Rebooking for 2021 - fill in the blanks please...

[jdouds]

Hi would agree with others and drop at least 2 days Holywood , with extra days we would suggest add a day to Monterey and Yosemite. Also while Death Valley is good to see 1 n would do and add a night to Vegas ( so much to see )
For Monterey if you only have one night and take away the morning you arrive and 4/5 hours whale watching you have no time to see the many other things. Aquarium is fantastic, 17 m dr, Carmel ,beach ,pebble beach,Pacific grove and the coast in this area is just fantastic.
For Yosemite you would arrive probably afternoon or early evening and again so much to see it’s worth that little extra time and we don’t think you would regret it.

[abzorba]

Originally Posted by jdouds

Hi would agree with others and drop at least 2 days Holywood , with extra days we would suggest add a day to Monterey and Yosemite. Also while Death Valley is good to see 1 n would do and add a night to Vegas ( so much to see )
For Monterey if you only have one night and take away the morning you arrive and 4/5 hours whale watching you have no time to see the many other things. Aquarium is fantastic, 17 m dr, Carmel ,beach ,pebble beach,Pacific grove and the coast in this area is just fantastic.
For Yosemite you would arrive probably afternoon or early evening and again so much to see it’s worth that little extra time and we don’t think you would regret it.

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I can't move things around too much as there's the added complication of it being my daughter's birthday whilst we're there and I need to avoid any driving on that day.

We were originally going to do two nights in Monterey and two in San Fran but then we thought we'd Whale Watch in the morning and do the aquarium in the afternoon and then drive to San Fran in the evening rather than stopping overnight in Monterey.

My two daughters definitely want that full 5 days in Beverly Hills as they'll want at least 3 of them on the beach! I'm going to get a convertible Mustang for 2/3 of these 5 days so Hollywood will just be a base for us to go elsewhere.
Being at Universal first though might give us a bit of extra time in Hollywood so I'll look at shortening that to 4 nights and taking a slower drive up PCH (and getting to Monterey earlier).

My wife wants 2 nights in Death Valley as she wants one in the pool looking at stars and another having a nice meal.

[jdouds]

Hi have you done your homework ref B Hills , LA is a sprawling mass and some parts not to be spending to much time in especially at night. Just check it out in some detail before you go any further. Overall most people would think you have to much time in LA area when you add the pieces together. As you know we all try to give a balanced view to try and help. For some of the places on your route it would be a shame to rush to much. Happy planning

[abzorba]

Originally Posted by jdouds

Hi have you done your homework ref B Hills , LA is a sprawling mass and some parts not to be spending to much time in especially at night. Just check it out in some detail before you go any further. Overall most people would think you have to much time in LA area when you add the pieces together. As you know we all try to give a balanced view to try and help. For some of the places on your route it would be a shame to rush to much. Happy planning

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We're staying in Century City next to Nakatomi Plaza from Die Hard. What's the worst that could happen... ?

I'll do some reading to keep us safe. I hadn't given much thought to actually going out at night whilst we were in LA.

[jdouds]

Hi again like most cities some places to avoid. LA is a sprawling mass 100 miles across the urban area so not like cities you would be used to at homes.

[abzorba]

We'd only planned on doing Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Santa Monica and Venice Beaches whilst we're there for those 5 days. We're in Anaheim at the end of the holiday so will do Long Beach and Disneyland then.

[pinkandfluffy]

I would also recommend adding an extra night to Monterey and Yosemite by shaving off some time in LA. We did a day at Santa Monica and half a day Hollywood, really enjoyed Santa Monica but the half a day seeing the main LA sights and Hollywood was more than enough for us. Yosemite on the other hand is completely mind blowing, we stayed for 3 nights but would have loved more time there. Monterey is worthy of two nights, such a lovely place with lots to do. It’s difficult getting the right balance, we went with two older teens, didn’t do Disney or Universal but Six flags and Knotts Berry instead - amazing! Is there any flexibility with your room bookings? To flex the date a little?

[cornishfrogboy]

Originally Posted by pinkandfluffy

I would also recommend adding an extra night to Monterey and Yosemite by shaving off some time in LA. We did a day at Santa Monica and half a day Hollywood, really enjoyed Santa Monica but the half a day seeing the main LA sights and Hollywood was more than enough for us. Yosemite on the other hand is completely mind blowing, we stayed for 3 nights but would have loved more time there. Monterey is worthy of two nights, such a lovely place with lots to do. It’s difficult getting the right balance, we went with two older teens, didn’t do Disney or Universal but Six flags and Knotts Berry instead - amazing! Is there any flexibility with your room bookings? To flex the date a little?

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That is always the problem with planning a west Coast vacation.. you are invariably trying to ram a quart or even a gallon into a pint pot. I would agree with you re LA. I did Disney, Reagan Library, 6 Flags last time. The Half day from Santa Monica into Hollywood was about right for me.
Overall I was utterly underwhelmed with LA and although we are doing Warner Bros and Universal next year, it will be straight in then straight out towards Arizona.

[sheena330]

I think that sounds like a great itinerary. Just wanted to say that we spent 5 nights in West Hollywood as part of a 3 week trip, on top of some time in Anaheim. We loved it, (would go back in a heartbeat) and still had more we wanted to do. There is so much to do in California, whatever you decide you will have to compromise somewhere. Have an amazing time.

[abzorba]

Originally Posted by pinkandfluffy

I would also recommend adding an extra night to Monterey and Yosemite by shaving off some time in LA. We did a day at Santa Monica and half a day Hollywood, really enjoyed Santa Monica but the half a day seeing the main LA sights and Hollywood was more than enough for us. Yosemite on the other hand is completely mind blowing, we stayed for 3 nights but would have loved more time there. Monterey is worthy of two nights, such a lovely place with lots to do. It’s difficult getting the right balance, we went with two older teens, didn’t do Disney or Universal but Six flags and Knotts Berry instead - amazing! Is there any flexibility with your room bookings? To flex the date a little?

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We're a bit fixed with our hotel bookings now for LA, PCH and Monterey. I could cancel them (and 2 car bookings) and get refunds to adjust the dates but I don't think we'll get the hotels or cars at the same price now when we rebook. Both my daughters will want beach time in LA before we hit the road for 2+ weeks and they'd be perfectly happy to spend all 5 on Santa Monica.

I'm hoping 2 nights at Yosemite will be enough for us. My wife has a dodgy knee so we can't do any real trekking and will be limited to pootling round on the organised tours. Our original 2020 plan was just to drive the Tiago Pass and not go in to the valley so we're on a plus from that!

I'd love to do Six Flags and Knots Berry but my 11 year old daughter isn't a big coaster fan so might need to covert her first. Are they similar entry fees to Disney/Universal?