Please critique my California Road Trip plan and save me from myself...

[Greeper]

We have two weeks and 3 kids 7,9,11. Plan is to fly to San Fran, 3 nights Alcatraz and hopefully recover a bit, then pick up a car and drive to edge of Yosemtite for 2 nights, not sure what to do here but a bit of gentle hiking, maybe kayaking. Then drive back across to Monterey and one night here, down the pacific highway stopping at two motels somewhere, TBC, and arriving into Holywood for 3 nights. We want to do universal possibly, not sure. Then death valley for a night and on to Vegas with two nights here. Possibly helicopter trip, if I can make myself do it (slightly terrified). Is this just too much? Or can we do it and still have fun? What would you ditch and what would you add? TIA mners

Thanks all, I did fear it was all a bit ambitious and exhausting. I haven't actually had a call back from my tour planners American Sky...getting a bit frustrated with their lack of effort to take my money TBH
I am in a dilemma about whether to divert and do San Diego instead or Nevada but not sure when we would come back and see Vegas and the canyon..is there enough left over to justify another trip?
Also dithering about which car type to go for..a mini van sounds much too chunky but that's what we have been offered..
Can anyone recommend a. Another tour planner. B what car we should have and c a 2 week itinerary that won't flatten us?
wondering if actually all things considered we should delay and go in October...

I would do Vegas another time as a separate thing with Grand Canyon etc.

We’ve had to do it back to front due to availability of flights, so staying at San Diego first and then travelling up the coast to San Francisco.

Yet to finalise details, but so far we’ve booked 2 nights in SAN Diego and then I’m thinking we’ll do 2 nights in LA, wing it in some dodgy motels up the coastal road to Monterey for a few days, then Yosemite (there’s a casino hotel on the outskirts of Yosemite which might be a good mini-Vegas alternative!!) and then onto San Fran for a couple of days to fly home.

I’m up for leaving the middle bit to chance as it will depend how we get on with all the driving, whether anywhere is more/less interesting than we expect etc so trying to be a bit spontaneous. Hope I don’t regret it!

It’s jusy me and DP though - would be harder with kids to worry about too.

Yes, does make a difference to the overall planning hassle ..i would love to think we could play it by ear and pitch up at motels but it is just such a palaver trying to fit the 3 in..we tried in France and nearly slept in layby..never again

I booked the accommodation in advance, but left the day’s itinerary open. I would recommend booking the accommodation on highway 1 in advance. It’s not exactly populated with dodgy motels, it’s an affluent part of the world and there’s a whole section (big sur) where accommodation is limited to camping pretty much.

We stayed in a number of ‘basic and clean’ places that I’d say were worth a repeat stay if you’re watching cost. lovers point inn in Pacific grove was fine and we could cycle to Monterey or the other way to Asilomar. Although I was slightly sorry we hadn’t opted to stay at the hotel/conference centre there. We had a look around and it’s a unique place.

We stayed at San Luis Obispo but that might be of less interest to families - university and wine town! However there’s a very cute coastline with Avila and pismo beach plus the famous Madonna Inn.

In Santa Barbara we had a bit of a splurge and stayed in Marina Point Inn.

Definitely two trips. If we (when we!) return i’d do an Arizona/ Utah loop taking in Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce Canyon.

Car wise we had a jeep Cherokee which was fine for the 2 of us. We opted for ‘midsize suv’ and picked it from the lot. ALL cars are chunky. Our jeep Cherokee looked dinky in comparison to other cars! I don’t think the mini van is a bad option tbh. If you do hire, buy in advance. Get collision damage waiver, unlimited miles and we got a free additional driver. We used alamo for car hire.

“The drive from San Francisco to Yosemite is dull” . It really isn’t. I thought it was one of the most amazing road trips ever. The scenery in Yosemite and Death Valley was breathtaking.

I drove from SF setting off at 5am so that I could see sunrise in Yosemite, stayed overnight in Bishop (which has an amazing bakery), then drive into Vegas.

Had 3 days in Vegas then drove to LA and stayed there for 4 days, did Hollywood, universal studios, Malibu, Santa Monica.

