Never been to the west coast before - any tips

[TTA]

Hi

We are thinking of taking a break from Florida in 2018 and doing the west coast. We are a family with one son who will be 9 when we go.

The only thing we know we want to do is see Disneyland.

Apart from that what would others recommend we try to do. Where should we stay / should we do split stays.

We are aiming for three weeks there.

Thanks in advance

TTA

[jdouds]

Hi on the west coat there is so much to see but you will have to make sure that you keep the interest of your boy. Most people will tel you that 3/4 days is all you need for Disney. Option we would suggest , San Diego zoo , wildlife park,hearst castle ,elephant seal beach,whale watching from moss landing,San Fran cycle tour, cycle over bridge to ,Saulisito, Alcatraz ,White water rafting,yosemeti, Grand Canyon ,vegas.
That should get you started, enjoy the planning.
Ps you will find accommodation west coast much more expensive, we used airbnb this year and all were great.

[TTA]

Originally Posted by jdouds

Hi on the west coat there is so much to see but you will have to make sure that you keep the interest of your boy. Most people will tel you that 3/4 days is all you need for Disney. Option we would suggest , San Diego zoo , wildlife park,hearst castle ,elephant seal beach,whale watching from moss landing,San Fran cycle tour, cycle over bridge to ,Saulisito, Alcatraz ,White water rafting,yosemeti, Grand Canyon ,vegas.
That should get you started, enjoy the planning.
Ps you will find accommodation west coast much more expensive, we used airbnb this year and all were great.

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Thanks very much

[Guest]

3 weeks is a great amount of time to explore. Have a read through some of the trips on here, that helped us to narrow down where we wanted to visit. We had a 2 week trip last year (LA, Anaheim, PCH1, San Fran, Yosemite) and would love to go back again. We only had a day trip to San Diego so really need another trip there to do it justice this time. Happy planning!

[Sandraoh40]

We had a 3 week trip back in May and it really was amazing we didn't go to Disneyland as I didn't feel the need, but I'm sure it would be great. We had one night in marina deal rey, 4 in Monterey , 1 in pismo beach, 5 in yucca valley( just outside Palm Springs) , 3 in Vegas and 5 in San Diego. I would go back in a heartbeat. I got lots of ideas about what we were going to do from reading trip reports which proved invaluable.

[Cloverlady]

We did a 3 week West Coast tour in March/April this year - it was just amazing!

We didn't do Disney (we are going in October) or any of the other parks as we go to Florida every year anyway.

Instead we did a circular route, Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Vegas, Grand Canyon (South rim overnight) Yosemite, San Francisco, Pacific Coast highway, Monterey, Pismo and back to LA

Our highlights were without doubt the National Parks we visited (Yosemite, Death Valley, Grand Canyon, Valley Of Fire, Lake Mead Rec Area, Joshua Tree NP, Mojave Preserve, ) We loved these so much we are going to do the Mighty 5 national parks in Utah next year!

It was an unforgettable trip, and with 2 teens (16 and 13) no tantrums or boredom or anything it was quite an adventure , one which they are looking forward to doing similar next year.
Plenty for kids to see and be interested in on the West Coast!

[TTA]

Thanks all much appreciated. I will start looking at the trip reports !

[florida girl]

Originally Posted by Cloverlady

We did a 3 week West Coast tour in March/April this year - it was just amazing!

We didn't do Disney (we are going in October) or any of the other parks as we go to Florida every year anyway.

Instead we did a circular route, Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Vegas, Grand Canyon (South rim overnight) Yosemite, San Francisco, Pacific Coast highway, Monterey, Pismo and back to LA

Our highlights were without doubt the National Parks we visited (Yosemite, Death Valley, Grand Canyon, Valley Of Fire, Lake Mead Rec Area, Joshua Tree NP, Mojave Preserve, ) We loved these so much we are going to do the Mighty 5 national parks in Utah next year!

It was an unforgettable trip, and with 2 teens (16 and 13) no tantrums or boredom or anything it was quite an adventure , one which they are looking forward to doing similar next year.
Plenty for kids to see and be interested in on the West Coast!

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We are off to the west Coast in a few weeks again and have done most of the National Parks you have mentioned and like yourself loved the experience. So excited have just booked flights to do the Mighty 5 next March just me and OH,I feel lots of planning ahead booking hotels,routes,etc.

[Guest]

As I'm not a cyclist I would recommend the Fire Engine tour in San Francisco. They will take you to Sausilito:

sanfranciscofireenginetours/

Whale watching from Monterey. Just fantastic experience:

montereywhalewatching/ - other companies are available.

Visit Carmel by the Sea - quaint and quirky place. Clint Eastwood was once the mayor. The Mission ranch (part owned by him) is a fantastic restaurant.

Hearst castle. See how a latter media king, Randolph Hearst lived, having turned a ranch into a castle. The swimming pool was used in Spartacus.

See the elephant seals on the beach near San Simeon. Visit Morro, San Luis Obispo and Pismo (great outlet mall). Visit Santa Barbara and do a Segway tour of the city:

segwayofsb/

Visit Solvang - a totally Danish town complete with windmills, little mermaids and storks on the roofs.

Disneyland at Anaheim. Universal Studios at Hollywood.

Warner Bros tour:
wbstudiotour/

San Diego - visit La Jolla for seals and rocks and great coffee shops, The Zoo, Bilboa Park and the USS Midway. See the bar where they filmed Top Gun. Go up to Loma Point for the lighthouse and amazing views. Visit the Del Coronado hotel where they filmed "Some Like It Hot" and see if it reminds you of a Disney hotel.

And this is just scratching the surface.

Some of our trip reports:

California, here we come - http://DIBB.in/5951216

Wofford Heights, here we come - http://DIBB.in/7050488

In the footsteps of Lewis and Clark - - from Day 6 onwards - http://DIBB.in/9837493

[florida girl]

Originally Posted by geoffa

As I'm not a cyclist I would recommend the Fire Engine tour in San Francisco. They will take you to Sausilito:

sanfranciscofireenginetours/

Whale watching from Monterey. Just fantastic experience:

montereywhalewatching/ - other companies are available.

Visit Carmel by the Sea - quaint and quirky place. Clint Eastwood was once the mayor. The Mission ranch (part owned by him) is a fantastic restaurant.

Hearst castle. See how a latter media king, Randolph Hearst lived, having turned a ranch into a castle. The swimming pool was used in Spartacus.

See the elephant seals on the beach near San Simeon. Visit Morro, San Luis Obispo and Pismo (great outlet mall). Visit Santa Barbara and do a Segway tour of the city:

segwayofsb/

Visit Solvang - a totally Danish town complete with windmills, little mermaids and storks on the roofs.

Disneyland at Anaheim. Universal Studios at Hollywood.

Warner Bros tour:
wbstudiotour/

San Diego - visit La Jolla for seals and rocks and great coffee shops, The Zoo, Bilboa Park and the USS Midway. See the bar where they filmed Top Gun. Go up to Loma Point for the lighthouse and amazing views. Visit the Del Coronado hotel where they filmed "Some Like It Hot" and see if it reminds you of a Disney hotel.

n dthis is just scratching the surface.

See more...

Hi Geoffa ,great suggestions for San Diego we are going back for our 2nd visit next month . On our list are La Jolla,Loma Point as couldn't fit in last time. Where is the bar from Top Gun?