Thanks Bluegrass, I am currently changing my itinerary to include all suggested areas and try to remove where I shouldnt be going.
I will break days between amusement parks to give kids rest and see how they go. stroller is an option for both kids cuz they will def get tired by mid day.
Thanks for the insight in the big cities like SF and LA, but they are the main cities to visit with parks and things.
I dont know the current situation but does crime / drugs and all happen in day time or night time? any suggestion to avoid them and still go and visit these places?

if I dont go to SF and LA and LV then where should I visit in west coast?

Yes thats what I was considering getting a big van to seat all of us. I will look up hertz and Avis.
I am still in progress of fixing my itinerary and yes I will put some places where I dont have to "walk around" much and enjoy the view.
car seat is a problem it seems, cant I book cabs with car seats?
La Brea Tits noted.

where is the Cry emoji haha, I completely agree with you Michelle.
I am gonna change it all up and make it more kids friendly.

I am updating hawaii to 5 days and reducing time some where hopefully.
Kids dont get car sick really, everything is sooooo far away in Melbourne that we travel in car a lot and kids are used to it.
I went to Sydney over christmas break which is 900+kms (560 miles) and took a stopover for night in between. Kids were absolutely fine.
Thats the reason I was thinking to take 1 day break between SF and LA bt forum suggested 2 nights, I mite do that

sadly not yet. Possibly a big van to seat 4 adults 3 kids or just get 2 car instead which will have ample storage space (SUV)
do you have any particular car you can recommend cuz the cars in US are lot different from what we have in Aus.

"Specific location" and "close to attractions" are contradictory inquiries regarding L.A. It depends on the attractions you choose and a bit on your budget constraints. The only things you mention in L.A. are Universal and Hollywood. If that's your list, I'd stay near Universal and make a daylight visit to the area around the Chinese Theater on Hollywood Blvd.

Most crime here is based on opportunity (walking in isolated areas at night, flashing money/valuables, unlocked car) or acquaintance (grudge/dispute, domestic violence, etc.). BUT, the homeless population includes many with addictions and mental illness. The street encampments range from unsightly to disgusting and are sad to the extreme. I'd want to avoid going anywhere near them, esp. with little kids. There are a lot of homeless in Hollywood, Venice and downtown L.A., but you'll see random tents all over the city. Piles of bicycles and bicycle parts are a hallmark of addiction.

just wanted to find a sweet spot, I will be visiting universal and Disneyland (hopefully hollywood) and they are over 1.5 hour drive apart.
we will def be avoiding any isolated areas and night time with kids. I will avoid homeless people after reading your comments, Its very different from here.

to be honest based on the comments so far, it seems I should just go to hawaii, stay there for 2 weeks and come back home ;)

it seems I should just go to hawaii, stay there for 2 weeks and come back home https://www.fodors.com/community/ima...orted/wink.gif

Bingo!!! YES yes yes... That is what I would do without a second though. And I bet the kids if they understood the implications, would agree! And even your other adults, thinking about driving a van all over the place thru US southwest... or sitting on a beach in paradise!

Or maybe 1 week on the west coast, if you want that diversity but only San Francisco and fitting in Los Angeles, the Disney time etc. Then one week on one island in Hawaii. I will bet my last mai tai that would work out better.

People often think of plans like you have clearly spent time thinking out, but which remind me of The Amazing Race TV show! And IF you want to keep something keep the the Grand Canyon... not Vegas and Palm Springs :-)

I m not fuzzed over SF to be honest but def want to do Disneyland, Universal and possibly legoland and Zoo in san Diego. GC will have snow so gonna skip that and vegas too.
saves me $3000 on car rental for sure. I couldnt believe when I saw the price for car rental. $3500aud for 2 weeks for 7 seater or $5000 for 2 x 5 seater cars!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't live in California, so I can't answer your specific questions, but some good info has already been posted here by locals.
Do some research. Here is a sampling...
https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco...san-francisco/
https://www.abc10.com/article/news/p...a-259c11fb6f0a
https://www.latimes.com/california/s...o-lead-the-way

There is so much to do and see outside of these 3 cities, particularly with three young kids.
Just google 'top things to do in California' and select activities outside these crime/drug/homeless infested cities.
Many have already given good suggestions.
Yosemite, Joshua Tree, Redwood & Sequoia National Park, Tar Pits, Legoland, smaller towns/cities. Plus Grand Canyon, Hawaii, ect.

