izgiz27

Hi
We are planning a 14 day trip for the end of July 2018 into August with our 7 and 10 year old. I was thinking about flying into LAX and doing Disneyland for 3 days and then driving up the coast to San Fransisco for a few days, then drive on to Yosemite for 4 days (accommodation is so expensive I dont think we can stay longer) and then drive back to Los Angeles to fly back to England.
Does this seem feasible?
Is it worth adding in Kings Canyon NP/ Sequoia? on the drive back?
I'm presuming we'll need to stay over night somewhere on the long drive up the coast? - I was thinking possibly of Monterey cos Ive seen it mentioned several times on here but for no other reason. Any other suggesstions?
Current plan is to rent a condo in Yosemite West to avoid queues to get into the park each day, unless anyone knows of a cheaper alternative that will still give us lots of time in the park and enable us to get there early before it gets too hot without getting out of bed painfully early?!
Any suggestions of where to stay in San Fransisco or for Disneyland also greatly appreciated.
Many thanks
L

jamie99

For Disneyland I would look into a "suite" hotel on or near Harbor Drive like Residence Inn or Springhill Suites, etc. for more room, hot breakfast, etc. rather than trying to cram 4 people into one hotel or motel room.

marvelousmouse

How much is the condo? I'd probably try to get a tent cabin in Yosemite Valley for the convenience.

4 nights for Disney/LA. 2 nights in the coast. I'm not a big fan of Monterey but the aquarium is fantastic so probably the best stop with the kids. 3 nights Yosemite Valley. Go to SF last, drop your car off, 3-5 nights in SF. Fly home out of SFO or Oakland.

Not having a car in SFO will save you a lot of money and hassle. And not driving back to LA gives you an extra night in SF.

izgiz27

many thanks,

will start looking at disneyland accomodation.

the condos are similar price to the lodges but look nicer and mean we can put kids to bed and have the lounge to relax in so approx $250 a night. We decided we wanted our own bathroom and not keen on risking noisy neighbours and a bad nights sleep in a tent. Although we were tempted by the pool at the lodge as we're contemplating exploring the park early in the morning, heading back for a siesta or cool down and then heading back in later. However there is the worry that we wont get another parking space later in the day. hmmm. What do people think of this idea? None of the Condo's Ive looked at have air conditioning, so not much point returning for a siesta if they're boiling hot too!!

I thought about flying in and out different airports but the flights were more expensive so the saving on the hire car was negated, but i might have another look!
Also, it would be a very long drive surely up the coast and then across to Yosemite? Would we be missing much if we took a more direct inland route straight from disney to yosemite?

Thanks for the replies so far

Patty

If you decide to change this to a one way drive instead of a loop, I'd go to Yosemite before Monterey. Not having to go back to LA means you might also have time for SEKI before Yosemite.

janisj

I'd try to fly in to LAX and home from SFO (or vice versa).

Yosemite West is a perfectly fine location and will save you $$/££ being able to prepare picnics/dinners. (The only convenient areas really are El Portal, Yosemite West, Foresta and, of course, in Yosemite Valley. So if the Yosemite West condo fits your budget that will work.

Do realize that both Yosemite and DisneyLand will be VERY crowded in August.

Barbara

Even staying at Yosemite West, you'll have to deal with traffic getting into Yosemite Valley and parking in the Valley. To go to the high country, you still need to go through the Valley. I'd stay in the Valley if you can fit it into your budget. If you decide to do that, book now. You can always cancel, but make sure you get the room(s) you need. They book a year and a day (366 days) in advance.

marvelousmouse

Yes...you would be missing the coast which is one of the most beautiful parts of CA...it wouldn't be that long surely, if you stay on the coast in two places. Monterey is about 5 hours away from Yosemite Valley, I think. Your original plan had you driving Yosemite to LAX- that's 6-7 hours with traffic probably.

The open jaw flights don't often save you money in the rental car. Where it saves you is money and hassle parking in SF. You don't want or need a car in SF at all. And it saves you time...to be sure to make your flight on time, you'd have to be in LA the night before your flight. So that takes away one night elsewhere, plus hours of unnecessary driving.

Unless...you could do LA, Yosemite, SF, and then work your way down the coast from there. I just think having a car in SF is an unnecessary expense and hassle. But if you find lodging that includes parking and leave your car parked the whole time, that would work. If you do that don't leave ANYTHING in your car.

I would stay in the lodge or the cabins because nothing would beat walking out your door into Yosemite Valley every morning. But if the condo fits your lifestyle better, go for that.

janisj

Yosemite Lodge at the Falls (new name 'Yosemite Valley Lodge') would definitely be better than Yosemite West. The extra cost is more than worth it IMO. As they say - Location, Location, Location!. But if it doesn't fit the budget then stay as close as you can and Yosemite West is about as good as you could do.

If you want more basic the tent cabins would be OK too.

Patty

There are also motel rooms and hard sided cabins (both with private bath) at Half Dome Village (in addition to the shared bath tent cabins) that may be a tad less expensive than the rooms at Yosemite Valley Lodge.

Monterey to Yosemite Valley is a 4 hour drive but summer traffic just to get into the valley can sometimes add hours especially on weekends. Try to hit Yosemite midweek.

If timed correctly, Anaheim to either Yosemite Valley or Monterey are both around 6-7 hour drives using the most direct route. Rush hour traffic through LA can add additional hours.

It's possible that a part of Hwy 1 through Big Sur along the coast will still be closed well into next year due to having to construct a new road to go over a massive slide.

izgiz27

Thank you so much for all replies, very useful.

