LA plus where? California in October ideas please!

[WhatWouldTheDoctorDo]

DC really want to go to LA, mostly for Disney etc. (we've been to Florida). Originally, before covid hit, we'd planned to fly into SF, visit Yosemite, drive down the coast stopping at a few places, few days in LA.

We can go next year, but exams etc. now mean we are restricted to the summer when it will be crazy hot, or October when we're restricted to around 10 days.

Would be grateful for any suggestions! I've got a notion to spend some time in LA, maybe some time in San Diego, and save SF, Yosemite, Big Sur etc. for a time when we're not restricted to school holidays! Any other suggestions for a trip based around LA & San Diego?

Thanks all, @Greengrassgone yes, ruled out the east coast, we've done that before. Loved it!

Yes max factor still open and the new academy museum is actually really cool too

Thanks for your reply, @Citygirlrurallife 👍

San Diego is lovely, even venture to La Jolla or Escondido :)

I think you could do SF-Yosemite-Big Sur-LA in 10 nights but it would feel more rushed.

For example:
Day 1-3 SF
Day 4-5 Yosemite
Day 6 Big Sur
Day 7-8 LA
Day 9-10 Anaheim

These places are further apart so you will spend more time in the car. By the time you get to your destination, check into hotel etc you are only getting 1 full day in most places.

Id be inclined to keep this trip for another time when you have more time. And find a way to squeeze in some nature to the LA-San Diego option.

Santa Barbara is gorgeous

My experience is that it won't be crazy hot in California in the summer, unless you head inland more.
We went in the summer a few years back. SF was chilly! We had to buy jumpers as hadn't expected it. None of the cost was overly hot, warmer further south but nothing like Florida in the summer. If you go inland it is a dry heat - Napa and Sacramento were very hot - but ime it's manageable.

We went to California twice, but before kids. When we were in SD it was for ComiCon, so we spent a few days doing that but the rest of time we did the SD area.
Prior to that we did the LA-SF drive up the coast - really fun, but a lot of driving.

We did 10 days in February. It was no more expensive to fly into SD and then out of LA so that saved a few hours of driving.

I love San Diego and could happily spend an entire 10 days there! USS Midway is brilliant, the zoo left us all feeling a bit uncomfortable (and they no longer have the world's favourite pandas!) the Old Town Trolley Tour is the best way to see the city, you can hop on hop off at every stop if you want.

Definitely stay in Anaheim for Disney then move to Santa Monica or similar for Hollywood. We were up near Venice Beach and it still took an hour to get to Universal / Hollywood. There is just no way to get anywhere quickly in LA.

Thanks @Qilin I knew SF would be cooler but I was expecting Yosemite, the coast and LA to be much hotter. DS would be very jealous of a trip to SD for Comic Con @APurpleSquirrel ! I agree @Vanillalime , that could be really rushed.

Right, longer trip in summer to do SF-Yosemite-Big Sur-LA or stick to LA/SD with some nature in October and go back another time to do the other areas...

You've all been brilliant, thank you so much, I really appreciate it.

After all of this chat, we've decided to go in the summer after all. So SF - Yosemite - PCH - LA and maybe SD it is. I'll no doubt be posting requests for advice on itinerary and accommodation at some point, so hope to get more advice from you all then!

Make sure to have your dates organised well in advance - you’ll have to Yosemite accommodation 6months before you go

Thanks @Citygirlrurallife yeah, that's why I'm trying to figure out the bare bones of dates and itinerary just now so we can book Yosemite as soon as we can. We're hoping to stay at one of the hotels inside Yosemite as to reduce driving we might not have a car at that point and rely on Yarts/shuttle bus. Thinking we could get Amtrak from SF to Merced and pick up a higher car from Merced when we are done, but haven't fully explored that option yet!

we did something similar late September, for 16 nights.

LA - 4 nights
Santa Barbara - 2 nights
Cambria - 1 night
Big Sur - 2 nights
Yosemite - 3 nights
San Francisco - 4 nights

We were happy with this spread of days, though felt in hindsight we would skip Cambria and add a night in Carmel after Big Sur instead, and maybe shave a day or two off LA.

