AUSGAL

Two Aussie adults with 15 and 13 year olds coming to California Early Sept 2008.(After Labor day weekend)
4 nights L.A.
4 nights Disneyland.
2 nights travelling north on Highway 1-thinking on staying 1st night Morro Bay area and 2nd Monterey area.
6 nights San Francisco.
2 nights Lake Tahoe.
2 nights Yosemite.
2 nights Death Valley.
5 nights Las Vegas.
Not wanting to travel south- we know alot of driving.Accommodation pretty much sorted.Any suggestions on must dos, as may be only trip here, would be greatly appreciated.

Grassshopper

I think your Morro Bay and Monterey choices are good. The drive between the two will be beautiful. Get an early start and visit Hearst Castle.

In SF, consider renting bikes (www.blazingsadles.com) and riding across the bridge. Go to Sausalito or Tiburon and take the ferry back. If you get an early start you can go to Angel Island from Tiburon. In Sausalito, stop and see the Bay Model.

Just my opinion but 4 days in Disneyland is a lot. Maybe you want to include Universal Studios during that time.

ncounty

I would agree; 4 nights Disneyland is a lot, especially kids that age. I think 2 nights Disney and maybe adding in San Diego for 2 nights would be great. Or do 3 nights LA to add time for San Diego. It is beautiful with La Jolla and Del Mar and downtown San Diego with the gaslamp. There is also Balboa Park with a world renowned zoo and about a dozen museums. Kayaking with your kids in La Jolla Shores would be very memorable as well as hiking at the stunning Torrey Pines state park. I personally would not want 4 days in LA. Another option is Santa Barbara; also a gorgeous town and very well worth a stop and look around. I think 5 nights in Vegas is a lot as well; 3-4 nights should do fine. In San Francisco, definitely do Fisherman's Wharf with a tour of the historical ships, trolley car ride (on a weekday, impossible to get on the weekends), Chinatown, Union Square. There is so much more there....one of our finest cities. I also love the wine country just north. I would stay in Healdsburg or Sonoma and do some wineries. Just touring them is a treat. My favorite accommodations in Vegas are the Mandalay bay for the wave pool and least smoky casino and the Wynn.

dmlove

I'd definitely agree with the others that you should change 4 nights LA/4 nights Disneyland to 3 nights LA, 3 nights San Diego, 2 night Disneyland. Two days in the Disneyland parks is plenty! If you don't want to go south to San Diego, then I'd still drop a night or two of Disneyland, and add at least one to Monterey/Carmel.

like_2travel

Monterey has a wonderful aquarium.

Near San Francisco you should visit the redwoods. There's a grove at Muir Woods. They are different than the giant Sequoia trees found at elevations in the Sierra's.

I agree w/other posters, 2 nights at Disney is enough. Add San Diego, or a night to Monterey.

5 nights in Vegas is a lot unless you've already booked shows. Take a day trip to Zion National Park. Its lovely.

janisj

I agree that 4 night at Disneyland is overkill (And I LOVE Disneyland). I personally would probably do 3 days in LA (though you could obviously fill 4 days too) and 2 in Anaheim.

San Diego is great, but instead of adding it to your itinerary -- I'd use the extra 3 days gained above to other parts of your trip. Add 1 add'l day on the coast, 1 to Tahoe and 1 to Yosemite.

So:
3 nights L.A.
2 nights Disneyland.
3 nights travelling north on Highway 1-thinking on staying 1st night Morro Bay area and 2nd Monterey area.
6 nights San Francisco.
3 nights Lake Tahoe.
3 nights Yosemite.
2 nights Death Valley.
5 nights Las Vegas.

You could also tweak another couple of days by only staying 5 nights in SF and 3 or 4 in Vegas. By doing that you could work San Diego into your itinerary.

Supercilious

I agree with some of the others that you are spending too much time in LA and Disneyland. And maybe San Francisco too. Coming from Australia you may not enjoy our big cities as much as the natural scenery that is so abundant in California.

Of course, many on this board have a Northern California bias. Rarely do I see comments from LaLa land folks. When we used to travel down there with the kids it was to see family and the number one activity was visiting the theme parks. A couple of days in Disneyland is all you need. But, there is also the San Diego Zoo, Sea World, and The Wild Animal Park that were high on our list. Also, Universal Studios as Grasshopper mentioned is a big hit with kids.

