Input on West Coast ideas!

[NewtoOrlando]

I've slowly talked my other half into a California road trip in either 2021 or 22 (40th Birthday trip). I'm half planned but need to sell to him properly. Would be 2 adults and 2 kids, who would be around 13-15. DH wants to do Georgia/Tennessee/Florida or NYC/Florida (We've done both, kids havent) but I fancy somewhere we havent explored.

We would like to do North to South, incorporating San Francisco, Monteray, LA & Anaheim and finishing up in San Diego and would probably aim to have 16-20 days out there.

I was thinking of 3 nights in San Francisco, 3 nights Monteray, 2 nights LA, 4 nights Anaheim, 6/7 nights in San Diego. We wanted longer in San Diego as my husband visited when in the Royal Navy and loved it so wants to spend more time there and there seems to be loads to do that we would all enjoy, plus have some down time at the beach etc.

These are the basics I seem to be working with, but does anyone have an input to think of other places we might enjoy, we want to drive PCH and the Big Sur, and fly into SF and out of LAX or SD. We like to have stuff to do but equally like to spend time on the beach and relax.

Also, accommodation in Monteray and San Diego. Where to people tend to book? We're fine with a hotel in SF and LA/Anaheim as would be out and about more, but Monteray and SD we would have more down time so would like more space, so maybe a 1/2 bed condo with a pool or similar? Any advise on where to look for that sort of accommodation would be great.

Thank you!

[400ixl]

I wouldn't have 3 nights in Monterrey, 2 at most, preferably in the Carmel area. Doing the whale watching and having a general look around and maybe 13 mile drive. Other than that there is an overly priced aquarium that you can do in the UK and not much else. Lovely place for a day, but not really more. Others will disagree but this is what we could with a well travelled teen.

It is a long drive from there to LA if you stop for the sights, so recommend a night in somewhere like Santa Barbara where you can spend a relaxing half day before doing the final drive into LA.

With teens I would definitely spend some time at Venice beach in LA, especially if the watch any of the vloggers who do work from there.

North LA deserves more than 2 days with Venice, and Santa Monica, Beverly Hills to the west side, La Brea Pits, Warner Bros studio tour, Universal Studios, Griffith Observatory, Hollywood etc all to do as a minimum. If you are roller coaster fans there is also Six Flags Magic Mountain theme park with the water park next door.

Disney takes 2-3 days so with a night either side you are not far off there.

In San Diego we found Mission Beach to be nice. Quite a hip and trendy area.

We went back to the south east last year and did Atlanta, Tampa and Miami. Atlanta was nice to see again, Florida was just a humid mess and reminded us why we so much prefer the west coast.

[jdouds]

Hi. We would offer slightly different advice. We would cut the time in san Diego by 2 days and also cut 2 days from LA area which is a sprawling 100 miles mass.
The reason for this would be to go to yosemite from San Fran and then to Monterey. Whale watching for us is a must , we have had 2 great trips from moss landing with sanctuary cruises. The aquarium is first class and would disagree with 400ixl on this. 17 mile dr,Carmel and pebble beech we loved. We would then agree with 400ixl and stop at Santa Barbara , some will say to stop further north. On this leg make sure you stop at San Simeon to see the elephant seals and maybe Hearst castle. After this 2 days Disney 1 for universal and a day for walk of fame etc. Then down to San Diego 4/5 days visiting la jolla , the zoo and wild life park. Highlight there was seeing a cheetah up close and sprinting to get some food.

[landandword17]

I’m going to agree that 3 nights is too long for Monterey (consider staying in Carmel, much prettier town) and the drive from Monterey to LA is too long for one day so I would stop along the way. Santa Barbara is a delightful beach town or Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo is a quirky slice of “Americana”. I also think LA deserves more than 2 nights but it depends on your interests and I’m biased because after 2 trips I still have a list of things we haven’t got around to doing.

Aims is the resident expert for San Diego and I’m sure she’ll be able to point you in the right direction for accommodation there. She has a sticky thread at the top of the forum.

You might consider incorporating Yosemite too after SF.

[smithlane]

Hi ya!
We have just come back from a fantastic 3 weeks in California.
We did 3 nights San Fran
3 nights Monterey
1 night Solvang
2 nights Hollywood
3 nights Buena Park
5 nights Oceanside
1 night Bakersfield
3 nights Yosemite
I would not change our time in San Fran or Monterey. We had an Air BnB in Pacific Grove which was just lovely. I wouldn’t do less time as it’s only 2 full days. First day we did whale watching and explored Monterey town then walked from Pacific Grove down to Lovers Point Park. Next day we went to Carmel for lunch, spent the afternoon at the beach then did the 17 mile drive stopping at Pebble Beach golf club. We then left early the next morning as we knew it would take all day making our way down the PCH. We stopped for the night in Solvang but I wished we’d done Morro Bay instead as we stopped for dinner and really liked the vibe there.
On the way to LA we spent the day at Santa Barbara, just beautiful! Spent the day at the beach and went Paddleboarding around the harbour.
LA really wasn’t my favourite but you kind of have to go there if it’s your first time, I certainly wouldn’t go back. Having said that the Warner Bros studio tour in Burbank was one of my favourite things we did!
Buena Park was my second least favourite. We didn’t do Disney (just couldn’t justify the price for 1 day) but did do Knott’s Berry Farm which the teenagers enjoyed. Could have easily only had 1 or 2 nights though instead of 3, or dropped it completely as there are far more places to visit than theme parks in California but I understand the draw of Disney.
The part of Oceanside we stayed was nice but the actual town was a dive. We originally wanted to stay in San Diego or La Jolla but as we wanted an apartment to spread out a bit we just couldn’t afford one there. Spent the day in San Diego and fell in love with it.
If we had got the flights I wanted which was into SFO but out of LAX we wouldn’t have needed to stay in Bakersfield as it was literally a stop to break the journey up to Yosemite. I would urge you if you can to add Yosemite into your plans. It is probably the most amazing place I’ve visited (joint with the Grand Canyon and Death Valley). Everywhere you look is jaw dropping, I actually had tears in my eyes when we stopped at Tunnel View and watched the sunrise from Glacier Point.
Good luck in the planning, it’s half the fun of the holiday!

