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Old 23 May 20, 09:03 AM  
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#1
Oscar10
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Mobile Yosemite or monterey

Hi, we are in the planning stages for a California trip next August.

Fly into San Francisco (4 nights)
Yosemite (3 nights) or Monterey/PCH (3 nights)
LA (2 nights)
Anaheim (4 nights)
San Diego (5 nights)
Fly home LAX

We are a family of 2 adults, 3 children (17, 11 and 10). My question is if you had the choice would you visit Yosemite or Monterey and drive down the PCH to LA.

If Yosemite would you stay in the park or outside the park in nicer accommodation and drive in ?

Is there any smaller walking trails for the kids ?

Do you drive or get the shuttle buses to the main tourist spots ?

Any info would be a great help

Thanks
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Old 23 May 20, 09:48 AM  
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Pumpkin Pie
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I would pick Yosemite over Monterey.

We stayed just outside the park (can’t remember where as it was a few years ago). The choice of accommodation is limited and I can’t say where we stayed was that great - pretty basic and not cheap. We have been to Yosemite twice over the years. If you do decide on Yosemite book accommodation early as it fills up quickly (well it does in normal times!).

Yosemite is huge and we drove to the various spots ourselves. I remember walking a trail around Mirror Lake which was easy (I am no hiker).

Having said all that for children Monterey has the aquarium, whale watching trips etc. and Carmel just down the road has a great beach (we prefer Carmel). On the drive down the PCH you can stop at places like Hearst Castle.

You will enjoy whatever you decide.

When in San Francisco you should book tickets for Alcatraz before you go as it gets busy (if you are planning going there). It is well worth a visit.

Last thing (and of course this is just my view) I would give LA a miss.

Edit: reading another post I will add we also drove into Yosemite from Las Vegas (both times) then onto San Francisco then down the coast.

Edited at 09:59 AM.
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Old 23 May 20, 09:54 AM  
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miked1e
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I would choose Yosemite. We did both in 2016 but Yosemite stay was on our way from Vegas to San Fran.

We stayed in Yosemite and I would do again. Highly recommend Yosemite lodge at the falls (think that’s what it is still called). Lovely hotel with nice food court and amazing views.

We did 2 walks there... the mist trail and Mirror Lake. Saw a bear coming back from Mirror lake.

We used the shuttle bus to get round but did the main ones ie tunnel view and the one at the top on the way in so we’re in the car.

If booking to stay in Yosemite then look to book 12 months in advance.
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Old 23 May 20, 09:54 AM  
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Ruthy1604
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I too would choose Yosemite. We stayed in the park for 3 nights with our teens and had a great time. It is the most amazing place!
We did the PCH too and that was lovely, but given a choice, I’d return to Yosemite in a heartbeat.
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Old 23 May 20, 10:19 AM  
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Oscar10
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That’s great, thanks for your reply’s.
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Old 23 May 20, 11:10 AM  
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KarenG
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We had the same dilemma and chose Yosemite. I’m really surprised all the answers have said that because I remember at the time a few people thought I was crazy for missing Monterey!
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Old 23 May 20, 11:37 AM  
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Vinniecat
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Unfortunately we had to miss Yosemite due to the fires. I was gutted and would love to go one day. However I loved Monterey. We visited Sanfrancisco, Monterey, Pismo beach, Santa Barbara, San Diego and Anaheim. Of all those places Monterey was my favourite. I also loved Sanfrancisco and Santa Barbara.
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Old 23 May 20, 12:05 PM  
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florida_noob
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Yosemite is unbelievable, even the drive out there from the coast, I would also do PCH , would definately give LA the bare minimum, not a nice place IMHO and the traffic! , 4 days anaheim is plenty to do the parks and maybe a day at the beach, 5 days in San Diego sounds great too

SF - nice sights but the hotels are v expensive and the homeless issue and aggressive begging was a real eye opener, and really intimidating. we would not rush back there or LA, everywhere else we went in Cali was really nice.

For Yosemite, stay on site if you can, its basic but clean, unless you are in the best hotel which is mega bucks. lots of small trails and plenty of hard ones too!, buses are great.

Edited at 12:11 PM.
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Old 23 May 20, 12:52 PM  
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Pumpkin Pie
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Originally Posted by florida_noob View Post
Yosemite is unbelievable, even the drive out there from the coast, I would also do PCH , would definately give LA the bare minimum, not a nice place IMHO and the traffic! , 4 days anaheim is plenty to do the parks and maybe a day at the beach, 5 days in San Diego sounds great too

SF - nice sights but the hotels are v expensive and the homeless issue and aggressive begging was a real eye opener, and really intimidating. we would not rush back there or LA, everywhere else we went in Cali was really nice.

For Yosemite, stay on site if you can, its basic but clean, unless you are in the best hotel which is mega bucks. lots of small trails and plenty of hard ones too!, buses are great.
We have driven through LA a couple of times - it’s definitely a white knuckle ride. 😱

We love San Fransisco. There is definitely a homeless problem (they have never bothered us) but have we walked all over the city a few times and there are great areas to wander.
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Old 23 May 20, 01:11 PM  
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jdouds
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Hi we would suggest both which of course isn’t the question. To enable this to be done we would take a night of a n of Anaheim and San Diego. Disney is quite small and 2 days is enough, or do 3 days San Diego.
San Fran to Yosemite 3.5 hours
Yosemite to Monterey 3.5 hours
Whatever you decide it will be great.
If you can do both, do the valley floor tour on arrival, great for a little history and getting your bearings. Walk up vernal falls and down John muir trail, tunnel view point, glacier point and tioga pass.
Monterey, whale watching fantastic, aquarium is v good, 17 mile dr, Carmel , pebble beach if your sporty. On coast there are so many photo opportunities, and great places to stop.
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