California road trip next easter - motels or RV?

[jamkan]

We would love to take our DC aged 8, 5 and 2 on a road trip next easter and not sure best way to do it. Seems motels can accommodate 5 fairly easily but is RV more practical(or just too much hassle with littlies?) Any advice greaterly received.

Can anyone advise whether motels or RV is the best way to tackle a californian road trip next easter with three children aged 8, 5 and 2.

Have never done either, although harbour ambition to do an RV trip one day. Just one warning - if you're planning on visiting Death Valley I'm not sure an RV would cope well as steep entrances/exits to park & vehicles frequently overheat.

Yes thanks tiredandgrumpy I've heard that it can be difficult to navigate a large RV in certain areas. But I'm thinking it could cut down food costs and save having to pack up every few days. Just worry about all being in such a small space and if it becomes a pain to visit places because you have to keep packing up the RV to go anywhere.

We did a California road trip with my parents. We were older - 14, 13 and 8, and it was 20 years ago, so not sure if I have anything of use to say really! We hired a people carrier ( or whatever the American version was 20 years ago ) and stayed in Motels. The trip lasted 4 weeks and we never stayed in the same hotel for more than 2 nights running. I had the most fantastic time. The quality of the motels varied greatly, but it all added to the experience. One of the best bits of the trip for me, as a 13 year old, was spending time in the motel pools at the end of a long drive. I guess with RV's you having cooking facilities, right? As we were staying in motels, we ate out most of the time, but that is so easy and inexpensive to do in the States. I would love to do it again sometime with my own children.

We did a 3 week road trip in California with ds1 and ds2 aged 7 and 5 (and concieved ds3 but that is another story) in 2005. We stayed in motels. Did RV in Canada just before. Food in Us was so cheap and potions in resturants so large that I don't think an RV would save much on food. ( we ate only twice a day usually, and had 3 meals between 4 of us).
Check what the temperatures will be like - will your RV have air con? cos we really needed that in September when we went but suspect it may be much cooler at Easter.

You wouls have to plan more carefully where you went with an RV but either would be fab in my opinion. So sorry probably not much help!

We have travelled a fair bit in the US and Canada (though not California), and never in a RV.

We have done fine with a people carrier. They are much more spacious that the ones over here. Where we would put on a roof box on our one at home, we found everything fitted inside teh car there.

A Chrysler Town and Country (Stow and Go) is great because there is loads of storage under the floor.

As others have said, eating out is very easy in the US. However, it would be good to have your own facilities every so often, just so you can relax a bit more. There are lots of hotel options, and many hotels/motels have kitchenettes in them. I think they are called efficiencies. Some suite hotels also have kitchen facilities.

If you can find a hotel with at least a microwave and toaster, you can easily reheat leftovers (it is normal to take a doggy bag from a restaurant - so don't feel obliged to eat the huge portions), and make toast. Buy some cereal, milk and some paper plates and you are all set.

We travelled in an RV all over California, inc Death Valley, when our dc were 4 and 3. It was brilliant,v easy, and can't recommend it enough! Have a look at El Monte.

We travelled around California Easter 2008. You shouldn't need AC. North California in particular was quite cool - temps in 60s & low 70s. It's gorgeous, you'll have a great time, whatever you choose. I recommend a day at Pebble Beach, the balcony Cafe is lovely.

Oh oh oh!! We did a road trip like this when I was 13, middle sister was 11 and youngest sister was 7. We had an RV (Harvey the RV thanks Dad) and it was amazing.

We started in SF, drove across to Yosemite, back down to the coast, and then worked our way down the I5 (I think that's right).
, all the coastal towns, LA (Disney, Universal etc), Down to San Diego, and then across to the Grand Canyon - the car parks are huge and can accomodate RV's (everywhere in CA can IMO)

A lot of RV company's and hire car people won't cover you to go to Death Valley though AFAIK (although this may have changed)

Totally amazing holiday - I cannot recommend it highly enough!!

One thing I will say, is that you need to know your route. CA highways can be badly signposted and you can easily miss your exit. If you have good maps you'll be fine.

Oh, and miss out Mt Tamal Pais nr Yosemite (if you venture there)
Bloody difficult in an RV as it's so windy)

I am VERY jealous btw

....and many RV parks have pools too, so your DC's won't have to miss out on that

Sorry... RV all the way for me.. can you tell?

We did California in an RV 3 years ago with 4 smalls aged between 5 and 12. Was certainly the cheaper option for us. booked ours thru Trailfinders and booked most of the campsites ahead thru KOA campsites. We all loved it - very spacious RV and you just get in the habit of shutting everything in its place before setting off. You probably have to take your own carseats and I would check seatbelt arrangements (they may be lap only).

We started in San Francisco, then Yosemite,Las Vegas (yes, there is a KOA campsite just off The Strip at Circus Circus!), Grand Canyon, some complete middle of nowhere stops, San Diego and finishing in LA. You do pay extra for one way trip but it was worth it for us as we were on a RTW trip. Lovely to remember that time we had together. Hope you have a fantastic trip however you do it.

This is really making me want to save towards a RTW trip including RV in CA.

again ....

Before the kids came along we did several trips around the West Coast in both an RV and a car. We would love to do it again with the kids, but just can't afford it - I'm really envious.
I think an RV would would be better than motels. The campsites are normally great with pools and space to run around, which the kids will need after travelling, whereas a lot of motels are very close to the roads, with no outside space. Also campsites tend to be more sociable, so the kids might find other kids to play with, which is a great way to learn about a country & it's people. Plus the packing does get boring when moving from motel to motel frequently. Most places are gerared up for RV's so you can visit most places with problems.
You can still eat out each day if you want, but sometimes it's nice just to be able to make a sandwich or soup etc.
When we were doing a long trip, we occasionally checked into a hotel, just for a bit of luxury, Vegas is normally good for cheap hotels. The national parks are fantastic but some need to be booked in advance, as they get booked up very quickly (especially Yosemite).

We drove from Arizona to San Fran on our honeymoon and finding a motel every night was a PITA !!! Go with an Rv and if you have the money, go all out and get a little car on the back of it to get around when you park up. Sounds outlandish but people do it all the time

Lucky lucky you! I love American road trips, have done 4 to date, plus twice to Orlando, different experience totally. I love California, 4 hours north the wonderful wine country etc, east into desert, south into Mexico and west the wonderful coast. We took our triplets in 2007 for a 4 week trip, they were 9, they enjoyed every single minute. We had done similar trips in the 90`s with our first child who sadly died in 94. Going with three we realized was not going to be so easy, but with alot of planning it is an adventure. We started off in San Francisco, then headed to Modesto to stay with my penpal of over 40 yrs, then off to Yosemite, thru Death Valley into Vegas. Vegas to route 66, stayed in Williams, took the train to the Grand Canyon, then to Sedona where we rented a private house for 6 nights, on to Palm Deser and ended up in Anaheim to do Disney. Our accomodation was anything from a 2bedroom suite, to a log cabin, to the fantastic Venetian in Vegas, to a former bordello! I have loads of info if you need help! Its the best holiday I have ever had.....awesome!