Planning a cross country trip with kids!!!! Suggestions needed please
Jun 3rd, 2016, 05:59 PM
#1
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Planning a cross country trip with kids!!!! Suggestions needed please
Hi Traveling from Northern VA to the west. travelling with wife, 2 kids (at 3 and 4 years old) and a 1 year old.
We have a full month and we'll be traveling in August/Sept 2016
our route looks like this right now:
- mclean, VA
- Mount Rushmore
- Yellowstone
- Yosemite
- Napa Valley
- Monterey
- Orange County
- Page, AZ
- Grand Canyon
- Mclean VA
Total 103hrs driving in 30 days. we plan on staying a day or two along the way at interesting places/cities, since we don't really have a "destination" and since we have time.
Any suggestions to make our trip better is greatly appreciated. Am i missing any major attractions along the way? especially on the way back?
We have a full month and we'll be traveling in August/Sept 2016
our route looks like this right now:
- mclean, VA
- Mount Rushmore
- Yellowstone
- Yosemite
- Napa Valley
- Monterey
- Orange County
- Page, AZ
- Grand Canyon
- Mclean VA
Total 103hrs driving in 30 days. we plan on staying a day or two along the way at interesting places/cities, since we don't really have a "destination" and since we have time.
Any suggestions to make our trip better is greatly appreciated. Am i missing any major attractions along the way? especially on the way back?
Jun 3rd, 2016, 06:29 PM
#2
Sounds like a great trip. Definitely add the Tetons to Yellowstone. I would do Monument Valley after the Grand Canyon. I usually suggest Mesa Verde NP but your kids are too young for that. Maybe a quick stop at Great Sand Dunes NP and play in the sand a bit.
Pick places with a pool.
Don't know if you like to camp but we took lots of trips stopping at camping cabins at KOAs. The kids loved it because it felt like camping and I loved it because you can just toss sleeping bags (or quilts and sheets) on the beds and you're set up. Camping-light and they have pools. Our favorite one was on a river outside Durango but it's no longer there.
Don't try to drive more than 500 miles and/or 8 hours in a day.
Pick places with a pool.
Don't know if you like to camp but we took lots of trips stopping at camping cabins at KOAs. The kids loved it because it felt like camping and I loved it because you can just toss sleeping bags (or quilts and sheets) on the beds and you're set up. Camping-light and they have pools. Our favorite one was on a river outside Durango but it's no longer there.
Don't try to drive more than 500 miles and/or 8 hours in a day.
Jun 3rd, 2016, 07:52 PM
#3
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Why Orange County? We like it, but it doesn't seem to fit your plan.
Unless you really want to go to the greater LA area, I suggest you see more of the coast, going south from Monterey. Lots of cute places along the way, at a slower pace with your little ones in tow: San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, just to name two I like.
Unless you really want to go to the greater LA area, I suggest you see more of the coast, going south from Monterey. Lots of cute places along the way, at a slower pace with your little ones in tow: San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, just to name two I like.
Jun 4th, 2016, 02:51 AM
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Find some places with zoos--San Diego and Denver. Also natural history museums--it's hot, they will be air conditioned.
You could add some dinosaur sites--google for places near your itinerary.
Just seems like a LOT of driving with really small kids for a long time.
You could add some dinosaur sites--google for places near your itinerary.
Just seems like a LOT of driving with really small kids for a long time.
Jun 4th, 2016, 08:11 AM
#5
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Thanks everyone.
Tabernash2,
Why orange County? Good question. Not sure, except that I'm familiar with it. We don't have to go there.
Starrs, we'll look into Tetons and monument Valley! Thank you!
Gretchen,
Yes. Awefull lot of driving....but we won't get a a chance to take a month off any time soon! Gotta take the chance to make the best of it!
Ideally, I'd like to actually find an all inclusive resort in California as our "destination"....to stay at for like a week. Any thoughts or recommendations?
Tabernash2,
Why orange County? Good question. Not sure, except that I'm familiar with it. We don't have to go there.
