Recommendations for a west coast US road-trip

[shiningcuckoo]

My 16 year old twins and I are taking a trip to California in October. We are flying into LA and home from SF. Any recommendations? Any ideas about accommodation, especially in the big cities?

I did the reverse with my DC a few years ago. We went from San Fran to LA. We stayed in an Air BNB in San Fran and particularly enjoyed Alcatraz and hiring bikes and cycling through the Golden Gate Park. We then went to Yosemite and stayed in a hotel there. From there we went to Monterey and enjoyed a behind the scenes visit to the aquarium and visits to Carmel. We stayed at a Best Western there. We then went and stayed at the Fogcatcher Inn in Cambria and loved it there - enjoying the Sea lion colony along the coast. Then a hotel in Santa Barbara - we had fun on the beach and pier. From there we drove up to the Grand Canyon via the Hoover Dam (which is astonishing).We stayed in a nice chain hotel near the Grand Canyon and loved going on a pink cheeps tour and helicopter trip. After that we drove to Las Vegas and stayed in the Bellagio - Las Vegas is hilarious, so over the top. We broke our trip back to LA staying in a 66 Motel in Barstow in the desert. And then finally finished in LA staying in a hotel in West Hollywood. We loved the Griffiths Observatory and Universal Pictures trip there. And also walking the boardwalk along from Santa Monica.

Other places to go that are great that we didn't fit in? The Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo is an amazing, crazy kitcsh hotel and San Diego is great for kids.

I don't recall all the deets but could look them up.

I hate to say this, but SF to LA is the usual way as you get the better views from the right side of the road. We took 10 days to do this and I don’t know how long you have. I’m assuming LV and Yosemite are not part of your trip. Highway One really does have enough to see. San Diego isn’t worth a detour in my view.

We have found the Lonely Planet books have great recommendations for where to stay. They also have the best recommendations on what to do and see and how to plan your time. So search through their city guides and road trip guides for the best advice and recommendations. I’ve forgotten our hotel name in SF, but we stayed at The Tickled Pink Inn in Carmel (Carmel is lovely), a B&B in Santa Barbara, a B&B in Santa Monica and then The Mondrian in LA for glamour! Other hotels are available but look at the guide books and choose your price point. The pool at the Mondrian gives you an amazing view of LA.

I would look at the guides and plan your stay and days according to what you like. We don’t do theme parks, but like watching whales, (eating at The Post Ranch Inn was amazing in Big Sur is amazing) and seeing the views. Eating at Nepenthe is fantastic too. Views of the Pacific. We also liked exploring the Missions in the area and the history. The wildlife and seashore is also worth a look and we also enjoyed lunch at Pebble Beach Golf Club. It was open for non golfers.

LA is very spread out and we initially stayed in Santa Monica. Useful base for Malibu and the Getty Villa. It’s more laid back than LA. The Getty Centre in LA is a superb building and the Hollywood Museum in the former Max Factor building is great. The walk of fame is yuk! Driving Mulholland Drive and then visiting Paramount Studios was interesting too.

I would say spend all your time on Highway One. You really won’t regret it and take your time to explore and enjoy it.

We stayed with friends in LA a few years ago and did the trip to SF and back again. I would second the recommendation of Griffith Park and the Observatory (walk up the hill through the park to get there), Universal studios and Santa Monica. We also had a fun day out in Beverley Hills. We drove to SF inland via Yosemite which I must confess I wasn't too fussed about before we went , but was completely blown away when we got there (we stayed two nights and I wish we'd stayed longer). Don't forget to book ahead if you want to go to Alcatraz (well worth it - fantastic day out), though the highlight of SF for me was cycling across the Golden Gate Bridge and getting the ferry back from Sausalito. We drove back to LA along the PCH which is a stunning drive - stayed in Monterey which I thought was disappointing, loved Cambria and the sea lions also Hurst Castle (again I was bit sceptical before booking, but definitely worth it for some Hollywood wow!) we also loved Pismo Beach and Santa Barbara.

*Hearst Castle

We stayed at Redondo Beach in LA, saw the most amazing sunsets and would wander along the boardwalks for breakfast. Warner Bros studios is worth a visit, (my dc were 15 and 17 atm and they enjoyed it), Universal was also a hit with them.
On your way up to SF stop at San Luis Opisbo, Hearst Castle, The Madonna Inn and see the elephant seals.
in SF cycle the Golden Gate bridge and have fish and chips in Sausalito, you can get the ferry back.
Alcatraz is a fantastic creepy experience, we had to watch the Clint Eastwood film on our return!
we stayed in a lovely painted house apartment round the corner from the Painted Ladies.
Enjoy!

Following!

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm making a list! Finding it hard to decide on accommodation

We also went the other way. San Francisco to LA then onto Grand Canyon.

We were a bit jetlagged in SF but did the touristy bits. Alcatraz is well worth a visit. We didn't cycle the bridge as friends had just been and said it was like cycling at the edge of the M4.

We stayed in Monterrey for the aquarium which was amazing, especially the sea otters.

We also stayed in Pismo Beach and Santa Barbara. Both were lovely, but even then (2013) you couldn't stroll along the beach in the evening for fear of tripping over rough sleepers.

We stayed in the Hilton Santa Barbara Resort, which I wouldn't recommend. We had a ground floor sea view room which sounds nice, but unfortunately there is a main road in front and the grounds were 'open', so nothing between us and the general public other than a little wall. And there were rough sleepers in the gardens. It didn't feel safe.

In LA we stayed in Santa Monica which we loved. Beach, boardwalk, nice shops and vegetarian food. We went to an LA Dodgers baseball game which was great. Everyone was very friendly and explained what was going on.

Another highlight was the Warner Brothers tour - we're big Friends fans - but learned a lot. We keep spotting the sets in various TV shows.

We also did Hollywood. The walking tour was included in one of the value passes and was surprisingly interesting.

The best bits by far were Yosemite and Grand Canyon though.

Biggest regret was not stopping in Big Sur or near there. Friends did it and it looked stunning.

One odd place to stop is Solvang near Pismo Beach. It looks like an old European village but is all concrete!

Thanks for the suggestions. We live in NZ and have done lots of spectacular scenery and hiking trips and so I'm thinking of skipping Yosemite. Been there before kids - it was lovely but I'm thinking that my kids might not be overly impressed given that they have grown up in the South Island. American glitz likely to be very appealing though.