Random comments:

• Believe us - you are not the first visitor who dreams of visiting Hollywood . . . but it really is NOTHING to make a special trip for. Decades ago it was OK, fun even. But now it is really just a freak show with a bunch of sidewalks with metal stars in the pavement that celebs pay to have installed. It isn't anything to write home about -- unless you are writing a weird novel ;)

• Because it is the Christmas holiday season both DisneyLand/other theme parks and Hawaii will be very popular/crowded, but both are great family destinations.

• Winter isn't the best time to visit the coast between SF and say San Luis Obispo. Now, there could be decent weather, but winter storms, road wash outs, and such are very possible. And it won't be beach or tide pool exploring weather.

• Universal is really better for older kids and adults

Now that I see you are re-thinking things I'll throw this idea out to consider . . .

How about doing a trip split between Orange County / San Diego . . . and Hawaii. You could spend 3 or 4 nights in Anaheim -- there are several hotels/motels right across the street from DisneyLand/California Adventure so you'd be able to return to the room during the day if the kids need a rest and then head back into the parks later. Then go south to San Diego -- Lego Land, The amazing San Diego Zoo and Animal parks, Balboa Park, great Mexican food, Old Town, harbor and beach locations, etc. Then fly to Hawaii and spend the rest of your time there. You could book open jaw OZ to LAX and Honolulu back to OZ. From San Diego you could book a separate ticket to Hawaii on any airline including one you may not be familiar with in OZ . . . Southwest, Alaska, Hawaiian, etc.

IMO that would be a great winter holiday with tons that both adults and kids would enjoy.

I was literally talking to my partner just before I read you comment and suggested almost identical itinerary to her instead and explaining her what all the lovely people here has suggested.
I am inclining towards doing this instead of my previous itinerary. I need to talk other family and see what there thoughts are decide and book stuff asap.
thanks heaps for your amazing insight

i actually did google top things to do in california and based my itnierary accordingly. It seems I have to change all that after reading all the comments and skip national parks, vegas, SF, GC and stick to Hawaii, san diego nd LA and have a relaxign holiday than rushign to things

This may /will make eyes roll here, but my grandchildren, ages 5,6,6,10, all love Great Wolf Lodge. They call it the "Wolf House". It's a chain of hotels with indoor water parks. There's one in Anaheim, near Disney in Orange County and a night there might be fun. The ocean will be much too cold to play in.

https://www.greatwolf.com/southern-california

I won't eye roll Barbara. As a kid I would have LOVED that. There's one here near Seattle too.

Back to Makks ~ Three weeks including San Diego, Los Angeles, maybe even San Francisco, and one island in Hawaii would be fantastic! So much more enjoyable than the original "road trip" Amazing Race schedule :-)

Here's my plan for you:
Day 1-5 San Francisco area
Day 6-8 drive down to Los Angeles, including Santa Cruz, San Jose, or Santa Barbara stops (maybe Winchester Mystery House, Hearst Castle)
Day 9-14 LA and San Diego (maybe Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm and SD Zoo)
Day 15 fly to Oahu, arrive Honolulu, get hotel in Waikiki
Day 16-22 Hawaii
Day 23 fly home from Honolulu

Hate to disagree with suze ;) (hi suze :peace:) but the whole SF/coastal drive is extremely iffy at that time of year. Which is why I suggested simplifying the trek and concentrating on OC/SD and Hawaii.

Chances for better weather, and lots less car time.

ps: and FYI strollers are not allowed at Hearst Castle.

edit . . . nor at the Winchester Mystery House

This is the winning comment of the thread.
A much more enjoyable trip for everyone involved.

I would definitely urge you to google "Disneyland crowd calendar" and "Disneyland trip planning".
You will be visiting theme parks at the absolute worst time of the year, so you should do some planning in order to salvage some quality time there.

hola janisj :-) You know more than I do, so I do not disagree. And yes I was forgetting how little the "littles" are on this thread.

Truth be told, if I could truly be the one to plan this family's trip, I'd bag all of the mainland portion and spend three weeks in Hawaii !!! see a couple islands. aloha!

bluegrass1 may not know that 'Tar Pits' is actually in the City of Los Angeles.

I don't really understand why someone from Australia should spend much time in Honolulu/Waikiki unless the family just can't stomach a 16 hour nonstop flight back to MEL from LAX. Isn't it just an expensive and more crowded version of one of Australia's many coastal resort areas? With its own dose of homeless characters, BTW. Are there particular reasons other than routing or beach time that you were considering that?

