Alternatives to Yosemite?!

[Ellibop]

Hi,

We're just in the early planning stages of a trip to California for August 2020 (have got Orlando again next Summer first!).

It'll be myself, DH and our then 12 year old DS. I really want to include San Diego for a few nights, as well as a few nights at a beach resort type place to include a whale watching tour and a relaxing time by the beach somewhere nice.

My original plan was to start in SF for 2 nights, drive to Yosemite for 3 nights, 1 night stop at Monterey, 4 nights at Santa Barbara (or similar..?) ending with 3 nights in San Diego.

I'm worried about too much driving and I think we'd probably prefer to settle in the same place for a few days as a base instead of changing location too frequently. I'm beginning to wonder if I should ditch Yosemite and instead fly into LA (or San Diego if that's an option..) and stick to that end of California for this trip? But we're keen to include national park type locations in the trip, are there options that would fulfil this at that end? I'm not interested in Las Vegas having been there previously.

This is all totally new to us, as we usually visit Florida, so I'm busy reading trip reports and picking up info as I go. I don't think we're bothered about including Disney or Universal on this trip, as we do those in Orlando, and Hollywood seems possibly a bit hectic and not really our thing. We'd prefer more natural places to visit and to see some of the scenic areas and wildlife opportunities. I'd had Yosemite as a definite must, but I'm thinking that might be better for a separate visit..?

Any and all advice very gratefully received x

[Ellibop]

Oh, I should have said - we're aiming on 14-ish nights, but could make it up to 16/17, and it'll be during the school summer holidays.

[Allan]

Yosemite is very beautiful but not sure my kids would have enjoyed it aged 12. However Yosemite is my favourite place that I have every visited, pictures don't do it justice.

Monterey is the best place for a whale watching trip and imho deserves more than 1 night. We used Santuary Cruises and the trip was amazing.

I would say that if you have 2 weeks and are concerned about too much driving then either do southern California or do the SF/Yosemite/Monterey triangle.

[Ellibop]

Thanks - that might be the option we take. I really like the look of San Diego though, and SF seems so expensive and gets mixed reports. Maybe we should extend the trip by a few days and have a few extra stops between Yosemite and Southern California...?

[Stella11]

I don't think I have ever met, or spoken to anyone that has not loved Yosemite. I did a three week West Coast road trip and Yosemite was the highlight.

[Ellibop]

I've only ever read amazing things about it - I think I need to include it. So looks like starting at SF and making our way down to San Diego via Yosemite might be the best choice for us. Any suggestions on which stops to make after Monterey anyone? Initial thoughts are Monterey then Santa Barbara, but I'm not really sure how far apart these are...

[Grump$]

Santa Barbara is lovely and a good stop off point between Yosemite and San Diego. Also check out Solvang as a stopping point or as a day trip from Santa Barbara a little piece of Denmark in California.

[jdouds]

Hi overall your plan is ok bur would tweak it slightly .
3 n San Fran
3 n yosemite
3 n Monterey to include whale watching,aquarium,17 mile dr,Carmel
2 n Santa Barbara
And then as long as you can in San diego.
As for the drives3.5 San Fran to yosemite and then 3.5 to Monterey
Monterey to Santa Barbara is longer but you will stop a lot ,Santa Barbara to san diego 3.5

[Ellibop]

Thanks for all the advice - I'll check out Solvang, sounds interesting! It's the cost of staying in SF that made me limit it to 2 nights, but I'll take another look. Thank you, much appreciated.

[jdouds]

Hi have a look at airbnb or home away for all places on the west coast , it's all we do now.