms available
3 -- XX somewhere en route? Any recommendations??
4-6 - Anaheim
7 - San Diego
8 - somewhere en route ?? Any recommendations??
9-11 Vegas

Evergreen Lodge is brilliant. We stayed there with our two year old (and 8 week old) a couple of years ago at Easter. I've also stayed in the park itself pre-kids and would prefer to stay at Evergreen Lodge again.

I agree that Monterey-Anaheim would have been an epic drive. The traffic in LA can make a HUGE difference to how long it can take to travel through.

Will you go past Palm Springs or Joshua Tree NP between San Diego and Vegas? Either would make good stop overs if they split the journey well.

We've also stayed at the Best Western San Simeon (near Hearst Castle and the elephant seals) between Monterey and Anaheim and would recommend but it may not be far enough south to be worth stopping.

Thanks Applemagic i will look at those two options, i was clueless as to where to think about stopping on that drive or where to start looking

Ive provisionally booked the abrego in Monterey given quite a few top hotels seem to be fully booked already and it seems very well rated.

Do you think santa Barbra is worth staying ??

Santa Barbara is a nice small town. Cute high street with interesting/reasonably upmarket shops and a nice beach. I'll be honest, I found it a bit boring but I wasn't that keen on Monterey either and lots of people love it there.

Thanks for the link to the children's garden at the Huntington, I've added that to our list.

We're doing LA to San Fran in September, but we're just taking it easy and not doing Vegas or Yosemite, as we'll have our 2 year old DD with us. We've pre-booked hotels using booking.com, great as we've been able to chop and change a couple of times as our plans have changed.

My main concern is the flight though, I've already started stashing things away for entertainment!

Wow madonna inn looks crazy ..totally going to have to sell my husband on it but my 2.5yr old would love it!think jousting she's a bit young for but the volcanoe would be a big hit..ive heard somewhere there are lions too

Carmel looks nice. Ventura is lovely. I stayed over night in bishop when driving from San Fran to Vegas.

Malibu is gorgeous and there is an amazing restaurant called paradise cove on the beach which does great food and you can celeb spot too.

How far would you say madonna inn is from Anaheim as Google maps is saying 5hours yet it's also saying 5hrd from Monterey and this seems mid point

I did Yosemite and Grand Canyon in the same holiday and much preferred Yosemite. That may have been down to the fact that we did t go into the canyon and just saw it from the edge. Yosemite was amazing and I would love to go back.

Think I may scratch San diego off my list and add la instead vs just Anaheim ...given we will do SF zoo and aquarium and poss seaworld