California for a week in October

[ginforall]

We've managed to get some pretty cheap flights to LA for October. There will be me, my husband and two kids (11 yr old and 6 yr old). I don't want to spend the whole week, or really much more than a day or 2 in LA having been before and not finding it particularly exciting. So I was hoping to ask if anyone has any advice over the following ideas:

1. LA - Joshua Tree NP - San Diego (positives here not too much driving, never been to these places before, negatives - joshua tree a little boring?)

1. LA - Yosemite - San Fran - back along coast to LA (DH is keen on Yosemite, I've been before and loved it, but I'm worried this is too much to try and do in one week)

1. LA - Vegas (for an afternoon) - Grand Canyon (couple of days) - Joshua Tree (for an afternoon) - South of LA beach relaxing kinda place (big draw here is the grand canyon, but again a lot of driving, 6 hours I think, but would leave early in the morning spend some time in Vegas/Joshua Tree to break up the driving)

I'm not against doing a fair bit of driving - we like to try and cram a lot into our holidays and make the most of the time we have.

So if you were me, what would you do? Any advice or tips very welcome. Thank you!

Number 1 very doable but you seem a bit more adventurous than that.
Number 2 is too much in one week. You’ll spend the whole time regretting that you have to leave places before you are done there.

I’ve done a version of number 3
From LAX drive to Palm Springs for an afternoon, then spend a day at Joshua Tree (staying north of the park). The drive to Vegas from their is incredible. Much more impressive than taking the highway direct from LA. Then Vegas to Grand Canyon via Hoover Dam. [We then carried on but we had 3 weeks to fill]. I think you could get back to LA with two days of driving quite comfortably. You should be able to do it all so long as your “week” is closer to 8 days than 6.

Joshua Tree isn’t very varied but there are some cool hikes your 6 yr old should be able to manage if you get a guide leaflet at the park entrance. We hiked to an oasis in the desert.
Also, one full day should be fine at the Grand Canyon. You won’t be able to hike down it (although there are some walks along the top of the rim). You don’t need a couple of days to appreciate the view.

Thanks both. Thinking an out and back to Grand Canyon with some stopping along the way might be the best shout. Just think the Grand Canyon would be iconic for the boys. So maybe 2 nights in LA to get our bearings, get up early and drive to Vegas, grab food and mooch around a hotel or two, then drive to Grand Canyon (to get there late) stay for 2 nights (one full day to have a look around) then leave early stop off at Joshua Tree to explore. Then on to spend he last three nights South of LA at a beach (any recommendations? I've not been south of LA before).

Haha the posts above were both me wittering on!

I like Laguna Beach/Dana Point. You can go whale watching from the marina at Dana Point and there is a little beach you can hire paddle boards etc. Laguna Beach has some cool shops and a hippie vibe.

Hopefully some other people will post too if I keep bumping it with my opinions!

Me again 😀

I think your itinerary is too cramped.
LA - Grand Canyon via Vegas in one day and Grand Canyon - SoCal via JT in one day are both very optimistic and you’ll be whizzing past so much cool stuff.

Huntington Beach is a good one for a walk around and there's an old style diner on the pier. Lots of surfers to watch too.

Seal Beach is massive and a great beach for wave jumping, we had an amazing day there. But you have to pay for parking and there's no shops/beach bars, so you have to take food and drink with you.

Newport Beach is great for a mooch around, there's a beach bar between Laguna Beach and Costa Mesa that does amazing milkshakes and burgers that is fun at sunset. Crystal Cove Beach Shack.

Long Beach (2nd Street Area) has lots of restaurants and the canal system is fab to hire a Duffy boat.

I wouldn't recommend Venice beach, it's a real tip, but if you are desperate for a visit (we were) I'd only go for an hour or so.

Catalina island is a good day out too, but may be a bit much for your younger one, probably better with older kids.

Old town in LA is interesting for a couple of hours and a drive up the hills to see the Hollywood sign is worth it. You can do a tour too, but we just drove up and stopped at a viewing point.

Thanks ArfArfBarf - can see that the posts were yours now - thanks for all your help. I can see that it would be a bit of a rush. Should maybe plan a stop off each way and not worry about the few days at the end. A little put off by saying in a different hotel each night with the boys though - I realise we're trying to be a bit ambitious with just the one week. Want to make the most of the week without tying to cram too much in, which is why I considered the 1st option of LA-JT-SD as it seemed more realistic.

Thanks for all the beach suggestions afromum, I've been to venice beach before and it wasn't my favourite. I would like to ride the rollercoaster on santa moncia pier with the boys though . Will check out some of the other places you mentioned. Not sure the weather will be up to much in October? So whilst I'd like some beach time if possible don't wan to rely on spending too much time there.

Santa Monica Pier is a good option too, DS and DSD liked that, we went in August and it was still quiet even then. They did the roller coaster 4 times 🤢 you can get a wrist band, or buy bulk tickets.