Another great thing to see in LA are the museums like the Getty, Armand Hammer, and the Huntington Library but I'm not sure the kids would be that interested. Finally, Southern California is famous for its beaches so you might want to spend some time there.

When we visited Australia, we drove the Great Ocean Road. We loved it. Our great ocean road is CA Hwy 1. I'd spend three or four days doing it from LA to Monterey. I'd also cut down on the 6 nights in San Francisco. Spend more time on the coast and in Yosemite.

Finally, spend only one night in Death Valley. It will be hotter than blue blazes in early September. Not much to do except drive in your air conditioned car and the distances are great in DVNP. Instead, spend a night in the Eastern Sierra in Lee Vining or Mammoth Lakes. See the old mining town of Bodie and kayak on Mono Lake. This is a special part of California with magnificent scenery and is often overlooked by tourists.

easytraveler

I'm thinking you could cut out one night in San Francisco, one night in Death Valley, and two nights in Las Vegas and spend those somewhere else.

San Diego and Sonoma-Napa Valley would be good additions.

AUSGAL

Thanks for info so far-we were thinking we really did not want to have to add another move.Have added another night driving the coast.
Thanks once again.

janisj

"we were thinking we really did not want to have to add another move"

I tend to agree - but w/o adding any more stops from your original plan --

taking 1 day from LA, 1 or 2 from Anaheim, 1 or 2 from SF and 1 from Las Vegas -- you can add time to the REALLY scenic bits -- the Coast, Tahoe, and Yosemite.

Same number of stops but a more leisurely pace and more time in some of the most amazing places on Earth.

mlgb

More nights Yosemite and Monterey, fewer nights in San Francisco, and only 3 nights in Disneyland (you'll want two full days at the two parks, and sometimes a 3-day parkhopper isn't that much more and you're less rushed, so 3 nights is fine).

I don't think Santa Barbara is very interesting for children. There are nice beaches near Anaheim (Huntington Beach isn't far) but coming from Australia I wouldn't think you'd need a beach visit.

September would be decent weather and I don't think Death Valley will be overbearing.

AUSGAL

Thanks once again-looking to do a day trip from LA and Disneyland (will have car) so I don't think a problem with time at each. Accommodation now booked, all but coast. Now taking 3 nights along the coast.

Still abit worried about must dos- hate to miss the most basic of must dos

maria_so

Hi Ausgal,

I too would agree to take a 2 nights off of disney and LA (especially LA) and perhaps another 2 in Vegas. Add some more time for the coast but if you have not been to Utah before, I would add just one more which is Zion. If you have 2 nights there, you will be able to see alot and it is absolutely gorgeous. Zion is only about a 2 hour drive from Vegas and it is well worth the trip. The hoodoos of Bryce canyon are also near by.

It's a long way from Australia and if you can manage to get an extra 2 nights by cutting down some place, you will be very happy you added that one more stop (or 2 with Bryce - overight at Bryce should suffice).

For must do's in the area:

San Fran (I'll leave this for the locals to tell you but Sausalito and Tiburon are a must as is Alcatraz and a walk in China town).

Lake Tahoe: Angora Lake. Requires about a mile hike to get to the lake but once you're there, you'll be glad you came.

Hwy 1: Monterey: Warf to see sea animals, aquarium, cannery row. Try to do a kayak trip with adventures by the sea. you get up close and personal with marine life.
Carmel: Ocean beach and 17 mile drive in Pebble Beach. Don't miss McWay falls in Big Sur and also the ricer chairs at big sur river inn. the henry miller "museum" is also a neat stop.

Yosemite: what notto miss? everything. i know that's not very helpful but with 2 nights, just see the most that you can. a nice hike would be the mariposa grove where you see the giant sequoias. i love scrambling up bridalveil falls. there are waterfall pools up there and it's not really dangerous. by that time, the water from the falls is trickling down so most of the exposed rocks will be dry and not slippery.

Death Valley: I love the sand dunes by stovepipe wells, scotty's castle, and best of all the moving rocks at the playa. badwater is the lowest point in the continental us and highest is only 130 or so miles away at Mt Whitney at the sierras.