Then drove back up to SF and spent two days there. Did Alcatraz and the pier.

Ten days wasn’t enough as I would have loved to see more.

Two weeks would be perfect.

We're doing the first half of your trip (SF to Yosemite to Monterey) and can't wait! I've booked mine through a travel consultant called Thesassyexplorer (I saw her on facebook) and she's been fab, was great at first when I knew I wanted to fly to SF (I'd seen cheap BA flights!!!) but didn't really know the area so she really helped put an itinerary together but was happy to change anything or answer questions I had.

@crispbuttyno1 the most direct route drive from San Francisco to Yosemite went through a lot of boring mono agriculture. It does get amazing in the hills. The drive from Yosemite, over the tioga pass and back down the eastern Sierra, down highway 395 is freaking amazing BUT op is going in April and tioga pass is likely not open.

We spent 3 weeks going Las Vegas > Death Valley>mammoth lakes> tioga pass > yosemite> Sonora > San Francisco > Pacific grove/Monterey> San Luis Obispo> Santa Barbara> Palm Springs > Grand Canyon > Las Vegas. Some places we spent a couple of nights, and stopped off en route where things appealed. I actually ended up wishing for more mountains and desert than coast, but that’s what return trips are for. Turns out I love mountains! I think the closest I’ll get to that kind of alpine scenery in Europe is Switzerland/ Slovenia and the Julian alps. But they don’t have deserts.... I think when we return i’d love to either go back up the 395 and see some more things (petrified forest national park, mono lake, Lake Tahoe) or do the Bryce Canyon etc arizona loop.

Central California is flat and agricultural and it lies between San Francisco and the mountains. Leaving very early in the morning to hit the mountains mid morning in a good idea.
We fed several road trips with two children, camping so me had a lot of luggage. We found that a minivan gave a lot more space than a SUV. We still laugh about the Chevy Tahoe that was the size of a bus on the outside and a mini on the inside.

We have been to California twice - did one trip to the south and one to the north, as felt two weeks for both would be too much for us and Dd (14y the first time, 16 the second)

South trip:

3 nights - Las Vegas
7 nights - Santa Monica (went to Santa Barbara, Hollywood, Universal Studios, Warner Bros studio tour, etc)
3 nights - Disneyland
1 night - Las Vegas

We flew in and out of Vegas as it was a huge difference in flight prices! It's a long but very easy drive.

North trip:

4 nights - San Francisco (inc trip to Alcatraz)
1 night - Six Flags theme park
2 nights - Napa
1 night - Sacramento
2 nights - originally was Yosemite but it was cancelled due to fires so we stayed in Santa Cruz (booked 2 nights before whilst away)
4 nights - Monterey

On the north trip we picked a car up after San Francisco. We flew in and out of Oakland airport as it was much cheaper and not much difference in taxi prices.

Thank you wonderful people. This is just so brilliant, and so so confusing...I am now at peak dither.
Think I need to contact your sassy lady

I can see why you'd want to book your accommodation along the way but you don't really need an agency these days do you?
(Remembers fondly the days when you did and an agent nearly booked flights to the wrong country having not heard of the one she was going to... Ah happy days...)

@drspouse I never thought an agent was needed either but I priced the holiday myself (using mid range hotels to get a rough idea) and found my person was cheaper and also because you book it as a package, you're fully protected with ABTA in case something went wrong. This felt like a much scarier holiday then the usual Europe type all inclusive holiday i'm used to!

Ah now I'd never do an all inclusive - we only ever do this type of book your own self-catering or road trip type thing.

I’d take out LA/Hollywood. LA is frigging awful ..... I’ve never seen so many homeless, mentally unwell people. It’s so very sad and frightening actually. If you go on trip advisor you will see countless accounts from people trying to walk down Hollywood boulevard and basically being accosted or worse assaulted. The only decent bits are the beaches - Laguna, Santa Monica et al so if you are driving the Pacific coast you’ll see plenty of beach - stay away from LA.

