Is this crazy!

[minnie52]

Hi,

Starting to think about next year's holiday and after deciding not to do California this year, its back on the drawing board for either October 2019 or April 2020.

We decided against it this year as I got so overwhelmed trying to decide where to stay and where to travel etc. we went with florida again. It would be me, hubby and our 2 girls aged 7 and 9 (when we travel).

I have never been to this coast so I am completely unsure of everything - I was thinking of staying in Anaheim or Burbank in a condo/apartment through air bnb or similar (would these be suitable for children I have no idea ) We would like to do Universal, usual LA touristy spots as this will be a first for me and the kids, the Warner Bros Tour, Beach, Shopping, Walk of Fame, Hollywood Sign & a celebrity homes tour. & possibly Disneyland. We would be hiring a car - is it easy enough to drive to these sort of tourist spots or are we better off staying more central and using public transport? We are more comfortable hiring a car as we can go at our pace so dont mind a half hour/45 minute drive.

We then definitely want to drive down to San Diego and spend a few nights there visting San Diego Zoo and Whale watching (I've heard late season is best - which is why I had considered April).

I originally wanted to fit in San Francisco as well however, it is a long drive from LA so unless we can get cheap internal flights I think this may have to wait for another trip.

Is this crazy! Should we be considering staying in more central LA and then spending a few nights further out in anaheim for universal/disneyland? Any advice would be appreciated

[duchy]

The drive into LA from Anaheim can be awful , splitting the stay would make more sense. Freeway traffic in and around LA is horrible especially mornings and late afternoon early evening.

You could do Disney and Knotts from Anaheim and maybe a pool day.

It's worth considering an open jaw flying into San Francisco and out of LA so you are only doing the drive or flying it one way , flights into Santa Ana (close to Anaheim) or Burbank (for Hollywood) make more sense than LAX distance and pricewise. JetBlue and Southwest booked direct on their own websites have great prices.
You don't need a car in San Francisco itself and parking is very expensive anyway so probably only worth hiring for a couple of days if you want to visit the vineyards or National parks.

We parked our hire car by the Chinese Theater (and walk of fame) and did the Homes of the Famous bus tour , I actually enjoyed it far more than I expected and the route took us past lots of the iconic sights so we didn't need to do them later.

[minnie52]

Thank you for your quick reply! This helps alot - I had not considered the traffic but will look into doing a split stay. Will also take a look at those airlines - thank you!

Ah so we may tick a few of the sights off the list with one tour - also helpful to know! Thank you again!

[400ixl]

How long are you thinking of going for?

An example schedule may be
San Fran - 3 nights
Drive down the Pacific Coast Highway
Monterrey - 1 or 2 nights
Santa Barbara - 1 night
Do some of the LA sights as you drive in from SB (So Santa Monica, Beverly Hills)
Burbank - 2 nights (one day Universal, other day doing Warner Bros and Hollywood etc) before heading down in the evening to Disney
Anaheim (Disney) 3 nights
Drive down to San Diego
San Diego - 2-3 nights
Back to LA for flight home

You can flex that about to fit into 14 nights, but better to extend some places and do it over 3 weeks.

[daytonababe]

The 7 yr old is too young for the Warner tour , you have the be 8

A split stay works better imo Anaheim for Disney , elsewhere for the Hollywood stuff

We drive everywhere you see more and can stop where you like . It’s easy enough to look up where things like Pretty woman was filmed etc

[Bozza]

It is daunting isn't it?

We booked flights a month or so ago, fly three weeks today and we still have absolutely nothing booked!

I really should get on and try and formulate our plans so I can start booking things!

[minnie52]

Thank you for all your replies - Warner bros tour is off the list then.

The itinerary helps thank you! This looks ideal -we would be looking at going for between 2 - 3 weeks - will take a look at these places.

It really is. I think that’s what I need to do just book some flights and go for it lol. Good Luck and hope you have a wonderful holiday

[jdouds]

Hi would agree with 400ixl and if doing closer to 3 weeks would then add a visit yosemite after San Fran and from there onto Monterey