needavaca

Hi,

I'm considering a family California trip next December with a 13 & 16 yr old.
Was thinking of starting in Disneyland for a day, then making our way up the coast and ending in SF.
Would love any ideas and recommendations!
Cool hotels, restaurants, sites, anything would be so helpful!
Thanks so much!

Gardyloo

I would start in the north and work south, so that the ocean is on your side of the road.

Google the places on this map - https://goo.gl/maps/9NSXJo8zcZZM42696

These include the terrific Henry Cowell redwoods, the Monterey Bay aquarium, and the monarch butterfly sanctuary in Pacific Grove. You'd also visit the lovely old Spanish mission in picturesque Carmel, and stupendous Point Lobos - awesome scenery and wildlife - before continuing down the Big Sur coast to the Hearst Castle at San Simeon. Just north of the Hearst Castle visitor center is the Piedras Blancas elephant seal colony - fascinating.

You'd then continue down the coast to lovely Santa Barbara with the "queen of the missions," then into LA. Among the many sights in LA, I'd definitely include a day in the old Pueblo district in the downtown core. Visit Olvera Street, beautiful Union Station, have a French Dip sandwich at Phillipe's (where it was invented) and just feel the old Spanish vibe.

This is a terrific 9- or 10-day route, highly recommended. If you could extend it a couple of days you could throw in a day out at Joshua Tree National Park and Palm Springs - fab in the winter.

Monarch butterflies, Pacific Grove



Big Sur coast



Elephant seals, San Simeon



Mission Santa Barbara

StantonHyde

If you click on my user name, you will find trip reports for San Francisco/Monterey and Central California coast with teens. There is also a trip report for Santa Barbara that my husband I took. If your kids are into Harry Potter at all, the HP World at Universal is pretty darned amazing.

jamie99

With only 9 days (is that 8 or 9 nights?) I would stick to either Norcal or SoCal only. It will get dark at 5pm in December and you don't want to drive Highway 1 from Santa Barbara or Cambria in the dark.
Might want to post your lodging budget per night for helpful recs.

StuDudley

Here are some ideas for things to do in the San Francisco area

https://www.fodors.com/community/uni...ations-356478/

Stu Dudley

janisj

Ditto -- First of all how many actual nights do you have on the ground? 9 nights or 8 nights or ??

1) 8 or 9 days is short for both ends of the State. 2) Dec is the rainy season so Hwy 1 may be a complete no go (North > south or South > north essentially makes no difference - especially at that time of year). 3) 'Disneyland for a day' doesn't really work. It takes a minimum of 2 days to see that whole park (DL & CA) and that would mean 3 nights. When in December? DL is extremely busy over the Holidays..

We won't know what next winter will be like until . . . next winter.

Gardyloo's photos are beautiful, but if there are storms blowing in off the Pacific you wouldn't see any of that.

tomfuller

I agree with Gardyloo about driving from the north to south. Have you checked on the drop fee renting in one place and then returning another? Save the Disneyland part for the end of the trip.

mlgb

It doesn't rain every December, especially in Southern California. I have seen weather just like Gardyloos photos in December. Just depends on whether it's a dry year or a wet one .
.
Obviously, since it takes less than a day to drive between SoCal and NorCal even 8 days is just fine for both. I'd split the drive between LA and the Bay Area into two legs, the first from LA to Morro Bay (about 4 hours, 200 miles) and then Morro Bay to Pacific Grove/Carmel (about 3 hours on Hwy 1, plus stops, 124 miles). If the weather is bad, or the road is closed, there are ways to do both legs by going inland

If you are nervous driving on the edge of the drop off of the Big Sur Hwy, then do it south to north makes more sense. It really doesn't matter that much.

No problem with just one day in Disneyland. About three months out, have a look at one of the crowd calendars. Generally I'd try to go during the week in the first half of the month. MAXPass is worth it. It will be busy but if you avoid weekends and weeks around holidays, should be manageable with good planning and an early start. Worth spending the night before and after in Anaheim. However you couldn't pay me to go between Christmas and New Years, including the preceding weekends.

I'd split the nights as follows, roughly 3 days each in southern Calfornia, Central California and the Bay Area. Assumes you don't mind a few one night hotel stays, but you could also skip LA entirely and just head straight from Anaheim to the Central Coast (Morro Bay), maybe with a lunch break in Malibu or Santa Barbara.


1Anaheim
2Anaheim
3Los Angeles
4 Morro Bay
5 Pacific Grove/Carmel
6Pacific Grove/Carmel
7San Francisco
8 San Francisco
9 San Francisco

Gardyloo

I agree with mlgb's basic plan but in reverse -

2 nights SF
2 nights Monterey peninsula
1 night San Simeon (or Morro Bay)
1 night Santa Barbara
3 nights general LA area/Anaheim

If they want to spend more time in SF or LA, then indeed the San Simeon/Morro Bay - LA day could be done with just a stop in Santa Barbara.

BTW the pictures were all taken in January (over a couple of years.)

In another thread, the OP said they're coming from the NYC area. I presume that therefore they know that travel conditions in the winter sometimes need to be revised due to inclement weather. In this case, if Hwy 1 is closed or otherwise restricted, or if the forecast is for fog or heavy rain, then a simple detour to US 101 is easy.

janisj

"In another thread, the OP said they're coming from the NYC area. I presume that therefore they know that travel conditions in the winter sometimes need to be revised due to inclement weather."

True enough -- but I have friends in the Midwest/NE who think it is always sunny in California. It ain't. Just something to consider

It can be really lovely in Dec - or really awful.