[Twilight Nerd]

Sorry but I have to agree 3 nights would have been too much for us in Monterey. san Louis obispo is a lovely town for a stop over. Second trip we stayed in Solvang which was so different to anything else on the west coast, really enjoyed the 4th July here and sedgeway tour.

[grant_w]

3 nights in Monterey was fine for us, in fact we could have stayed for another, but we did do a lot of wildlife trips.
We stayed in Hotel Agrego and it was lovely
We did Sanctuary Cruises, followed by 1/2 a day in Monterey Bay Aquarium
Elkhorn Slough Safari followed by another 1/2 day Aquarium (2nd day was free)
and Monterey Bay Kayaks, kayaking with sea otters, sealions ans seals.
All were excellent trips

[NewtoOrlando]

Thanks everyone for your input! I was in Cornwall when I posted this, so completely forgot about it! It's a trip I really want to do, but my dh isn't so keen. I think i'm really going to sit down with an itinerary to see his thoughts, he really isn't interested!

[cornishfrogboy]

We did a trip identical to your thoughts in Easter of 2018..

Day 1. San Francisco arrival. Subway, Chinatown.
Day 2 Embarcadero, Alcatraz, Fishermens Wharf, Trolley ride.
Day 3 Dylan's famous tour, cycling , the bridge, Sausalito, Muir Woods. Cheesecake Factory.
Day 4. Hire car, bay bridge, Castle AFB, Monterey.
Day 5. Whale watching and drive to Madonna Inn with review.
Day 6. Reagan Library (amazing) and arrival Valencia.
Day 7. 6 Flags and arrival Annaheim.
Day 8. California Adventure park.
Day 9. Disneyland, Oceanside and arrival at Mission Beache.
Day 10. Sea world.
Day 11 Balboa park, Zoo, Airspace, Natural History Museum ‘meeting the English’’.
Day 12. Boat trip of Harbour, USS Midway, Topgun bar, Seaport.
Day 13. Ponyland, Tijuana by sea (and through the fence).
Day 14. Scripps aquarium, Legoland, Queen Mary.
Day 15. Santa Monica, Hollywood excursion, LAX.
Day 16 Home to Cornwall and collapse from exhaustion.

That worked just great and you could show him it on my trip report 'California N to South at Easter'. It is all on the first four pages of the thread and has piccies.
Another good one to pick the bones out of is a multi thread 'A suitcase and a Dream'.

This was our best USA vacation by a country mile. We were unfortunate to miss the Pacific Coast Highway between Monterey and San Simeon, so we are returning next Easter on a 2nd, abbreviated West Coast 'mop up'.

As your Husband is ex Navy, the bits about USS Midway, The Harbour Cruise and possibly San Diego Air space may appeal to him in my trip report (I am also ex Military).

Hope it helps!

[NewtoOrlando]

Originally Posted by cornishfrogboy

We did a trip identical to your thoughts in Easter of 2018..

Day 1. San Francisco arrival. Subway, Chinatown.
Day 2 Embarcadero, Alcatraz, Fishermens Wharf, Trolley ride.
Day 3 Dylan's famous tour, cycling , the bridge, Sausalito, Muir Woods. Cheesecake Factory.
Day 4. Hire car, bay bridge, Castle AFB, Monterey.
Day 5. Whale watching and drive to Madonna Inn with review.
Day 6. Reagan Library (amazing) and arrival Valencia.
Day 7. 6 Flags and arrival Annaheim.
Day 8. California Adventure park.
Day 9. Disneyland, Oceanside and arrival at Mission Beache.
Day 10. Sea world.
Day 11 Balboa park, Zoo, Airspace, Natural History Museum ‘meeting the English’’.
Day 12. Boat trip of Harbour, USS Midway, Topgun bar, Seaport.
Day 13. Ponyland, Tijuana by sea (and through the fence).
Day 14. Scripps aquarium, Legoland, Queen Mary.
Day 15. Santa Monica, Hollywood excursion, LAX.
Day 16 Home to Cornwall and collapse from exhaustion.

That worked just great and you could show him it on my trip report 'California N to South at Easter'. It is all on the first four pages of the thread and has piccies.
Another good one to pick the bones out of is a multi thread 'A suitcase and a Dream'.

This was our best USA vacation by a country mile. We were unfortunate to miss the Pacific Coast Highway between Monterey and San Simeon, so we are returning next Easter on a 2nd, abbreviated West Coast 'mop up'.

As your Husband is ex Navy, the bits about USS Midway, The Harbour Cruise and possibly San Diego Air space may appeal to him in my trip report (I am also ex Military).

Hope it helps!

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Thanks Dave... just replied to your DM!