I think we have decided to suck up the costs and stay in the valley. Came to similar conclusion about not driving the whole coast road from LA to San Fransisco as flights don't seem to be any more expensive in and out of different airports. This has also freed up a couple of days

So new idea is....
fly into LA and have a down day to recover from jet lag then 3 days at Disneyland.
Drive inland to Yosemite. 4 days at Yosemite.
Drive to San Fran for 2 days
drive down to Big Sur spend night somewhere nearish to get to park next day but far enough away to not be too expensive(!) have day exploring big Sur.
Drive back to San Fran stopping at Monterey to see Sea lions and other wildlife.
Night in San Fran before flying home.

Help with how realistic the Monterey /Big Sur bit is would be appreciated.
Would it be better to just enjoy Monterey and wildlife (I'd really like to see sea lions and kids would enjoy too) and give Big Sur a miss? Would love to visit but think we haven't really got enough time to make it worthwhile.

Would we be better after San Fran just driving to Monterey and sit ding night there before heading back to San Fran to fly home?

This new plan also means we can't get rid of the hire car when we get into San Fran after Yosemite. Any ideas?

Would driving to Monterey/ Big Sur straight from
Yosemite be do- able? Then we could go on to San Fran?

Many, many thanks

izgiz27

Oh had forgotten about the SEKI idea? Would that be better than sea lions at Monterey?

Patty

It would make more sense to head to Monterey from Yosemite and visit SF last. Monterey is actually a good base for exploring Big Sur. Accommodation options are somewhat limited in Big Sur and tend to be expensive for what they offer. Lots of family friendly things to do on the Monterey Peninsula. You could easily spend 2-3 days here.

As far as SEKI vs Monterey, it depends on whether you prefer mountains vs coast. Your new plan is only 11 days? It would be helpful if you indicated the number of actual nights you have to work with.

izgiz27

Ok definitely coast rather than SEKI.
If it's a do able drive between Yosemite and Monterey that definitely makes more sense.
Our current ideas are
14th Aug fly into LAX arrive 4pm
15th quiet day to recover from flights use hotel pool or explore LA
16th Disneyland
17th Disneyland
18th Disneyland
19th drive to Yosemite,
20th Yosemite
21st Yosemite,
22nd Yosemite
23rd Yosemite and then drive to Monterey late afternoon?
24th Big Sur
25th Monterey and then drive to San Fran
26th San Fran -Golden Gate Bridge
27th San Fran
28th fly home.

Actually gives us less time in Yosemite than I was hoping.
Google maps says 3 and a half hours from Yosemite to Monterey. How realistic is that?

Still torn between valley lodge and a rental in Yosemite west. Yosemite west has advantage of shorter driving times to majority of main Yosemite sights. Doing a lot of driving across California the idea of being 30 mins from several Yosemite attractions is very appealing. Plus a 2 bed detached property rather than 1 room and we could escape to relative piece and quiet rather than be surrounded by people in valley.
Or will I regret this who I get to the valley? Is it worth driving further to other parts of the park to return and sleep in the valley?

Patty

Here's a report from someone who stayed in Foresta recently (similar to Yosemite West, it's located within the park gates but not in the valley) http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...oia-wteens.cfm For the days you're exploring the valley, get there early to find parking.

It's about 4 hours from Yosemite Valley to Monterey but it depends on traffic getting out of Yosemite. However I see a problem with your Monterey dates which will fall toward the latter part of Car Week next year (highest hotel rates all year). Normally Car Week ends on the 3rd Sunday of August but next year Pebble Beach is also hosting the US Amateur Championship bumping Car Week back one week which means we'll have two extremely busy back to back weeks next August. Based on your initial post I had thought you'd miss both events. One of the few places on the Monterey Peninsula that doesn't raise their rates is Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove. The accommodations are rustic (it's a state park concessionaire) but it's located in a lovely wooded setting with deer roaming the property across the street from Asilomar Beach. If you can't change your dates, I'd grab a room there now as they will sell out (many people book a year or more in advance for that week). Otherwise you're likely to have to look in Marina or even farther away to find anything close to that price.

Barbara

"drive down to Big Sur spend night somewhere nearish to get to park next day but far enough away to not be too expensive(!) have day exploring big Sur."

I just wanted to make sure that you understand that Big Sur is not a "park", but an area along the coast.

http://www.bigsurcalifornia.org/

janisj

Per Patty's post: I can't stress enough >>I'd grab a room there <red>now</red> as they will sell out

izgiz27

Oh no!
Will the area/roads be very busy? Will it be very noisy?
Should we avoid? Or go back to San Fran first and then Monterey?
Will look into your accommodation recommendation.
Thank you so much

izgiz27

Ok managed to get a room at your recommendation with free cancellation up to 3 days before. So now do we re arrange our plans to avoid cars week? (What exactly is cars week? What will the impact on us be?)

janisj

If you have accommodations at Asilomar you will be fine. Car week involves the Concours at Pebble Beach, car shows, and races at Laguna Seca which are spread all over the county. But yes, places will be crowded. Noise isn't really an issue -- the raceway/Laguna Seca is on the old Ft Ord army base

https://www.seemonterey.com/events/s...2x4i1es9efmsf7

These events are this year's to give you an idea: https://www.seemonterey.com/blog/pos...2x4i1es9efmsf7

I used to attend almost every year but have only been once in the last 15 or 20-ish years. It has become much bigger since then.