California - motels with bigger family?

[teensroadtrip]

We are going to California for two weeks this summer with our three kids, aged between 12 and 15. Flying in and out of LAX, we have previously had a holiday where we traveled down to San Diego and this time hoping to go north to San Francisco and around that area.

Planning to book hotels or Airbnb in the cities. Years ago (probably about 20 years!) my husband and I did a fly drive where we had some days without pre-booked accommodation, and just booked into motels as we went.

Wondering if this is an option now there are basically 5 adult sized people. Has anyone done this with teens?

Have a look at the Courtyard Merced from Marriott, they have rooms with sofa beds but I think you’ll need 2 rooms

I’m not sure if I would risk not booking accommodation in your circumstances. I really struggled to get a decent place to stay in Monterey booking well in advance at a non-peak time. If you plan on going to any national parks, you may find that accommodation inside the parks is already fully booked.

Why not book refundable accommodation and if your plans change you can cancel?

I would also suggest you book refundable accommodation in advance of your arrival.

Use Booking com and plan ahead. You can always change of you pay the right rate.

Thanks so much for the replies so far. I was finding this tricky to plan just using the internet so I've gone old school and am currently sitting with the rough guide to California and a road map to try and get a basic itinerary mapped out 😂 Soooo much easier!

Good ideas about refundable bookings, that sounds like a really good option.

Thanks

The other thing about refundable bookings is that when you are a day or two out and you know you are def going to be in an area, you can check for cheaper rates that are non refundable and just cancel your original booking. That way you have a safety net but you can try and get a last minute bargin