Starrs, we'll look into Tetons and monument Valley! Thank you!
Gretchen,
Yes. Awefull lot of driving....but we won't get a a chance to take a month off any time soon! Gotta take the chance to make the best of it!
Ideally, I'd like to actually find an all inclusive resort in California as our "destination"....to stay at for like a week. Any thoughts or recommendations?
Jun 4th, 2016, 09:50 AM
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I don't think there are any all-inclusives in California, but I agree that a stay in TAhoe would be great. Look at renting a condo at Brockway Springs Resort - we used to go there the week before the kids went back to school when they were elementary-school age. Everyone loved it - nice pool with fantastic view, on the lake, near Kings Beach. The kids loved the grassy area in the center - it's where everyone hung out after dinner. It's not a "resort" in the traditional sense of the word - just a condo community on the lake with a pool and a couple of tennis courts. It's the kind of place where you bring your own food to the pool to make sandwiches for lunch. If you want a "real" resort, look at the Hyatt in Incline Village, Nevada.
http://brockwaysprings.com
http://brockwaysprings.com
Jun 4th, 2016, 11:14 AM
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Haha
Valium is a must! Although, we went to FL with the kids a couple of months ago and they were really good! 18 hours over 2 days. We have an electric car with auto pilot so 80% of the 1000 miles was done completely autonomously! Hoping the same for the longer coast to coast trip. Much less fatigue!!
Lake Tahoe is an excellent idea! Thank you!
Valium is a must! Although, we went to FL with the kids a couple of months ago and they were really good! 18 hours over 2 days. We have an electric car with auto pilot so 80% of the 1000 miles was done completely autonomously! Hoping the same for the longer coast to coast trip. Much less fatigue!!
Lake Tahoe is an excellent idea! Thank you!
Jun 4th, 2016, 11:45 AM
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I would add in a night between Monterey and Orange County, maybe either Pismo Beach or Morro Bay. It is too far to drive it in one day despite what Google Maps says (it is off by 25-35% on the Highway 1 drive times). Drop Napa and go wine tasting instead either in Paso Robles inland from Cambria or the Santa Ynez Valley near Santa Barbara. Less expensive tasting fees as well.
Do you have reservations for Yosemite? It books up a year in advance although you could try calling daily for cancellations.
Do you have reservations for Yosemite? It books up a year in advance although you could try calling daily for cancellations.
Jun 4th, 2016, 11:52 AM
#14
Believe me, no offense intended (been there, done that) but recognize that the destinations will really be about you and not the kids. Obviously we don't know yours, but my personal experience with traveling with kids of those ages is that the scenery and historic sites are quite unimportant. Have you been on long (and I do mean long road trips with them?
I'd put Yellowstone and Yosemite on the "maybe" list owing to what will almost certainly be very scarce accommodations, especially for families, when you're traveling. In both cases you can stay an hour or two outside the national park, but even then you might find slim pickings. I know that this runs counter to an "ad lib" plan, but it is what it is.
I'd give consideration to visiting the Black Hills (and don't forget Badlands National Park a little west of Rapid City) and then after Yellowstone/Grand Tetons, I'd actually head toward the Columbia River Gorge and Portland, then down the Oregon coast to the redwoods, then down the California coast to Orange County, before heading east via the Grand Canyon.
But as this map illustrates - https://goo.gl/maps/4wb39PgqrB92 - you're in for over 100 hours in the car with wheels turning (and Google tends to underestimate) so even with 30 days you're looking at 3+ hours per day on average not counting rest stops, sightseeing, meals, bored kids' breaks, etc.
So I wonder if maybe something less ambitious might make sense? Maybe fly to someplace in the west where you could rent a car for cheap for three weeks, do a big loop so as to avoid one-way rental car ripoffs, and call it good? You could use Denver or Salt Lake City, or LA or even Las Vegas, and do a circular route that includes both the Rockies and the Pacific coast.
Just a consideration.