San Diego is great if you do decide to go there. We loved it. It's doable in a day from LA. There's the Zoo, the Medway (navy aircraft carrier) museum is amazing and there's a park with a small theme park and beach (roller coaster a bit like the Santa Monica one and a few other rides) the place is called Belmont Park.

I haven't been to Joshua Tree, but my parents have, they liked it, but I think for younger kids a day would be enough. Although I think there might be some ranch type places out that way. Parents went to Death Valley too, (in January though - not sure of the heat in October). That's pretty much scenery too, but an interesting thing to see.

I think there might be some old Wild West ghost towns out that way too, but not sure where.

We always stay air bnb when we go, the hotels are a bit hit and miss, it's difficult to tell what type of area they are in, but it's nice to have a home from home. A hot tub is nice in the 'colder' months when the beach is less of an option.

I have been to most of those places in recent yrs, with kids of similar ages.

What would you actually DO at G-Canyon? It's a very long way to go to just look at it. Other than ride rollercoasters, I'm not sure how you interact with these places. To explain myself, I go on 5 hour hikes. But your 6yo will be too young, right? So do you just drive around, mooch in the gift shop, eat somewhere with a nice view? I'm not sure what normal people do.

Personally, I didn't find Yosemite that amazeballs. I liked the Tatra mtns in Poland as much or better, for instance.

JT: supposed to have suffered a lot of damage due to the Fed Govt shutdown. Do you like deserts? I love them, but they are acquired taste. And what folk do tends to be hanging out... might bore socks off you.

ps: SD would have a huge amount to offer for kids ages yours are. The Midway gets better every time I go. Star of India, the Russian Subs right next door, too.

We didn’t like San Diego at all. Greatly overrated we felt. Tacky and nothing very wonderful.

We have happily spent time in and around LA. It has the Getty Centre which is amazing,It also has Mulholland Drive and Bel Air with Paramount Studios nearby, The Max Factor Factory is worth the effort and so are trips to the Getty Villa at Malibu, Santa Monica, Santa Barbara Mission, Highway 1, and also go out to Pasadena. The Huntington Gallery, Library and Gardens are superb. There is a great car museum out there too. All of these don’t require a huge amount of driving and will last you a week.

I took a GC helicopter tour from Vegas (pick up from most hotels)
It was amazing - we (my adult DD and I) were in a heli with a dad and his two kids (similar ages to yours) and they were sooo excited.
You fly over the Hoover dam and the South rim, and then land at the bottom of the Canyon for a picnic lunch.
Really recommend it (pm me if you want to know the name of the tour we took )

You could do more up and down the coast - San Diego and/or Hearst Castle. Vegas is just too far for a week. Don't be like those Americans who do Yuurop in a week.

You wouldn't fancy Disney or any of the theme parks? Your kids are probably the ideal age.

Our kids are similar in age and we are in the middle of a similar trip. We decided to limit the travelling around; while there is amazing scenery and an abundance of national parks in California, our kids actually don't enjoy the long drive as much as we would.

We have had longer here than you will have but spent a few days at the start in Carlsbad and did legoland, the botanic gardens, safari park and amazing beaches, especially to watch the sunset. We have since moved south to San Diego itself and we are renting an Airbnb. We plan to visit the zoo, as well as some of the other museums around balboa park. We have a day back in Santa Monica at the end before we catch your flights back.

We have found it to be a really relaxing and fun holiday, I think the climate around San Diego is almost the same all year round, so probably likely to be sunny and pleasant. We would come back again and haven't missed the exploring we have done in the past when we didn't have the kids...

If you are making the trip to the Grand Canyon, try to fit Bryce Canyon in as well - I loved it and there's some lovely little hikes down
(....must admit I'd hoon it straight out of LA; hit Vegas for a night then spend 4-5 nights doing Zion-Bryce- Grand; then go back along Route 66 but this probably too much road trip and not enough holiday for your needs).

Thank you so much everyone for all the suggestions. Lots for me to look into and research. As a family we like to get out and see stuff, the boys are pretty good with travelling and walking, just need to get the balance right. I've been to LA, a lot of North Cali, Vegas, Grand Canyon etc before which is why San Diego and the south were options, it's nice to go somewhere new. Thinking this might be the best option to go for.

San Diego zoo really is great!
Have fun

Oh yes San Diego zoo is excellent - we spent the day there. They have a honey badger and everyfing.

Oh and the Museum of Man is fabulous!
www.museumofman.org/

They've got a Monsters exhibit which your boys would like, I'm sure, and a great exhibition on Race, which we found fascinating.
Avoid the Cannibal exhibit - it's very interesting but not for kids!

I’ve done the helicopter trip over the grand cabin and also taken a boat trip and the boat trip was good fun. Joshua tree is good but wouldn’t spend a huge amount of time, Hoover damn was interesting. Loved Santa Monitor Pier if only for the movie connections. We had a lovely meal at Balboa Island and watched Dolphins and Whales in the sea. Worth a trip if you have time, not sure when Dolphin are passing by though.