What would you do with 3 weeks in California?

[Zampa]

Planning a trip for April 2025. Non-negotiables are a few nights in San Francisco to see family and 3 nights in Anaheim for Disney (booked by said family).

I'm thinking Monterey Aquarium, Hearst Castle, Santa Barbara, LA, Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks.

What would you do?

Travelling with 2 primary age children, one's a wheelchair user.

Get Yosemite booked as soon as you can, especially if you need something accessible. And also check which passes will be open for you to drive in. Some of the passes don't open till later in the year.

I love San Diego and would go back there in a heart beat, it's a great city with lots to do, and very easy to get round.

Thank you @BigDahliaFan. I understand we need to buy daily entry for Yosemite. All the in park accommodation is already sold out so would need to make sure we can get them.

Alcatraz!

Are any of you interested in Space stuff ?

If so think about the Jet Propulsion Lab at Pasadena. It's where NASA make the Mars explorer craft and some satellites. The tour is free and needs to be booked in advance - you have to be nimble in booking, they release dates a month in advance and they do get booked up quickly.
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/tours/

Alcatraz. Seals at Pier 39.
Yosemite, we stayed in Tenaya Lodge which was excellent. Bear in mind Yosemite is incomprehensibly huge, wherever you stay it's a long drive in!! I think Tenaya Lodge is a 50 min drive but situated near the entrance to Yosemite!!!
Santa Monica Pier.
Highway One is a beautiful drive down to LA, however parts were closed when we went causing huge diversions.
It's likely to be very cold when you go, probably snow which can make some areas inaccessible - we couldn't get to the largest Sequoia!
It's an amazing holiday.

Be prepared for very visible homelessness, drug addicts and poverty in the city's. San Francisco is great but I definitely felt unsafe.

If driving down the highway, thoroughly recommend an overnight stay at the Madonna Inn at San Luis Obispo. Check the rooms.... each is unique. Kitsch doesn't even start to describe it.

Second San Diego. We stayed in La Jolla and visited the Birch Aquarium which is (imho) a more ethical aquarium since it's part of the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, and it's fantastic. We loved the seals at La Jolla, and the town itself is nice.

Are you visiting Universal, too? We much prefer to Disney, and the Harry Potter world is amazing. If you do, we stayed in the motel in Burbank which featured in the 'Incredibles' movie.

As an alternative to Yosemite, if you want warmth, consider Palm Springs. We love it.

OMG yes, Palm Springs is brilliant, and the top of the mountain is like Narnia.

Finish off in San Diego and have at least 4 nights there.

Plenty of condos etc. for rent in Pacific Beach and Mission Beach - it really is the most laid back, relaxing place you'll ever visit in the USA, with plenty to see/visit also

If you are planning on a coastal drive, make sure to look into Big Sur! It’s absolutely breathtaking, and definitely find time for the Redwood forests if you can.

Agree with other PP, San Diego is a wonderful place, Coronado Beach is well worth a visit. There is a naval base nearby and you can see all the aircraft flying in and out.

This may or may not be possible due to your circumstances, on my road trip we camped in a few of the national parks. It was a lovely change between cities and gave opportunities to really enjoy the beauty of the country.

Thank you so much for the ideas!

@DPotter Space is definitely an interest so will look into the NASA tours.

@dixon86 @Aworldofmyown Alcatraz was closed during my last trip to SF so it's definitely on the list and fortunately it's wheelchair friendly.

San Diego seems a very popular suggestion that I'd not previously included as an option so definitely worth further investigation.

I do quite fancy Palm Springs @BigDahliaFan @Oriunda but I think this is mainly down to my love of Polo by Jilly Cooper.

@RedBulb I presume the tents are set up for you rather than taking camping gear?!

Yosemite, monterey bay, carmel.

That's Palm Beach (Florida), not Palm Springs. No polo! It's fabulous architecture, art, desert, mountains, relaxing resorts, golf (my DH loves), horse riding, plus a great designer outlet store on the way in.

Ah, shame! Maybe for another trip then @Oriunda !

Did you get any further with your planning OP? Thinking of a similar trip in August and hoping to piggy back off all your ideas 😁

@yoursweetpotatoesarebland Sorry, just seen this. Our current itinerary, thanks to the contributions above, is this.

3 nights San Francisco
3 nights Yosemite National Park
2 nights Sequoia National Park
3 nights Palm Springs/Joshua Tree National Park
2 nights San Diego (on the beach, near La Jolla)
3 nights Anaheim for Disney
3 nights TBC, depends if we can get NASA tickets in Pasadena/fire situation. Will visit Universal too.
1 night Paso Robles
2 nights Monterey
Home from San Francisco

No one has mentioned Legoland, Carlsbad, I believe they are very accessible. Carlsbad flowers will be out that time too! Enjoy!

@timbitstimbytes Thank you! Carlsbad is en route from San Diego to Anaheim so will try and see the flowers.

@Zampa - that's a fabulous itinerary. Very jealous :-)

Oh and Dan Diego zoo is one of the best in the world, really accessible, beautiful gardens as well. My kids loved it at those ages. I know 3 weeks seems like a long time, but it really isn’t with the distances. I would, bearing in mind you are already headed to la, to go further south to San Diego rather than Yosemite, the weather will be better and kids would probably prefer beaches and summery Southern California to Yosemite in the cold?

@timbitstimbytes - San Diego is already in the itinerary the OP posted today

Yes, San Diego Zoo is on the list.

I would love to go to Sea World and have been trying to find evidence that it's not horribly cruel but have failed, so think it has to be off the cards. Will try a whale watching boat trip instead.

Thanks, missed that.
San Francisco to Yosemite is about 4 hours.
Yosemite to sequoia is 2 1/2.
Sequoia to Palm Springs is 5 hours,
Palm Springs to San Diego 2 hours,
San Diego to Anaheim about 2 hours
Anaheim to Paso Robles is 3 1/2 hours
Another 2 hours to Monterey
Monterey to San Fran 2 hours.
None of that is factoring in the traffic.
Could you do open jaw flights into SFO and out of LAX? Might shorten the driving a little.

Thanks, missed that.
San Francisco to Yosemite is about 4 hours.
Yosemite to sequoia is 2 1/2.
Sequoia to Palm Springs is 5 hours,
Palm Springs to San Diego 2 hours,
San Diego to Anaheim about 2 hours
Anaheim to Paso Robles is 3 1/2 hours
Another 2 hours to Monterey
Monterey to San Fran 2 hours.
None of that is factoring in the traffic.
Could you do open jaw flights into SFO and out of LAX? Might shorten the driving a little.

Go to Lake Tahoe. It is beautiful

We've mapped all the routes (in rush hour), added 25% for breaks/traffic and think it's manageable. Sequoia to Palm Springs is going to be about 10 hours but there's nowhere decent to stop on the way.

We're not driving more than every other day and most of the drives are fewer than 3 hours.

We did look at flying in/out from different airports but the car hire cost was significantly more and it was tricky with what we wanted to do/when my family had booked Disney and school holidays.