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 @SummaLuvin that's helpful, my post was accidentally missing a 😂 so I hope it didn't sound too arsey. I really appreciate everyone taking the time to post. We really will research it fully and make a decision once we know exactly what we want to do. I was just curious as to whether we'd bbq missing much by going straight from Santa Barbara into L.A. rather than down the coast to Santa Monica (which we may or may not decide to visit).

I'll look up the spa @4plusthehound !

to clarify I meant to say: LA isn't particularly 'pretty' to walk around

@WhatWouldTheDoctorDo don't worry I didn't think you were arsey, I read in a - sigh, I saw these comments coming - sort of tone

I was a bit surprised at the pretty comment!

Definitely no sighs, more 😂, but I'll take it on the chin to find out about the drive from SB to SM! 😀

Got lots of time to plan it though, just trying to get the bare bones to book the right holiday dates in at work and think about Yosemite in particular so we can get the accommodation we want. Plus, I love planning a holiday. We're off to an all-inclusive resort this summer, which, though it will be lovely, I've missed the research, planning, getting ideas from blogs and MN that goes with planning a trip like this one!

Base yourself in Santa Monica. Beach is amazing, I rollerblade and hired skates which was terrific. Marina del Ray is great for food. The Cheesecake Factory is the best I've been to. Have the meatloaf and wear stretchy pants! You're future self will thank me.

Short drive upcoast to Malibu, Point Dume beach and loads of roadside restaurants for shrimp and sundowners.

I've done LA/Vegas/Hoover Dam/Grand Canyon/Big Sur/SF in 10 days in October. Doable.

I prefer CA parks to Orlando.

I love SF (best friend lived there): cross to Berkeley, Alcatraz, Napa, Muir Woods but I'd add 3 days just for that and I'm cautious of SF's rep now.

If you go to San Diego, try and book the Crystal Pier cottages. Bloody lovely!

My favourite place in USA is Yosemite, it's breathtakingly beautiful and would be fun camping or in lodge with teens.
Big Sur was a bit disappointing because I had imagined a great car ride with sea views all the way, but we often couldn't see the sea.
SF is a fun city.
LA traffic was awful. Getty Villa underwhelming -just felt fake Italian. But I'd your going for the theme parks in did you'll have fun.
I loved the car ride from LA to Vegas. Vegas is fun for a couple of days too, don't need longer.
Other thing we enjoyed was driving through old gold mining towns, and the wide variety of different terrains in California.
Enjoy.

I see you mentioned accommodation in Yosemite. I tend to book accommodation quite late and I regretted it the second time we went because all we were left with was overpriced hotels outside of Yosemite. Good to get in there early with the booking.

Oh, and we loved Santa Barbara. Had a nice classy feel to it.

We started in Las Vegas, then Grand Canyon Flagstaff
Back to las Vegas
Bishop
Yosemite
San Francisco
Monterey
Santa Barbara
LA
San Diego
Took 3 weeks, loved every minute

Thanks @waitingondr yes, we're hoping to stay in one of the hotels in the park, so no I need to get on that early. It's my excuse for starting my planning now 😀

Your trip sounds great @bruffin !

Lassen is indeed amazing (and my favourite NP, and I’ve been to quite a few) but it is a trek from SF. The plus side is that it’s relatively quiet even in high season.

Don’t miss La Jolla. It might be one of my favourite places in the world. And there’s a really cute gallery with lots of Dr Seuss original artwork thats worth a visit (it’s very small but a lovely way to spend half an hour!)

@waitingondr what direction from LA are the old mining towns in?
Lots of really knowledgeable people on this thread! If I wanted to see some "nature" (mountains or forest or dessert) but don't want to drive as far as Joshua Tree, is there anywhere I could go? Want a break from the cities

I am so so excited you said this! Def one of those things you can’t do anywhere else in America!

That spa looks amazing @4plusthehound it's definitely going on the list.

I'm delighted that even though i've moved on from my initial post about an October break to a summer 24 one, the suggestions and chat continues. Thanks to all the knowledgeable people for sharing their tips and others asking for suggestions! I'm interested in the mining towns too @Everydayshouldbe

Bodie ghost town is an interesting stop.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodie,_California

Oooo thank you!

Major validation. <preen>

https://www.nps.gov/deva/learn/historyculture/rhyolite-ghost-town.htm

We went to Rhyolite ghost town , We drove through Death Valley to get there fascinating place

My idle query for the day is how long to stop in Monterey?

I think we'll travel from Yosemite to Monterey, and by the time we get up, travel, check in somewhere, get some lunch, I reckon it will easily be mid-afternoon.

From Monterey, I think we'll go to Pismo beach for a couple of nights.

Can't decide whether to stay one night in Monterey, leaving at around lunchtime and driving down to Pismo in the afternoon or stay two nights, so we have a full day in Monterey and set off in the morning when we go to Pismo, so we can take as long as we can stop as often as we like on the coastal drive (if the road is open).

Any thoughts? I guess we really need to decide if it matters to us to do the whale watching, aquarium, 17-Mike drive etc. but it'd be good to hear other views. I'm a bit put off the whale watching by reports of his choppy the sea is! I don't really want to spend two nights there, but my gut feel says one night is a bit of a waste of time, and we'll want to set off down the coast earlier in the day when we leave (or us the afternoon better due to fog - it'll be July).

I think we'll think about staying two nights in Pismo, then one in Santa Barbara (or the one in Pismo, 2 in SB).

Consider places to watch sea otters on PCH.

The aquarium at Monterey is genuinely wonderful

Ooh yes got to watch the super cute sea otters. We saw them from the 17 Mile Drive and deer on the beach. Also at La Jolla there is a beach where swimming is permitted & groups go in for snorkelling where if you are lucky the sea lions will also be whizzing round. It's not where the mums and pups are!

DH and I weren't that fussed on the 17 mile drive, after driving the PCH up from LA it was underwhelming in comparison.

Both of us adored whale watching, it was truly a highlight, and wasn't that choppy while we were out. However, if you get seasick it will be a pretty miserable experience, a couple on our boat spent the whole time leaning off the back emptying their stomachs.

The elephant seals outside Santa Barbara are wonderful and we watched the seals stealing the fisherman's fish off the pier in Santa Barbara.