California Road Trip Summer 2024 - any hints and tips?

[thorneyislanddoris]

We're going to California this summer (me DH and 15yo DD)

We've booked our flights. Flying into LA and out of San Francisco.

Any special places to go?

Any recommendations on places to stay?

Thanks.

Have an emergency plan in case of an earthquake and familiarise yourself with tsunami evacuation routes from any coastal accommodation. I loved California but was always very conscious the Big One could occur at any time!

Oh blimey I wasn't expecting that as my first tip! 😱

Yes will give it some thought.

Any places to stay that you'd recommend?

Eg hotels, B&B's etc ?

Depends what you are into! National parks, coasts, city things?

Personally I would do:
A little of LA: Santa Monica / Venice beach, Hollywood in daytime afternoon (avoid downtown).

A baseball, NFL or basketball game if possible.

Highway 1 up the coast (especially Big Sur) stopping at smaller places like Santa Barbara or smaller.
The giant redwoods
Alcatraz in SF but avoid the centre (homelessness is an issue).

Into the desert to Vegas and the Grand Canyon if time.
Shopping has got quite dull (due to globalisation), but worth visiting a Mall for the American experience. Perhaps an outlet place.
Perhaps Death Valley or Yosemite National Park.
DisneyLand?

How long are you going for?
What does your family enjoy doing?
Do you want to relax on your trip, or pack a lot in?

Personally I’d start with a trip south to San Diego which has lots to see and do. And even try to fit in a day trip across to Mexico if you have time Then stay in LA for Hollywood, studios tours, Disney, Beverley hills, bit of shopping.
Then travel up the coast.
Yosemite is a good option to cut inland but also look at other national parks if the travel time works better for you.
Maybe a visit to Hearst castle?
big sur?
Alcatraz is amazing but gets booked up so buy your tickets now. The trolley cars are s good experience.
if you can go north of SF, there are some good wineries to visit if that’s your thing.

house rental is a good option, especially if you can get ones with pools.

have fun

If your child is 15 they might enjoy a more exciting theme park than Disney - we went to Six flags magic mountain and there's a water park next door. Monterey sea life centre worth a visit, and the baseball in SF is lovely, right on the bay. Also rented bikes and cycled through golden gate park, across the bridge to Sausalito and back, home via Lombard street... Also did a rib ride in SF bay which was good. If you want to go to Alcatraz book well in advance.

This was our trip this summer with our 7yr old:
flew in and out of San Fran, visited Monterey, Big Sur, Santa Barbara, sequoia, Yosemite, Mammoth Lakes and Lake Tahoe. Fantastic trip.
Be aware there are a lot of landslides on the Big Sur, the roads are regularly closed, we drove from Monterey down to the closure then back on ourselves and inland to get to Santa Barbara. It can also be very misty in August.
When she was a baby we flew into LA and out of Seattle, drove up the coast through Oregon and Washington.

In L.A the Griffith Observatory is great at sunset. Also worth a tour through the Hollywood mansions and to see the sign (don’t drive this yourself though, they hand out parking tickets VERY quickly and they are $$$). Further up the coast Carmel and Monterey (17 mile drive and lots of wildlife). We stayed at the Lamplighter Inn in Carmel and it was perfect. Yosemite is worth the trip inland and you can get self guided tours to drive. In SF we stayed in the North Beach area and avoided downtown around Union square as we were warned it wasn’t very nice/safe. We did the same trip but started North and drove South to LA and loved every minute. I hope you have a wonderful time

I would reiterate that we would need to know how long you are going for, what you're into and whether or not you are going to any of the national parks.