LA trip

[Rach86]

Hi i would love to go LA and san fran, san diego etc. Well if we talking about what i want then hawaii is the dream but maybe we should keep that out for the momet haha.
I can book florida with my eyes closed but stuggling with how to book LA.
I dont know the best month to go! Ive booked Florida for next may but was considering changing to LA.
Is may a good time to go or is too expensive? 5 of us 2 adults 3 kids. X

[Sandraoh40]

We went in May and it was fantastic but we knew before we went there would be variations in the weather.
Monterey was cool, Palm Springs was roasting, vegas warm and San Diego just nice. But we don’t really want it to be too hot.
Cost wise, we had a budget and I worked around it. We had some expensive hotels and some very reasonable accommodation as well. But I have to say that looking back some of the places we stayed then we couldn’t justify the cost now, but we would just go somewhere else.
I learned a lot fromm this forum and used the trip reports to help me plan.

[cornishfrogboy]

You need to update this thread with..
1. what you want to do, sights? Theme Parks? PCH? Inland to Yosemite, Vegas etc etc
2. What age are your children?
3. What is your attitude to driving 1000 miles plus?
4. What sort of budget do you expect on Hotels?
5. Do you want a few bases or do you intend doing the whole SFO to San Diego? (Recommended)
6. How many nights are you planning on doing?

Answering the above, will give DIBBERS the chance to better cover time of year, itinerary etc etc.

A California Vacation need be no more difficult than an Orlando one. I would not have a clue how do do WDW for instance.

Meantime and in order to get a ‘feel’ for what is on offer, I suggest that you read two links from my signature.
1. California N to South 2018
2. California, Arizona, Nevada 2022 pretrip.
Both are single thread, easy to read (hopefully) and will give to a basic structure upon which to build a vacation. They cover planning, attractions, prices (on the pre trip), the whole shebang.

It is great fun and extremely rewarding to the extent that in probability, we will never return to Florida, yet alone Orlando. A decent tip is to be realistic in terms of days, to things to be done and also to never underestimate travel times.

Hawaii? We are doing that next Easter!

Top tip.. if you are thinking of switching.. then do it. You won’t regret it.

[Bad Pink Tink]

I agree with cornishfrogboy. There are various types of West Coast holidays, all of which are very different to the typical Florida holiday.

There are lots of regulars here on the dibb who go to The West coast and we all do different types of holiday.

Some people do the big road trip
Some people do the LA touristy things
Some people do theme parks
Some people hire a car
Some people don't hire a car
Some people do budget accommodation
Some people do splurge accommodation

I have done two trips to the West Coast this year
My January Trip Report
My June trip report

[megaflyer]

Hawaii is some way off the California coastline - it is like flying from London to New York. If you plan to do San Francisco to la to San Diego then Hawaii you will need over a month really else you will be spending much time travelling and hardly skimming the surface of each place (plus it will cost a fair whack) - often people forget just how far Hawaii is but it is worth the effort to go there as its nothing like USA mainland and each Island is different form the other

[cornishfrogboy]

Originally Posted by megaflyer

Hawaii is some way off the California coastline - it is like flying from London to Greece and more. If you plan to do San Francisco to la to San Diego then Hawaii you will need over a month really else you will be spending much time travelling and hardly skimming the surface of each place (plus it will cost a fair whack) - often people forget just how far Hawaii is but it is worth the effort to go there as its nothing like USA mainland and each Island is different form the other

See more...

I will be flying to Oahu from Vancouver and from Oahu to Seattle in March/April 2023. Each flight is well over 5 hours. Flight times would be similar from SFO, LAX or SAN.

I agree (as I generally do), with Megaflyer. Save Hawaii for another day and do it with maybe 3 days layover on the West Coast going out and 3 coming back at a different city, both with good public transport links from airport to downtown.. It helps with time zones whilst expanding the scope of your vacation.

See.. already you are getting advice and hopefully moving towards an initial plan.

[Rach86]

Amazing help thanks guys. I will update my post with more info! I have to admit im already wanting to swap. I will lose £400 if i cancel. So it doesnt have to be may. I think ideally id prefer October x

[megaflyer]

Originally Posted by Rach86

Amazing help thanks guys. I will update my post with more info! I have to admit im already wanting to swap. I will lose £400 if i cancel. So it doesnt have to be may. I think ideally id prefer October x

See more...

If you go to So Cal in October you will definately miss May Gray

en.wikipedia/wiki/June_Gloom

[Rach86]

Ok so 5 of us 3 kids ages will be 15, 12 and 6.
We want disneyland and universal.
Also want to to do Hollywood, Beverley hills etc all the touristy stuff.
I wanted san fran (.i wana see the doubtfire house lol ) but husband said its 6 hours drive from LA so hes moaning about that.
He never used to moan about driving so im hoping this is just a blip haha!
Budget wise i dont know, i want the cheapest really.
We would have a car as im assuming everything is miles away. Id like to go 6 flags too.
I dont have a clue where to stay or anything.
Thinking October for 14 nights ( 1 week half term ) i think 24th oct to 7th nov should cover the half term.
Is there anything else i need to add? I was looking at hotels and the prices are scary! X

[zoemoo]

We will go to Cali this year and won’t be hiring a car we either bite the bullet and have a taxi/private car or fly the longer bits. We never feel like we’ve missed out in fact the travel for us is part of the experience. We loved San francisco and wouldn’t dream of hiring a car there as transport is so easy. I can see why you might want to if you were going to the vineyards or wanted to drive the coastal route… LA is a spralling city which I couldn’t imaging ever driving in, but plenty to. We usually do a two stop stay in LA and then move to northern. Which brings me to the main difference. Florida for us is a simple arrive u pack and chilled for 2 weeks. California could be like that but you’ll miss loads if you stay in just one place. So you don’t need a car but if packing for you is an issue stick with Florida and have a magical time!