Las Vegas: See some shows, catch a ride at the roller coasters of NYNY. So much to see and do but it gets old after 3 nights...

Zion: (if you do go) tubing down the virgin river. The narrows hike (absolutely so much fun and so beautiful). Angel's landing hike (pretty scary but the views are worth it).

Hope that helps. Enjoy!

Supercilious

"September would be decent weather and I don't think Death Valley will be overbearing."

Yes, the weather in September is fine in California in most years. Death Valley, however, is still in its summer mode. Average high temperature there will be 105 and that's the average.

Before Death Valley became a National Park, they used to shut most everything down there until mid-October. Now, they keep it open because of all the crazy Europeans that go there in summer. I would think that Australians would be smarter than that.

Check out:

http://www.weather.com/weather/wxcli...m_ite=CityPage

for a DV temperature graph.

Vegas will be hot too but most of the activities there are indoor. I'm not sure what your kids will do there for 5 nights. One thing they might like is a kayak trip on the Colorado just below Hoover Dam. This is a magnificent canyon that most visitors don't know about.

Check out:

http://www.kayaklasvegas.com/

Also, you want to stay somewhere that has a nice pool. We have always liked The Tropicana because of its location, value, and pool scene.

mlgb

You'll find that from sunrise to mid afternoon, Death Valley in September is quite bearable. After all, the average low is 75. And don't forget it's a dry heat.

gofrank150

In general, I think you're spending WAY too much time in the big cities and will find that you are more than ready to move on. Consider more time at locations in between - hearst castle perhaps, add another night at yosemite, santa barbara?

Shocked your leaving San Diego out altogether - much better stuff there than 8 days in LA.

My suggestions:

1) take 4 days off LA and move to San Diego

2) In LA, your kids will be bored with disneyland - they are too old, they would enjoy 6 flags magic mountain and universal studios much more than disney.

3) Spend a night in santa barbara and hit hearst castle as you head north.

4) 6 days in S.F. is a lot - unless your spending a day in Muir Woods and a day in wine country (napa)and even then it might be a day or two too much.

5) 5 days in L.V. is too much - remember your kids will have to be entertained non-stop -they can't loiter in the casino areas. Take a couple days and see if you can take in bryce canyon / zion national parks. In vegas - blue man group is a great show, as are any of the cirque prodcutions.

6) I personally could spend a week in yosemite, but i'm a hiker. Another night there might be preferable to death valley. It really is an amazing place.

If its too late to change your lodging, you might still be able to trek down to san diego from LA if you get up early.

ncounty

I would just say, Ausgal, that it is rare to have a post with such resoundingly consistent feedback and comments by the responders. Is it truly too late to change your accommodations? Those of us who know these places just feel for you with regard to the missed opportunity of exploring some great places and squandering excessive time in other places. Just a cautionary note, please look at how strongly and consistent the feedback here has been.

mlgb

I didn't recommend going to San Diego. If you're from an area with lots of beaches, like my family, there is nothing at all special there other than the zoo. It's a giant sprawling suburb with beaches...hmmmm, if one was from Sydney, one would have deja vu all over again. In fact my niece and nephew couldn't wait to get the heck out of San Diego when they graduated high school.

So there, the advice is not uniformly consistent anymore. Not that it was.

maria_so

i believe ncounty was talking more about spending too much time in some of the big cities. I believe we were all unanimous in recommending against that and spending somewhere else (not necessarily San Diego - I suggested Zion and Bryce).

ncounty

Yes Maria, you are right....that is what I meant. I just don't know that many must do's in disneyland for 4 days or LA for 4 days or Vegas for 5 nights. From a host's perspective, I really want them to see the best of what our fair country has to offer. I think it would be great to see the giant redwoods of northern california and I am not familiar enough with it to know if that would be covered in their itinerary. I haven't seen Bryce canyon yet but am eagerly anticipating that adventure....that is unique and otherworldly. Someone else suggested Mono Lake(?) which sounds fabulous as well; I've seen pictures which are striking.
I happen to live in San Diego and think it is pretty nice here with lots to offer a family with teenagers from strolling the gaslamp to exploring Balboa park with its lovely architecture and many museums to bicycling in Coronado to kayaking in La Jolla cove to hiking the Torrey Pines state park. I think it is quite a minority opinion to view it as unworthy of a visit.