trilopbaz

I'm looking for some advice on my itinerary for a two week trip I am taking with my family of 5 (three kids aged 13/11/9). We are after a mix of seeing the main touristy things (celebrity tours), some theme parks(Disney Universal etc), some shopping for my wife (any US mall given we are from Oz) and some nature and sight-seeing.
Our plan is as follows;
Mon Dec 29 - fly in to LA - arrive at 6.30am, so will spend the day doing the touristy sights in Hollywood and stay somewhere around West Hollywood.
Tues Dec 30 - maybe a Movie studio tour or Universal
Wed Dec 31 - fly up to San Francisco
Jan1-3 - activities in and around San Fran
Sun Jan4 - Hire a car and start driving down coast - stop overnight at Carmel
Mon Jan5 - drive to San Luis Obispo - stay overnight
Tues Jan6 - drive down to San Diego - stay 2 nights - do Zoo, Legoland, shopping etc
Thurs jan8 - stay around Long Beach for remainder of trip (5 nights) and do Disneyland from here and other day trips
Tues Jan 13 (late) - fly back to Australia.

Thank you for allowing me to post my rough itinerary. Does anyone have any feedback on this, such as changing how long we are at certain spots, or a recommendation on where to stay for the first few days in LA and the last few days in San Diego and LA? We are not after budget - would prefer to find something safe and comfortable in a nice area.

trilopbaz

I forgot to mention we will definitely be trying to go to the Basketball. So we are planning to book in to a game on the Sat or Sun 10-11 Jan. I know I am about to cause offence, but what is the difference between the Lakers and the Clippers??

janisj

>>what is the difference between the Lakers and the Clippers??

StuDudley

>>Warriors are a VERY good NBA team in Oakland across the bay from San Francisco. The Warriors currently have the best record in the whole NBA

jamie99

Hollywood only takes one hour or so unless you take a celebrity homes tour, so you could combine that with Universal on the same day.
Warner Brothers has a very good studio tour with small groups and you get to see a lot more and actually ask questions unlike Universal where you are on a huge tram with 200 other people.
I'd stay in Pismo Beach instead of SLO. In nearby Oceano Dunes you can rent ATVs or take a Hummer tour which your boys might enjoy.
Don't stay in Long Beach (did a travel agent suggest this?) as there is almost no beach there except for the small but lovely section near Belmont Shore. Long Beach is a port city. Stay in Anaheim for Disneyland and DCA (and maybe add in Knott's Berry Farm which has a few coasters) or if you really want the beach, look at Huntington Beach a short drive away.

janisj

Oh jeeze -- I entirely missed the staying in Long Beach for five nights bit. No!

Now, there are some nice hotels in LB and the ferry to Catalina and a decent aquarium (though the one in Monterey is much better IMO) - Long Beach is not a 'destination' and a lot of it is quite iffy. Where were you going to stay?

There are many better areas to stay.

trilopbaz

Thanks for the advice so far. Long Beach was only because it looked central - not a good reason to choose a location! We don't want to spend 5 days at Disneyland so were looking for somewhere that would be closer for other activities as well as Disneyland.
I like the suggestions so far and think we will make some of the recommended changes.
Anyone recommend a location to stay for 5 nights other than Long Beach?

janisj

Santa Monica, Manhattan Beach, somewhere in Orange County . . . any would be good.

Santa Monica will be generally pricier, but the high end properties are worth it iMO if they fit in your budget. Or Marina Del Rey.

Manhattan Beach is a good, generally less expensive, alternative.

Patty

Weekend mid day traffic through LA/OC is just as stop and go as weekday mornings/afternoons. Depending on the time of day, it may actually be better to try to drive through on a weekday.

I'd be OK with the SLO to SD drive leaving fairly early and keeping stops to a minimum. Of course, if you can carve out another day and make it more leisurely, all the better!

Paqngo

You could add some more time to San Diego and not spend as apmany at the in in LA.

Paqngo

I meant as many at the end in LA.

StuDudley

"living on an LA freeway, ain't my kind of having fun"
John Denver

I grew up in LA, & that's why we left LA in '75 to move up to San Francisco.

Stu Dudley

mlgb

For Disneyland part of your trip, stay nearby in Anaheim. It is much easier to find hotels that can hold a family of 5 there.

The other advice is to think about what happens after New Years with Disney closing rides to remove the holiday overlays. You may want to reconsider what you do when you first arrive in LA. If you have a multiday pass you may want to delay your flight to SF and allow at least one day at Disneyland through January 6.

The best place to get advice on DL is one of the specialized boards such as Disboard, mouseplanet, etc.

jamie99

I agree with mlgb, stay in Anaheim for your Disneyland and DCA days then move to the LA area. You are seeing Hollywood and Universal upon arrival so sit down and make a list of what else you want to see to determine how many days for LA. Santa Monica, Venice (read up on it, has a strong marijuana presence these days), Getty Museum or Villa, Griffith Park and Observatory, La Brea Tar Pits, boys might like the Petersen Automotive museum near the tarpits, downtown LA, etc.
Research the hotel or motels carefully, due to fire codes many limit occupancy to 4 but there is a list on the Tripadvisor LA Forums of places that allow more than 4.
Also for Disney, Allears has a list with menus and prices for all restaurants in both parks and Downtown Disney to help with your planning.

november_moon

I would change the itinerary for your drive down the coast a little bit. I would add at least 1 more night to the drive down the coast - there is a lot to see and you don't want to rush it. And the days are short, so you have to account for that.

Monterey has a lot to offer and definitely deserves a full day if you can manage it. If you added another night to the drive, you could spend it there.

SLO to SD is a long drive - 5.5 hours without stops or traffic. I would stay a little bit farther south in Pismo Beach if you can and/or add another night en-route, maybe Santa Barbara.

MichelleY

Pismo would be fun for you kids if you go for an ATV or Hummer tour of the sand dunes. We did this a few years back and it was so fun!

trilopbaz

Thanks for all of your great advice. Time to do some more research and make the recommended changes!

Surfergirl

As an alternative to pro basketball, UCLA's basketball team will be in town at the newly re-built Pauley Pavillion from January 7th through 11th hosting both Stanford and Cal (University of California, Berkeley). I much prefer college games with all the team spirit, and they are cheaper too!