For fireworks we don't really hold a candle to Sydney. Disneyland can be pretty zoo-ish on NYE. We went once on NYE, never again. However the holidays are the best time to visit for the special lighting, parades etc. Definitely do some research on the best days to go. You will need reservations. Hopefully that cuts down on crowding.

Re Las Vegas. It isn't the worst drive from Southern California (about 5 hours) and for some reason overseas tourists love it. There are some kid things so I wouldn't automatically rule it out.

Even Las Vegas has stopped trying to persuade people it's a kiddy place.

So go to Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm, SeaWord, San Diego Zoo, etc. for the west coast visit. Choose a different island for the Hawaii stay if Oahu is not of interest for whatever reason.

https://www.travelandleisure.com/thi...h-kids-6754687

Not only does Australia have their own island resorts, but it is also pretty close to other island chains such as Fiji (Fiji Air flies nonstop LAX to Nadi for example).

I think the OP may already know that, yet they still want to visit Hawaii.

Because they think it's a good place for New Years? It isn't like they need to go to Hawaii to see blue water or get warm in December.

I can understand wanting to break up the flights but then I don't know if they have an idea of what rooms for 7 would cost for that holiday week. Probably an arm and leg, or two. On top of who knows what the exchange rate will be.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...7b8fcaba15.jpg
Snow capped San Gabriel Mountains (from Signal Hill today).

And to answer one question the OP asked--to my knowledge you cannot order a cab with car seats. And depending on how big the 6 year old is he/she may need one also.

Updated itinerary for the trip
 

Sorry for bringing this thread back but finally book my flights and got some amazing deal. Here is my current itinerary for your experienced eyes. I have made it more kid friendly and added and removed all recommendations Updated itinerary​​​​​​​

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3c3cd387b0.jpg

Sorry, late to thread, some comments:

As you are from Melbourne, you already know that palm treed places can be chilly and wet in the winter, just don't expect anything but jumper weather and maybe you will get lucky with some warm days.

I'd rethink the whole Vegas thing, Phoenix will be warmer and there are nice resorts there, and it's not that expensive in the off-season. Just lining up a family to check into a Vegas casino hotel (can take over an hour) with young children is pretty daunting. But if your tickets are booked then I guess this is locked in. With children I would stay in a business hotel west of I-15 and drive to casinos, then walk the Strip from there. The free parking days are over but there is a lot of parking behind each casino. Or just walk, 20 minutes to the Strip, or take a taxi. Most business hotels also have a free breakfast room.

AFAIK there's no lodging inside Joshua Tree or resorts very near it, unless you are looking at Palm Springs a ways away? There are some motels near the 2 northern entrances in basically hamlets with a couple hundred people. Consider Death Valley instead which has lodging on-site and the distance from hiking spots to lodging is less than at Joshua Tree. 2 full days at JT is a lot.

You are listing 4 expensive things to do, 3 theme parks and the zoo, I guess if you have the money go for it. Last time I was at the SD Zoo 5 years ago the price for a family of 4 (2 teenagers) was over $200 even with a discount coupon. Sometimes the Klook app has discounts for these types of attractions. A note that Universal Studios is big on virtual attractions that aren't "real." Some of these work well, like the Harry Potter Castle, but most others you sit in a stationary place and get tricked into thinking you are moving by shaking and special effects, which make some people sick.

Yea I was tossing between death valley and Joshua Park and the forum suggested Joshua instead so I look it up. I thought there are accomdotion inside but seems there are none. with expensive things , the whole trip is expensive man​​​​​​​ just the tickets for 4 people return during that time broke my wallet, specially the buisness class back home from Hawaii hahaha. It seems it's the most expensive time of the year in hawaii.​​​​​​​vegas is mainly for adults not kids haha, kids activities before then adult tymmmeee.We do use klook here in aus as well, very handy.
thanks for suggestion for accomodation, any other places for accomdoation would you suggest???

Also how are the public transport there, is it worth hiring the car or using public transport? Car hiring is another big ticket item costing over $1200 for 8 days

I don't understand Dec. 17th. Are you staying near Disneyland, driving to Universal Studios and returning to Anaheim... in the same day? It's a Sunday, which could give you some relief on the traffic , but the drive will still take at least an hour each way and more when you add in time for parking and walking to the entrance. If it happens to be raining, I'd drop the whole idea. BTW, you may want 2 days to explore all of Disneyland/California Adventure... separate parks that can easily fill one day each.

