cleigh2015

We are very excited to be taking our family vacation (kids 14 and 11) to California the last week of May. Our only problem is that we have no clue on where to go, what to do, where to stay, etc. Could someone please suggest an itinerary, keeping in mind that our flights are in and out of LAX?

We do want to see the coast : )

Thank you so much for your help!

Cleigh

MichelleY

Wait. You are going in about a week and have no plan? Go to the "view by state"drop down above and click on California. There will be lots of ideas from trip reports and questions. With only a week. I would stick to So. Cal. LA and San Diego would be great.

cleigh2015

Yes, we leave in about 2 weeks on May 27th for 11 days.

I am now considering going up the coast to San Fran and flying back to LAX the day before our departure flight home. Does that sound reasonable?

I have been to San Diego and I really wanted to go up the coast. I don't want the kids to get bored with just the beach, so I thought San Fran would be a good place to go if we can fit it in.

marvelousmouse

Are you interested in LA theme park stuff, like Disney? I think your kids might enjoy the theme parks more than the driving, and there's also a lot to do in LA and San Diego. With that time frame (and kids that age) I'd probably focus on Southern California like Michelle suggested. Or maybe fly from LAX to SF and focus on SF, but that would be a little convoluted because you have to fly out of LAX. Any particular reason you chose LAX? How many days did you want to spend in LA itself, because I think that would make a big difference on how far you'd want to branch out? Southern CA would probably have the warmer weather this time of year, if the kids are into the beach (I've found that it's the adults who tire of the beach first, but maybe that's just my family ).

StuDudley

Here are some ideas for the San Francisco & Big Sur coast areas

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...mendations.cfm

Stu Dudley

clarkgriswold

What time do you arrive into LAX, and do you want to visit Los Angeles sites or have you also already been-there-done-that. Best to give more information in your initial post. Do you have a budget regarding "where to stay"?

If you are not including Los Angeles in the trip, I would do a couple of nights in Santa Barbara where you can kayak or take a scenic boat cruise, also hiking and biking. Castillo Inn has a "family suite" that may already be booked up unfortunately. Coast Village Inn and Eagle Inn may also have some family-sized suites.

Up a bit further in Pismo, the Lighthouse Suites have some two-room family suites, or Edgewater Inn. In Pismo you can actually drive right on the beach, or rent three wheel ATVs at Angello's to ride on the dunes. There's a pier for fishing and some nice Cliffside parks just north in Shell Beach for picnicking. Then Monterey or Santa Cruz for a couple of nights.

If you are flying down from SF to meet your LAX departure flight, make sure that you use an airline that is code-share with your LAX airline...if the flight from San Fran is late (as they often are)...you will have less of a hassle at LAX as they will handle all the changes right from SFO. Otherwise allow a day of leeway. The other way to do it would be to just fly to SF immediately on your day of arrival, and then after 3 nights in SF just start your drive southbound. Check the one-way car hire rates as well since sometimes going in one direction can be twice as expen$ive as the other direction and this might help you decide.

Patty

Flying from SFO back to LAX a day before would be fine. That way you don't have to worry about misconnecting on separate tickets as SFO does tend to be delay prone.

With 11 days you have time for the coast drive but keep in mind that accommodations on the coast tend to have 2 night minimums on weekends though many will waive this requirement providing there's space and you're booking last minute.

Patty

Or if the one way car rental plus one way airfare gets to be too expensive, you could take the boring but quicker route back to LA from San Francisco (6ish hours mostly on I-5).

suze

<up the coast to San Fran and flying back to LAX the day before our departure flight home. Does that sound reasonable?>

Sure, that works.

Are you interested in seeing things in Orange County (Disneyland, etc.) and downtown Los Angeles (Griffith Park, Olvera Street, Chinatown, LaBrea Tar Pits, The Grove/Farmer's Market, Walk of Stars, Hollywood sign, etc. etc.?

Or you plan to immediately head north along the coast after landing LAX?