Where to start..

[hilz22]

Next years holiday we are thinking, the west coast. However with planning thats as far as i have got.
Rough plans are 2 nights in vagas, 1 night in death valley. 7 nights in a villa on the beach somewhere in LA (help no idea) 4 nights somewhere else.
Can anyone reccomend where is a good place for me to start. 2a 2c 16 and 13

Thanks

[the_lemms]

Google maps... research the areas thats how we always start. We always book our flights first (usually whatever we can get cheapest) then go from there. We try and keep drives to maximum of 4 hours which in your case is Vegas to LA.

I wouldn't do 7 nights in one place as there are to many places to see, if you are planning flying into Vegas then consider Vegas, Death Valley, Sequoia Forest, Pismo, Santa Barbabra then down to LA.

There are so many combinations that you need to think about wat you want to see / do, we loved Yosemitie and the PCH but weren't that thrilled with Vegas, others are the opposite.

[Melbatb]

For the beach I would say San Diego! Have a read of Aims’ tips in the stickies as there is lots of great advice. We loved San Diego as do many other on here and you can easily fill 7 days there! Have a look at my report (SoCal). My kids were also 13 and 16!

[jdouds]

Hi first of all where are you flying to. In and out of LA usually works or into vegas and out of LA..if you are doing vegas and Death Valley then the obvious route would be to go to yosemite for a couple nights, then San Fran 2 night, Monterey and on to LA.

[hilz22]

Thanks guys seen some killer prices on flights to LV so that might be an option for us. As always though we have to wait until dh secures a new contract. Always happens that his contract is finished when i see good flight prices, daren’t book until we know he is secured for another 6 months. Going to start looking at google maps and start researching there. San Diego seems popular.

[400ixl]

West coast holidays aren't like booking in Orlando, doing a week in a villa really doesn't work for most and you would be spending hours in cars to get to where you need.

With children in the age bracket you have I'd look at something like the following from your initial plan.

2-3 days in Vegas
1 night death valley
2-3 nights north LA (Universal, Warner Bros, Hollywood, Santa Monica etc)
2-3 nights Anaheim if you plan to do Disney
2-3 nights San Diego (maybe more if you want a beach break for Seaworld, Zoo etc)

[hilz22]

Originally Posted by 400ixl

West coast holidays aren't like booking in Orlando, doing a week in a villa really doesn't work for most and you would be spending hours in cars to get to where you need.

With children in the age bracket you have I'd look at something like the following from your initial plan.

2-3 days in Vegas
1 night death valley
2-3 nights north LA (Universal, Warner Bros, Hollywood, Santa Monica etc)
2-3 nights Anaheim if you plan to do Disney
2-3 nights San Diego (maybe more if you want a beach break for Seaworld, Zoo etc)

See more...

Mmm maybe have to have a rethink. We love a road trip, we did miami to atlanta and back again this year and loved it. But we do like to have a week relaxingin the middle. I thought about hawaii but a little too pricey for next year.
Might have to go back to the drawing board...

[cornishfrogboy]

1. Aims sticky is a great start point. San Diego is wonderful (even though we selected badly where to stay.. and for several reasons).
2. Trip reports are good and we read loads of them whilst drawing up our initial plan.
3. We avoided cutting inland to either Yosemite (time of year) or Vegas (wouldn't suit our family group, plus distance).
4. I agree with 400IXL that it may be unwise to use your 'Orlando Head' whilst planning your vacation. To extract maximum entertainment and value, I would suggest a few days or even less, taster in each of several locations and we ended up with 7 . . Whilst I have driven most of Florida, right up to Pensacola, this driving is in a very different league. In a nearly straight line from SFO to San Diego plus back up to Long beach, we racked up 1200 miles.
5. It is very much worth it and by a country mile our best USA vacation to date. I wouldn't cut either SFO or San Diego at any cost either to save miles. (I would happily cut LA though &#128578.
6. N to S is certainly preferable as it means that you are not sightseeing across a carriageway towards the sea on the Big Sur.
7. Going at Easter saves you lots over high summer whilst lessening crowds (a little). The downside is that whilst we were in the low to mid 20s every day, another might not be so fortunate.
8. 11 days is (imho) too short to justify the miles and number of things to see
9. There are a million different ways of planning this holiday and few posters will agree in entirety.

For us, it was
Research (loads)
Planning
Flights (prices can vary loads by day and airport location).
Finalise planning after buying the flights.
Having the best vacation ever (agreed by every one of the 4 of us).

If you like, you can start with my review, 'California N to South at Easter', although I think you have read it! Then look at others reviews on the same route plus expert advice on Yosemite, Las Vegas etc. Just because we struck them out, doesn't mean that they don't suit yourselves.

Roadmiles is the dampener and must be taken into account, particularly in LA. Imagine wading through waist deep Gorilla Glue, only it is worse.