We also hadn't realised that Yosemite dries up by the end of the season, so when we were there no mirror lake and no epic waterfalls, only one waterfall still with water and it was weak. But you may well be aware of this already and it was still beautiful.

Also be aware we’ve had several years of wildfires so have a plan b in your back pocket….but if you’re doing Yosemite also do sequoia, I love it there

and Amtrak LA - SD is amazing

Thanks both. Yes, very conscious of fires @Citygirlrurallife, it's probably what started me hand-wringing over the time of year to go. I am a bit worried about it and will definitely think about a back up plan.
Do you think people are bonkers to arrange a visit at the beginning of July? (Early school hols here). I read somewhere that the fire season stretches to October.

Would love to go to SD by Amtrak from LA for a few days if we can!

@SummaLuvin your trip sounds like what we are thinking of but in reverse. We'd be going much earlier in the summer though.

Just be aware that Comic Con is on in SD around 20th July - it means SD will be packed during that time (lots of events held outside the convention centre) & hotels etc will either be fully booked or ridiculously expensive.
So if you are going in July go to SD at the beginning of the month or do it on another trip.

Thanks @APurpleSquirrel - we'd actually go at the end of June so would be home by mid July. Though DS would LOVE to go to comic con!

My dh would have loved comic con (we will be in California then) but I see it's all sold out!

These trips sound amazing. What about the Easter holiday when you get 2 weeks but it's not as hot? Now I'm wondering about it myself!

San Diego is great and there are some really lovely day places nearby. October is a lovely time to go. You could visit the Anza Borrego desert or go up into the mountains to the small town of Julian for a change of scene. Triton charters might be fun with teens. You sail around the bay on a Catarmaran which then stops and there are slides off the back. I had a brilliant time doing that with my daughter. Also whale / dolphin watching tours. Balboa park has so much stuff on.

Exams have put paid to an Easter trip @fruitpastille

After going round the houses @Sssswuaae22 we've now reverted to our original plan to go in the summer. Thanks for the SD recs though, we're going to try and include a couple of days there!

We did a 4 week July trip with a 10 yo and 17 yo that was really busy but we had a taste of everything:

San Diego - Balboa Park, the zoo, USS Midway.
LA - Universal studios, Venice Beach, Santa Monica, Hollywood, Griffith Observatory, Huntington Beach.
Big Sur - stopping at Morro Bay, Piedras Blancas for elephant seals, Carmel / Monterey, Santa Cruz for the old wooden rollercoaster and surfing.
SF - Alcatraz, Golden Gate Bridge, lots of walking around.
Chico for Lassen Volcanic NP (my favourite park).
Reno and Mammoth Lakes for Bodie ghost town and Mono Lake en route to Yosemite, Sequoia and King's Canyon.
Death Valley across to Vegas for helicopter flight over Grand Canyon, a look at The Strip and the Hoover Dam.
Palm Springs for desert, the San Andreas fault and a water park.
Ended up back in San Diego - La Jolla, Scripps and meeting up with friends.

It was very hot in Death Valley in July (40°+) and on the Hoover Dam (all that concrete) - but the dam tour is worth it.

You are going to be doing a lot of driving though you know your own teens. We've done the places you are looking at but in smaller sections. Our last trip with teen we did SF then flew down to SD and hired a car there. Loads to do and much nicer than LA. We stayed in the Mission Bay area overlooking the beach. Agree with La Jolla, the Midway and a baseball game. We also went inland to the Palomar Observatory and Julian an old mining town (where the temp hit 100).

We stayed in June Lake, about an hour outside Yosemite gates, I was glad of this because the options inside the park seemed to be either the v expensive hotel or camping/cabins, which must have been incredibly hot and quite crammed in. We stayed in a cabin in a resort at June Lake that was fantastic and in a beautiful setting, with a great pool. We had deer wandering right next to the cabin and it was lovely and quiet and had air con!