If you were planning to stay the night of Dec. 17th near Universal, the drive to San Diego on a Monday morning could easily take 3 hours.

And then there's that notation on Dec. 18th... "hire car for 8 days." How are you getting around before then and after you return the car in Las Vegas on Dec. 25th?? Have you investigated the cost of this one-way car rental?

LOL :)

But seriously, there is decent public transport in some areas, very limited public transport an a lot of places, and essentially no practical public transport in many others. Now, there are some specific journeys where public transport is fine -- but your entire itinerary would just about require having a car.

I was worried the Joshua Tree fans (I am one BTW) would convince you to go there. It is a great place visit but really don't think it is the right fit for your family. The almost total lack of accommodations is only one reason.

I urge you to spend two full days at DisneyLand/California Adventure. Many who say one day is enough either aren't big fans or have been many times and forget how overwhelming it can be for first-timers. It just takes time and planning to get in all the rides/meals/parades you want to see/do - neither park is a quick visit. In a perfect world I'd even recommend 2.5 or 3 days -- but that would get into REAL money and eat up too much of your limited time.

tom_mm's comment relating hotels in Vegas should be noted. Without 'status' there is no way to quickly check in to any of the Strip hotels. There are specific queues and specific time windows and it is very common to stand in line for an hour or more.

I also question the Universal visit and think a second day (at the Disney Resorts) might be better. I gather someone is a huge Harry Potter fan? Be sure to check the minimum heights required on some of the rides. Also it sounds like you are not renting a car until you leave Disneyland? That obviously won't work if you are going to Universal for one day from Anaheim.

As far as deserts, they are going to be pretty much the same weather, Phoenix or California makes little difference. Can be cold at night and pleasant during the day. Not really "pool weather". For lodging near Joshua tree (and elsewhere) with a low budget and a large party size you should look at rental homes such as in Twentynine Palms. I wouldn't wait too long as many snowbirds will have booked already. You can use Airbnb, as well as Expedia or booking.com for searches. For a "Resort" on the Palm Springs side it is going to be about $800/night with that many people.


RE Grand Canyon, are you aware that most of the "Day Trips" don't take you to the famous part of the Grand Canyon but rather to the "West Rim" with the skywalk? I would suggest driving yourselves drop a night somewhere else (LV?) and spend a night near the park. If two rooms inside the park is too expensive, check Williams which is slightly over 3 hours from Las Vegas and be sure to stop in Seligman. There are more options there and it's about an hour to Grand Canyon Village at the South Rim. There is also a train that runs daily from Williams (return time 5:45 pm) although doesn't really work for a sunset viewing, even in winter. If you want to play by ear in case of snow at the rim, the Motel 6 chain has a good cancel policy, the one in Willaims (West) isn't terrible.

Did you look at hotel prices AND AVAILABILITY in Waikiki before you decided on those flights? Options are going to be limited even this far ahead.

If you find nothing within your budget you may want to put a hold on the two-bedroom suite at the Ilima hotel. Nothing special but it should hold all of you, the rooms are large and include a kitchen. Otherwise then you will probably need to book two rooms. Don't forget that Hawaii charges rather significant taxes and resort fees so ask about those. If you are looking for a condo, Oahu only allows RESORT CONDOS of which there are a few but not many.

Book direct at https://www.ilima.com/

PS they are very nice, if you cannot book online, call them and ask if anything else can accommodate your group. Cancel policy is not bad there for holiday (7 day notice through the 31st and forfeit one night). Many other places require full prepayment. Good luck.
Although they do have free onsite parking, it is first come first serve and I do not think a passenger van will fit into those spaces.

I would skip Joshua Tree and spend a night or 2 at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Nothing like it.

I don't have much to offer except it has turned into a kids' trip to amusement parks. The time of year has pre-empted Yosemite I guess and the original time arriving in San Francisco is gone. Museums in Los Angeles? La Brea Tar pits?

OP's latest itinerary is considerably better than their original plan.
However, they are definitely still trying to cram too many stops into this short trip.

Also, they are travelling with three kids...2, 5 and 6 years old.
And planning to visit THREE separate theme parks AND the zoo over the course of a few days PLUS take them to Las Vegas WITH a day trip to the Grand Canyon?

Other than the stay in Waikiki this is a bog-standard Aussie tour of the West Coast. If you go to Disneyland when the local passes are blacked out over the holidays, you hear a lot of those accents!