I'd put Yellowstone and Yosemite on the "maybe" list owing to what will almost certainly be very scarce accommodations, especially for families, when you're traveling. In both cases you can stay an hour or two outside the national park, but even then you might find slim pickings. I know that this runs counter to an "ad lib" plan, but it is what it is.
I'd give consideration to visiting the Black Hills (and don't forget Badlands National Park a little west of Rapid City) and then after Yellowstone/Grand Tetons, I'd actually head toward the Columbia River Gorge and Portland, then down the Oregon coast to the redwoods, then down the California coast to Orange County, before heading east via the Grand Canyon.
But as this map illustrates - https://goo.gl/maps/4wb39PgqrB92 - you're in for over 100 hours in the car with wheels turning (and Google tends to underestimate) so even with 30 days you're looking at 3+ hours per day on average not counting rest stops, sightseeing, meals, bored kids' breaks, etc.
So I wonder if maybe something less ambitious might make sense? Maybe fly to someplace in the west where you could rent a car for cheap for three weeks, do a big loop so as to avoid one-way rental car ripoffs, and call it good? You could use Denver or Salt Lake City, or LA or even Las Vegas, and do a circular route that includes both the Rockies and the Pacific coast.
Just a consideration.
Jun 4th, 2016, 04:10 PM
#16
Just curious - how did you manage averaging 500m/day in an electric car? I would think the recharge stop(s) along the way would prohibit that. That is, unless your car is a plug in like a Chevy Volt in which case you would be doing most of that 500 miles using the gas engine as a generator.
Jun 4th, 2016, 04:38 PM
#17
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Suggest you lay this out day by day and have much lower hours on the road given that you have 3 little ones. The chances of all 3 of them being happy with driving for more than a couple of hours is slim. I think you need to build in stops along the way - not just bio breaks or meals - but for the kids to run around and be kids - with some sort of attraction attached if possible.
I would rethink the trip based on that fact - and then build it organically from there.
I would rethink the trip based on that fact - and then build it organically from there.
Jun 4th, 2016, 05:25 PM
#18
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Basingstoke2,
it's a Tesla (all electric. Range 240 miles). Drive 150+ miles. stop 20-40 minutes. drive another 150 miles. stop 20-40 mins. rinse and repeat
Nytraveler,
you know, i'm beginning to reach that same conclusion the more i look at the drive.....based on my calculations, it'll take 8 days (with the breaks and charging, etc) to get to CA from VA. too much driving. If it was just me and wife, we'd drive 10-15 hrs a day and get there much faster....but with kids, you're absolutely right.
it's a Tesla (all electric. Range 240 miles). Drive 150+ miles. stop 20-40 minutes. drive another 150 miles. stop 20-40 mins. rinse and repeat
Nytraveler,
you know, i'm beginning to reach that same conclusion the more i look at the drive.....based on my calculations, it'll take 8 days (with the breaks and charging, etc) to get to CA from VA. too much driving. If it was just me and wife, we'd drive 10-15 hrs a day and get there much faster....but with kids, you're absolutely right.
Jun 4th, 2016, 05:47 PM
#19
Tesla! Sweet!
That's the problem with truly cross-country trips. It is a lot of miles. I use a 500 mile/8 hours as a max rule of them. Anything more than that because grueling - and that's without stops with kids.
That's the problem with truly cross-country trips. It is a lot of miles. I use a 500 mile/8 hours as a max rule of them. Anything more than that because grueling - and that's without stops with kids.
Jun 4th, 2016, 05:57 PM
#20
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3 young ones in a car for a few [a lot] of hours for a day or 2 is way different than day after day for so many days.
I appreciate that you won't have a month off again for awhile, but you may not ever want one again after this one!
Seriously - fly to the west and do a driving loop from there. Stay a week in a place or 2 or 3. This doesn't have to be a "see as many places (whizzing by a car window)" as possible.
I appreciate that you won't have a month off again for awhile, but you may not ever want one again after this one!
Seriously - fly to the west and do a driving loop from there. Stay a week in a place or 2 or 3. This doesn't have to be a "see as many places (whizzing by a car window)" as possible.