Vegas is great - I really wasn’t expecting to enjoy it at all but I did. The Grand Canyon was hands down the most amazing sight I’ve ever experienced. Helicopter ride (south rim not west rim which is of a bit of a con and not really the canyon) essential!

SF was great but it’s bloody cold!! Beware!
Alcatraz was very interesting- much more than I thought it would be but gets booked up MONTHS in advance. I’d be booking now (although you should probably check
What happens if they are still in shut down)

Travel company - I wouldn’t bother. We booked flights and a car with BA and airB&B so we could have apartments with two bedroom (DS is too old to be sharing a room with me!).
Away for 22 days and it cost 7.5K for 2 adults & 1 teenager.

Have fun - we loved it 😄

The Tioga Pass is rarely open before the end of May.
I used to wonder why they couldn't keep it open by ploughing, as they do in ski resorts, but it's nearly 80 miles long!
You can see it being ploughed at the end of the season here:

@Greeper I know it's bewildering but it's not too bad; google maps is great for planning routes and checking out things along the way, eg on our drive from San Fran to Yosemite we stopped at Yosemite zip lines which was absolutely brilliant; I'd booked it online and paid when we got there yosemiteziptours.com/zipline-tour/

You can only book Alcatraz up to 90 days before. However, you are advised to try and do it as soon as you can. We booked on the first day it was available to us - so exactly 90 days in advance.

Thank you so much everyone, it's really much appreciated. I am going to make a few callers tomorrow and then b*&$% well book it....when you are going this far you kind of feel like you have to cram everything in.. I keep having to remind myself it's meant to be a pleasure!

I'm so jealous. We did San Fran to LA last dinner and it was such a great trip. I want to do it again!
Be careful where you stay in SF. If you ask my kids what they think of it there they say sketchyWe stayed in Fisherman's Wharf in a good hotel and there were people shooting up outside at night.
Definitely don't stay in Hollywood for 3 nights. It's like staying right in Leicester Square and it's really grimy. We did one night there and it was plenty. We saw the usual sights and did universal. We splashed out and did the fast pass and it was totally worth it but we were there in July and only had one day.
Have you down Disney before? How old are the kids? My husband was a bit anti but I made him and it was the absolute highlight of our trip. 11, 9 and 7 year old DCs were prime for it and had an absolute ball. It's very manageable in two days and the fast pass you get on your phone for $10 means you don't really queue. And you don't have to book months in advance like Florida as you can only do it on the day. The Marriott across the road was brilliant and we got a ticket plus boyle deal on undercover tourist.
Have a great time whatever you choose.

And we all loved Alcatraz. Kids were facinated. Open top bus tour was great, especially the ride over the bridge, and then we got the boat back. My daughter was too small to cycle over but that and then the boat back would also be a good option.

I wouldn't bother with Las Vegas, it has nothing much to offer children. (My opinion, I know some people who love it)

I think Vegas is ok with kids for a couple of days . The themed hotel casinos are fun to look at, the hoover dam is bloody amazing to see, the buffets in Vegas are so awesome that it’s worth going just to eat at those! The pools at the hotels are brilliant (we stayed at the Mandalay bay which has its own manmade beach and lazy river)

A massive tip, if you are going to Vegas, go between Monday and Thursday as the hotel prices are ridiculously cheap. And I mean silly prices! I booked all our accommodations on our road trip through Booking.com and never had any problems at all.

I’m obviously completely out of step with most posters. We like wildlife, art galleries, iconic buildings and good restaurants. Not theme parks and tourist traps!

We like a mix BubblesBuddy.

So we liked the buildings and architecture around San Francisco, etc but also liked visiting Alcatraz and riding the tram.

We also really enjoyed the eco whale watching tour we did, and watching the sea otters, dolphins and seals swimming just off the coast. On the same trip we also enjoyed a visit to a theme park and a baseball game.

Likewise we were really looking forward to exploring some of Yosemite and we were disappointed to have it cancelled due to fires, but we made new last minute plans and enjoyed a trip to the beach resort and the old pier.

Its also a bit different when you are taking into account the likes, wants and needs of children on the same holiday.