RaymondLuxuryYacht

As usual, the Fodorites say "8 or 9 days is not enough time for _______." I always ignore these comments. What is not enough time for one person/family is plenty of time for others; it's a personal choice/preference.

For example, one day is plenty of time for Disneyland. Seeing the companion park California Adventure is totally optional, and in fact not recommended unless a multi-day Disney stay is the main focus of your trip.

On the Central Coast, I'd suggest San Luis Obispo over Morro Bay or San Simeon. More bang for your buck in terms of things to see/do on a short visit, and the things like Hearst Castle, elephant seals, etc. are easily doable as day trips (with the scenic drive to these places itself being part of the attraction—this whole area is gorgeous).

I happen to be in San Luis Obispo for a family wedding as I write this, and we're staying at the La Quinta hotel on Monterey Street. It's brand-new and very nice (including rooftop pool patio), I highly recommend it. (No affiliation; just coincidental that I'm here now and am quite impressed.)

I'd consider no more than 3 destinations (with day trips from each), such as: LA/Anaheim (Disneyland), Central Coast (SLO, Morro Bay, Hearst Castle, etc.) and then either Monterey or SF. I would personally aim toward Monterey because (1) the aquarium is a highlight for kids/teens, and (2) SF maybe deserves more than just 2-3 days, so perhaps save it for a future trip.

I went to school on the Central Coast, and my parents lived here for two decades, so I have spent much time here. It's truly a hidden gem in the giant and great state of California.

RaymondLuxuryYacht

On second thought, forget I said that. I should keep my mouth shut, so it remains a hidden gem.

janisj

I completely disagree with your comments re Disneyland/California Adventure. With all the new attractions, doing just one park would seem a huge miss. If one isn't interested in Disney - there is no need to go at all. That truly would be a real waste of time and $$$. But presumably being interested, going, and then omitting half of what is available doesn't make sense to me.

Barbara

Lots of people go to either Disneyland or California Adventure, but not both. Time and cost are both potential issues. My son and his family visited CA Adventure only a couple of weeks ago on a trip from Missouri. I disagree with the idea that if you don't have time to see absolutely everything, then you should see nothing.

needavaca

Thank you all for your advice - will take it all into consideration!!!
We have been to Disneyworld many times so I'm well aware that 1 day might not be enough to see it all in Disneyland, so I will give careful thought to how important that part of the trip is.
Will definitely want to see SF, as I lived there 20+ years ago and would like to take my time there.
Would like to keep hotels in the $300/night range (maybe less in some areas and more in LA?) and I don't mind a 1-night stay if we are moving around a lot.
Santa Monica is a must - I think the kids would love that area.
Will also consider that weather might be a factor- but I don't mind being flexible during the trip and changing course on the fly if need be.
Unfortunately, trip has to be over the Xmas school break, so no flexibility there.
My plan was to fly into LAX and out of SFO.

Please keep your advice coming, it's super helpful!!!

jamie99

There are only a handful of motels and no hotels for $300 and under per night in Santa Monica over Christmas break (I checked for a Tuesday after Christmas), it is just one of the priciest areas in LA to stay to begin with. Check pricing on various sites, I used booking.com
Maybe look into Marina del Rey, or Manhattan Beach which are lesser known than Santa Monica and usually less expensive. Maybe Sea View Inn in Manhattan Beach.
In case you want to look into a short term rental, they are restricted or illegal in many SoCal beach towns, in Santa Monica short term rentals are only legal if the owner is also living on the premises.

tomfuller

Did you check about the drop fee on rental cars? My grandchildren have been to Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm and 6 Flags Magic Mountain. They live close to Magic Mountain and the family has a season pass.
They even prefer Knotts to Disneyland.
You could rent a car in southern California and then turn it in and ride the Amtrak Coast Starlight north to Oakland with an Amtrak bus over to one of several stops in San Francisco.
If you went north to south, you could ride the Coast Starlight to Santa Barbara (arriving about 6PM) and rent a car for the southern California part of your trip.
I'm hoping that there will not be big wildfires in California through the summer continuing into the fall and maybe winter. Fact: Sacramento and San Francisco did not have a drop of rain in February 2020. This is the first time this has happened in over 100 years of record keeping.

Gardyloo

If Disneyland remains a priority, then I'd look in Orange County rather than LA for accommodations. Have a look at Newport Beach, Balboa Peninsula, Balboa Island, and Huntington Beach as possible stand-ins for Santa Monica.

If Disneyland can be skipped, then I'd agree that one of the beach towns like Manhattan and Hermosa could be ideal. I'd also look at something more inland; one of our fave places is the Farmer's Daughter, a fun hotel located across the street from the old LA Farmers' Market and a short walk from CBS Television City, where The Price is Right is taped - there are lots of pictures of TPIR winners in the hotel's lobby. It looks like prices are in your range for the week around Christmas. It's a lot of fun, and offers easy commuting to Beverly Hills and not that far from Santa Monica. https://farmersdaughterhotel.com/

Here's a little map showing some suggested visits in this part of LA - fabulous atmosphere. Note the AMPAS Museum is scheduled to open in early December. https://goo.gl/maps/t2doeVCrGQjiuhbK8

J62

janisj has a good point. If you can't spend enough time to visit every part of Disneyland then it's hardly worth going at all.

janisj

That is NOT at all what I said. I said that one day is not enough time for both parks. Jeeze Louise. But with the new info, I'd probably say one day is enough and to use it at California Adventure instead of DL. Christmas break is the second most crowded week of the year though so even one day at CA will be a zoo.